So far in Jude we have seen the occasion for Jude writing. Certain 'spiritual perverts' had cropped up in the Church and were twisting the good news of Christ into an license for sensual living. The most shocking thing is that these people went unnoticed by the believers. Might there be certain people in our day and age who have gone similarly unnoticed? If so, one of our greatest priorities ought to be to address this concern. Jude, 'eager to write about our common salvation' (3) thought it of greater importance to address these 'perverts'.
This takes us to verse 4. What follows is a description of the people Jude is warning the Church about. He speaks in no uncertain terms. He describes them as "shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever." Praise God that Jude, free from the modern shackles of political correctness, could speak plainly and boldly so that we could be clear just how serious this danger is. We shall dwell more on Jude's description verses 5-16 in coming days.
For now, I want to bring a word of warning to those who are resting on their laurels as 'well-taught' believers:
False teachers go unnoticed by WELL-TAUGHT Christians
But, the people Jude is writing to had been clearly taught. Indeed, look at verse 5, "Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it..."
The readers were fully aware of the things Jude was teaching them. Rather, they used to be fully aware of them. They had been taught in the past by the Apostles that, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." (18)
What had happened? Why had they been so oblivious, even tho they had been warned. There are a number of possibilities. Firstly, they may not have understood the warning. Possibly, but Jude says that he is only reminding them of something that had perviously known and understood. Secondly, they may not have taken that warning to heart. They had not taken the threat seriously. Maybe, but Jude says that they had once 'fully known' the truth, which suggests they didn't take it lightly.
The third possibility is that at one time they had understood the threat and had taken it seriously, but that over time they had become complacent about it. At this point, the devil saw opportunity to strike.
The same is true for us, no matter how 'well-taught' we are. We may understand the truth, we may take it to heart, but it is the nature of our sinful hearts to drift into complacency about it. The enemy prowls around, seeking to devour us, and such complacency makes us easy prey.
What should we do? We must be watchful of ourselves and constantly depend on God. We ought not simply to cast ourselves onto Christ for our initial entry into salvation, but cast ourselves onto him for his grace to preserve us and keep us. More on this later! Praise God that he word keeps us from drifting too far!
