Lesson No. 63—Consecutive Bible study is one of our best blessings

LESSON THEME:—JUDE

Jude 1:1-4.

• KEY WORD—”ASSURANCE.”

• KEY VERSE—Jude 1:3, Last Clause.

• KEY PHRASE—”EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH.”

Home Readings.

Notice how much Jude is like Second Peter. They both had the same evils with which to contend.

For family altar read:—

• Sunday—Contend earnestly for the faith,—Jude 1:1-7.

• Monday—False teachers and their doom,—Jude 1:8-16.

• Tuesday—Build, pray keep, look,—Jude 1:17-25.

• Wednesday—God will not spare false prophets, 2 Peter 2:1-8.

• Thursday—Wrong doing shall receive its reward,—2 Peter 2:9-16.

• Friday—Unsaved professors will get entangled with the world again. 2 Peter 2:1-22.

• Saturday—There will be scoffers, 2Peter 3:1-9.

WRITER—Jude or Judas, the brother of the Lord and of James, who wrote the epistle that bears his name, Mark 6:3. Neither James nor Jude hint at their relationship to Jesus, their unaffected humility kept them silent.

TO WHOM WRITTEN—It is called a general epistle because it is not addressed to any particular person or church but to Christians in general.

DATE and PLACE—It was written in Palestine, probably after 2 Peter, about 68 A. D.

OCCASION—Jude had heard, likely from a traveling evangelist, of the serious spiritual dangers that were besetting some of his fellow believers.

PURPOSE—To exhort Christians to earnestly contend for the faith.

GREAT FACTS:—

1. Contend.

2. Examples.

3. Build.

Great Fact I. Contend Earnestly for the Faith.

Jude 1:1-4.

Jude, while writing about our common salvation, was impelled to urge the “Beloved of God the Father” to tight in defence of the Faith that has once for all been entrusted to the saints. For there had crept in stealthily among them certain godless people, who had made the mercy of God an excuse for vicious living, and disowned our only Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

LESSON—

1. The Faith referred to is that body of gospel and church truth contained in the scriptures.

2. The Faith was delivered by God and not discovered by man.

3. The Faith was delivered “once for all.” No other faith will ever be given. Although the truth may be stated in new terms, no new doctrines are to be added to the present body of truth.

4. We may contend for the faith by maintaining that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God, 2 Timothy 3:16; and by shaping all our religious beliefs and practices strictly according to its holy teachings.

Great Fact II. Examples of Divine Vengeance.

Jude 1:5-19.

Jude here gives three examples of God’s punishment of collective wickedness:—

1. He destroyed the Israelites whom He had delivered from Egypt, because they refused to believe in Him.

2. The angels who kept not their first state of holiness. He Is keeping under guard in the spirit-land of darkness for the great Day of Judgement.

3. Sodom and Gomorrah, who gave themselves up to foul sensuality, are undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

In spite of these solemn examples there are troublers of the churches who despise authority, and sneer at sacred things of which they know nothing, all because they themselves are corrupt.

They are like three wicked men of old who called forth divine vengeance. Like Cain, who rejected redemption by blood, like Balaam, who was a hireling prophet, anxious only to make money. Like Koran, who took honours unto himself by intruding upon the priest’s office.

These present evil men are selfish, empty, fruitless and Godless, ever complaining of their lot, and ever flattering men for the sake of what they can get out 01 them. We should not, however, be surprised at finding such men, for the apostle’ foretold us they would come.

LESSONS—

1. Every Christian ought to know the Bible in order to know how God deals with men. We should often reread it and not trust to memory, for memory is often “like a sieve which holds the bran and lets flour go.”

2. God deals first in mercy but afterwards in judgement. The world, like the wilderness of old, is strewn with the graves of those who were offered high privileges, but who turned their backs upon God’s mercies and became their own worst enemies.

3. God will not spare sinners, whether in low or high places, for He spared not the angels, but as soon as they developed an evil nature He saw they were not fit for the holiness and joys of heaven, and cast them out. “It is hard to be high and not high minded!”

4. Troublers of the churches are like dreamers. They live in an unreal world and have no true idea of the serious nature of sin. They are insensible to all the warnings of coming judgement. They are unconscious of the dangers that threaten their immortal souls.

Great Fact III. Build Up Our Own Spiritual Lives.

Jude 1:20-25.

If others will be unspiritual, yet we should build up our characters on the foundation of our most holy faith, praying under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and keeping within the love of God, while waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring us into the eternal state. To those who are in doubt, show piety and save them from the fire. To others show pity, but with caution, hating the very clothing polluted by their touch.

Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to bring you into His glorious presence, blameless and rejoicing, to the only God, our Saviour, be glory, majesty dominion and power as it was before time began is now, and ever shall be for all time to come, Amen.

LESSONS—Having laid well our foundation in gospel faith, we must build upon it, or be ever making progress in spiritual things. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Grow in grace.” We can build ourselves no by:—

1. Praying in the Holy Spirit. He make our prayers fervent, for cold prayers ask the Lord not to hear them. He makes them loving because all prayers should be perfumed by love to our fellowmen and to Christ. He makes them believing, for a man prevails only as he has faith.

2. Keeping ourselves in the love of God. This will keep our own love deeply stirred, and keep us from error and worldliness.

3. Waiting for the Lord’s mercy. The blessed hope of final happiness and reward will make us faithful in the discharge of all our duties, and patient in bearing our trials.

Questions on the Lesson.

1. Give key word and key verse.

2. Tell about the writer.

3. What the date and place of writing?

4. To whom was it written?

5. What the occasion?

6. What the purpose?

7. Name the great facts.

8. What the meaning here of the word Faith?

9. Who gave us the faith?

10. Will any new faith be given?

11. How may we contend for it?

12. Give the three examples of collective wickedness.

13. What were the troublers of the churches doing?

14. What three wicked men were they like?

15. Give the sin of these three men.

16. What ought every Christian know?

17. In what does God first deal?

18. Show that God will not spare sinners.

19. How are the troublers of the church-as like dreamers?

20. In what three ways may we build characters?

21. What the advantage of praying in the Holy Spirit?

22. What the advantage of keeping in the love of God?

23. What the advantage of waiting for the Lord?