Thursday, August 4, 2016
The Book of Jude (NLT)
Outline
A.
The Change of Subject
(1:3)
B.
The Reason for the
Change: The Presence of Godless Apostates (1:4)
1. Unbelieving Israel (1:5)
2. Angels who fell (1:6)
3. Sodom and Gomorrah (1:7)
Jude 1 NLT
1 This letter is from Jude, a slave of
Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called
by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus
Christ.
2 May God give you more and more mercy,
peace, and love.
3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly
planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that
I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has
entrusted once for all time to his holy people.
4 I say this because some ungodly
people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous
grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was
recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5So I want to remind you, though you already
know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt,
but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.
6 And I remind you of the angels who
did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place
where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness,
waiting for the great day of judgment.
7 And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind
of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a
warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.
8 In the same way, these people—who
claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff
at supernatural beings.
9 But even Michael, one of the
mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply
said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the
devil about Moses’ body.)
10 But these people scoff at things they
do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts
tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.
11 What sorrow awaits them! For they
follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they
deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.
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. They are like shameless shepherds who care only
for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any
rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no
fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.
13They are like wild waves of the sea,
churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars,
doomed forever to blackest darkness.
14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh
generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The
Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones
15 to execute judgment on the people of
the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have
done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
16 These people are grumblers and
complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about
themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.
17 But you, my dear friends, must
remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted.
18 They told you that in the last times
there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly
desires.
19 These people are the ones who are
creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they
do not have God’s Spirit in them.
20But you, dear friends, must build each
other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,
21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves
safe in God’s love.
22 And you must show mercy to those
whose faith is wavering.
23 Rescue others by snatching them from
the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great
caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
24 Now all glory to God, who is able to
keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious
presence without a single fault.
25 All glory to him
who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty,
power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond
all time! Amen.
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