⁶And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

God’s concern is not over the small stuff, though some will object to such a statement and elevate doctrinal minutiae to a level worthy of heresy trials. Indeed, there are many areas of interpretational latitude that stoke some theological tension but still allow for recognizing God’s grace in the lives of those with whom we disagree, even across denominational lines. The apostle Paul, for example, was able to see beyond the selfish ambition and envy of some evangelists and recognize, even rejoice, that Christ was still being preached (Philippians 1:15–18). And few things are more theologically significant than the issue of idolatry, yet Paul gave instructions for tolerating differing views of Christians eating food offered to idols (Rom. 14).

Lest anyone claims this harshness as being typical of OT spirituality and not part of the Christian message of love and forgiveness, we must remember that the Holy Spirit inspired the NT scripture, which says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Here, in Jude, we find the Holy Spirit warning believers not to be naïve about those who would mock God by their immorality and pretense of faith. Just as Jesus roundly condemned the Pharisees for their hypocritical posing as men of righteousness, so Jude soundly censures hypocritical people who pose as Christians. Those who distinguish the loving NT God from the judgmental God of the OT are on vacuous theological ground! We must not be naïve.

Jude now turns to the fall of angels as an example of crossing the boundaries God had set for them (e.g., Isaiah 14:1–15). Originally all angels were created for God’s glory, but some of them, under the leadership of Satan (a.k.a Lucifer), rebelled and became what the Bible calls the devil and his demons. Jude puts immoral pseudo-believers in the same category as demons! He also associates them (“in the same way as these”) with the immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those who distort God’s grace to justify their blatant immoral behavior deserve the same eternal judgment!

Lord, I shudder at Your judgment on those who pretend to be saved by grace but flaunt that grace as a license to live immorally.