seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
Here's the link to the commentary I use.A bondservant of Jesus Christ: Jude was a blood relative of Jesus, but he considered himself only as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. The fact that he wanted himself to be known this way instead of introducing himself as “Jude, the half-brother of Jesus” tells us something of the humility of Jude and the relative unimportance of being connected to Jesus by human relationships.
To those who are called: Jude wrote to Christians. This is not an evangelistic tract and it deals with things that believers need to hear, but often don’t want to.
Certain men have crept in unnoticed: In part, this is what makes them so dangerous — they are unnoticed. No one noticed that they were dangerous. They didn’t wear a “Danger: False Teacher” name tag. These certain men probably claimed to be more Biblical than anybody else was.
Greedily in the error of Balaam for profit: The greedy error of Balaam was that he was willing to compromise everything for money. The certain men Jude warned about had the same heart.
Spots in your love feasts: The early Christians often met for a common meal, something like a potluck dinner. They called these meals love feasts, or “Agape Feasts.” When these certain men came, they were serving only themselves. They ate greedily at the love feasts while others went hungry.
This Book is only one chapter long. It's one letter. A Baptist Preacher in Kissimmee, Florida used this book to "set me free". These first 16 verses set the tone for my escape. The preacher told me the church would stand by me... but I had to leave my [ex] husband behind. He was not a Christian and it was becoming clear to everyone, including the preacher at my church, that I had to leave.
This letter from Jude blatantly shows that not all the preachers have a clue. Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade and realize that not every marriage was made in Heaven, even if it was performed by a preacher in a church.
This preacher accepted the fact that not all humans would become Christians. This preacher accepted the fact that no matter how long I stayed in the home, not matter how hard I worked to show my Christian attitude, my ex was not going to "come to Christ". This preacher used this Book to "set me free".
I was given permission to leave my ex after my ex mocked the church during a revival. When the preacher made the call... My ex ran up front and made a real spectacle of himself. That's when the good preacher decided my marriage could be dissolved. No matter how long I tried to be a great example of a good Christian woman and mother.... this man had to go.
I was a Sunday School Teacher in the church. What if the rest of the congregation found out I was married to a man of Sodom? Yep... I'm saying he was of Sodom... to be nice. This would be an embarrassment for the church. I was no longer required to "stay and pray". I was told I could leave the marriage. In order to leave the marriage, I had to take my three babies [the youngest was 3 months old] and get out of town.
Of course, with me safely out of town, I wouldn't embarrass the church anymore. No church wanted me and my kids of this husband. I could get out of my marriage. It was the "right" thing to do.
Did this book "set me free" or did the preacher just rid himself of an embarrassment?
Was it the "right thing to do"?
