Verses 1-16
In these verses Jude warns his readers about godless men that are hanging out with them. These men changed the grace God has given into a reason to live immorally. Please don’t take God’s grace and patience for granted. We don’t have unlimited chances or decades to live a life full of sin, then repent and accept God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. You and I aren’t promised to live past right now. There are people living godless and immoral lives, but they can choose to repent. Jesus made it possible. Jude warns his readers and us that those godless men, “pollute their own bodies, reject authority, and slander celestial beings.” Don’t spend most of your time hanging out with people like that. They aren’t living a life loving God or loving others. Would we describe godless people today how Jude did then? How much time are we spending listening to or watching negative people? Verses 17-25 In verses eighteen and nineteen, Jude warns his readers and us that scoffers/mockers are the people that divide us. They follow their “gut” and not the Holy Spirit. We are called Christians because we follow Jesus Christ. If we don’t have the Holy Spirit, we aren’t Christians. If we don’t have faith in Jesus Christ, we don’t have the Holy Spirit. We have to submit to the way Jesus made for us. Our “gut” isn’t going to get us into heaven. It also isn’t going to solve our problems. The Holy Spirit can lead us to solve our problems, but it requires faith. Self-reliance isn’t part of the good news Jesus preached. You and I can’t “pull ourselves up by our bootstrings” and make a better life for ourselves. Jude ends with a doxology that some pastors and preachers use today. Jude bluntly says that God is able to keep us from falling and to present us to himself without fault. God did this and is doing this through the life, death, and resurrection of his son Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit given to those that believe in Jesus Christ. How do we feel when people talk about a movement or revolution? How often are we praying in the Holy Spirit, asking it to lead and keep us?
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