In this story of a woman seeking an earthly judge to take her case against some oppressors, God reveals that He most certainly will avenge His own. He does not promise to do it immediately – maybe not even in our lifetime. You can be sure, though, that He will do it.

With this promise in mind, we are to endure and wait for His righteous judgment. It will be a perfect judgment, and God will get the glory in it. At that time, we will thank Him for it.

The thing that this text brings out is – “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” In other words, who is willing to stay faithful even when it looks like God is not seeing what the wicked do?

Friends, things are not going to get better. In fact, they will get worse, much worse. Despite what happens around us, God does not change, and His promises are still valid. Mankind will go further and further into what is in his heart: a very sinful nature that will not be ruled by God. We are seeing it all around us now.

Unless you determine now that – with His help – you will not vary in your faith and faithfulness to God and His church, you will not stand when it gets bad.

Ask God right now to help you stand today for Him and do not be concerned about the future. Do not look at the coming storm – but at the One Who is still on the Throne!

Although men (and some women) will bring false teachings into the church, note that he says that these “ungodly men” are “ordained to this condemnation.” In other words, just like beings of the past have not escaped God’s judgment for sin, modern day “ungodly men” – are sure not to escape it, either.

He tells them to remember God’s undeniable judgments in the past on the ungodly:

1. The ungodly unbelievers that He brought out of Egypt by Moses (vs. 5)
2. The fallen angels before the flood (vs. 6). It should also be remembered that God destroyed all flesh in the flood because of their sin – except for one family.
3. The ungodly fornicators (a reference to all sexual sin outside of God’s ordained plan) of Sodom and Gomorrah (vs. 7)
4. Those that “despise dominion” (authority) and are disrespectful of authorities – although we may not agree, we are to pray for them.

Jude further exposes the sins of these evil men attempting to bring corrupt doctrines into the church (“but these” [men]):

1. They speak evil of things they do not understand (vs. 10)
2. They only know things naturally (of the flesh) – making them no different than “brute beasts” (they have no comprehension of real spiritual truth)
3. They corrupt themselves
4. They duplicate Balaam’s sin – compromise God’s truth for the sake of gain (vs. 11). (Is this how false religious leaders gain their riches?).

Christian, it is a good idea to remind yourself of God’s attitude toward sin of any kind. He absolutely hates it. It took the death of God’s Son to reveal how much He hates it, but at the same time how much He loves us. May we honor Him by getting the victory over it with His help.

More and more, the world makes sin look like it is normal, desirable, and everybody does it – but none of it will escape His eye or judgment! Christians engaging in known sin will not be blessed for it! By God’s grace, determine to steer clear of it.

By God’s grace (goodness), believers have the power available to them to get victory over any sin. Once born again, as a believer, you do not ever need to yield to another sin. If yielding occurs – which will happen occasionally – there is no victory in that situation. The promise of victory is repeated over and over in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament.

The verse above makes it clear that the strength to have that victory does not come from the individual believer. The strength comes from “the Lord,” and it is “in the power of his might.”

According to the very next verse, God’s power is given so that you as a believer may “be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” The word “wiles” means Satan’s trickery or evil devices.

If you want to have this power for victory, some conditions need to be met first. They include:

1. You must have a sure salvation. You are not hoping you are saved – you know that you are already saved.
2. Be on praying ground. This means that your sins are confessed to God and you are not holding on to some secret sin. You not only talk to God but you are also listening to Him talk to you – in your spirit (not audibly).
3. You are seeking to obey God in your daily life and want to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Mt. 6:33). Obeying God means you are:

• a. Baptized and going to church regularly
• b. Reading your Bible daily
• c. Praying
• d. Telling others about Christ and salvation
• e. Giving to the local church.

As you learn to get victory in God’s power, you will find that Satan is not to be feared. He is smarter than you, though, so do not try to match wits with Him. When you see a temptation – call on God immediately for help and resist the evil one’s device. As you do this, you will find that God can help you “stand” firmly and not yield. Then, each time you get victory, be sure to thank God for it.