Jude was called by God to send a message to the church. It seems the simple gospel of Jesus Christ was being compromised. Apparently, “certain men had crept in” and were the cause of great concern. He began by making an emphatic statement:

Now, imagine if you were a member of a church that had received a letter from Jude. He was the half-brother of Jesus Christ. His message certainly must have carried some weight. His letter opened by saying that although he had intended to write and share about salvation that has been accomplished through the finished work of the cross, his mind was somehow changed. Instead, he felt it imperative to deal with a major problem that had developed.

Apparently, “certain men” had “crept in unawares” and actually had become an enemy of the simple gospel. Rather than being a messenger of the gospel, these imposters had become stealth deceivers who needed to be exposed before more innocent followers of Jesus were led astray. What had happened was the very thing that Paul had previously warned the church about at Corinth when he had written to them and stated:

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. [2]

Paul warned the church at Corinth about one of Satan’s most effective plans to deceive the brethren. Further, in the book of Acts, chapter 20, Paul warned what would occur after he had departed the scene. He wrote:

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. [3]

So there it is! Paul saw Satan’s plan clearly and warned what was coming. Jude saw it happening in his day. Further, these warnings, which are included in the inspired word of God, are timeless and are for the church right now.

What would Paul and Jude write to the church if they were here today? Would their message have changed in any way? Based on current trends that dilute the simple gospel of Jesus and make it into a “social-humanistic-psychological-what’s-in-it-for-me” gospel that rejects the imminent return of our Lord …  I don’t think so.

Let the book of Jude be a wake up call for us today!

[2] 2 Corinthians 11: 3-4

[3] Acts 20: 29-30