v. 12 – these are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds, swept along by the wind, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted.

Devotional:

In the early church, they often gathered and shared a meal of fellowship called love feasts or agapais. Agapais is the plural of agape which is the Greek word for unconditional love. 8 These feasts were designed for believers to remind one another of
the unconditional love they have from God and for each other. It seems that apostates – which are people who renounce the faith or abandon the core tenants of the faith and are convinced in their own minds they are right and want others to agree with them – had slithered their way into these feasts and were being welcomed by the Church to do so.

Jude says these men are without fear and then lists all the ways in which they are practicing self-indulgence. The distinction that they “are without fear” sounds like an odd strike against someone’s character. Today, if someone would say that you

are without fear that would be a compliment. We champion bravery and courage and rightfully preach Jesus’ words when He says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We also hold fast to this command: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).

As students of scripture, we can sometimes come upon ideas which seem competitive like the countless instructions to “not be afraid” and then the counsel to “fear the Lord” on top of texts like our main text for today where a lack of fear is considered to be a serious character deficiency. This can be confusing, but it’s in these instances of study where we have to remind ourselves of whom the author is speaking to and what the context is as he pens the words because we know God’s Word cannot contradict itself and He cannot lie.

God’s Word says “to fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). This reverent fear of the almighty God does not cause us, His children, to shy away from Him but to approach Him humbly. In fact, we have no reason to fear anything other than the Lord because He alone has made us more than conquerors through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37). That is good news for the believer.

On the other hand, the unbeliever, and especially the liars and deceivers who are wolves preying among the sheep of God’s church, have much to be afraid of. Like a fruitless tree in late autumn that is twice dead and uprooted, unbelievers will show themselves to be spiritually dry and their words brittle and untrustworthy in due time. Character is always revealed. There is no way to hide who you are behind closed doors forever, and it is God’s goodness to us and all the world that He is at work to expose darkness by bringing it to light. While I highly doubt you would consider yourself a false teacher practicing self- indulgence through the intentional deception of God’s people, perhaps you have believed lies you thought were true.

I have a question for you: Who has the loudest voice in your life? Who do you take your spiritual guidance from? I hope it is someone committed to God’s Word. Many people offer flattering and easy-to-believe advice, but when you examine it and hold it up to God’s Word, you’ll actually find it is in direct contrast to His truth – the best source of wisdom and direction for life.

I’d encourage you to spend time today and pray something like this:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way of the everlasting!” – Psalm 139:23-24

REFLECTION:

Who are the God-fearing, trustworthy voices you can rely on to help you discern God’s truth? When you asked God to search you to see if there is any grievous way in you, what did His Spirit reveal?