SCRIPTURE
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. 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.
For 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. Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered His people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In 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. In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
But dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 1, NIV ©2022 Pastor Cory Henderson // Christian Life Church Page2

RECAP and REVIEW
1/ Who wrote the letter and to whom was it written?
It is written by Jude (Judas), the half-brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3). It is written to Jewish Christians.
2/ What are the primary topics of discussion?
Jude addresses false teachers, false teachings, God’s judgment, and faithful believers.
His twofold purpose was to expose false teachers and encourage believers to finish strong!
3/ What are the secondary topics of discussion?
Jude addresses authority, “love feasts,” and helping false thinkers.
SOME FINISH WELL, SOME DON’T
There are approximately 100 biographies in the Bible. Only 30-35 of them finished well.
Dean Carlson, a church leader in Africa, writes about those who run the race.
1/ There are those who run to the finish.
This may include people such as Abraham, Joshua, Daniel, Esther, Peter, and Paul. They may have stumbled early but they ran hard in the end.
Those who finish well are not always considered “winners” in this life.
2/ There are those who walk to the finish.
This may include people such as Noah, David and Jehoshaphat. They had major moral failures but finished with God.
The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. Proverbs 24:16, NLT
3/ There are those who limp to the finish.
This may include people such as Gideon, Eli, Solomon, and Samson. They began strong but struggled in the end of life. ©2022 Pastor Cory Henderson // Christian Life Church Page3

4/ There are those who do not finish.
This may include people such as Absalom, Ahab, and Judas. They did not finish with God.
9 PRACTICAL TIPS TO FINISH WELL
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 2 Timothy 4:7, NLT
1/ Continue to invest in spiritual disciplines.
Prayer, worship, reading, fasting, fellowship, and so forth cannot be overvalued.
2/ Continue to be connected to the Vine.
Knowledge is essential but never enough. Intimacy is required!
Remain in Me… John 15:4, NIV
3/ Continue to pursue purpose and serve.
“If you aren’t dead, you aren’t done!”
4/ Continue to obey.
5/ Continue to protect yourself from sin.
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. Genesis 4:7, NIV
6/ Continue to release hurt others have caused.
Don’t let sin done to you become sin in you.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
7/ Continue to invest in spiritual relationships.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25, NLT ©2022 Pastor Cory Henderson // Christian Life Church Page4

Be a spiritual mentor.
Examples: Jethro to Moses, Elijah to Elisha, Jesus to Disciples
There is an unspoken accountability that comes with being a mentor.
Have a spiritual mentor.
For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. 1 Corinthians 4:15, ESV
8/ Continue to see through the lens of Scripture.
Events of this life crystalize when seeing through Scripture (suffering, loss, gain, etc.).
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14, NIV
Those who don’t finish well get distracted by this world. Those who do finish well get distracted by the next world.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2, NIV
9/ Continue to guard against false teaching and false thinking.
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them. 1 Timothy 4:16, NIV
Emotions become thoughts become words become actions.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV