1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jude doesn’t mention exactly which Jude he is. But because he writes with the assumption that he is known and known as a brother of James, who he also doesn’t see the need to qualify, suggests this is Jude, little brother to James and Jesus (Matthew 13:55; The greek for Jude in this letter could also be translated Judas). Like James, Jude doesn’t see himself in any way elevated at being a brother of Jesus and refers to himself as a servant of Jesus Christ.
Because he refers a lot to Old Testament events, Jude is probably writing to Jewish believers. He is warning them about false teachers who have brought not only false doctrine but permissive sinful conduct into the church.
Jude says that he would have preferred to have written about their common salvation but felt compelled to write about false teachers and warn them to keep firm in their faith. False teachers had crept in unnoticed like a thief and begun to pervert the grace of God, promoting their immoral living and even rejecting God’s authority in Jesus Christ.
Jude then refers to three examples that show God’s judgement on sinful conduct.
Even though Jesus (1 Cor 10:4-5) delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, he punished those who didn’t have faith and rejected His leading.
The angels who attempted to corrupt the human race (Gen 6:1-6) were not spared but have been kept in chains (2 Pet 2:4).
And Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities who are notorious for their sexual immorality, specifically pursuing the unnatural desires of homosexuality, serve as an example as they were punished with fire (Gen 19:24).
These three examples show that God will not let sin go undealt with. God will deal with unbridled sin in the here and now, not only in eternity. If we live in open sin, we should not expect that it will go unpunished. It is a sobering thought to remember that even though Jesus has dealt with all our sin for eternity, God still requires that we live holy lives today and will punish those who choose to remain in sin.