Knowing

Proverb 1:1-7

Letter of Jude

The early Church Father, Origen, once wrote of The Letter of Jude: "If we wish to preserve unchanged the good things once given to the saints and will not adapt (or "change") the events of the historical account, we will by such action appear to do something like what the heretics do, by not preserving the harmony of the narrative of the Scriptures from beginning to end" (Commentary on John 10:290).  In other words, the NT must not be taught as contradictory to the OT lest we create for ourselves two "gods" with two very different standards - OR - one God who cannot make up His own mind!

We might also consider that as Jude is remarkably similar in tone to 2 Peter, hear what Peter wrote: "So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters.  There are some things in them [Paul's letters] hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15-16).  So not only must we consider the seeming inconsistencies between OT and NT, we must also seriously consider those points St. Paul makes which seem to contradict even what Jesus teaches in the gospel narratives!

I've shared before that the Council of Nicaea was convened early in the 4th century because of a heresy the Church found necessary to address.  Referred to by some as the "Arian Controversy" after the Egyptian priest Arius, the heresy he taught essentially called into question the "oneness" of Christ the Son with the Holy Father by questioning the divine nature of Jesus the Christ.  This heresy did not seem to deny Jesus as Messiah, but it emphasized Jesus' human nature apart from His divinity as "created" rather than "begotten".

It would be hard to say some remnants of this controversy do not still exist today within the contemporary Church at least in our individual interpretations of Scripture especially after the Reformation when the teaching authority of the Roman Church was challenged. Perhaps such a challenge had become necessary, but what came from that division cannot be ignored. 

Our faith requires serious thought, serious study of Scripture, and serious prayer.  We are required to "know" who our Holy Father is, and we are required to "know" who Jesus is in relation to the Holy Father because in knowing these things, we can then safely navigate the difficult biblical passages.  "Knowing" the Holy Father and Christ the Son, however, is not a simple intellectual acknowledgment of their existence; rather "knowing" is a lifetime commitment to the Journey of Faith which leads to a total transformation of heart and mind.  That is, we ourselves become "one" with the Father through Christ; that is, through the Word which IS Christ.

This is part of the heresy Jude was addressing which scholars and theologians later came to refer to as "antinomianism" which, from the Greek, is translated "against the law".  This heresy states that "Christians are freed by grace from the necessity of obeying the Mosaic Law". Taking this idea a step further, early heretics in Jude's time came to believe "that freedom from law meant license" to pretty much do as they pleased in the name of grace (Merriam Webster Encyclopedia of World Religions, 62).

The doctrine of "antinomianism" was attributed to Martin Luther's side-kick as the Reformation began to take off.  Luther opposed the doctrine but after Luther had returned from his necessary exile (he had been forced to flee for his own safety), he found a movement gone much further than he had ever intended or envisioned.  Luther stood against the Roman Church on a certain doctrine, so once that mold of challenging the hierarchy of the Church had been broken it is safe to say others felt free to take their own ideas and run with them.  Christianity then became pretty much an "every man for himself" proposition; a "priesthood of [individual] believers" free to do as they pleased and teach as they pleased without fear of persecution from Rome.  It might even be said that once the reverence due the Church was compromised, so also was the reverence due the Holy Father.  And this, my dear friends, is a huge problem even, perhaps especially, today.

Peter wrote, "You must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20).  It makes me think of a Bible that was given to me as a gift (English Standard Version).  The language of this particular interpretation is rather strange, but I was not too concerned until recently as I was reading Jude and came across verse 5 in which this strange Bible states specifically "Jesus" delivered the Israelites from Egypt, and "Jesus" destroyed those who did not believe. 

Now if Jesus and YHWH are eternally One and the Same, this is not a problem.  However, if Jesus came "not to condemn but to save" as the New Covenant sealed with His own blood, this could become problematic for the Sinai Covenant which was revealed to Moses, that Covenant with "rules" or "terms".  It could be even more problematic for the initial encounter on the Holy Mountain in which YHWH "introduced" Himself to Moses not as "Jesus" but as "I am that I am".

Still, it is not a matter of whether "Jesus" is an appropriate expression in Jude's point and context.  It is a matter of what Jude is addressing as a great concern for the still-infant Church filled with still-infant (and vulnerable) believers.  It is the same concern which seemed to be exacerbated during the Reformation and which is still alive and well today: that individual interpretation of Scripture in the name of grace and independent of the Church can be dangerous - especially with the various English translations available to us, many of which take extreme "license" with interpretation!  To paraphrase John Wesley, it is not a matter of personal opinion because the prophecy of Scripture is not revealed by man's own opinion.  It is the danger of believing Scripture can mean different things to different people. 

Such a concept is not in itself completely false because each of us is at our own level of spiritual maturity, but such a statement is incredibly misleading for "new" Christians or those still immature in the faith.  It is like suggesting that adultery in "your case" is different from adultery in "my case".  We must understand that Scripture can mean only one thing since it is the revelation of the One True and Living God, and Galatians must be read through the same theological lens as Deuteronomy.  This is the consistency and the constancy of the Holy Scripture; the revelation of the One True God who "does not change".

One may ask how any of this matters to Jude, or to us today.  The matter is stated early in Jude's letter: "Certain intruders have stolen in among you ... who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness [immorality, lustfulness] (vs 4).  Jude is defending and promoting the unity and the consistency of the Law as expressed by and perfected in Christ - all having come from the One and Same Holy God and Father.  In other words, "grace" was always an expression of the nature of our Holy Father, but "grace" was never intended as an "excuse".  If we believe "grace" is little more than an "excuse" or a "license" to do as we please when we please and teach as we please as "truth", then we have ultimately redefined Christ the Covenant AND the Holy Father into completely natural - that is, "created" - images more to our own liking.

This is the One and Same Lord who "saved [an entire people] out of the land of Egypt [and] afterward destroyed those who did not believe" (that is, did not obey).  And we're talking about a "grace" period that extended over 40 years!  The Lord "saved" and then "destroyed" those same "saved" people who refused to become an "active" part of His Covenant by refusing to live according to the terms of that Covenant.  Only Joshua and Caleb - out of millions of Israelites once "saved" - survived the Journey and entered into the Promised Land.

Now it would be easy to say Jude's letter condemns only those "who pervert the grace of our God", but we would be wrong.  Jude reminds us these "perverts, these "scoffers" and "grumblers" are already condemned; Jude's letter is directed toward those who are in danger of being influenced by these spiritual poachers.  He was preparing to write about "the salvation we share" but found it necessary to warn those same "saved" people that destruction is upon them if they turn away from that salvation and fall into this "cheap grace" notion that was being sold and preached to them.  Jude was warning them that the salvation once so freely given through Christ can be as easily taken by the One and Same God who gave so freely.

It is a mistake to believe obedience to Divine Law is not a necessary element of the spiritual journey, and Jude is reminding us that in order to have a part in that Eternal Covenant we must be involved in that Eternal Covenant.  "You, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, and look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.  Have mercy on some who are wavering, and save others by snatching them out of the fire ..." (20-23).

Jude is advocating for the necessity of the Holy Church as the teaching "Body" we must all be an active part of, infuriating though the Church can sometimes be.  St. Peter and John Wesley both warned of such "individualism" that Martin Luther witnessed for himself that is more destructive in its nature as "every man for himself" as to individual interpretation of Scripture independent of thousands of years of traditional teachings.

There will always be for us passages of Scripture difficult to comprehend, and St. Paul's letters are no exception!  The point of Scripture study, however, is not about what we "think" it means; discipleship, rather, seeks to "know" what the Lord is conveying to His people.  And part of "knowing" is in "knowing" that what was good for the people of Israel then is still good for the people of the Church now.  It is the Gospel of our Lord - that is, the Good News of the Lord's Covenant ... for now AND for all eternity!