{"id":26091,"date":"2023-04-28T22:00:15","date_gmt":"2023-04-29T05:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-66_1-24-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-04-18T11:47:57","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T18:47:57","slug":"jude-1_1-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/jude-1_1-7\/","title":{"rendered":"You Are Called, Loved and Kept"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jude 1:1-7\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today we begin the book of\u00a0Jude, one of the shortest books in the Bible, written by a Christian called\u00a0Jude\u00a0to Jewish Christians probably between 67 AD and 80 AD.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is\u00a0Jude\u00a01:1-7.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Jude\u00a01:1-2 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-2:\u00a0 Who is\u00a0Jude?\u00a0 The fact that\u00a0Jude\u00a0calls himself \u201ca servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James\u201d (v1) suggests to scholars that\u00a0Jude\u00a0had a very unique background:\u00a0Jude\u00a0was Jesus\u2019 half-brother.\u00a0 In other words, after the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, Mary and her husband Joseph had natural children of their own, including\u00a0Jude\u00a0and James.\u00a0 Imagine growing up with Jesus as your older brother!\u00a0 Although\u00a0Jude\u00a0grew up with Jesus,\u00a0Jude\u00a0and his siblings at first did not believe that their brother was actually the Son of God (John 7:4-5).\u00a0 It was not until Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his followers and family that\u00a0Jude\u00a0believed Jesus to be who He claimed to be.\u00a0 It is likely for this reason that\u00a0Jude\u00a0humbly refers to himself as only a \u201cservant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James\u201d, instead of as \u201cJesus\u2019 half-brother\u201d.<\/p>\n

Also, take note of how\u00a0Jude\u00a0addresses the Christians reading his letter.\u00a0 He says, \u201cTo those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ\u201d (v1).\u00a0 If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then that description applies to you too.\u00a0\u00a0You are called, loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jude\u00a01:3-4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 3-4:\u00a0 Originally\u00a0Jude\u2019s plan was to instruct his readers about the salvation we have in Jesus (v3).\u00a0 However, because false teachers had started to influence the Christians in\u00a0Jude\u2019s day,\u00a0Jude\u00a0felt it was more urgent for him to warn his readers about these false teachers.\u00a0 Though we don\u2019t know the names of these false teachers, we have an idea about what they were teaching.\u00a0 They were teaching that since God\u2019s love is unconditional it meant that people could do whatever they want, including continuing to sin.\u00a0 As\u00a0Jude\u00a0says, they \u201cchange the grace of our God into a license for immorality\u201d (v4).\u00a0 These false teachers also denied the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Sovereign and Lord (v4), possibly claiming that other gods and faiths were just as good as Jesus.\u00a0 For this reason\u00a0Jude\u00a0calls these false teachers \u201cgodless men\u201d (v4).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s grace was never meant to be a licence for immorality.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think \u201csince God already accepts me I can just sin whenever and however much I want\u201d.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Those who think in this way misunderstand God\u2019s grace.\u00a0\u00a0 They fail to see that God saved us from our sins by sacrificing His Son so that we would be forgiven and not continue to sin, so that we could know a new life in Christ.\u00a0 If I intentionally go back to sinning persistently in the way I used to, it suggests that there is major room in my life that God has yet to change or take over.\u00a0 Even worse, when taken to an extreme, it might even be proof that I don\u2019t really believe Jesus\u2019 gospel at all.<\/p>\n

Jude\u00a01:5-7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home–these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-7:\u00a0 In verse 5\u00a0Jude\u00a0references the Lord delivering His people from slavery in Egypt, as described in the first five books of the Old Testament, and how some of the people later forgot about Him and were destroyed.\u00a0\u00a0Jude\u00a0suggests that\u00a0even if you have seen God perform great miracles, it is no good if later you forget or reject God\u2019s saving work and stop trusting in Him<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In verse 6,\u00a0Jude\u00a0speaks about angel leaders who rebelled against God and how they were ousted out of heaven and sentenced to hell.<\/p>\n

In verse 7, \u00a0Jude\u00a0speaks about Sodom and Gomorrah, two towns that were destroyed completely because of their sin (Genesis 19).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this? \u00a0There are real consequences for our sin.\u00a0 Hell is real.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 As Romans 3:23 says, \u201cFor the wages of sin is death\u201d, death meaning complete and eternal separation from God.\u00a0Fortunately for us, Jesus took on those consequences for us when He died on the cross, sacrificing His life in place of ours.<\/strong>\u00a0 If we do not go to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, there is no other way for us to be forgiven.\u00a0 As Jesus says,\u00a0\u00a0\u201cif you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.\u201d (John 8:24)<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for taking on the punishment for my sins when You died on the cross.\u00a0 May I never take Your grace for granted, or treat it as a licence to keep on sinning.\u00a0 Thank You that I am called, loved and kept by You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today we begin the book of\u00a0Jude, one of the shortest books in the Bible, written by a Christian called\u00a0Jude\u00a0to Jewish Christians probably between 67 AD and 80 AD.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is\u00a0Jude\u00a01:1-7.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Jude\u00a01:1-2 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-2:\u00a0 Who is\u00a0Jude?\u00a0 The fact that\u00a0Jude\u00a0calls himself \u201ca servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James\u201d (v1) suggests to scholars that\u00a0Jude\u00a0had a very unique background:\u00a0Jude\u00a0was Jesus\u2019 half-brother.\u00a0 In other words, after the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, Mary and her husband Joseph had natural children of their own, including\u00a0Jude\u00a0and James.\u00a0 Imagine growing up with Jesus as your older brother!\u00a0 Although\u00a0Jude\u00a0grew up with Jesus,\u00a0Jude\u00a0and his siblings at first did not believe that their brother was actually the Son of God (John 7:4-5).\u00a0 It was not until Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his followers and family that\u00a0Jude\u00a0believed Jesus to be who He claimed to be.\u00a0 It is likely for this reason that\u00a0Jude\u00a0humbly refers to himself as only a \u201cservant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James\u201d, instead of as \u201cJesus\u2019 half-brother\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26091"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26097,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26091\/revisions\/26097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}