Jude Lesson

THE BOOK OF JUDE

Jude is a short book in the New Testament consisting of only one chapter.

The author and exact time of writing are unclear. Most scholars estimate that Jude was written between AD 66 and AD 80.  Jude was a common name in those days. A good number of people believe the book was written by Jude, the half-brother of Jesus. If that is the case, Jude would certainly have a unique perspective.

The Book of Jude deals with an issue as old as time, good vs. evil. Jude was written primarily for two main reasons:

1. To alert the readers to false teachers that had crept into the church,
2. To exhort the readers to grow and stand firm in their faith.

Jude did not pull any punches in communicating the spiritual threats that they were facing at the time. He reminds the readers of how the ungodly were punished by referencing: Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain, Balaam, and Korah, for whom, “The black darkness has been reserved forever.” – Jude Verse 13.

Jude issues strong warnings about false teachers and reminds those who believe in God and Jesus to stand firm in their faith.  A warning that we should heed today as well. 

FALSE TEACHERS

Jude described false teachers as:

• “Grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” – Jude Verse 16.

He also reminds the readers of the words the apostles had previously spoken:

• “In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” – Jude Verse 18.

MODERN-DAY FALSE TEACHERS

Are there false teachers today? 

Of course there are! 

In today’s high-tech world, we are constantly bombarded with messages that tell us that the more we have, the happier we will be.  We are constantly being tempted by messages that tell us to:

• “Buy this car,”
• “Vacation here,”
• “Wear these clothes,”
• “Eat at this restaurant,”
• “Use this phone.”

The false teachers of today tell us that having these things will make us happy. They attack us through the media, on our smartphones, and in just about everything that we do. If Jude were writing to us today, he would exhort us to stand firm in our faith, just as he did to the first-century church. 

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE

Just as people back then had choices about how they were going to live their lives and whom they were going to follow, we too have a choice. 

• Who are we going to follow? 
• Are we going to obey God's commandments or pursue the things that the “world” tells us are important? 

As you think about your own priorities, consider who you are following and ask yourself if changes are needed to get right with God.

• “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15.

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT FALSE TEACHERS

The Bible speaks a lot about false teachers.  As long as there are people looking to glorify themselves and not God, there will be false teachers.  We need to protect ourselves against these false teachers by learning what the Bible says about them. For today’s lesson, we have highlighted the following four verses:

1. “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” - 1 John 4:1,
2. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” - 2 Corinthians 11:13-15,
3. “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” - Mathew 7:15,
4. “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their  greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” - 2 Peter 2:1-3.

CONCLUSION

False teachers were a problem in the early church, and they are a problem today.  Any message that contradicts God’s word is dangerous and puts our souls at risk. 

To protect ourselves against false teachers, we need to study the Bible so that we can recognize Satan’s attacks and defend ourselves against them. One of the ways that we can do this is to put on the full armor of God as described by the Apostle Paul in the Book of Ephesians:

In Ephesians 6:14-17, Paul references six things that make up the full armor of God:

1. Girding our loins with truth,
2. The breastplate of righteousness,
3. The Gospel of Peace,
4. The shield of faith,
5. The helmet of salvation,
6. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

To protect ourselves during times of adversity, God gives us:

1. His Word,
2. His Spirit,
3. The perfect example of Jesus.

The devil would love for us to try to battle him without our armor!   That would make his goal of devouring us so much easier.  What a foolish mistake it would be to ignore the gift of God's protection and try to battle Satan without first putting on the full armor of God!

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture from Paul’s second letter to Timothy:

• “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’” - 2 Timothy 2:15-19.