Jude’s Letter 

Jude   One….(verses 1-25)

1.  Verses  1-3  

a.   What identifies who Jude was?    (verse 1a;  Matthew 13:55)

Jude was the brother of James and the half brother of our Lord Jesus.

b.  How does Jude refer to his revered older half brother?    (verse 1)

He refers to Him by His title….Jesus Christ….not just by His family name of Jesus.

c.   How does he refer to himself?  (verse 1a)

As the “servant”  or slave of Jesus Christ.

d.   How does James refer to his older half brother? (James 1:1)

As the Lord Jesus Christ….His full title showing His deity, humanity and mission.

e.  What can we learn from this?

We should never downgrade the Lord of glory to a mere man by referring to Him as just “Jesus”….He is more than that to a believer.

f.  What had been both Jude’s and James’ attitude to Jesus earlier?   (John 7:3-5)

They didn’t believe that He was anyone special.

g.  Who is Jude writing to?   (verse 1b)

He is writing to fellow believers

h.   What do we see about God’s people in this description?     (Read this in several different translations to get the full meaning….you can get this from the downloaded Berean Bible)                          (verse 1c)

They have been called by God and made separate from the world for Him (sanctified),  and kept for and by Jesus Christ

i.   What is the dictionary definition of “mercy”?

Being kept from a deserved punishment.

j.  What is Jude feeling strongly about in verse 3? 

It is not enough to just hold onto salvation but to we are to grasp it and defend it to the utmost….there is nothing else that matters!

2. Verses  4-13

a.   What is the danger if we are not watchful enough ?      (verse 4)

The danger is that evil teachers will creep in with false teaching which seems plausible enough but in actual fact denies the whole concept of a holy God.

b.   What are some aspects of this that are widely taught today?      

Evolution which denies the creation and any thought of a Creator…mother earth is more important than Father God. The New Age teaching which says that God doesn’t really mean what He says, take your interpretation of His Word as being right for you and follow that.

c.   What happened to those in Israel who didn’t really believe God?    (Numbers 16: 41-49;  32:13;  Deuteronomy  4:3)

There several times of purging because of Israel’s unbelief….they were destroyed in the wilderness….all those over 20 years of age died before reaching the land (except for Caleb and Joshua). Those who complained and turned against Moses and who thought their way was good enough, were destroyed by God with a plague, as were those who had false gods and idols.

d.  When does it seem that some of the angels fell from heaven?      (Isaiah  14:12-15; 2 Peter 2:4)

When Satan lifted himself up in pride and tried to take God’s place, he was deposed and those angels who chose to go with him were thrown out of God’s presence.

e.   What was the main sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?              (verse 7; Genesis 19: 4-5; 2 Peter 2:6-7)

Immorality, homosexuality and idolatry.

f.   In what ways were some of the false teachers doing the same things?      (verse 8; 2 Peter 2:10.14)

They were immoral, proud and arrogant and resisting authority.

g.   What doe we have to be careful of? What example does Michael the Archangel show us?  (verse 9)

We are not to underestimate the power of Satan and are to hide in the Lord under the blood of Christ  when it comes to rebuking him. It is only God who has the upper hand over Satan and can rebuke him.

h.  What do these false teachers show in teaching these things?    (verse 10)

They show the evil of their hearts in their evil actions and teachings.

i.   What was the basic sin of Cain?       (verse 11; Genesis 4:3-7; 1 John 3:12)

Disobedience to God’s commands, doing things his way not God’s, and this led to further sins of hatred, anger and murder.

j.   What was Balaam’s root problem?      (verse 11; Numbers 22:7; 2 Peter 2:15)

Love of money….he wanted to get something out of telling God’s Word…greed was at the base of it.

k.  Why is Korah (Core)  included in this list? What was his sin?    (Numbers 16:3, 23-25)

Korah wanted Moses’ position….he would NOT bow to God’s order and authority.

l.  What could you say was the underlying cause of these three sins?   (Proverbs 29:23)

Pride, pride, pride….knowing better than God, wanting to be top of the rich list, fame and position….all these feed the pride and ego of man.

m.  What five things are teachers like this likened to? What is lacking in them in each example? (verses 12-13)

i.    Spots, blemishes…..no love for others (one of the signs of a genuine born-again person)

ii.    Clouds without rain….they have nothing to offer, no growth, famine in the soul

iii.   Trees without fruit….useless, neither use nor ornament, good for nothing.

iv.   Waves raging….causing havoc wherever they go.

vi.   Wandering stars….no order,  dark and giving no guidance.

3.   Verses 14-23

a.   What sort of a person was Enoch? What happened to him? (verse 14; Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 5:5)

Enoch was a very godly man, a prophet who walked with God all his life until God took him as he was into His presence for ever….Enoch never died as other people do.

b.  What did Enoch prophesy about?              (verses 14a-15)

He prophesied that one day the Lord would come with His people to execute judgement on ungodly men.

c.   How does verse 16 describe the world today?

People are complainers, causing uprisings, doing their own thing (breaking the laws) thinking only of themselves ( all the embezzlers)  trampling over others to climb the social ladder to their own advantage.

d.   What sort of people do believers have to be wary of?      (verses 17-18; 2 Peter 3:3-4)

Those who make fun of and mock the idea of Christ’s second coming….these people are rampant today and they all follow their own ideas.

e.   What do these people NOT have?     (verse 19)

They do not have the Holy Spirit in their lives.

f.  What are believers to work at?      (verses 20-21; Colossians 3:1-3)

i.    Building themselves up in the Word and in their faith.

ii.   To pray in the Holy Spirit

iii.  To have their minds set on the things of God and Christ continually.

g.   What do we have to be careful of when trying to reach people for Christ? (verses 22-23)

That we don’t get sucked into the world system ourselves while working with them.

h.   How is the believer going to stand before God? Why?      (verse 24; Ephesians 5:27)

Believers are going to stand before God perfect and faultless with no blemishes….all because of what Jesus Christ has done for them and because He is personally going to present each one to God…they will not have to stand alone before the Judge of all the Earth.

i.   How should the believer regard the God of Heaven?      (verse 25; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15-16)

He is our Saviour; He is the only King and full of Majesty and glory with total dominance and sovereignty, might and power and will be so for ever and ever….He is the Mighty Potentate, the King of kings and LORD of lords!