Jude Bible Study Lesson

Jude Bible Study Lesson

Jude 1–2

1. Who was Jude?

• The brother of Jesus

• Greek: blood relative, literal not figurative

• Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3

2. Who was this letter written to?

• Called, loved, kept

• Called – invited and accepted

• Loved – God is committed to them and they to God

• Kept – protected and guarded by God

Jude 3

1. What did Jude himself want to write about?

• Salvation

• Joyful, something nice

2. Why did Jude not write about this?

• Felt compelled

• Inspired man – urged by Holy Spirit to write something else

3. What did he feel compelled to write about?

• Contend for the faith

• Contender = fight

4. Why should they contend for the faith?

• Entrusted to them – handed over

• Scripture references: 2 Cor. 4:1–2; 5:18–19; Gal. 1:6–9; 2 Tim. 1:12; 1 Thess. 2:4; 2 Peter 1:1–4

Jude 4

1. Who are these certain individuals?

• False teachers

2. When were they written about and where?

• Long ago

• Daniel 7:25; Matt. 7:15

3. Who have they secretly slipped in among?

• The ekklesia

4. How was it done secretly?

• As wolves in sheep clothing – with a smile

• Not always intentional

5. What characteristics do they have?

• Ungodly, perverters of God’s grace, deniers of Jesus Christ

6. How are they ungodly?

• Live not according to God’s law – lawless

7. What do they teach?

• Turn God’s grace into a license for immorality

• Immorality = sin

• Sin: commission – doing what shouldn’t

• Sin: omission – not doing what should

• Both commission and omission apply

• They think they can get away with doing and not doing because God is gracious

• Romans 12:1–2 – God’s grace is a call to live holy, not selfish

8. Who are these people?

• Nicolaitans (see v. 11)

9. Why and how do they deny?

• Deny the Lord Jesus Christ – His sovereignty and lordship

• Pervert God’s grace so that Jesus is not the Lord of their life

Jude 5

1. When is Jude referring to?

• Time of Moses in the wilderness

Jude 6

1. Who is Jude referring to?

• The angels of Genesis 6

Jude 7

1. What does “in the same way” infer?

• Committed the same sin as those in vv. 5–6

2. What do these examples serve as?

• Warning – punishment for this behavior is certain

Jude 8

1. What does “in the very same way” mean?

• Exact same manner

2. What is meant by “the strength of their dreams”?

• Reliance on their own understanding

3. Again, why are they ungodly?

• Lawless

4. How do they pollute their own bodies?

• Their thinking allows them to commit sinful acts – living in sin

5. How do they reject authority?

• Reject God’s word

6. How do they heap abuse on celestial beings?

• Speak against heavenly beings, ways, and order

Jude 9

1. What is an archangel?

• A position of leadership

2. Who did he have a dispute with?

• Satan

3. What did they dispute over?

• The body of Moses

4. What did Michael dare not to do?

• Dispute with Satan

5. Why?

• Cannot take authority, judgment, and condemnation into his own hands

6. What do we learn from this example?

• Even a leader angel defers to God’s authority

• Unlike the false teachers Jude is warning against

Jude 10

1. What do these people do to what they do not understand?

• Slander / talk against

2. What do they not understand?

• The true meaning of being a follower of God

3. And what about the things they do understand by instinct?

• Destroy them like animals – tear it apart

Jude 11

1. What is meant by the phrase “woe to them”?

• Their fate is sealed

2. Woe to who?

• The perverters

3. What is the way of Cain?

• Offered to God according to his own thinking and feelings, not God’s command

• Hebrews 11:4

4. How have these people taken the way of Cain?

• Offer to God only what they desire – self-centered worship

5. What was Balaam’s error?

• Pursued personal profit through compromising God’s direction

• 2 Peter 2:15–16

6. How have these people rushed for profit into Balaam’s error?

• Seek worldly gain for themselves, exploiting religion

7. How have they been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion?

• By teaching against God’s appointed authority

• Moses was God’s authority; Korah challenged it and was destroyed

• Numbers 16:1–3, 28–35

8.      Who were these people?

nicolations

9.      Who were the Nicolaitans?

The very first division from true Christianity

10.  Who created this division?

Irenaeus taught that it was Nicolas one of the deacons in acts 6

11.  What did they teach?

Irenaeus said “ continue in self-indulgence while claiming to be a Christian

Turned Gods grace into a license to sin

Says they went the way of cain and balaams error

12.  Does the bible say anything about this division?

Rev 2:6; 15

13.  Do the nicolations still exist today?

Yes it is the apostate religion that the majority of people follow

It has divided itself into 10s of 1000s of divisions but all teaching the same thing-the way of cain and error of ballam and korahs rebellion

Jude 12

1. What kind of people are they compared to?

• Hidden reefs at your love feasts, clouds without rain, wandering stars, trees without fruit

• Dangerous within the ekklesia, appearing harmless but destructive

2. What does “shepherds feeding only themselves” mean?

• Leaders who care for their own gain, not the flock

• Ezekiel 34:2 – shepherds who exploit the sheep instead of guiding them

3. What is the lesson of the cloud, wind, wave, and tree imagery?

• They promise nourishment or guidance but deliver nothing

• Fruitless and unstable, destined for judgment (Matt. 7:17–19)

Jude 13

1. What does the comparison to wild waves indicate?

• Chaotic, uncontrollable, destructive, full of shame

• Isaiah 57:20 – “the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest”

2. What does “wandering stars” mean?

• Leaders without direction or stability

• Destined for darkness and judgment

Jude 14–15

1. Who is Enoch?

• Seventh from Adam (Genesis 5:21–24)

• Prophet who “walked with God”

2. What did Enoch prophesy?

• The Lord comes with thousands of His holy ones

• To execute judgment on all ungodly people

• Punishment is certain for those who defy God

Jude 16

1. How are these people described?

• Grumblers, fault-finders, following their own desires

• Example: Israel in the wilderness (Ex. 16; Num. 14)

2. How do they manipulate others?

• Boast and flatter to gain advantage

• Proverbs 29:5 – flattery as a trap

Jude 17–19

1. What are believers reminded to remember?

• Apostles predicted scoffers in the last days

• 2 Peter 3:3; 1 Tim. 4:1

2. How are the false teachers described?

• Divisive, worldly, lacking the Spirit

Jude 20–21

1. What should believers do?

• Build yourselves up in the faith

• Pray in the Holy Spirit

• Keep yourselves in God’s love

• Wait for eternal life

2. What does “keep yourselves in God’s love” mean?

• Stay faithful, obedient, and dependent on God

• John 15:9–10 – remain in His commands to remain in His love

Jude 22–23

1. How should believers respond to those influenced by error?

• Show mercy to those who doubt

• Snatch others from the fire (rescue them from sin)

• Be cautious with those corrupted by sin

• Galatians 6:1 – restore gently while guarding yourself

Jude 24–25 (Doxology)

1. Who is able to keep us from falling?

• God Himself

2. What is He able to do for us?

• Present us blameless with great joy before His presence

3. How does Jude close the letter?

• With worship and praise: glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to God, forever