them each a little something. Their discussions got rather heated when the mother stepped in to calm them down and observed, "Girls, your father did not tell you to ar gue about these things. He asked you, while he was gone, to weed the garden!" Our Christian fellow ship is all too often marred by fighting, bickering, criticizing and cynicism. There is not that neces sary "earnestly contending for the faith." Notice, too, that this faith is once given to the saints. Keep in mind, there is absolutely no evolu tion in theology. How interesting that each cult has its own writings. Paul, in talking to the people at Galatia, reminded them that even though he should come back a few years later and say that he had been given some special further revelation from God, they abso lutely were not to listen. This is the needed warning we have for our own age (Galatians 1:8, 9). The tremendous thing about this Bible we have is the fact that it is delivered to the saints. It is written so that the common man can un derstand, appreciate and apply it. It is not placed in the hands of a religious hierarchy but rather is our perfect possession and, as such, it can be used in our lives to bring a blessing and an encouragement to others. APOSTASY In verse four, Jude refers to the apostates who have crept in. That means they certainly did not come in by the door or in any prescribed manner (John 10:1). I remember hearing how they cook frogs down in Texas. Instead of placing the live frogs in hot boiling water which would cause them to jump out,
they put them in cold water on the stove and then turn the heat on. Before the frogs realize it, they have literally been boiled to dath. How many churches have gone exactly this same way because of the insidious, almost imperceptible drift away from the truth which may characterize many pulpits. Jude says that such individuals were ordained to this condemna tion. Now that is not to say that God has ordained some people to be lost and others to be saved. Jude is simply pointing out that when one rejects the teachings of Jesus Christ, the only thing left is the destruction spoken of in the Word of God (John 3:16-18). Liter ally, the unbeliever has condemned himself. The Bible nowhere teaches the universal brotherhood of man and the universal fatherhood of God. Salvation is always based up on one's personal acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ. These are ungodly men. In verse 15 we will see a restatement of this fact. The best thing that can be said about these individuals is that they are ungodly. It does not say that they are drunkards, alco holics, prostitutes, drug addicts or the like. The sad and tragic com ment is that they are "ungodly." An ungodly person is one who does not have God on his side. He is devoid of any proper relationship through faith with the Almighty. What Jude is talking about is the heart's condition. This apostate re jects God's wrath, His holiness, His finished work of atonement through Christ, and all of the other blessed aspects and cardinal doc trines of the faith. No wonder Jesus addresses such people of His day Page 37
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