The Book of Jude
A Lecture by David Pawson
Delivered at Ashford, Middlesex | 23 October 2013
Introduction
David Pawson opens by noting that he had written a book on Jude, and was therefore invited to speak on it — though he wryly observes he would rather people simply read the book. Nevertheless, he fulfils the request by first reading the entire letter aloud.
“Jude is the last book of the Bible before Revelation. It is one of the shortest letters in the New Testament, yet one of the most important — and one of the most neglected. Pawson reflects that there is hardly a verse in this letter that anyone commonly quotes.”
The Text of Jude
Pawson reads the letter in full before beginning his exposition:
“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.”
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once entrusted to the saints. For certain men, whose condemnation was written about long ago, have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men who change the grace of our God into a licence for immorality and deny Jesus Christ as our only Sovereign and Lord.”
“Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority, but abandoned their own home — these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”
“Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion. These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm — shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted — twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved for ever.”
“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
Pawson's Approach to Studying the Letter
Rather than presenting the polished fruits of his study, Pawson invites his audience into his study process — sharing how he first approached this letter when he prepared to preach it. His method: he reads a book of the Bible not once but perhaps ten times, always with blank paper and a pen nearby.
1. The author has a habit of writing in threes, fours, fives and sixes — grouping ideas in multiples. For example, he appeals to Cain, Balaam, and Korah (three Old Testament figures), and gives four metaphors drawn from nature: clouds, trees, waves, and stars.
2. Some of what Jude quotes cannot be found in the Bible — where does the story of the archangel Michael arguing with the devil over Moses' body come from?
3. There are almost no quotable quotes in the letter. Of all the verses in Jude, only two are commonly known: the call to ‘contend for the faith once delivered’ and the closing doxology.
Background to the Letter
Who Was Jude?
Jude was Jesus' half-brother — his proper name was Judas. Why does he not identify himself as a brother of Jesus? Pawson suggests it is because Jude remembered with shame that Jesus' brothers did not believe in him during his earthly ministry. After the resurrection, he was so humbled that he never referred to himself as Jesus' brother again — simply ‘a slave of Jesus Christ.’
“Jude's proper name was Judas — the same name as the apostle who betrayed Jesus. Understandably, he preferred the shortened form ‘Jude,’ just as we might shorten Peter to Pete or James to Jim.”
Why Did He Write?
Jude tells us plainly: he had intended to write an encouraging letter about salvation, but felt compelled to change course. Certain men had secretly wormed their way into the fellowship with false teaching. Nothing destroys a church more quickly. Notice that they had not started the church — they had infiltrated it, which is one of the hallmarks of false teachers: rather than doing their own work, they take over other people's.
The Two False Teachings
1. Cheap Grace
The first error is what has been called ‘cheap grace’ — the idea that God is so gracious that it does not really matter what we do. Grace will cover all sin, past, present and future. The logical conclusion: once saved, always saved, with no further confession of sin required.
The Apostle Paul faced the same problem: ‘Shall we sin that grace may abound?’ Over-emphasising grace opens a door for sin. Get grace wrong and sin will come in.
2. Denial of Christ's Uniqueness
The second error was the teaching that Jesus is not the only Saviour and Lord — that he is one among many religious founders. This was the same cancer at work in the early church that is spreading in schools today through comparative religion, where children learn about Jesus alongside Muhammad, Confucius and Buddha as equivalent figures.
Together, these two errors were deadly. Like cancer in the body, false teaching spreads and affects different parts. And the truth of history is that the church has never been destroyed from the outside. Persecution only strengthens it — which is why the devil works from the inside, through false teaching.
The Structure of the Letter
After repeated readings, Pawson identified a clear three-part structure to Jude, corresponding to three dimensions of human existence:
None of us can change the past, but we can and must learn from it. Jude appeals to what has already been written and recorded as a warning and a guide.
The problem is still ongoing. What should the believers do about it now? Jude gives practical guidance.
To lift their spirits above the present trouble, Jude directs his readers' eyes to the God who was, who is, and who is to come. When the outlook is bad, try the up-look.
Part 1: Learning from the Past
Six Things That Will Be Corrupted
Pawson identifies six areas of Christian life that false teaching systematically corrupts:
1. Creed — What We Believe
2. Conduct — How We Behave
3. Cogitation — How We Think
4. Character — Who We Are
5. Conversation — How We Speak
6. Motivation — What Compels Us
The fourth area — character — receives four vivid images: fleeting clouds that promise rain but produce none; fruitless trees, rootless and dead; wild waves foaming with shame; and falling stars — brilliant for a moment, then gone forever.
Five Condemnations from the Past
1. The Exodus Generation (Scripture) — Two and a half million people left Egypt. Of all those adults, only two entered the Promised Land — Joshua and Caleb. The rest died in the wilderness, not because they couldn't enter, but because they stopped believing.
2. The Fallen Angels (from the Book of Enoch) — Approximately 200 angels descended and had sexual relations with human women, producing a hybrid race. Those angels were then imprisoned in darkness, awaiting judgment.
3. Sodom and Gomorrah (Scripture) — Four cities in the Jordan Valley given over to sexual immorality, destroyed by fire. Pawson notes that according to Jewish records, the fire was still visible from Jerusalem in Jesus' day.
4. The Archangel Michael and Moses' Body (Tradition) — Michael was sent to bury Moses and found Satan standing over the body claiming it. Crucially, Michael did not argue — he simply said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’ A model of right attitude in contrast to false teachers.
5. Cain, Balaam, and Korah (Scripture) — Three Old Testament figures whose paths the false teachers are following: murder from envy, false prophecy for financial gain, and rebellion against legitimate authority.
The Prophecy of Enoch
“Enoch gave his son the name Methuselah, which means ‘when he dies, it will happen.’ Enoch believed that on the day his son died, God's judgment would fall. And that is exactly what happened. Methuselah lived 969 years — the longest life in recorded history — and on the day he died, it began to rain. It didn't stop until the flood had wiped out the whole generation. This speaks of the extraordinary patience of God, waiting nearly a thousand years before judging that generation.”
Part 2: Living in the Present
Jude does not tell his readers to confront the false teachers, put them out, or leave. He leaves them to God: ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.’ Instead, his concern is for the readers themselves and for those being victimised.
Four Things to Do for Yourself
A. Build Yourselves Up in the Faith — Study the Scripture for yourself. Feed on the faith once delivered to the saints.
B. Pray in the Holy Spirit — Nobody can stop you from praying. Pawson believes this is likely a reference to praying in tongues — a gift of the Spirit that enables prayer when we don't know how to pray ourselves.
C. Keep Yourself in God's Love — Jesus himself explained how: ‘I keep my Father's commandments and I stay in his love. Keep my commandments and you'll stay in my love.’
D. Wait with Expectation — Look to the coming of Jesus Christ. All true Christians are eagerly waiting for him to return.
Three Categories of People to Care For
1. Waverers — Those still uncertain, sitting on the fence. Show them mercy and help them back into the truth.
2. Those in Mortal Danger — Those who have gone further into the false teaching. Snatch them back — like snatching a child from a burning house.
3. Those Who Have Fallen — Even here the word ‘mercy’ applies. But Jude adds a striking warning: be afraid even of contaminated clothing. Be merciful — but fear contamination yourself.
Part 3: Looking to the Future
“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
The Able God
Pawson draws attention to one crucial word: able. Not certain — able. God is not certain to keep you from falling; he is able to, if you are willing. There are over 80 warnings in the New Testament against losing your salvation. The God who is able to keep you is the same God who says, ‘Keep yourselves in my love.’ Both statements belong together.
No one can pluck you out of his hand — but you can jump out, because those kept in his hand are defined as the sheep who hear his voice and follow him.
The Sovereign God
Alongside his ability stands his sovereignty. He is the only God. To him belong all majesty, all dominion, all power. And alongside his sovereignty, his eternity: he was, is, and always will be.
Amen — not a question mark, not a hesitant conclusion. The strongest affirmative in the Greek language. Jesus used it constantly: ‘Amen, amen, I say to you.’ Certainly. Absolutely. This is true.
David Pawson's Paraphrase of Jude
Pawson concludes by sharing the personal paraphrase he wrote after studying the letter — his method for confirming he has truly understood what a passage means:
This letter is from Judas, though I prefer to be called Jude, one of the bought slaves of King Jesus and a brother of James whom you all know. I am addressing all those over there who have heard and responded to the call of God our Father, enjoy the love of his family, and have so far been kept safe by your relationship with his Son, Jesus. May you experience more and more of his undeserved mercy, inward peace and loving care.
My dear friends, I had fully intended to write an encouraging note about the wonderful salvation you and I share, but I now find I must send you a solemn warning and appeal to you to fight on for the old faith which was first given to the believers once and for all...
Now let's praise the one God who is able to keep you from slipping into all this and enable you to stand before his glorious throne, blameless and jubilant. To the only God who can save us and bring us to glory belong radiance, majesty, all praise, and power and dominion — before all time, all through history, and forevermore. Absolutely true.