Keys of Truth: Jude

Some things are so important, they must be repeated. Jude reissues the warning about false teachers in the church that was found in Second Peter 2.

Author: Jude, the brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3).

Date of writing:
The date of the letter is closely tied to its relationship with Second Peter as discussed below. If written after Second Peter, a date of about B.C. 68 seems likely.

Theme:
“Judgment on apostates” (v. 4):
Certain people who denied Christ and turned grace into licentiousness had entered the fellowship of Christians. Presumably, these people denied the uniqueness or saving power of Jesus and understood the concept of grace as meaning "anything goes."

 Purpose:
Jude wanted to show that such heterodox teachers were condemned and to warn Christians from joining in their evil.

Outline of Jude:
1) The need to contend for the faith (vv. 1-4)
2) The description of the apostates (vv. 5-16)
3) The exhortation to believers (vv. 17-23)
4) The benediction (vv. 24-25)

Overview of Jude
Having originally intended to write about salvation, Jude is moved to ask the believers to contend for the faith. Evil people, denying Christ and perverting grace, have crept into the church. But God will judge these evil doers, just as he judged the people who sinned in the wilderness, the angels who joined in Satan's rebellion, and the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is characteristic of such people to reject authority. They will perish like Korah (Numbers 16). Meanwhile, they are a danger to all. Enoch had such in view when he predicted the Lord's coming in wrath. Believers should keep themselves far from such people. Jude ends with a benediction.

Theological Highlights:
“Concerning salvation”: In his benediction, Jude affirms the power of God to keep believers until they stand in His presence, thus affirming the permanence of salvation.

Key Verse:
Jude 3: "...contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

Message of Jude:
Jude warns us to be vigilant and not seduced by false teachers among us, especially those who turn grace into an excuse for sin.