Radar, Spades and History: Meditations in Jude

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. -Jude 4

The other night, my son apparently had a bad dream and hopped into bed with me and Stephanie.  I say “apparently” because I seemed to have missed the whole episode due to being in a dead sleep.  Stephanie, on the other hand, was sleeping lightly and caught the boy’s bed-entry, snuggle-down maneuvers and the subsequent elbows to the face and ribs that happens when he nests with us.  I was blissfully unaware.

Spiritually, we are far too prone to be caught in a dead sleep.  We are far too prone to let things slip by…unnoticed.  Our “radar” is faulty or simply not turned on.  As a result, both the smaller and larger body of Christ can suffer from the ill-effects of those that would do Christ and His people harm.  Spiritually, we are to be sober and awake.  We are to keep watch and take notice of our surroundings.  We are to have our radar in the on position.

My father spent most of his adult life as a police officer until he retired.  I “caught” a lot of lessons from the way he lived-out his policing.  For instance, I must have picked up on his “surroundings-awareness”, because I’m a freak about knowing where I am and being aware of who’s in a room.  In addition, when I’m eating out, I do my best to position myself in a seat that faces the door.  They call this the gun-fighter’s position.  For me, it’s just about knowing who comes in and leaves the room.

I sometimes wonder whether we’re more often inattentive to the character and actions of others due to a fearful resistance to entering others’ business (confrontation) or whether we simply enjoy the fruit of ignorance (an excuse to not get involved).  I’m sure there are other reasons. 

Where Jude is concerned, he actually changed the subject matter of his letter because his readers had fallen asleep at the wheel.  They allowed “certain people” to creep into important, shepherding roles, unnoticed.  We are called to notice when destructive forces enter our churches--escpecially those that would enter positions of influence.  We are to have our radars turned on.

However, not every destructive force is necessarily a “bad” person in the sense that they have embraced their evil side so as to willfully hurt God’s church.  Some destructive forces are simply allowed a position or role that they are not equipped for (not the right skills or gifting) or their current character is not up to the task (new believers, those in serious and debilitating emotional pain, etc.).  In these cases, the Church has failed both those who have become destructive forces and those they hurt.  Either way, we are called to notice such things.

These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Most of us don't like being labeled or associated with things that we would consider bad or negative.  As such, we sometimes hesitate or even recoil at the thought of labeling other people.  It is possible that we are merely trying to follow the Golden Rule in some way--whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.  We don’t like to be called names.  Therefore, we don’t call other people names.  But even good things like the Golden Rule can be misapplied.  We cannot use this or similar excuses to ignore necessary confrontation.  Apparently, Jude is quite comfortable in calling a spade a spade.  

The people Jude describes sound pretty bad.  In fact, prior to the above statement in verse 16, Jude seems to compare these “grumblers” to quite a few unpleasant groups in history.  You don’t have to be an expert on Jude’s references to see that these are meant to be analogous examples of bad behavior amongst God’s people throughout history.  Further, the fact that Jude mentions these examples actually tells us something.  It tells us that the same mistakes are made over and over again.  It tells us that history is important.

So what should we learn from all this?  While not exhaustive, I think there are at least three key lessons we should take away.  First, we must be people that have our radar in the on position—able to notice those around us (especially those that are leaders amongst us).  Good, godly leaders won’t be bothered by this.  Only false teachers and those with bad motives will get uncomfortable with a church that chooses to notice the lives of others.

The second thing to see is that we are both empowered and obligated to call a spade a spade.  It’s really quite amazing how much Jude seems to be piling on to these “certain people”.  Jude uses seven very negative analogies for the disruptive forces along with ascribing to them many less-than-flattering names and descriptions.  Jude is showing us that there is very little tolerance for those that would seek harm for His Church and His Name.

Finally, we should see that there is something very instructive about knowing your history.  Knowing your history doesn’t necessarily guarantee you won’t repeat it (with all due respect to George Santayana).  However, knowing one’s history provides clarity in spotting history-repeating bad behaviors—it removes our blinders and attunes our radar.  Knowing history shows us what happens when we don’t call out bad behavior—it paints a stark picture of action vs. inaction.  History puts things in perspective and shows us the constants of human sin-behavior, regardless of our context.

The truth is, many of you have not been trained very well to notice…or to confront in a godly way…or to know your History.  So how can we correct this?  I have some thoughts as to how we can do this at CityView Church.  I’ll hold some of my thoughts for now…but I’m guessing you’ll hear about them soon.  For now, I would urge you to consider the following.  Am I even committed to noticing when bad behavior and teaching happens around me—especially from those that lead me?  Am I committed to calling a spade a spade when it’s obvious and necessary?  Am I committed to knowing our history as it relates to false teaching?

Father God…let us notice when your glory is being clouded by the behavior and teaching of others.  Let us do this without being a people of “witch-hunts” and ungodly suspicions.  Give us the courage to confront those who choose an ungodly path and to do so using the Scriptures as a guide while also searching our own hearts to ensure we are not also in error.  Give us both respect and hunger for our history as a way to be more aware of our tendencies as a race and to be reminded of your graces that are showered upon us, despite the ways in which we have contributed to the pain and ills of this world.  We ask this in the name the strong and able name of Jesus—Amen.