The Contribution Of Jude
THE CONTRIBUTION OF JUDE
Jude is concerned both for the salvation Christians share and for the faith that was given once for all and entrusted to the saints (Jude 3). But his letter is not a systematic setting forth of the faith or of some aspect of the faith. Rather, he is calling his readers to consider what follows when people who profess to be followers of Christ deny the faith in teaching and in life. He is taking action in a situation where people with membership in the Christian church live such evil lives that they could be called godless and it could be said of them that they "deny Jesus Christ” (4). He does not proceed by the method of systematic discussion of the heretical teaching with a steady refutation of it point by point. His concern is not to show where it is wrong; he takes it for granted that his readers will not need such argumentation once they consider the kind of lives the heretics lived. People do not live licentiously and deny Christ as a result of the proclamation of the truth. Jude simply emphasizes that the judgment of God is certain. Those who live like the heretics of whom he is writing inevitably face eternal punishment.
Jude makes it clear that there is nothing new about wrong attitudes to God and wrong ways of living. He points out that back in the days when the Lord delivered the people from Egypt, there were some among them who did not believe, and in the same strain he draws attention to sinning angels and to the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 5-7). He later speaks of Cain, of Balaam, and of Korah and his associates (11). Jude’s readers know of people who should be loyal servants of God, people who are aware of the great things God has done but who pursue their own selfish and sinful way. The apostles had specifically warned the infant church that heretics would arise (17-19). There was then nothing surprising in the situation in which Jude and his readers found themselves. But if they should not be surprised, they should not be complacent either. This little letter is a strong challenge to its readers to oppose resolutely all teachings and habits of life that profess to be Christian but deny the essence of the faith. 11
This letter speaks to the modern world as to every previous age. In our century it is the fashion to be tolerant of anything that calls itself Christian, no matter how wide of the gospel it may be. Clearly tolerance is important, and there is danger whenever Christians are so sure of their own rectitude and sound faith that they proceed to sit in judgment on all who differ with them, even in comparatively minor matters. There are many ways of looking at the Christian life, and genuine Christianity finds a variety of forms of expression in the modern church. It is important not to be judgmental; it is important that we treat as brothers and sisters people whose thinking and practice form somewhat different manifestations of the authentic gospel. But Jude reminds us that there are limits. The modern church must realize that it is possible to refashion the gospel so radically that the heart is taken out of it. It is possible to reinterpret the Christian life so that it ceases to be too demanding and degenerates into a way of living indistinguishable from that of the world. In the face of such attitudes Jude’s warnings are of continuing significance.