Letter of Jude
We went through several books in the New Testament. We started with the prison letters of Paul, and we finished those. We also included the letter to Philemon, which Paul wrote while he was in prison. He continued all of that so that we can understand each book is written to encourage and empower believers who were being persecuted at that time for their faith. It is still applicable to us today.
When we came to the letters of Peter, we talked about several things, including the scoffers and the people who were teaching wrong doctrines. Peter mentioned some things about them and asked the congregations and the people not to follow them. But Jude is a little more sharp in his criticism of these scoffers and false teachers. He’s very direct—calling them clouds without water, and we'll come to that. He even uses strong language and name-calling in that letter to confront the bad teachers of his time.
There is so much similarity between 2 Peter, especially chapter 2, and the letter of Jude. Some scholars say that they talked to each other or that one read the other’s letter. Either way, there are clear similarities. Both letters tell the people of faith at that time to be very careful and cautious about false teachers and wrong doctrines.
We talked about Peter’s letter last week—that people were saying things like, “Hey, Jesus said he’s going to come again, but it has been hundreds of years and we haven’t seen him.” Now here we are, nearly two thousand years later, and still haven’t seen Him come again. So, people were getting anxious and doubtful. Some even twisted the Scriptures, saying, “These are all figurative. Don’t take them literally.” Some claimed that the Second Coming was only theological and not something that would really happen.
Just like Peter, Jude was also upset about what was happening in the church. When he writes his letter, he introduces himself by saying he is a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. That’s how he addresses the congregation: “To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept in Jesus Christ: May peace and love be yours in abundance.” He doesn’t say he is Jesus’ stepbrother, though he could have. He just says he's a servant of Christ and the brother of James.
Now, which James is this? That’s what we wanted to look at. There are several men named James in the Bible. Interestingly, the name “James” only exists in the English language. In Greek and Hebrew, it’s actually Jacob. Somewhere along the way, the English translators turned Jacob into James, possibly due to Latin influence. In many other languages—Malayalam, Greek, Syriac—there’s no James. It’s Jacob.
So, Jude calls himself a servant of Christ and the brother of James. Many scholars have studied this James and found that this isn’t James the brother of John (the sons of Zebedee who were part of the twelve apostles and who went up the mountain during the transfiguration). No, this is a different James.
Historians say that Jude and James became leaders in the early church, and that these two were also stepbrothers of Jesus. Jesus had a stepbrother called James (Jacob in Hebrew), and technically, Jude and James were family—possibly children of Mary and Joseph, while Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit.
Interestingly, none of Jesus' family members believed in Him during His lifetime—except maybe Mary and Joseph. But after the resurrection, all of them became part of the Gospel mission. James and Jude started preaching after His resurrection, even though they didn’t believe while He was alive.
So yes, Jude and James were stepbrothers of Jesus. But notice how humble Jude is—he doesn’t say, “I’m Jesus’ brother.” He says, “I’m a servant of Jesus Christ.” That’s a powerful reminder that in the kingdom of God, we are all brothers, but our role is to serve Jesus and spread His love in this world.
When Jude calls himself a servant, he’s not saying he’s a slave. He’s saying that serving God means serving the people around us with love. That’s the most important thing in Christianity. As we study the book of Jude, we understand the history of its author. But more importantly, we look at why Jude wrote the letter. He says: “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.”
Jude was planning to write a letter about salvation—about Jesus and how to be saved. But when he heard the news from Peter, or read Peter’s letter, or heard about the false teachers infiltrating the church, he changed the subject of his letter. Instead, he focused on defending the faith against false doctrines.
He tells the people—just like Peter—to stand firm and contend for the faith. This is still relevant to us today. We live in a confusing world, filled with false teachers and deceptive doctrines. Jude calls believers to remain faithful, stand strong, and trust God's power even in the face of spiritual compromise.
You may have seen the news last week. One branch of the Lutheran church in America (not all, but one very liberal group, similar to what happened in the United Methodist Church) made a proclamation. They released a list of Bible verses that should no longer be preached in church. Why? Because those verses were considered "male-dominated" and "outdated"—not relevant to today.
But if we start removing verses we don’t like, where do we stop? If we don’t believe the Bible is God-breathed, then we can just pick and choose. That’s false doctrine. My mom used to say:
“If you remove Genesis because you don’t believe God created the world, then what’s next?”
Some people claim the miracles in Exodus didn’t really happen—that the manna from heaven was figurative. So they take out Exodus. Then they come to Revelation and call that symbolic too. What's left? Just the cover of your Bible. That’s the danger of false teaching: people accommodate what they want, and throw out the rest. But God gave us all of Scripture, not just the parts we like.
We must defend the whole Bible as the Word of God, breathed by Him—not based on our circumstances or preferences.
We need to defend our faith. Why? Because it is a precious faith—God paid a huge price for it. Even though salvation is a free gift, it came at the cost of Jesus Christ’s life on the cross. So we must be willing to stand firm for it.
People are still getting persecuted and even killed for the Gospel. Just look at recent events. You may have heard about Charlie Kirk. He was targeted because of his boldness in preaching the truth. But this isn’t just about one person—many believers around the world are being tortured, jailed, or killed for standing up for the faith.
Jude tells us to contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. This faith is not new. It’s the same truth given through Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Some people say the Gospel is too old. That’s true—it is! Billy Graham once preached in a very liberal city, and the city council sent him a letter saying, “Don’t come. Your message will set our city back 50 years.” You know what Billy Graham replied? “I apologize—I didn’t mean to set you back 50 years. I meant to set you back 2,000 years.” That’s the Gospel. The same, old, unchanging truth. You hear it from me every Sunday in different forms—but it's the same Gospel. God’s Word never changes.
The need to defend our faith arises because modern liberal doctrines have infiltrated the church. One major reason we disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church is because we stand on the doctrine that marriage is between a man and a woman—period. Scripture is clear on this. Saying “marriage is between two people” may sound similar, but it’s a distortion of truth. Why be afraid to speak the truth?
Jude is challenging us to stand firm. The Bible says God created us male and female—nothing else. You can add ABCDEFG+, but the Bible says what it says.
The biggest threats aren’t always outside the church. They’re within. Many Christian universities—like Emory, Duke, Vanderbilt, even Harvard and Yale—started as seminaries to teach the Bible. But now? You can't preach the Bible as it is in many of them. Liberal seminaries are graduating preachers every year who don’t believe in the full authority of Scripture, and they are appointed to churches. That’s the biggest challenge we face. That’s why Paul and Jude both say: “Fight the good fight of faith.” This isn’t just about personal temptation or trials. It’s about defending what we believe. False teachers will say, “God wants you to be rich, healthy, and happy.” That sounds good, and it’s partly true. But that’s not the whole Gospel.
We are spiritual beings, not just physical. Preaching only prosperity and ignoring repentance, truth, and obedience is false doctrine. This is apostasy—a denial of Scripture as the true Word of God. Apostasy has plagued the church, not just individual churches, but the church at large. Truth matters. Scripture was given by God to bless not just Christians, but the whole world.
Jude talks about Sodom and Gomorrah (v.7). Those cities gave themselves to sexual immorality and perversion. Because they didn’t want to obey God, they became cursed, and God destroyed them. They are now an example of judgment. He also references Cain, who killed his brother out of jealousy. Then Balaam, who helped infiltrate the Jewish faith by encouraging interfaith marriage and corruption. Then Korah, who rebelled against Moses. Jude uses these examples to warn the people. He calls these false teachers: Clouds without rain, Autumn trees without fruit, Wandering stars, Wild waves of the sea.
He says they are busy doing nothing, and only create chaos. Like waves—always moving, doing nothing productive. Like wandering stars—off-course and destructive.
Jude also mentions Enoch, who prophesied the coming of the Lord to judge everyone. He mentions Noah and others who were faithful in the face of unbelief. Like Peter, Jude calls these deceivers scoffers—those who mock, twist, and divide.
So how do we recognize false teachers? They’re usually self-centered and money-minded. That’s what the prosperity gospel promotes. Come to church, and you’ll get rich! That’s not biblical.
We don’t follow Christ to get prosperity—we follow Him because He is God.
Finally, Jude closes his letter with a powerful doxology: “To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Amen.”
Even though we must defend our faith, it’s not about arguing or fighting, but about loving others and sharing the truth with grace. This faith isn’t about us—it’s about God. We come to church for Him, not for ourselves.
We’ll continue our study in the book of James, written by the same James that Jude calls his brother.
I believe it’s important—we need to learn and defend our faith in these times. Persecution will not kill the Gospel. It didn’t before, and it won’t now. All the apostles were martyred, but the Gospel spread even more.
So, people of God: Stand firm in your faith. Be strong in the Word. Be ready to lovingly explain the truth. There are false teachers around us—but God’s truth still stands.
May the good Lord bless us as we go from this place to stand strong for the faith—the precious faith that God has given us. Hold on to it until the end.
Amen.
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