Eternal Security and Exegetical Overview of the Book of Jude:
Making Shipwreck of One's Faith in the Book of Jude
In this article, I review
the book of Jude. I recommend reading and re-reading this book several times—it
is short enough that it takes less than five minutes to read it aloud.
From simply reading
the book, we recognize that the apostle is deeply concerned about some false
church leaders. The key verse that informs the situation is v. 4: “For certain
individuals … have secretly slipped in (παρεισέδυσαν) among you.” The Greek
word is the one that stands behind the English word seduce, and NLT graphically translates “wormed their way into your
churches.”
These false teachers
operate differently from those plaguing the Ephesian church which Paul
addressed in 1 Timothy. In 1 Timothy, Hymanaeus and Alexander were insiders,
perhaps even placed into leadership by Paul himself. These insiders had made
shipwreck of their faith and Paul handed them over to Satan. In that passage (1:18-20)
Paul makes the ambiguous statement that he did so to teach them not to blaspheme.
The rest of the letter, however, offers no place for their repentance, and no
instructions for possible readmission to the congregation is given—we are left
to assume their perdition.
In the case of Jude,
the false teachers were antinomian—they taught that grace means that Christians
are free to sin as much as they want. The apostle writes, “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.” The apostle associated them with
Cain, Balaam, and Korah: “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.” Balaam was out for financial gain, and Korah worked the Israelite
congregation over to conjure up dissent among other leaders against Moses.
In v. 5, Jude reminds
the readers of what they already knew about the Israelites: God “…at one time
delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not
believe.” This is a significant statement, for through this urgent reminder,
Jude recalls the Old Testament principle that people who had been previously “saved”
were later destroyed for their unbelief (see also the similar argument in Heb
4). This Old Testament principle is significant in and of itself, but Jude
applies it to his New Testament churches. This is the first of several Old
Testament lessons in Jude that are retold in order to warn New Testament
believers.
The second lesson is
similar. Jude points to the fallen angels, explaining that their prior position
of security did not keep them from falling into ultimate judgment: “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.
By “reminding” them of
these Old Testament lessons, Jude is issuing warnings to his churches: just
because you sit in a favored position does not mean that you cannot forfeit
your privileged status. The NLT draws this point out well in its translation of
v. 12: “When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating
the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you.”
The only clear
safeguard against the influence of the false teachers is spiritual growth and
abiding in Christ: “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”
(vv. 20-21).
Jude concludes with
some practical advice to the church about dealing with three different
categories of people: “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.” Especially relevant for our topic of
security, Jude urges all effort to rescue “from the fire” those members of the
congregation who were most in danger.
As happens elsewhere, these
apostolic warnings are followed by an encouraging word. The encouraging word
does not negate such warnings. Jude does not conclude his letter by saying, “I
have issued you warnings, but these warnings are only rhetorical and not to be
taken as real threats.” Rather, the word of encouragement is meant to reinforce
the teaching that Jesus protects those who abide in him, and this makes for one
of the Bible’s most loved benedictions:
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.
Although it is quite short, the letter of Jude is one such example where
verses that contradict eternal security are found in a context which actually
does focus on continuance in salvation. By themselves, any prooftexts in Jude
are not all that impressive. But when taken together with the larger context of
Jude, these verses become all the surer guideposts that warn that believers may
shipwreck their faith and fall under the severest judgment.
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