Jude

Jude was a brother of Jesus Christ. Yep, an actual blood brother. He grew up with Jesus - how cool is that? Anyway, this letter was written about A.D. 65 to warn Christians about false teachers. Paul also hit on this subject quite a bit. Seems false teachers are nothing new, the devil will always try to twist God's words into something false & damaging. Look at what he did in the garden. (See Genesis 3.) This letter is short & to the point. Let's take a look:

Wow, Jude does not mince words! He has NO tolerance for men who pollute the Word of God. From these words we can see that false teachers do two things:

1. They misunderstand the grace of God. God forgives & brings us into His family regardless of our past. We are no longer judged by the law - it's not about how good you can be. HOWEVER - this does not mean you have a right to keep on sinning! Being in a relationship with God means you trust that He knows what is best & then you do it. It's not a relationship when you ignore and hurt the other person. I think of marriage (actually I think this is a main reason why we marry - to help us understand what a relationship really is.) Anyway, when we get married, we make a covenant - a promise that says no matter what the other person does we aren't going anywhere (for better or worst, in sickness & health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part.) Does that mean the other person has a right to cheat, beat, and berate? NO! If the other person is committed no matter what, do you just step all over them? NO! You put that other person first. You become a husband or wife worthy of the covenant. God's grace & your faith are a covenant. Treat that promise & your relationship with respect and honor.

2. They deny that Jesus is the ONLY WAY. If all religions are right, if there are many ways to heaven, then we are in serious trouble because each religion states that they are the only way: Jewish, Christian, Muslim, New Age, Buddhism. They all say they are right & everyone else is wrong. So, how can they all be right? From a philosophical standpoint, they can't. Conflicting ideas cannot be complimentary. Look, Jesus said, ""I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me." (John 14:6) If you are a Christian this leaves you with two options:
1) You consider Jesus the ONLY WAY.
2) You consider Jesus a liar - so why are you trusting Him?

In closing - stay alert! Read your Bible & know what it says! Don't let yourself be swayed by man. Honestly, people screw up all the time, why would you let your eternal life depend on the words of a man? God is perfect! His Word is perfect! If you really believe that then follow Jude's closing words:

"Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear [respect for God] - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."