For certain men have
crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly
men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 4
Dear Heavenly
Father. I praise and glorify Your
name. I'm nothing without You. You carry me through every day. Thank you for a wonderful wife and
family. Please hear my prayer. Please calm my heart and help me to focus on
this text. Have it breathe new fervor in
me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
As we discussed last
week, Jude is urging us to not only fight for the Christian faith but also
fight for our Christian life. Jude
encourages us that we believe rightly in the salvation provided by Jesus. In this verse, Jude describes what could
dissuade us from the Christian life.
To bring deeper understanding to the text, let's examine some key words
and their companion or similar verses.
"Certain
men" in the Greek is tis which means anyone or someone. 2 Peter 2:1 states "But there were also
false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among
you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who
bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction." Galatians 2:4 further states "And this
occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth
to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us
into bondage)." These men are more
than just "anyone." If you
don't serve the Lord who do you serve?
These certain men want to destroy the Christian life and bring the
Christian into bondage with them.
Somehow by convincing others and adding to their numbers, they can
justify what they believe and feel secure in their heresies.
"Crept in
unnoticed" in the Greek is pareisduo
which means enter secretly, come in by stealth, enter alongside, under
pretense, appear to be true Christians but in reality opposing Christians,
posing to give help, slide in the side door.
The NLT version uses the word "wormed." These men got into the church by posing as
believers. They will become like worms
who with difficulty crawled and wiggled their way into the church to become an
infestation of the world and parasite sucking joy out of the church.
1 Peter 2:7-8
describes these men in more detail - "Therefore, to you who believe,
He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders
rejected Has become the chief
cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.' They
stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were
appointed." These men are
disobedient and reject Jesus, the stone the builders rejected.
"Marked"
in the Greek is prographo which means
write previously, I write already, designate beforehand, predicted,
recorded. It is composed of two
words. Pro
which means before, in front of, earlier than and grapho
which means pass, it is written (in the Scriptures). These men would never believe. Their hearts are hardened against God. Therefore, these men were designated for the
purpose before they even attempted it.
These men are marked for condemnation.
"Condemnation"
in the Greek is krima which means
judgement, (adverse) verdict, lawsuit, torment for the unredeemed, every
decision (action) we make carries inevitable, eternal results. John 5:26-29 states "For as the Father
has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has
given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves
will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
condemnation." However, Matthew
22:14 states "For many are called, but few are chosen." God wants everyone to have salvation through
Christ and reconciliation with God. For
those who don't believe in Jesus, there will be a court case against them. No one will be there to defend them. Therefore, a
"man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client." For believers, Jesus will defend them and
they will be saved.
"Ungodly"
in the Greek is asebes which means
impious (not showing respect or reverence for God), wicked, negated respect,
failing to honor what is sacred. These
men who have wormed their way into the church don't respect or honor God. Again, who do these men serve?
"Grace" in
the Greek is charis which means a gift
or blessing to man by Jesus Christ, gratitude, favor, kindness, freely willing
to give of oneself over. Charis contains the idea of kindness which
bestows upon one what he has not deserved.
Many have used G.R.A.C.E. as an acrostic to define the word, God's
riches at Christ's expense. Acts 11:23
states "When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and
encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the
Lord." We do not merit or deserve
what God has done for us. Jesus took our
penalty for our sin, even though we have done Him wrong.
"Lewdness"
in the Greek is aselgeia which means
wantonness, licentiousness (promiscuous, unprincipled in sexual matters),
outrageous conduct, decadence, shocking to public decency, violent spite,
rejects restraint, indulges in lawlessness, carnal, lasciviousness (overt and
often offensive sexual desire). These
men have turned God's grace into lawlessness, unprincipled offensive sexual
desire. The NLT version states the
certain men are "saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live
immoral lives." These men are
trying to use God to justify their sin.
God and sin can't co-habitate. They've
rejected this free gift.
"Deny" in
the Greek is arneomai which means
repudiate, refuse to affirm or confess, disown, say no, forsake, abnegate,
disavow. Titus 1:16 states "They
profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient,
and disqualified for every good work."
1 John 2:22 states "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is
the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son." These men are liars and antichrists. They refuse, disown, and forsake Christ. Clearly, these men serve someone other than
God. They serve Satan.
Don't fall into
Hollywood's trap. Satan is not all glitz
and glamor, proudly in the open spinning his lies and his web. Satan works in the shadows and slips in
unnoticed. He changes and contrives the
Word to fit his bidding leading billions and billions of people astray. At the heart of his work, is sexual sin. His goal is to make wantonness,
promiscuousness, lawlessness, and overt
and often offensive sexual desires "normal." He has many, many workers. The tactics are same in the past, the
present, and the future. Be careful what
you watch, listen, and use in conversation.
Don't let the world worm its way into your heart. It's a "slow fade."
Be careful little
eyes what you see
It's the second
glance that ties your hands
As darkness pulls
the strings
Be careful little
feet where you go
For it's the little
feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade
when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade
when black and white are turned to gray
And thoughts invade,
choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give
yourself away
People never crumble
in a day
It's a slow fade,
it's a slow fade
Be careful little
ears what you hear
When flattering
leads to compromises, the end is always near
Be careful little
lips what you say
For empty words and
promises leave broken hearts astray
. . . .
The journey from
your mind to your hands
Is shorter than
you're thinking
Be careful if you
think you stand
You just might be
sinking
. . . .
People never crumble
in a day
Daddies never
crumble in a day
Families never
crumble in a day
For certain people
have crept in unnoticed [just as if they were sneaking in by a side door]. They
are ungodly persons whose condemnation was predicted long ago, for they distort
the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity
to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus
Christ.
Amplified Bible
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