Soul Care

The central message of Jude is deception. Because of that fact, it is important to keep the definition of deception and its dangers in mind throughout the entire study of this short but powerful epistle.

To deceive as defined in the dictionary is "to mislead by a false appearance or statement." In practical terms it means to "trick, mislead by false appearance or statement, or fraud."

It would be wonderful if harmless deception was used only to bring joy and happiness to the world, but unfortunately we are constantly confronted by those who would seek to use deception for selfish and evil purposes. The thread of being defrauded is growing exponentially with the explosion of technology which allows every kind of person to communicate and target millions of people instantaneously.

In a spiritual context deception is used as a tool of satan to destroy an eternal relationship with God. The Christian must not be ignorant of satan's plans and deception, but at the same time not allow him to cast doubt or rob the believer of the hope that is within him. Just because the world is deceived and even people in the Church are succumbing to unbelief is no reason to deny or even question their faith.