Jude 1
1
Warnings About False Teachers
1From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.
To all who have been called by God. God the Father loves you, and you have been kept safe in Jesus Christ.
2All mercy, peace, and love be yours.
God Will Punish Sinners
3Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you about the salvation we all share together. But I felt the need to write to you about something else: I want to encourage you to fight hard for the faith that God gave his holy people. God gave this faith once, and it is good for all time. 4Some people have secretly entered your group. They have already been judged guilty for the things they are doing. Long ago the prophets wrote about these people. They are against God. They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way—to do sinful things. They refuse to accept Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
5I want to remind you of some things that you already know: Remember that the Lord# Some Greek copies read “Jesus.” saved his people by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. But later the Lord destroyed all those who did not believe. 6And remember the angels who had power but did not keep it. They left their own home. So the Lord has kept these angels in darkness. They are bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day. 7Also remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah# Two cities that God destroyed because the people were so evil. and the other towns around them. They acted as the angels who did not obey God. Their towns were full of sexual sin and men having physical relations with men. They suffer the punishment of eternal fire, as an example for all to see.
8It is the same with these people who have entered your group. They are guided by dreams. They make themselves dirty with sin. They reject God’s authority and say bad things against the glorious angels. 9Not even the archangel# The leader among God’s angels or messengers. Michael did this. He argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses. Michael did not dare to accuse the devil with insults. He said, “The Lord punish you.” 10But these people say bad things about what they do not understand. They do understand some things. But they understand them not by thinking, but by feeling, the way dumb animals understand things. And these are the very things that destroy them. 11It will be bad for them. They have followed the way that Cain went. To make money, they have given themselves to doing the wrong that Balaam did. They have fought against God as Korah did. And like Korah, they will be destroyed. 12They are like dirty spots in the special meals you share together. They eat with you and have no fear. They take care of only themselves. They are clouds without rain. The wind blows them around. They are trees that have no fruit when it is time and are pulled out of the ground. So they are dead two times. 13They are like wild waves in the sea. These people do shameful things in the same way waves make foam. They are like stars that wander in the sky. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them forever.
14Enoch, the seventh descendant from Adam, said this about these people: “Look, the Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy angels. 15The Lord will judge every person. He is coming to judge everyone and to punish all who are against God. He will punish them for all the evil they have done against him. And he will punish the sinners who are against God. He will punish them for all the evil things they have said against him.”
16These people always complain and blame others. They always do the evil things they want to do. They brag about themselves. The only reason they say good things about other people is to get what they want.
A Warning and Things to Do
17Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said before. 18They said to you, “In the last times there will be people who laugh about God. They will do only what they want to do—things that are against God.” 19These are the people who divide you. They do only what their sinful selves want. They do not have the Spirit.
20But dear friends, use your most holy faith to build yourselves up strong. Pray with the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God’s love. Wait for the Lord Jesus Christ with his mercy to give you life forever.
22Show mercy to people who have doubts. 23Save them. Take them out of the fire. Show mercy mixed with fear to others. Hate even their clothes which are dirty from sin.
Praise God
24God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and give you great joy. 25He is the only God. He is the One who saves us. To him be glory, greatness, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord for all time past, now, and forever. Amen.
Jude 1
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Jude 1
1
Greeting
1Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James.
To those who are called, loved by God the Father and kept safe by Jesus Christ.
2May you have more and more mercy, peace, and love.
Certain judgment of the false teachers
3Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you concerning the salvation we share. Instead, I must write to urge you to fight for the faith delivered once and for all to God’s holy people. 4Godless people have slipped in among you. They turn the grace of our God into unrestrained immorality and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Judgment was passed against them a long time ago.
5I want to remind you of something you already know very well. The Lord, who once saved a people out of Egypt, later destroyed those who didn’t maintain their faith. 6I remind you too of the angels who didn’t keep their position of authority but deserted their own home. The Lord has kept them in eternal chains in the underworld until the judgment of the great day. 7In the same way, Sodom and Gomorrah and neighboring towns practiced immoral sexual relations and pursued other sexual urges. By undergoing the punishment of eternal fire, they serve as a warning.
8Yet, even knowing this, these dreamers in the same way pollute themselves, reject authority, and slander the angels. 9The archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil about Moses’ body, did not dare charge him with slander. Instead, he said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10But these people slander whatever they don’t understand. They are destroyed by what they know instinctively, as though they were irrational animals.
Prophecies about the false teachers
11They are damned, for they follow in the footsteps of Cain. For profit they give themselves over to Balaam’s error. They are destroyed in the uprising of Korah. 12These people are like jagged rocks just below the surface of the water waiting to snag you when they join your love feasts. They feast with you without reverence. They care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; fruitless autumn trees, twice dead, uprooted; 13wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom the darkness of the underworld is reserved forever.
14Enoch, who lived seven generations after Adam, prophesied about these people when he said, “See, the Lord comes with his countless holy ones, 15to execute judgment on everyone and to convict everyone about every ungodly deed they have committed in their ungodliness as well as all the harsh things that sinful ungodly people have said against him.” 16These are faultfinding grumblers, living according to their own desires. They speak arrogant words and they show partiality to people when they want a favor in return.
17But you, dear friends, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They said to you, “In the end time scoffers will come living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19These people create divisions. Since they don’t have the Spirit, they are worldly.
A strategy for the faithful
20But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, 21keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. 22Have mercy on those who doubt. 23Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges.
Blessing
24To the one who is able to protect you from falling,
and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence,
25to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
belong glory, majesty, power, and authority,
before all time, now and forever. Amen.
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