https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH-CPVTXy1E
Jude
Jude, brother of James, half-brother of Jesus, admonishes believers to contend for the faith delivered, once for all. That faith speaks of the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles, what they taught, and what was recorded at the direction of the Holy Spirit, by the Apostles and prophets, and preserved in our New Testament.
That faith was being perverted by the Gnostics, who taught that the material world is evil, and that only the spirit is of importance. Some of the Gnostics were encouraging sexual immorality, saying it was pleasurable, and had no ability to defile the spiritual being.
Jude very explicitly demands revulsion toward the undergarments defiled by sexual immorality. Those listening to the Gnostics were headed for Hell, and needed rescue.
Jude
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
Greeting
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James:
To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James:
To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Jude’s Purpose in Writing
3 Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. 4 For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth;they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
3 Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. 4 For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth;they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
Apostates: Past and Present
5 Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe; 6 and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day. 7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones. 9 Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s errorfor profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
5 Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe; 6 and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day. 7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones. 9 Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s errorfor profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
The Apostates’ Doom
12 These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
14 It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.” 16 These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.
12 These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
14 It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.” 16 These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.
Exhortation and Benediction
20 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God,waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. 22 Have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever.
20 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God,waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. 22 Have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever.
Amen.
That faith, delivered once for all, has been perverted and become the object of derision by those who profess secular knowledge today. Europe has become post Christian, with rejection of the State connected churches, and development of secular humanist philosophies.
Rejection of state control of religion is a move in the right direction. Secular government has no business in directing me as to what I should believe. State mandated Secular Humanism, Communism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam are all against what is right. Individuals have the created right to determine for themselves what to believe. There should be no room for government coercion regards faith. Too many have been murdered in horrible fashion because their faith did not match the state mandated religion of their time and place. See Foxes book of Martyrs
Also the history of the Thirty Years War in Europe.
And the Hindus in India.
The Islamic Ottoman Empire massacre of Armenian Christians
Lest we forget, the Holocaust.
No! We do not want the State to control our faith: forcing people to confess that Mary is the Mother of God, and to believe that the bread and wine actually change to the literal body and blood of Jesus in communion, baptizing babies, making the King of England head of the Anglican Church, and so forth.
Or worse, to be forced to confess that Mohammad is a prophet of God, and that Islam is to be observed as the faith of a nation, upon the pain of death or taxes.
But being forced to observe Christianity or Islam may not be the worst outcome of State mandates regards what we should believe. What if a State abandons its moral foundations established by historical principles? What if a State tells its people to believe whatever they please?
Corruption always follows when any group of people decide to live as they please, according to their own feelings and compulsions. Even if they claim Christianity, the rulers of this world manage to corrupt and defile what is good, and to make things about power, control, and accumulation of wealth. The prosperity gospel messengers of our time peddle an odious garbage of good feelings and false miracles as they line their own pockets while promising material blessings to their charmed audience.
Nigeria, one of the poorest nations on earth, has many Christian Pastors who collect money from the poor. They claim miracle power and promise blessings to those who give them donations. They live in big houses, and one even owns a jet plane.
But at least Nigeria does not force people to follow these men. And Nigeria is fighting to prevent Islamic Militants from forcing their faith upon the people of Northern Nigeria. ISIS, having been forced out of Syria and Iraq, recently joined forces with Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria.
Why does the United Nations permit any nation to enforce a certain religious faith upon its people? It is past time for the world to unite for the purpose of granting personal religious freedom to all people of the earth. Faith is personal, and not to be enforced by the rulers of this world.
But faith matters. We that believe in Jesus are citizens of an eternal kingdom, and we are free to live at peace with all mankind, as much as possible. But we must speak the truth in love. We must contend earnestly for the faith, delivered once for all.
That faith proclaims that Jesus is our only hope for salvation.
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