Certain Men Crept in Unawares: Jude 1:1-7 Explained

Scriptures for Today

Jude 1-7
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:  2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.  3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  4 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.  5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.  6 And 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.  7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Introduction — Jude: The Final Battle Call Before Revelation

Jude is the last letter before Revelation — the final warning before Jesus returns. It is written by Jude, the half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55) and brother of James. He writes to believers who are:

• sanctified by God
• preserved in Christ
• called by the gospel

Jude initially intended to write a letter rejoicing in “the common salvation.” But something changed. Jude saw a danger that required urgent attention, so instead of writing a celebratory letter, he wrote a confrontational one. What happened?

Verse 4 explains it clearly — certain men had crept into the churches unnoticed. Because of this threat, Jude had to shift his purpose. He needed to call believers to defend the faith, to stand firm, and to recognize the danger already among them. The danger is great.

False teachers weren’t attacking from the outside. They weren’t launching assaults at the gates. They were already inside the churches. Crept in. Hidden. Camouflaged. This letter is a spiritual emergency alert — a call to battle.

Verse 1 — Sanctified, Preserved, Called

Jude 1
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Jude begins with the identity of the believer:

Sanctified by God the Father: Set apart. Made holy by God, not by works, not by religion.

Preserved in Jesus Christ: Kept safe. Guarded. Protected. You cannot lose salvation; Christ holds you.

Called: Saved by the voice of God through the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:14). God called you through the Gospel. When we came to you, He called you to listen and you listened.

This is written to believers are already saved. Jude starts with assurance because the rest of the letter is WAR. So get ready to fight because the book of Jude is about the fight that all of us will face.

Verse 2 — Multiplying Mercy, Peace, and Love

Jude 1:2
Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

This is not a greeting. It is a prayer for spiritual resources. We need those three things listed right there. MERCY, PEACE, and LOVE.

You need mercy because of sin. You need peace because of attacks. You need love because the battle is real.

And Jude doesn’t ask for “some.” He asks for multiplication — overflowing supplies for hard days. That’s what we ask for right now. Please give us mercy, peace, and love and multiply it over and over again. We need more and more and more.

Verse 3 — Contend for the Faith

Jude 1:3
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Jude’s purpose shifts.

He wanted to write about the common salvation and the only salvation. But God told him to write about warfare. Why? Because it was NEEDFUL for Jude to write this. Salvation is only through Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

The word contend means: fight, struggle, stand firm, and do not surrender.

“The faith” is not your personal belief. It is the body of truth delivered by God, complete and perfect. This faith was once delivered — not evolving, not changing, not updated.

The world changes. False doctrine changes. People change. But truth does not. For example, the 100% truth and fact that God does not want women pastoring churches and becoming deacons in churches is very clear. But people will still believe false doctrine. God says things very clearly and plainly concerning this, but people are still deceived by that every day more and more.

1 Timothy 3:2-5
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;  3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;  4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;  5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

Verse 4 — The Enemy Inside the Camp

Jude 1:4
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.

This verse describes the two ways false teachers corrupt Christianity:

1. They turn grace into lasciviousness. They preach:

• “Grace means sin is fine.”
• “Live however you want.”
• “Holiness is legalism.”

They use grace as a license for filth. This is everywhere today — Christianity without repentance, without change, without holiness. And what they teach is not okay.

For example, one pastor not too long ago, said that preaching against sin is witchcraft. When people say not to preach against sin, something is very wrong.

For example, a woman that came here didn’t like me preaching that women can’t be pastors and then I hear she’s telling others that me preaching against alcohol and drug use is also wrong. And she spreads these lies like a devil. That’s what a devil does.

2. They deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Not always with their mouth. Sometimes by:

• doctrine
• lifestyle
• refusing His authority
• lowering His deity

Every cult does this — JW’s, Mormons, Unitarians — all deny the Lord. And another thing I will not allow here is Mormons mixed with Baptists. We don’t do that here. That’s wickedness. Mormons don’t agree with us in anything that we say. They don’t agree on Jesus. They don’t agree on the Gospel. They have their dirty secret underwear that I want no part of here.

Jude says they “crept in.” They didn’t knock. They slid in unnoticed. So, we will notice them here because we watch. And these are men that are pure evil. “Ordained to this condemnation” the Bible says. UNGODLY MEN.

Within a congregation, there will always be unbelievers acting as believers. Always. People can be outwardly connected to this congregation. They can be physically delivered from things. They can see miracles. And they can still reject God entirely. I believe Jude is speaking of these people.

Verse 5 — Example #1: Israel Delivered, Then Judged

Jude 1:5
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

The Lord physically saved Israel. That doesn’t mean they were all saved from hell. Israel was delivered by blood and power. But multitudes still rejected God in unbelief. And I mean never believing God. Most people will never believe God.

They saw the Red Sea split. They saw manna fall from heaven. They heard God speak. Water turned into blood. Frogs covering the land. Swarms of flies. Cattle dying. Boils erupting on Egyptians. Hail mingled with fire. Locusts devouring the land. Thick darkness for three days. The passover. The pillar of cloud and fire. Meat from quails covering their camp a long ways. Water from a rock. The glory of God visible like a devouring fire. They saw the earth swallow Korah and his rebels.

These people saw more miracles in 12 months than most of the prophets saw in a lifetime. Yet they refused to believe. This was a deliberate, hardened rejection of God. This shows one truth:

Proximity to miracles does not make a person saved. This is Jude’s warning. If Israel had unbelievers sitting in the congregation, so will the churches.

Verse 6 — Example #2: Angels Who Rebelled

Jude 1:6
And 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.

These angels abandoned their God-given position. Their rebellion was so severe that God chained them until judgment.

If holy angels are judged, If heavenly beings face wrath, Then certainly ungodly men who deny Christ will not escape.

Verse 7 — Example #3: Sodom and Gomorrah

Jude 1:7
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Sodom is not just a city — it is a warning. “Strange flesh” = unnatural, perverted, vile sin. Their judgment was: public, permanent, eternal.

Jude says they are “set forth for an example.” Meaning: If God judged them, He will judge those who repeat their sins.

So, this city has given itself over to fornication. Allow me to explain. Fornication is a sexual relationship out of God’s definition of Biblical marriage. Biblical marriage is between one man and one woman. And I want you to see how serious God is about fornication. If you continue to have sexual relationships outside of marriage, make sure you read that verse closely.

Going after strange flesh. This means pursuing sexual relationships that are not natural, forbidden, and outside how God created human beings to function. Men with men is an example. That’s strange. That’s nasty. Women with women is strange and nasty.

And, if you want to argue about that, then you can look up above and you can argue with your Creator and tell Him that He’s wrong. HE MADE YOU. He didn’t make you to be a lesbian or a homosexual.

The fire that fell on Sodom is a preview of the judgment coming on this world.

In Genesis 18, we see Abraham asking the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there are 50 righteous in the city, then 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, then 10. If God would have found 10 righteous people in the city, He wouldn’t have destroyed the entire city.

Genesis 19:24-25
Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;  25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

All the land of the plan went up in smoke as the smoke of a furnace. Destroyed by God Himself. Now, if you want to go around that story somehow and act like God doesn’t have wrath against sodomites, then go ahead and ignore the truth. Make up things like: “That’s not why God destroyed them.” Yeah it is. IT IS WRITTEN.

Right before God destroyed them, this happened:

Genesis 19:4-5
But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:  5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

Know them right there means sexually.

Genesis 4:1
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

Same book. Same meaning. All the men of the city surrounded the home with Lot and the angels. “Where are the men? Bring them out to us that we may KNOW THEM.” And then they tried to break down Lot’s door. This means they weren’t there for a conversation to get to know them. So, God destroyed that wicked place full of homosexuals.

And then Jude verifies that for us. “Giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh.” This world deceives so many people that they will listen to some ungodly woman running her mouth about how this is wrong. IT IS WRITTEN in the Bible so you can see it all yourself. Believe some ungodly woman running her mouth or believe the Bible.

Many will believe the ungodly woman on Tik Tok. You have people on Tik Tok teaching people how to live a good life while they prey on churches, deceive people, lie, steal, kill, and act like a fool every day.

Application — What Jude 1:1–7 Teaches Us Today

1. False teachers always enter quietly. They don’t look dangerous. They smile. They flatter. They appear spiritual. But doctrine exposes them. Ask them what they believe. Sometimes they will lie. I’ve seen that during soul winning. A false preacher told me he knew what I believed so he just told me what he knew I believed. And then said I don’t believe that. I was just saying that. So be very careful.

2. Grace does not excuse sin. Turning grace into lasciviousness is the hallmark of apostasy. “Oh, don’t preach against sin because we are under God’s grace. No matter what you do it’s okay.” It’s not okay false preacher.

3. Denying Jesus Christ is the root of all heresy. The deity of Christ is the line between truth and darkness. Latter Day Satanists (LDS), Mormons, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints deny Jesus is God. Stay away from them.

4. God judges unbelief. Israel, angels, and Sodom prove it. If you want to deny God and not believe what He says, you will be judged by God. You judged His words as a lie, called Him a liar, and one day you’ll be judged for that. Unbelievers will be sent to the fiery hell that lasts forever. If you don’t like that, I don’t care. If you want to create false doctrine that says there is no everlasting torment in hell, you will find out.

5. Believers must contend. Not argue for sport. Not fight over opinions. But defend the gospel delivered once for all. We will continue to preach the truth. We will not water down the Bible. We will not make it weak to make some women out there happy and feminine men happy. Men in this world are becoming more and more feminine. A real man contends for the faith.

For example, when a man is cussing Jesus Christ, I am going to tell that man to shut his mouth for his own good. And you might say: “But that’s not a nice way to put it.” A pastor shouldn’t say shut your mouth. Watch this: “Shut YOUR mouth.” Instead of telling the man who is cursing the Lord God Almighty to be quiet, you tell the pastor to be quiet. Pretty amazing.

Conclusion — A Call to Wake Up and Stand Up

Jude shows us that the greatest danger to the church is not atheism, Islam, or secularism. The danger is inside — false doctrine, false grace, false teachers.

The world is getting darker. Christianity is being diluted. Churches are being infiltrated. But God has preserved you. God has called you. God has set you apart. So:

• Stand firm.
• Fight for truth.
• Do not surrender the gospel.
• Do not compromise holiness.
• Do not fall asleep in the battle.

The faith was delivered once. We must defend it faithfully.

Let’s pray.