Fascinating letter by Jude. He begins with all I wanted to talk about was Jesus Christ. And our common salvation in Him. Then finds himself compelled to tell the believers how to avoid apostasy.
He refers to himself as the brother of James, a servant of Jesus Christ. After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph had normal marital relations. Therefore, they had children. Jude was one of their sons. Some try to elevate Mary to a state beyond which she ever reached. Jesus and all of scripture reported that she was blessed, chosen by God to bring Jesus into the world. However she also was human with a human nature and as such needed the same salvation as we do. Yes, she was a virgin. Jesus was conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit. . This is very clearly pointed to throughout scripture.
Jude affirms this as he wrote to all who are sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Jesus Christ, and called. Chosen before the world was formed in eternity past to be called sons of God.
Even at His first miracle of changing water into wine, Jesus said,
“Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2: 1-5).
Some try to bypass this and say, this was an endearing way to speak to His mother. Yet, it is clear. He called her woman (of man). She needed the salvation He was to bring.
Who is Jude?
Jude was one of the children born to Mary and Joseph after Jesus was born. Therefore of course only when they were able to consummate their marriage. Prior to that Mary remained a virgin, awaiting the birth of Jesus. Why? Because she and Joseph knew. There could never be a question Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. After His birth, Mary and Joseph did have children. In fact, they are named in Mark 6 and Matthew 13. People listening to Jesus took offense to His authority in teaching the Word in the synagogue saying.
Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. Mark 6: 3 NKJV
What did Jude know about apostasy?
There is Jude. He lived within an apostasy because he did not believe Jesus was whom he declared to be. That is, he did not believe until after the death and resurrection of Christ. Note below. Mark 3: 7-12 (ESV) tells us of how the crowds pressed against Jesus everywhere he went. Even the demons knew who He was.
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.
And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. Mark 3:7-12 ESV)
He separated himself from the crowd and appointed the twelve apostles to preach.
Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20-21 (ESV)
The Greek and the Hebrew rendering of this is “those who belong to him”, family. Whether these were other family or His brothers we do not know for certain, but they arrive also on the scene and try to rescue Him from His own work and teachings. Already an apostasy brewing around Jesus.
Jesus Describes this Apostasy among the Jewish Scribes
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Mark 3: 22-30 NKJV
The Holy Spirit is demonstrating clearly in the miracles the authenticity of who Jesus is. The Only Begotten Son of God. Yet, their pride and self-exaltation refuse to accept Him as the long-awaited Messiah. There was disbelief even among His brothers until their eyes were opened to the truth.
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Send for Him
Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” Mark 3:31-35 NKJV
They all needed the salvation He came to purchase for them. I somehow believe Mary did not know of what He must face. That would be too much for a mother to bare, knowing the truth before it was time. It was nearly impossible to witness at the time. Imagine had she realized from the beginning. Well I cannot imagine that.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-12 KJV
Distinguishing Between Security of Salvation and Apostasy
Now to further discuss the letter Jude wrote:
As Jude begins his letter, he addresses it to:
To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ Jude verse 1b (NKJV)
There is a lot packed into that one statement. He is writing to all who are called.
whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified…. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Romans 8:29,30, 32, 33 NKJV
Secure in Him before the foundation of the world. There is nothing within me to recommend before God. No good thing, no amount of righteousness of my own; had He not chosen me. God it is that sanctifies me and that is what He has labored on every day of my life. Yet, He does so out of His love for me and His love for the son.
It is the Son’s atoning work on the cross that preserves my salvation. So. What about choice? you ask. I say yes that is true we choose to believe or not; yet how could I choose if not called first. God who dwells outside our time/space continuum does not have to explain to me how both are true; but they are. One day I will understand it all until that day; I am content to believe as He has written. Both are true.
My justification to salvation was not of my own doing; but His. The same is true of my preservation in the faith and my sanctification. All I know is one day I will have His heart. One day I will look like Jesus and it will all have been His work in me.
Jude quickly turns to discuss apostasy
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into indecent behavior and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude verses 3-4 (NASB)
Oh! How I wanted to just sing praise to the Glory of God for our salvation, free and clear. Just to speak of His grace, love, and glory. Yet I was compelled by the Holy Spirit to warn you of the apostasy that has entered the church, teaching every kind of false doctrine. Or those who profess to believe but have never tasted of the goodness of God. Those who have never truly believed in Him. Seeds that fell on the rock and never had roots. They looked like they sprouted, but alas never really did.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-22 NKJV
Apostasy Is Nothing New
Now I want to remind you, though you know everything once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. Jude Verse 5 (NASB)
Common Grace brought all the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Yet, their apostasy and failure to trust God led to the death of many. Chasing after idols, seeking self-exaltation, and above all failure to trust God resulted in apostasy among the people.
Apostasy reaches beyond the realms of Man
And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling place, these He has kept in eternal restraints under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Jude Verses 6,7 (NASB)
There is a band of angelic demons who in Genesis 6 lusted after women, leading to sexual immorality beyond our imaginations. Although this is nearly beyond our imagination and is not fully explained, we know they are chained in the bottomless pit awaiting their fate. Perhaps they entered men and thereby went along for the ride. Remember when Jesus cast the demons into the swine? Right before they begged Him not to be thrown into the bottomless pit with the others. Yet, we know their ultimate fate. The flood destroyed all but Noah and his family. A picture of redemption for the judgement. Sodom and Gomorrah God also destroyed for sexual perversion going after strange flesh.
Apostasy Has Similarities Always
Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and all the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, churning up their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever. Jude versus 8-13
What a description of apostasy. Clouds without water. They give the appearance of cleansing rain with no rain to give the parched earth. Empty, white-washed tombstone as Jesus called those who gave an outward appearance of righteousness, yet empty within.
A Warning to the Apostasy Proclaimed
It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. Jude Versus 14-16 (NASB)
Here Jude mentions the prophesy of Enoch. Yet do not let this fool you into reading the “Books of Enoch”. Note: Jude said Enoch prophesied, saying. This does not mean there was a written book. Perhaps his prophecies were carried down. However, only this one did God choose as being divinely inspired to be a part of Scripture. He was known for having not died. But instead was carried into heaven before the flood; perhaps, an example pointing to the rapture.
A Word of Caution To You
The books of Enoch have never been authenticated. Instead they are a part of what are considered pseudo-autobiographical. In other words, someone else wrote them using the name of Enoch to make money and distort the truth.
“Scholars and historians agree that the Book of Enoch is a compilation of writings from different authors. Historians date the oldest sections of the book to 300 B.C. They date the youngest sections to 100 A.D. [1] Therefore, the book’s composition occurred 3,000 to 4,000 years after the historical figure Enoch walked the earth.”1 https://christianityfaq.com/reasons-christianity-avoid-reject-book-enoch/
The Ethiopian Orthodox church does include the book of Enoch as scripture. However, the Hebrews did not include as true, even before Christ. Jude was inspired by God to place this prophecy. At any rate, my advice—DO NOT READ, unless you are totally saturated and faithful to the Word of God. Inside the popular versions of the Book of Enoch are many fantasies and science fiction. It has Enoch as though a rival to God Himself. Not someone who walked with God.
Keep Yourselves in the Love of God—Avoid Apostasy How?
But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions,worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Jude 16-23 NASB
Nine Steps to Avoid Apostasy
- Remember the Words Of Our Lord Jesus Christ
He warned of the coming days. Everywhere in scripture we are taught to meditate on the Word of God. It is our offensive weapon wielded by the Holy Spirit.
- Recognize Apostasy as follows
- Those who cause divisions within the church
- Mockers
- Worldly Minded—sowing seeds of doubt, inclusiveness of all types of perverse sin
- Devoid of the Spirit lacking the fruits of the spirit which are Love
Joy Peace Patience (or Forbearance) Kindness Goodness Faithfulness Gentleness Self-control
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 2 Timothy 3:1-5
- Build each other up in the faith. Encourage one another. Always be ready to gently guide a brother or sister in the Lord.
- Praying Always realizing the Holy Spirit is there to guide your prayers. Never neglect your prayer life, recognizing that He is there present, and you can talk to Him about everything without judgement
- Never forget, He is your first Love. When you love Him with all your heart, your mind, your strength, and your soul, every other area of love will display His love. Then when your heart is filled with His love, everything else will be ok.
- Never take your eyes off eternity—all the trials of this world fade into nothingness when you consider an eternity with Him
- Have mercy on those who have lesser faith
- Be always ready to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, thereby snatching some from the fires of hell both here on earth and during judgement
- Show mercy with fear, despising the smoke of the garments of sin. Declare the name of Christ but pray that you not become defiled trying to pull out someone. I have been there and only the Grace of God kept me from falling Which brings us to this:
Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24-25 (NASB)
Amen, amen and amen.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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©Effie Darlene Barba, 2025
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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