Understanding The Bible
STUDY REFERENCE
Clarence E. Mason's "Later New Testament Epistles"
Jude

EXPOSITORY ANALYSIS

 

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BY THE AUTHOR
Dr. Clarence E. Mason, Jr.
Philadelphia College of Bible
1968

EXPOSITORY ANALYSIS

Studied in the light of its key word "KEPT" we find:

 

  1. "Kept (by God) for Jesus Christ" (RV) 1-2
    "Preserved in Jesus Christ." Preserves are sweet; some Christians seem to have been pickled rather than preserved! (See Scofield margin or RV for correct reading here.)
     

  2. Keep the faith! 3-4

    1. A DUTY: to defend the faith.
      "While I was giving diligence.. .1 was constrained" (3, RV) B. A DANGER: the presence of heretics both in faith and in practice 4 Thought of "creeping in" suggests the subtlety of Satan. God in His plan for the ages gave a place to evil in the plan but purposed it should come to its consummation before the second coming of Jesus Christ (cp. 2 Thes. 2:3,4,7,8; 2 Tim. 4:1).
       

  3. "Kept unto judgment" (RV) 5-7

    1. People of Israel

    2. Angels who sinned
      These kept not the faith, so therefore they are kept unto judgment.

    3. Sodom and Gomorrah
      My division of angelology in descending ranks of power is:
       

      UNFALLEN ANGELS FALLEN ANGLES
      Cherubim (Seraphim) Unbound:  Satan, "the cherub that covered,"
      Principalities and powers
      General body (demons)
      Archangels
      Other super-angles, principalities, powers, thrones, etc. Bound:  Those who united with mankind; bound because they kept not their first sphere (not to be confused with demons).
      General body of angels

       

  4. Not keeping the faith always leads to disastrous deterioration of character, spiritually and morally 8-19 (cp. 2 Pet. 2)

    1. SPIRITUALLY - denying authority by not keeping in the sphere of doctrine that God commanded and as result becoming blasphemers (cp. angels who left proper sphere).

    2. MORALLY - they defile the flesh, become greedy of money, deceivers, etc. (cp. Sodom and Gomorrah and angels)

  5. "Keep in the love of God" so that you may be kept! 20-23 A building going up on a Great Foundation. We grow "in" grace, not "into" grace.

  6. Kept from stumbling! 24-25



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