Why is the Jewish tone of the epistle of Jude significant? I’ve written two blog posts about this topic (see here and here) to accomplish a couple of things. First, I wanted to establish that Jude’s letter does indeed have a Jewish slant to it. Most likely he wrote to Jewish Christians who were familiar with the Scriptures and Jewish religious traditions.
Second, Jewish aberrations of the gospel in the New Testament are usually legalistic. Proponents of this type of theology, called “Judaizers,” stress the need for those who believe in Jesus to conform to the dictates of the Mosaic Law. To be saved, one must keep the rules and regulations laid out in the Torah. Doing so will help Christians avoid the sins that pervade society. Those who obey the Law of Moses won’t worship idols, practice theft or lying, or live solely for themselves.
But what I’ve found odd is that the heresy Jude and Peter confront in their letters reflects the beliefs and behaviors of Gentiles more than Jews. Like I’ve said, I can understand why Peter, writing to Gentile Christians, would oppose it. But most Jews wouldn’t have been tempted to buy into what the heretics were teaching. So why was Jude concerned about the impact it might have on the spiritual welfare of Jewish Christians?
The apostle lets us know early in his letter.
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 that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. – Jude 3-4
Some key words and phrases jump out at us: salvation, the faith, grace, and the denial of Jesus Christ. Jude wanted to dig into and celebrate the redeemed status we have through the Lord. This epistle could have been a recital of all that Jesus did for us, but circumstances forced him to rally Christians to the defense of the gospel.
The heretics were corrupting the good news, but they were doing so in ways that were the opposite of the Judaizers challenged elsewhere in the New Testament (particularly by Paul).
Jude lays two charges against the false teachers: they transform God’s grace and they deny Jesus.
Instead of minimizing the grace of God, as many of the Judaizers did, these heretics treated it as a license for selfishness. The verb translated “pervert” (metatithemi) means to transpose, transfer, or change. It can also mean to pass over or fall away.
Paul uses the same word when he confronts the Galatians about their adoption of the Judaizing error.
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” – Galatians 1:6
The Galatian Christians were in danger of adopting a legalistic version of the faith. Jude’s churches were at risk of embracing a libertine one. Opposite heresies but the same goal: distance disciples from Jesus Christ. Diminish the person and work of the Savior. Degrade grace.
That’s not the faith once and for all given to God’s people!
The heretics were correct to stress the value and importance of grace in the life of a believer. But they perverted the Lord’s mercy and kindness into an excuse or justification for sinfulness.
Why would this teaching tempt Jewish Christians? Because if they took the gospel seriously, they might conclude that the good news dismisses any need for spiritual discipline. What the Law of Moses describes, a life dedicated to God and pleasing to Him, the gospel provides.
Grace is not permission to sin up a storm! It’s not God’s approval of our base impulses. The gospel doesn’t work that way!
The life Jesus calls us to is one based on God’s grace. By His Spirit, He makes us into the people He wants us to be. The gospel doesn’t lower God’s standards for His people; instead, it elevates us by giving us the capacity to live like Christ.
The Jewish Christians receiving Jude’s letter were trained by the upbringing to respect the Lord and honor Him by living a righteous life. When they heard the gospel, they learned that Christ fulfills the demands of the Law and enables them to live as God had intended.
The gospel Jesus offers us the grace of God which invites us to a new life and empowers us to fulfill it.
By contrast, the gospel the heretics were espousing threw out any notion of God’s righteous requirements. In doing so, these false teachers had to contradict what Christ taught and modeled. In other words, they denied His authority. They’d feign respect for Jesus, but by what they said and what they did, these heretics rebelled against the Son of God.
In the end, all they had was a message of pleasure-seeking. And that’s not much of a gospel!
Jude counters this heresy by reminding Christians of the exalted status of Jesus as their Master and Ruler. He doesn’t advocate them returning to the Law of Moses. That would be one way of fighting fleshly desires, but it’s not the way of the gospel.
Rather, Jude points believers to Christ. He makes demands, the gospel challenges us, but it’s only in loyalty to the Lord that we find true fulfillment.
There’s nothing wrong with discipline in itself, but removed from God’s grace, it becomes a burden none of us can bear. But we needn’t quit the battle. The gospel is worth fighting for, the Christian life is worth striving for.
Jesus is God’s gracious gift to us. Let’s always treasure Him!
