The book of Jude is the last book before Revelation in the Christian Bible. At only 25 verses long, it is often overlooked in favor of weightier tomes. Yet it contains much!
The entire epistle is a note to Christian believers to warn them that in their midst are some who are ungodly. I love the description of these men in Jude 4: "who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that it doesn't say "who do not practice good works" or "who do not show the fruits of the spirit" or "who do not pray" or even "who have not been baptized." These men are ungodly because they are an affront to the grace of God!
In the very next verse, Jude 5, it goes on to say that God destroyed "those who did not believe." Yes, there is also talk of destruction of sinners (characterized primarily by their sins), but it seems to me that the very heart of the issue is not the sin, but rather the lack of faith (belief!) that it stems from.
Later, in Jude 20-21, we are given the answer to this invasion of the ungodly into the midst of the church: "building yourselves up on your most holy faith,& praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." That's right -- the solution Jude gives us begins with faith.
The letter is concluded, as is customary, with a benediction. Jude 24-25 says:
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,Powerful words indeed! Note however, it doesn't say "God who will keep you from stumbling," but "God who is able to..." This is an important distinction since this verse has more than once been used to accuse those who stumble of not knowing God. We all stumble, but we stumble a lot less when we're walking close to Him. If we were to walk perfectly with Him at all times, I truly believe that we would never stumble, but we are easily distracted and we wander away on our own paths. We find ourselves far from his presence, we stumble and fall, and He comes and picks us up again and for a time we walk with him until we repeat the whole cycle again.
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
A very interesting perspective.... I myself, have written an article upon The Topic of Spiritual Success... and, I've entitled it: "The Straight And Narrow Path - a prophetical formula for Spiritual Success." It's based upon The Scriptures found in: Proverbs Chapter 4 and Mathew Chapter 7.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get a chance, you might like to read it for yourself....