Jude 1:178-19 - Remember Who Spoke the Word

Today, Friday November 19 “Remember Who Spoke the Word” Jude 1:17-19 “But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” In these verses Jude gives us four things to think about as we respond to the false teachers even in our day! We are to remember God’s Word (Vs. 17-19). We are to build up our Christian life (Vs. 20-21). We need to exercise spiritual discernment (Vs. 22-23). And we need to commit ourselves to Jesus Christ (Vs. 24-25). We should always remember God's Word: “Remember the words….” (Jude 17-19).  And Jude reminded the believers of the apostles who gave them this word of warning about the false teachers. While our Lord had many disciples, He selected only a few to be apostles. The word means "one who is sent with a commission." In order to qualify, a believer had to be a witness of the resurrection of Christ (Acts 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 9:1). The Apostles lived with Christ during His ministry, learned from Him, and were sent by Him into all the world to carry the Good News of salvation. Wherever there is the authentic, the counterfeit will appear; this happened in the early church. False apostles and teachers began to appear, and it was necessary to develop a system to protect the church against false prophecies and forged letters. Since Christ had committed "the faith" (Jude 3) to His Apostles, one of the main tests in the early church was, "Is this what the Apostles taught?" When the church assembled the New Testament books, it was required that each book be written either by an apostle or by someone closely associated with an apostle. Apostolic teaching was, and still is, the test of truth. Jude mentioned the words that were "spoken" by the Apostles, because originally there were no New Testament epistles. Over the years, inspired letters were written by Paul, Peter, and John; we have these letters in our New Testament. We also have a record of some of their sermons in the Book of Acts. Today, we no longer depend on tradition since we have the completed Scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New. Whenever somebody offers you a "new revelation," test it by what the Apostles wrote and by what Jesus Christ taught. You will soon discover that the "revelation" is a lie. Jude wanted his readers to also remember what they said (v. 18). They prophesied that, in these last days, mockers would come who would deny the Word of God. Jude echoed what Peter had written (2 Peter 3:3), but Paul and John also warned their readers about the apostates (1 Tim. 4; 2 Tim. 3; 1 John 2:18; 4:1-6). When a warning is given so many times, we would be wise to take it seriously! The phrase "walk according to their own ungodly lusts" appears in 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 16 and 18, and it explains why the apostates deny God's truth: they do not want God to tell them how to live. They want to satisfy their own sinful desires, and the Word of God condemns their selfish way of life. When a person says, "I have intellectual problems with the Bible," he probably has moral problems because the Bible contradicts what he is doing. The only sure way to know the truth of the Bible is by obeying it (John 7:17). Years ago I wrote in the front of my Bible: “This Book will keep me from sin, or sin will keep me from this Book!”  Today, thank the Lord for the complete Bible that we have so much access to! God bless!