What Is The Purpose Of The Book Of Jude? A Bible Study

What was the reason Jude wrote the Book of Jude? What things in it are still highly relevant today?

The Author

The Epistle or Book of Jude is only one chapter but the author packs a lot into twenty-five verses. Jude is the half-brother of Jesus Christ and James the Just, having the same mother but not the same father. The range of date for this book is incredibly wide; from AD 66-90. The reason I think the date is much later and closer to AD 90 than AD 66 is because Jude refers to the Apostles predictions as now coming true (Jude 1:17) and it would happen in the last days (Jude 1:18). Jude tells us two things in his first sentence “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James” (Jude 1:1). Jude is a servant of Jesus and also his brother.

The Purpose

Jude wrote this short book because there was a flood of false prophets coming into the church so he wrote; “I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). What had been once-and-for-all delivered also had to be contended for because “certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). Another purpose for Jude writing this letter is to encourage the church to persevere by remembering “the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:17) that scoffers will abound and be “following their own ungodly passions” (Jude 1:18).

The Focal Point

By far, the main focus for Jude was the false prophets and teachers “who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4b) meaning they engaged in sexual immorality in their religious practices and that’s about as perverted as you can get. The interesting thing is these “people have crept in unnoticed” (Jude 1:4a) and unseen so that they can more easily do their twisting and distorting of the truth. Jude gives them about as strong of a warning as possible by writing that it is “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7). This “eternal fire” will be the final place for the unrepentant “grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage” (Jude 1:16).

Search and Rescue

Jude seems to have a heart for reaching the lost near the end of his short, one chapter letter. In Jude 1:22-23 he writes “And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” This seems to be two separate commands; one is to “have mercy on those who have doubt” but for others save them “by snatching them out of the fire.” Jude may be saying to help reassure those who had serious doubts about God, their salvation, or their life at the present time; maybe all three. Next, Jude says “save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” perhaps indicating that they don’t even know Christ yet and it’s the witness of Christ to do a little “search and rescue” in the hopes of “snatching them out of the fire,” clearly indicating the eventual fate of all the unrepentant (Rev 20:12-15; 21:8).

Conclusion

Jude’s opening line shows his humility and his loyalty; “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James” is first, you will notice, a servant (lit. “slave”) and only then a brother to Christ. Jude was concerned by all the false prophets coming into the churches. He wasn’t concerned about God’s executing perfect justice for them someday. It’s a matter of trust.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.