v. 10 – But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

Devotional:

Jude continues his railing against the false teachers who are leading the Church astray. They are doing this by changing the pure Gospel message of Jesus Christ as given through the apostles into a twisted message of “do what you want based on how you feel.” Here, in verse 10, Jude asserts the fact that following our own desires will lead us to a place of ruin apart from God’s love and kindness. This is the same conclusion the apostle Paul declares in Romans 1:18-25.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For in his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So
they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Jude and Paul alike remind us the eternal goal of our enemy and the determined outcome of our sinful nature is at its foundation the suppression of truth. Inside the truth, which is the person
of Jesus Christ as the revealed glory of God made manifest to us, there is freedom, hope, and eternal life. The truth of Jesus is what sin and Satan suppress by means of distraction and discontentment as well as pagan religion and blatant attack on God’s existence. Whether the deceptions be subtle or obvious, the end goal is the same – to suppress the truth. As surrendered agents of grace, we have the sword of the spirit to fight back against the fiery darts of truth suppression, and we do this by taking every wayward thought and every lust-filled temptation and making them captive to the Word of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).

As Jesus was tempted on the Mount of Temptation, He uttered these words, “…It is written…” in His combat against the temptations of Satan to abandon His first love (Matthew 4:1-11). We follow His example by declaring “it is written” as we hold steadfast to the truth of God’s plan and the promises of God’s love in our lives.

The three most important words echoed into the eternity of the believer are Jesus’ cry from the cross: “It is finished.’ And the three most important words ever uttered by Jesus for the believer in this life are “It is written.” These words have Spirit- filled power to help you overcome.

When the enemy rises up to lie to you, do not let him suppress the truth.

When he says: “You’re not good enough.”

You say: “You’re dang right I’m not good enough, but God said in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and I am in Christ Jesus so be gone Satan.”

When he says: “You’re still guilty.”

You say: “I hear you. I was guilty, but Romans 3:21-26 says all fall short of Gods glory but I am justified by His grace and redeemed by Jesus through faith. This shows God’s divine forbearance that He has passed over the former things and His righteousness is now mine.”

When he says: “Why don’t you chase those feelings of lust so you will be happier?”

You say: “I don’t have to do that because just like Psalms 119:11 says, I have hidden God’s word in my heart so that I might not

sin against Him, and according to Psalms 101:3 I will not set anything wicked before my eyes.”

When he says: “You are your past.”

You say: “Get behind me Satan because 2 Corinthians 5:17 says in Christ Jesus I am a new creation, the old has passed and the new has come.”

When he says: “Be afraid.”

You say: “I will not! In 2 Timothy 1:7 God said that He didn’t give me a spirit of fear but of love and power and a sound mind.”

When he says: “You are unlovable.”

You say: “God said in Romans 8:35-39 that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ – not tribulation, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword. In all things we
are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Neither death nor life, nor angels nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When he says: “Love this world and the things in it.”

You say: “I will not and I don’t have to love anything other than my God. Paul says in Colossians 3:1 that I am raised with Christ and I will seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. I will set my mind on things above, not on things that are on earth.”

REFLECTION:

In what way has the enemy tried to suppress the truth from you in the last week? What truth of God’s Word do you need to declare over the enemy today?