Jude was so concerned for the
church that he felt the urgency to warn the church to avoid two groups of
people: (1) those who promoted licentiousness; and (2) those who renounced the
faith. Jude first cited three Old Testament cases of those who fell away from
God. Then went on to talk about the danger they were presently encountering.
In verse 5, to support what he was
saying, he showed the mistake of those Israelites who came out of Egypt. So
serious was the error of some of those Israelites that they were destroyed in
the wilderness. Why? They failed to continue in their belief and doubted the
power and promises of God. In verse 6, he went on to illustrate with the case
of rebellious angels. They were
placed in a privileged position prior to their fall. These angels were near to
God and were serving Him. However, they abandoned the opportunity to serve God.
Hence, they were kept in the bondage of darkness for the Judgment Day. Jude
wanted the believers to know that just like the fallen angels, the apostates
had also abandoned their position of great privilege and blessings. In so
doing, they forfeited the opportunity to serve and glorify God.
In verse 7, Jude referred to the
examples of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities surrounding them. In bringing up
the examples of these wicked cities, Jude was showing the fact that God would
judge those who practice immorality and sexual perversion. Jude was dealing
with what was common practice in his days. Those false teachers evidently felt
liberated to practice promiscuity. Just as God used the fire to burn up the
wicked cities, God would use the same instrument to deal with those who were
consumed in such activities. Only this time, the judgment would be for all
eternity.
We
must walk gingerly before our Lord. Christ had secured our salvation and we
must not squander it through wanton unbelief and disobedience. We must not
trample the privilege of the grace we are so freely given. These examples show
us that we need to be responsible followers of Christ. And that’s what we must
continue to
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