The Need for Patience in Biblical Study

  

"There is a different side to character that a Bible scholar needs to develop-virtues. For one thing a Bible teacher or scholar needs lots and lots of patience. Despite the fact that our culture suggests we can have everything quickly, getting at the meaning of ancient texts in their original contexts is, or can be, a slow process. Sometimes the outcomes of a detailed and intense study of the Bible in its culture can be disappointing. It's precisely when the text does not cough up the results you were expecting or wanting that you find out what sort of Bible teacher or scholar you actually are."

Ben Witherington III, Is There a Doctor in the House? An Insider's Story and Advice on Becoming a Biblical Scholar (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 127. 
  

Witherington on the Kind of Bible Teachers We Don't Need

  

"There's hardly anything sadder than to run into a teacher of the Bible who does not believe the Bible and may even have a guilty conscience about making a living from teaching the Bible. I have known a few such folk, and they, perhaps above all Bible teachers, need our prayers. It is true, of course, that God can write straight with a crooked stick. We all know the story of God's using not only Balaam, but Balaam's donkey to convey the truth. But these examples are far from ideal. Jesus wanted disciples, not mere marionettes that he could manipulate to talk for him.

"The warning that "not many of you (Christians) should presume to be teachers" could be further amplified if we are talking about people who are not even inclined to believe the Bible, or even worse are prepared to caricature, ridicule, and stereotype the Bible, or use it to pursue their own unbiblical agendas. We don't need Bible teachers like that, especially in a biblically illiterate culture already prone to dismiss the Bible as a relic of the past."  

Ben Witherington III, Is There a Doctor in the House? An Insider's Story and Advice on Becoming a Biblical Scholar (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 126. 
  

Those in Theological Error

Martin Downes has posted an interesting piece on "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Heretics." While the title is a bit over the top in my opinion, Downes does make a helpful observation concerning the different types of people who are involved in theological error.

"In an unpublished paper given at a B.E.C. conference the late Rev. Robert Sheehan helpfully talked about how in the New Testament there are five kinds of people who are in error, and five different responses to those errors by the apostles. They are:

1. The sincerely ignorant
2. The sincere misinterpreter
3. The temporarily inconsistent
4. The deceived
5. The deceivers"

My Summary Argument for the Book of Jude

The message of Jude is that contending for the faith means recognizing and rejecting false teachings and false teachers until they are judged at the coming of the Lord.

The practical foundation for contending is the positional foundation of being called, beloved, and kept (1) and the divine provision of mercy, peace, and love (2). It is from this “common salvation” that the exhortation to contend earnestly for the faith against those who would ultimately deny Jesus Himself proceeds (3–4). Furthermore, in the introductory section (1–4), three themes are introduced that dominate the remainder of the epistle. First, he introduces the idea of contending for the faith (i.e. resisting and rejecting false teachers and teachings). Second, Jude introduces the false teachers/teachings. Third, Jude introduces the idea of judgment (“condemnation”) of the false teachers.

In the main body of the epistle, Jude reminds his readers that resistance and rejection of false teachers/teachings is wholly appropriate given God’s past, present, and future rejection and condemnation of false teachers. In the past God dealt with the disobedient Israelites, wayward angels, and the immoral people of Sodom and Gomorrah (5–7). In the present, the false teachers stand condemned before God as they revisit the sins of the past (8–13). For such men, judgment is inevitable and certain (14–16). Thus, false teachers have nothing to offer other than certain and severe judgment.

In the conclusion of the epistle, Jude reminds his readers that contending for the faith and resisting false teachers requires both awareness of the threat (17–18), diligence in maintaining a healthy spiritual life (19–21), and a willingness to help others (22–23). Jude closes his epistle with a word of affirmation and encouragement (24–25) that echoes vv. 1–2 (note the idea of kept/keep) which is so important to remember when contending for the faith.