Cultural Complacency

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 (Jude 11).

God destroyed those who would not believe in spite of seeing His mighty wonders (Jude 5). God imprisoned even angels that rebelled against His set order (Jude 6). Cain was the first man to turn away from God on purpose, to choose his own way in the universe. Balaam was the first to use his footing in the spiritual realm to get rich and seduce the godly onto ungodliness. Korah was the first to rebel against authority set up by God and start up tolerance levels of what should and should not be acceptable.

But you, dear friends build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 20-21).

Jude offers scathing rebukes and warnings to false teachers, but in addition he offers insight into how we can protect ourselves from them. Jude uses four instructional phrases: (1) Build yourselves up = studying and doing things to encourage spiritual growth. (2) Pray in the Spirit = cultivating a healthy prayer life. (3) Keep yourselves in God’s love = monitoring your lifestyle and guarding against sin. (4) Look for the mercy of Jesus = cultivating an eternal perspective.

In short, God is trying to warn us to refuse to be drawn into cultural complacency.