June 1st 2025 JUDE v 1 - 10
This epistle is addressed to all believers in the gospel.
Its design appears to be to guard believers against the false teachers who had begun to creep into the Christian church, and to scatter dangerous doctrines, by attempting to lower all Christianity into a merely nominal belief and outward profession of the gospel.
They denied the obligations of personal holiness, they taught their disciples to live in sinful courses, at the same time flattering them with the hope of eternal life.
The vile character of these seducers is shown, and their sentence is denounced, and the epistle concludes with warnings, rebukes, and counsels to believers.
V 1-4
Christians are called out of the world, from the evil spirit and temper of it; called above the world, to higher and better things, to heavenly things unseen and eternal; called from sin to Christ, from vanity to seriousness, from uncleanness to holiness; and this according to the Divine purpose and grace.
If sanctified and glorified, all the honour and glory must be ascribed to God, and to him alone.
As it is God who begins the work of grace in the souls of men, so it is he who carries it on, and perfects it.
Let us not trust in ourselves, nor in our stock of grace already received, but in him, and in him alone.
V 2 The mercy of God is the spring and fountain of all the good we have or hope for; mercy, not only to the miserable, but to the guilty.
Next to mercy is peace, which we have from the sense of having obtained mercy.
From peace springs love; Christ's love to us, our love to him, and our brotherly love to one another.
The apostle prays, not that Christians may be content with a little; but that their souls and societies may be full of these things.
None are shut out from gospel offers and invitations, but those who obstinately and wickedly shut themselves out. But the request is to all believers, and only to them.
It is to the weak as well as to the strong. Those who have received the doctrine of this common salvation, must contend for it, earnestly, not furiously.
V 4 Lying for the truth is bad; scolding for it is not better.
Those who have received the truth must contend for it, as the apostles did; by suffering with patience and courage for it, not by making others suffer if they will not embrace every notion, we call faith, or important to life.
We ought to contend earnestly for the faith, in opposition to those who would corrupt or deprave it;
who creep in unawares; who glide in like serpents. And those are the worst of the ungodly,
they take encouragement to sin boldly, because the grace of God has abounded, and still abounds so wonderfully, and who are hardened by the extent and fulness of gospel grace, the design of which is to deliver men from sin, and bring them unto God.
V 5-7 Tells us, Outward privileges, profession, and apparent conversion, could not secure those from the vengeance of God, who turned aside in unbelief and disobedience.
V 5 The destruction of the unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness, shows that none ought to presume on their privileges. They had miracles as their daily bread; yet even they perished in unbelief.
V 6 A great number of the angels were not pleased with the stations God allotted to them; pride was the main and direct cause or occasion of their fall. The fallen angels are kept unto the judgment of the great day; and fallen men will not escape it?
V 7 Consider this as things go on.
The destruction of Sodom is a loud warning to all, to take heed of, and flee from fleshly lusts that war against the soul, 1Peter 2:11.
God is the same,…. holy, just, pure Being now, as then. Stand in awe, therefore, and sin not, Psalm 4:4.
Don’t rest in anything that does not make the soul subject to the obedience of Christ; for nothing but the renewal of our souls to the Divine image by the Holy Spirit, can keep us from being destroyed among the enemies of God.
Ponder this instance of the angels, and see that no dignity or worth of the creature is of any benefit.
How then should man tremble, who drinketh iniquity like water! Job 15:16|.
V 8 These teachers are of a disturbed mind and a rebellious spirit; forgetting that the powers that be, are ordained of God, Romans 13:1|.
V 9 As to the contest about the body of Moses, it appears that Satan wished to make the place of his burial known to the Israelites, in order to tempt them to worship him, but he was prevented, and vented his rage in desperate blasphemy.
This should remind all who dispute, never to bring railing charges.
Also learn, that we ought to defend those whom God owns.
It is hard, if not impossible, to find any enemies to the Christian religion, who did not, and do not, live in open or secret contradiction to the principles of natural religion.
V 10 These here are compared to brute beasts, though they often boast of themselves as the wisest of mankind. They corrupt themselves in the things most open and plain.
The fault lies, not in their understandings, but in their depraved wills, and their disordered appetites and affections.
.
News from the Church New dates
June 4th…..Friendship Group, (this covers all ages and the lonely people)
18th June…. Knit and natter is a time to finish old projects or learn new skills
ANSWERS TO 25th May QUESTIONS
1) On the road from Jerusalem to Jericho 2) Nazareth 3)Damascus 4) Joppa 5) Jericho 6) Samaria 7) Troas 8) Emmaus 9) The Mount of Olives 10) Rome 11) Macedonia 12)Ephesus 13) Ethiopia 14) Calvary or Golgotha 15) Meleta or Malta 16) Lystra
Bible Quiz this week’s Quiz is the NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS
1 Which book tells of the visit of the Wise Men?
2 What is the first book of the New Testament?
3 Which book is next to the last?
4 What is the book of History in the New Testament?
5 Which writer wrote most of the New Testament books?
6 What are the 4 Gospels?
7 How many books did Peter write?
8 Which is the book of prophecy in the New Testament?
9 Who wrote the book of Acts?
10 Who wrote the book of Revelation?
11 Can you name one Church which Paul wrote two letters too?
12 Which book tells about the beginning of the Church?
13 In which book do the Angels tell the Shepherds about Jesus?
14 What is another word for Epistle?
15 Which 2 New Testament books did Luke write?
16 Which book tells us of the river of life flowing through Heaven?
God Bless