Leadership in Context Keith Tucci

The purpose of the Jewish nation was to love and worship God in such a way that the other nations would be provoked to serve the Lord. That is the same purpose the Church has–we have the same mission, the same Lord, the same purpose.

You cannot trust two things at the same time. You can’t trust Jesus AND your traditions to save you. All have sinned, all need to be saved, and there is no other way to be saved except by the cross.

The book of Jude concludes with five things we need to do when dealing with false teachers causing division in the church: (1) Keep yourself in the love of God, (2) anticipate the increase of the mercy of God in your life, (3) give away some of that mercy, (4) don’t be silent, and (5) hate what sin does.

When someone defies the Word of God, when they go their own way, when they are rebellious and cause division in the church, they are not working against you but are working against the Lord. How do we not act like that? Jude instructs us to be responsible to build ourselves up in faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

Jude compares false teachers to hidden reefs. We live in a culture where not only is there no consequence for sin, but you are a bad person if you think there should be. The wind blows, and a lot of stuff blows with the wind. Be wise. Be anchored in the Word, or you will be hitting a hidden reef that will bring you down.

Jude warns against false teachers. He warns against a resistance to divinely-appointed authority. If we honor God’s authority in the local church and work through the precepts of Matthew 18 when there are issues, the church would be vibrant and healthy.