Judge/Judging – Page 13 – Three Minute Bible

May 24, 2020May 24, 2020

Jude 1: 23c — Corrupted Clothes

A rack of shirts and jackets at a men's clothing store.

—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

As we continue to parse Jude’s closing thoughts, we run into this interesting phrase, “ — hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Whose clothing is Jude talking about? Yours? Mine? His?

The answer, it seems, is “all the above.” Peter references this idea in his second letter when he writes, “This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.” (2 Peter 2: 10)

May 23, 2020May 23, 2020

Jude 1: 23b — The Colors of Love

… to others show mercy, mixed with fear …

Mercy and fear. What an odd combination! What could Jude mean?

The meaning of the word “mercy” seems self-evident to me. To be merciful to others is to accept them as they are, warts and all. If they have offended me I show forgiveness in return. If they are offensive to me, I ignore the offense and treat them as I would want to be treated myself. But what about fear?

Are we to be afraid ourselves, or are we to instill fear in others?

May 21, 2020May 22, 2020

Jude 1: 22 — Doubt

A man welds steel on a construction site.

Be merciful to those who doubt…

Jude continues to give us his advice. Perhaps what he says sounds surprising. After all, he has spent the larger part of his letter warning us against the ungodly. Now he says, “Be merciful to those who doubt…” Could it be that he is worried some might confuse doubting with being ungodly?

It is a fair question. If you have spent any time at all reading this blog you know that I have a lot of questions! And if ever there is a quiet moment, I can come up with more questions at the drop of a hat.

May 12, 2020May 12, 2020

Jude 1: 16a — On Guard

These people are grumblers and faultfinders…

With deft strokes, Jude is painting a picture of what the ungodly look like. I find it interesting that he does not call out specific people he might be thinking of. Yet, I can also see a reason for this. From God’s perspective, Jude is not being asked to write to a specific church or even a specific age of the church. Instead, the Holy Spirit has commissioned him to write a description for all time.

Jude’s letter is a fitting penultimate chapter for God’s love letter to his people. From beginning to end, the entire Bible is about two things; Jesus Christ and the difference between what is godly and what is ungodly. Jude’s letter paints a picture of what to look for.

May 11, 2020May 12, 2020

Jude 1: 14b — Enoch’s Prophecy

several piles of gold coins each larger than the last.

See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

I am a little out of my depth when we get the End Times Prophecy department. Pr. Rich is the expert in that area as far as I am concerned. So outside of taking a contextual look at Enoch’s prophecy, let’s take a specific look at this passage and see what we can learn.

First, Jude is using a source of information on this topic that is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. This is new information about Enoch.

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

Jude 1: 12b — Tossed Sheep

…shepherds who feed only themselves.

Many years ago a young man from a small town went to study at the university. Unsure of what to do with his life, he studied a wide variety of topics. In his sophomore year, a campus ministry group that focused on college-age men discovered him. This group took him under their wing and counted him as one of their own until one day when they found out he was interested in religion.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to them. He had all the signs; a passion for God’s Word, a love of Truth, and a hunger to know more. Thinking of the university as a place to learn he had taken a world religion class and found it very interesting.

May 6, 2020May 8, 2020

Jude 1: 12A — Food

A small glass of wine and bread against a black background.

These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—

What is a “love feast?” Who eats there? Why should anyone have qualms about it?

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, is a great resource on this question. He describes in detail what the love feast is, who and how to eat it, and why it should be taken very seriously.

What is it?

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Jude 1: 9 — Discerning Darkness

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

There is a danger here.

Jude is teaching us how to identify those who are walking in darkness. What he is NOT telling us to do is pass judgment on their souls. He tells us what God has in store for such people, but nowhere does it say we are to be the ones who condemn them. To illustrate this point, Jude reminds us of the archangel, Michael.

The archangel is understood to be over all the other angels. This angel is unique in relation to God and other angels. The text refers to another angel called “the devil.” This angel would have been known as Lucifer, or Satan. Satan’s power and influence were rivaled only by God in the heavens.

April 29, 2020April 29, 2020

Jude 1: 7b — The Third Group

They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

As Jude dives into the topic of his letter, we immediately understand that there are three groups of people involved.

The first group, the group that James is part of, are “loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.”

The second group, not mentioned by name but implied, are the people of the world who do not know Jesus but need Him. These people are not “lost” to Christ, but neither are they yet “found.” The one thing about this group that applies to all of them is that none of them claim to be Christians.

April 28, 2020April 28, 2020

Jude 1: 7a — The Undiscovered Country

A door sits on a cloud floating in a blue sky.

In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.

Jude is talking about ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality. This passage is EXHIBIT “A” in the world’s case against Christianity. The world’s point of view is that everything is okay unless everyone agrees that it is not okay. The judge of what is okay and not okay is the imaginary collective conscience of the entire world.

What has the entire world ever agreed on? Can you think of one thing? No, I can’t either. This argument assures than nobody will ever be able to accuse anyone else of doing what is wrong.

Wait! That’s not right! People tell Christians that they are wrong all the time.