Isaiah 20:1 - Meaning and Application

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The General Epistle of Jude

This letter is called general, or catholic, because it was not written to one person, one family, or one church alone. It was addressed to the whole body of Christians then living, especially those who had recently turned to Christ from Judaism or paganism. As such, it is, and will remain, of lasting and special use to the church as long as Christianity lasts.

Its main purpose is much the same as the second chapter of the second letter of Peter, which has already been explained, so less needs to be said here. Jude wrote to warn believers against false teachers and their misleading ways. He also wanted to stir up a strong love for truth, clear and important truth, joined closely with holiness. Christian love, meaning sincere and fair brotherly love, is a key mark of true holiness and cannot be separated from it.

The truth we must hold fast and help others know has two clear marks. It is the truth as it is in Jesus (Ephesians 4:21), and it is truth that leads to godliness, that is, to a life shaped by reverence for God (Titus 1:1). The gospel is Christ’s gospel. He has revealed it to us, and he is its main subject. Because of that, we are bound to learn from it all we can about his person, his nature, and his offices, meaning the works and roles he carries out for us. It is wrong for anyone who calls himself a Christian to be careless about this, since all saving knowledge comes from this one source.

This truth is also a doctrine of godliness. Any teaching that encourages the sinful desires of people cannot be from God, whatever claims it makes. Dangerous errors soon arose in the church. While the servants slept, the enemy sowed weeds among the wheat. Yet God in his wisdom and kindness allowed these errors to show themselves clearly while some apostles were still alive, so they could expose them and warn others against them.

We may think that if we had lived in the apostles’ day, we would have been well protected against deceivers and their tricks. But we already have their witness and their warnings, and that is enough. If we will not believe their writings, we would not have believed or listened to them even if we had lived and spoken with them in person.