Jude: Contending For The Faith In Today's CultureSample

Hell

Jude continued in this theme of using narratives and people from the past to make a point for those he was writing to presently, so that they’d be aware of what was going to happen in the future. Read Jude 14-16.

Why do God’s words and the examples of God’s judgment in the past matter for us today? 

What influence do they have over how and why we’ll contend for the faith? 

Read John 5:22-29. 

God’s judgment of the ungodly will culminate in them being thrown into the fiery furnace (Matt. 13:41-42), which is also known as “hell.” In the New Testament, Jesus spoke about hell the most. It is the loving Son of God, Jesus Christ, who provided descriptions for us to understand how hell (aka the place where God’s divine wrath will be eternally poured on the ungodly) will look, feel, sound, and so on. 

People commonly push back against the doctrine of hell, saying it seems like a contradiction for God to be considered loving and yet send people to hell. “If God is love,” they say, “no one should go to hell.”

If someone were to ask you, “How can a loving God send people to hell?”, what would you say in the defense of the truth (or the faith)?

God is love, but God is also holy. It is because He is loving that He must also hate. 

Imagine if we lived in a world where all sins against God and people, such as lying, stealing, adultery, murder, racism, sexual immorality, and abuse, just to name a few, were never dealt with. 

Imagine if we had a justice system that never executed justice. Where those who have murdered were not indicted. Where those who have stolen millions were not caught and kept from doing the same thing again. Where those who have abused the vulnerable, oppressed the poor, and failed to care for the marginalized were never ever confronted about their wrongdoing. At a fundamental level, we’d conclude that a justice system like that was unjust and if unjust, then not good. 

This might describe our current justice system and the world in which we live, but it does not and will never describe God. God’s holy goodness means He must judge all wrongdoing. No matter how big or small. 

Close today in prayer, thanking God for His love, His goodness, and His justice. How does God’s justice better help you understand His love? 

For more of this study by author Jackie Hill Perry, visit https://www.lifeway.com/jude.