Grace Institute: General Epistles & Revelation: Jude

Jude Survey of the New Testament: General Epistles & Revelation Winter 2007

Peter writes this letter to encourage suffering believers to rely and hope on God's grace. Suffering, hope, and salvation are some of the themes of 1 st Peter.

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• Jude (Feburary 21, 2007 - Part 3)

Notes

Author: The beginning of this letter states “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.” Which Jude is meant? Is this Jude the brother of Jesus or some other Jude? The external evidence is quite good and includes Clement of Rome (95 A.D.) and the Shepherd of Hermas (125 A.D.). Critics contend that the name Jude was attached to the letter to give it more credibility. However, this works against the premise because Jude was not well known.

Date: Typically scholars seldom agree on such issues and this is the case for Jude. Dates have been proposed ranging from 40 to 90 A.D. I believe all the epistles were written before 70 A.D. because the destruction of Jerusalem is painfully absent. Some of the phrases in this letter will lead one to conclude that most of the apostles have died. This places the date sometime between 66 and 70 A.D.

Purpose: It seems that Jude wanted to encourage his readers to keep the faith. As news of the deaths of Peter and Paul became known, the Gentile churches would need encouragement. However, a more pressing issue came to the surface. False teachers have infiltrated the church and Jude exhorts them to hold to the truth.

OUTLINE

  I. Salutation (vv. 1-2)

II. Warnings concerning Apostates (vv. 3-4)

Ill. Warnings concerning the Peril of Apostasy (vv. 5-16)

A. Examples of apostates in the past (vv. 5-7)

1. Egypt(v.5)

2. Angels (v. 6)

3. Sodom and Gornorrah (v. 7)

B. Actions of apostates in the present (vv. 8-16)

1. Rejecting authority (vv. 8-10)

2. Walking in error (v. 11)

3. Leading falsely (vv. 12-13)

4. Pleasing self (vv. 14-16)

IV. Guidelines for Avoiding Apostasy (vv. 17-23)

A. Remembering the teaching of the apostles (vv. 17-19)

B. Nurturing themselves (vv. 20-2 1)

C. Being merciful to others (vv. 22-23)

V. Victory over Apostasy (vv. 24-25)