12 Feb 2013
Jude 1:3-4
Jude 1:3: “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.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jude is warning against false teachers that had crept into the church. He says that they were “turning the grace of God into lasciviousness”. Sadly, this still goes on today. Some people claim that, since they are saved, they can do whatever they want because “God will forgive me”. They use their salvation as a license to sin – not as a path to holiness. They believe that they can do whatever they please without fear of any kind of consequences – but they are terribly wrong. That kind of thinking is a false gospel, and does not lead to God or to salvation. Jude warns us to “earnestly contend for the faith”. The gospel is salvation from sin, not a license to sin. We must fight those who preach such damnable heresies and stand up for the truth.
Verse 4 has an interesting nod toward predestination. Notice that it says that these false teachers “were before of old ordained to this condemnation”. It strongly implies that these people were predestined to be false teachers. People today hate the idea of predestination, but it can be found all throughout the Bible.
Jude urges us to “earnestly contend for the faith”. We have to fight for it, because the devil is waging war against us, whether we admit it or not. We have to hold fast to the truth and resist those who spread lies.