Monday Devo

January 19th, 2026

Scripture:

Jude 1
This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.
I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.
2 May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.

Commentary:

1–2 Initial Greeting. Although he is the brother of Jesus, Jude identifies himself as his servant (Gk. doulos), acknowledging Jesus as Lord. He is also the brother of James, who plays a major role in the NT (Matt. 13:55; Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12; by this time, the only “James” who could be identified by name only without further description was James the Lord’s brother—see note on Acts 12:17). called. See note on Rom. 8:30. Beloved (Gk. participle of agapaō) shows the intimate relationship between God the Father and the readers. It also shows that God has set his special love on them for salvation. At the outset of his letter to Christians who are threatened by false teachers, Jude reminds them that they will be kept and preserved by God’s power from falling away. The introduction thus anticipates the confident and joyful conclusion in Jude 24–25.

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2449.

Questions:

We will eventually find out in our study of Jude that his purpose in writing is to correct false teaching that is running rampant in the church. It was true then and it's true today. Some false doctrines of today include, "Grace means you don't have to live a holy life; God wants you to be you and to follow your heart wherever it takes you; God doesn't care what we do with our bodies and with whom; Restricting yourself isn't something God would ever want for you." But the bottom line is that your doctrine and theology matters. What you believe matters! Which of the false doctrines listed above have do you see the most in the world around you? Are there any more not listed? Are there any you have fallen prey to in the past?
Reflect on this quote from Tim Keller: “When you say, ‘Doctrine doesn’t matter; what matters is that you live a good life,’ that is a doctrine. It is called the doctrine of salvation by your works rather than by grace. It assumes that you are not so bad that you need a Savior, that you are not so weak that you can’t pull yourself together and live as you should. You are actually espousing a whole set of doctrines about the nature of God, humanity, and sin.” How important is right doctrine to you? With competing false doctrines everywhere you look, how to you ensure you don't drift away but continue to stand on a firm foundation?

Prayer Topics:

That right doctrine would be of utmost importance to you.
That you would do what is necessary to pursue right doctrine.

This Week's City 7:

Try to commit to memory!

3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)

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