Even as the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was first beginning to be spread throughout the world, the Apostles of Christ and the first evangelists faced challenges within the church from those who entered in, whose true motives, unknown to others, were to seize upon the opportunity to take advantage of the church for personal gain.

Jude devotes virtually his entire letter to addressing these opportunists who mingle among believers, presenting themselves as followers of Christ while feeding themselves and making merchandise of the good faith of others, saying:

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude:4)

These false brothers had turned the grace of God into lasciviousness by preaching a seductive gospel, while in reality they themselves were filthy dreamers who defiled the flesh and enticed others to engage with their sinful indulgences.

As wolves in sheep’s clothing, they may well be considered the fathers of what is sometimes termed “hyper-grace,” emphasizing a divine, unconditional grace that holds to eternal security and a promise of an irrevocable forgiveness of every sin under every circumstance, past, present, and before they are committed, regardless of obedience.

Jude warns against such, admonishing faithful believers to earnestly contend for the faith by bringing into remembrance “how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not” and how that “the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”

The Apostle Paul also stated that the things that happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness after they were saved were written for our benefit as examples to us, that by returning to Egypt in our hearts, we too could fall and be turned away from entering the promised kingdom.

Peter, in reference to Paul’s writings, said: “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness (2 Peter 3:17).”

Even so, every day, many read the scriptures throughout the Bible that refute the modern theologies of “once saved, always saved, and embrace interpretations designed to scratch the itching ears of those who desire to hear smooth things that promise that no one can lose their salvation. For this reason, many fall in the hour of temptation.

Thus, the prophecy of Joel is fulfilled in modern Christianity, saying, “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.”

The failure to preach and teach the full Gospel of Christ has resulted in a falling away from God, not only among professing Christians but in society overall, as unbelievers look at the churches and see a void of the spirit, or in many cases, a transparent imitation of Christianity that has a form of godliness but denies the power of God by lacking the fruits.

The only hope for mankind is a restoration of the truth of the gospel. The current gospel, or rather, “gospels,” for they are many, preached in the mainstream of Christianity today is a deceitful imitation that leads people away from the truth. At best, there are sincere believers who have been taught falsehoods handed down through the church for generations. There are few who are walking fully in the truth because, as Jesus said, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God, with nothing set to the side to accommodate interpretations that would quench the conviction of the Spirit. Trust every word of the Bible, as it is written. Beware of any versions that read into the verses and provide interpretations. Beware of explanations by preachers and teachers that are not absolutely made clear by the scriptures alone.

Watch and pray; work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; your pastor is not going to stand in judgment for you. You alone are responsible for your relationship with the Truth.

The grace of God is not forgiveness alone, but power—power to defeat sin, power to remove mountains and make the path straight, power to walk as Jesus walked, power to become perfect and be like God.

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” – (Matthew 5:48)