Judgment on False Teachers
Jude 1-16
- What did it mean to the original reader or original audience?
Summarize the main story: Describe the events of the scriptural story in your own words.
Review and retell the story.
- Who was your first boyfriend or girlfriend? Where is that person now?
- When was the last time someone "read you the riot act"? What had you done wrong? How did it feel to be soundly rebuked?
#People = Jude, brother of James, Apostles of Jesus Christ, False teachers, Archangel Michael, Enoch, the seventh from Adam
#Time =
#Place = The book doesn't specify a geographical location but it's intended for the general Christian community.
#Obedient faith =
#Sin =
#Key Idea =
Greeting
1 Jude,
a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To
those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept
for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace,
and love be multiplied to you.
Judgment on False Teachers
3 Beloved,
although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I
found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that
was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain
people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this
condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into
sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I
want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who
saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those
who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did
not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper
dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the
judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and
Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual
immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by
undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet
in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh,
reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But
when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was
disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a
blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But
these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed
by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe
to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for
the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. 12 These
are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without
fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept
along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild
waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering
stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It
was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied,
saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to
execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of
ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of
all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These
are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they
are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- What are your first impressions of Jude, the man and his letter?
- How does he describe himself and his fellow Christians (vv. 3-5)? From this description, what does it mean to be a Christian?
- What concerning these "godless men" (v. 4) is so godless?
- How do each of the examples from history (vv. 5-7, 11) relate to problems of unbelief, immorality, violence and rebellion?
- To someone who questions the certainty, severity or justice of God's judgment, what do these examples teach? How do the vivid images in verses 12-16 further condemn the skeptics?
- What can make a church vulnerable to false teachers today: (a) Boredom? (b) Lust? (c) Attraction to personalities? (d) Apathy?
- What "spiritual body-building" plan could help to keep you strong in God's love (vv. 20-21)?
- What goes on daily at your workplace, in your community or even in your church, which would fall within the range of Jude's indicting sermon?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- What transformative move needs to be made?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
Take Away Challenges
What has the Holy Spirit revealed to you in this passage? How will you apply it to your life this week?
Whom do you know who needs to hear this?
What is God bringing to your attention in this discussion? What beliefs, thoughts, or actions need to be addressed or changed?
Other Resources:
But You, Brethren
by Jim Baird
No comments:
Post a Comment