Saturday – October 7, 2023, Tishrei 22, 5784
Greetings dear and precious saints of God and welcome back to our study of the Bible Book of Jude. Please take a moment and share this teaching as widely as possible by every means available to you. Thank you so much for sharing. The Lord is good. Remember, we study not just read the Word of God and we do it to renew our minds so that we are conformed to Him and not the world. This is not some religious exercise to be checked off for the day. We either live by the Word of God or the word of the world and you know where those came from. When our spiritual enemies present us with lying thoughts, words, and circumstances with the Word of God we are well able to resist and fling them aside, trampling on them (the lying thoughts, words, and circumstances).
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
If we will be attentive the Lord will and has provided the weapons (Word of God) needed for every attack, before the attack. Our God is good, He will not hang us out to dry. We many times hang ourselves out to dry by not being attentive to the Words God brings to us day in and day out and make them our own. Now let’s pivot to our primary Bible text continuing to read out loud, yes, out loud, you know why.
Jude 1:1-3 (KJV)
1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
As I discussed early on in this study, the Book of Jude is focused on faith, unbelief, and the consequences of being in unbelief. There is a very old question that is hotly debated which is; can a person unsaved, be saved, and then reject salvation and again be unsaved? This Book of Jude gives much insight to that question. I have discussed the humility of the writer, Jude, given that he lived in the same house with Jesus with some number of years yet does not pull that card. Instead, he declares that he is a servant, some translation say slave, of Jesus Christ. He does however mention that his brother is James who we know to be an Apostle and head of the Church in Jerusalem.
We noted that this Epistle (Book) is being addressed to Christians as noted by the phrase “sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ”. Perhaps you have heard or read a variety of thoughts on the word “sanctify or sanctified”. Here is what the Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary say, to make holy, purify. This is a very interesting phrase. As we know the only way to the Father is in and through Christ Jesus, so the phrase seems backwards.
John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Now, let’s look at verse one in a couple of other translations.
Jude 1:1 (NLT)
1 This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:1 (NIV)
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
Dear saints of God this letter is to us today as well as them then and all saints in between. One further point, please don’t be thrown off by the use of the word “called” thinking some are called or invited to be saved while other are not. All are invited and all make a choice. The God I serve condemns no one, those that are lost in the end condemned themselves.
Lord willing, I will pick up right here next week.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. (Bold added)
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (KJV)
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Bold added)
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
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