We will commence by reading and studying the letter of Jude.
It is a very short letter, but of undeniable actuality for the Church; since it is a warning against false doctrines and false teachers who try to dilute the message of Christ to make it more pleasant to the spirit of the world.
The full text of the letter can be accessed on the link here:- Letter of Jude
Please read it carefully and start using it as a basis for your meditation and prayer during the time of this study.
For understanding
1. v. 3. Explain what Jude means by “the faith” in this context. What does it mean to say that the faith was delivered “once for all”?
2. v. 4. Who were the false teachers targeted by Jude? To what does the word “designated” refer? What is antinomianism, and how does this term apply to the perpetrators about whom Jude is talking?
3. v. 9. Who is the archangel Michael? From where does the story of the dispute between Michael and the devil come? When a biblical writer quotes from a nonbiblical book, what is he not endorsing or implying? Generally speaking, why are non-biblical sources used in the Bible? Where in the Old Testament is a similar rebuke to Satan uttered?
4. Word Study: Blemishes (v. 12). To what can the Greek word here translated as “blemishes” refer? How does it relate to 2 Pet 2:13? To what may it refer in Jude’s context?
5. vv. 14–15. How do many ancient traditions describe the figure of Enoch? With what do these verses credit Enoch? What effect did this non-biblical citation have on the canonical status of Jude’s letter? How were misgivings about it laid to rest?
For application
1. v. 3. What does “to contend for the faith” mean to you? How prepared are you to contend for it, especially in an environment where the faith is ignored, relativized, ridiculed, or considered outdated or unimportant?
2. vv. 6–7. How seriously do you take the Church’s belief in the existence of demons and of an eternal hell? Assuming that heaven can begin even here on earth, how might hell also begin here? If either doctrine in the “faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (v. 3) causes a problem for you, what is the nature of the problem, and what are you doing to resolve it?
3. vv. 8–10. What association have you had with others who reject or revile authority? How has your own attitude to Church authority developed, especially concerning any teaching or issue you may have had trouble accepting? Where do you stand in relation to it now?
4. vv. 20–21. What does it mean to “pray in the Holy Spirit”? What does such prayer have to do with building yourself up in faith and keeping yourself in the love of God?