Memory Verse
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Jude 3-4
Overview

Jude wants his readers to defend the faith. Therefore, his letter is designed to be an apologetic for apologists. Jude is writing to those in the church who are facing the attacks of the Devil. He is appealing that they would “contend earnestly for the faith.” He makes the argument why every Christian should be well versed in apologetics. There are people within the church who are abandoning the faith, reinventing the faith, and using the faith for their own desires. Specifically, he is speaking of those who are like this and stay in the church and become defiling influences within the church. He identifies them as “[S]pots in your love feasts” (Jude 1:12). 

Hymn: Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Sheet Music
Top 5 Facts to Remember
  1. Jude found it necessary to write in defense of the faith because certain men had turned the grace of God into lewdness (Jude 1:3–4).
  2. After the Lord saved some out of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe (Jude 1:5).
  3. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities around them were destroyed for giving themselves over to immorality (Jude 1:7).
  4. The men that Jude spoke about had become like brute beasts in their corruption (Jude 1:10).
  5. God is able to keep us from stumbling (Jude 1:24–25).
Theme: Earnestly Contend for the Faith

In Jude, God is glorifying Himself through Christians earnestly contending for the faith, so that He might demonstrate His superior goodness in the salvation sinners, the damnation of the wicked, and for the preservation of His people, for His eternal glory, and their eternal joy.

Author: Jude

He is the brother of Jesus, and “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James…” (Jude 1:1).

Audience: Unknown

Jude addresses his letter “to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1).

Key Verses:

“But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Jude 5–7

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

Jude 20–21

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.”

Jude 24–25

Lessons:
  1. We ought to contend earnestly for the faith.
  2. We should beware of those who use the name of Christ to serve their own lusts.
  3. We should keep ourselves in the love of God.
Outline
  1. Greeting (Jude 1:1–2)
  2. Contend Earnestly for the Faith (Jude 1:3–4)
  3. The Ungodly Will Be Judged (Jude 1:5–19)
  4. Keep Yourselves in the Love of God (Jude 1:20–23)
  5. Glory to God (Jude 1:24–25)
Study Questions

What three evil men from the Old Testament does Jude mention?
Cain, Balaam, and Korah (Jude 1:11).

To what kind of clouds does Jude compare the men who had crept into the church?
Clouds without water, carried about by the winds (Jude 1:12).

Who does Jude quote as having prophesied against these men?
Enoch (Jude 1:14).

© 2017 NCFIC