Tuesday Devo
Scripture:
Jude 1
12 When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.
12 When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.
Commentary:
12–13 The False Teachers Exemplify Depravity with Impunity. Jude compares the false teachers to hidden reefs that will suddenly destroy ships that come too near. These opponents of the gospel constitute concealed dangers because they participate in the love feasts (including the Lord’s Supper), thus acting as if they were Christians. They do not shepherd and care for others but only look after themselves. They are like waterless clouds, promising rain that never falls. They promise fruit but are like fruitless trees. They are like wandering stars (probably meaning planets) that give misleading guidance to travelers. casting up the foam of their own shame. The heretics’ sexual permissiveness shows that they are in spiritual darkness. Their eternal condemnation in the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2450–2451.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2450–2451.
Questions:
- Jude compares the false teachers to trees that bear no fruit and are pulled up by the roots. They are TWICE dead. DEAD dead. We learned last week that going with what we think is best rather than following God's Word is evil. On the contrary, Psalm 1:1 says, "Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do." Which is most true of your life? Do you tend do go your own way? Or do you "delight in the law of the Lord?" What kind of fruit is your tree bearing?
- No water from the cloud, no fruit from the tree... this PROVES that they are not living and teaching according to the Word of God but, instead, their own distortions of truth. They are living and teaching a counterfeit that comes from their own sinful minds. How do we know? Because Isaiah 55 says that God's Word ALWAYS produces fruit and it will accomplish what God wants it to. What is God's Word accomplishing in your life right now? How much different would your life look if you ONLY followed HIS truth and not your own?
Prayer Topics:
- That your life would produce the best kind of fruit.
- That you would stand on the truth of His Word today.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
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