4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Sovereign (Gr. despotan) and Lord of us, Jesus Christ. 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ... 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. (verse 4 is my own translation).
Here I understand Jude to be speaking about "ungodly men" who with all humanity were redeemed by Jesus Christ in the Christ event -- hence his use of the word despotan (see below). Yet they are not former believers; rather these are men who have perpetually refused to believe in him, which is similar to what Peter says concerning certain false teachers in his congregations: "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord (Gr. despotan) who redeemed them, and bring on themselves swift destruction" (2 Pet 2:1). And so, in verse 5 we see that Jude is saying to these Christians that even though these ungodly men were redeemed in the Christ event, their fate will be the same as those whom God had "saved" out of Egypt who, even after having been delivered, refused to believe.
Just another way of looking at it,
Bill
> > I understood Gary to be referring to believers.
> > If that was incorrect then, I apologize. If he was
> > and you agreed with him then, you would've been
> > disagreeing with yourself. Which was it?
>
> Did you read the passage that I quoted?
>
> Jude 1:5
> (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.
>
> Jude is talking about those who were once saved, but were afterward
> destroyed when they believed not. This highlights exactly what kind of
> Christians continue in sin. They are like those Israelites who were
> delivered from slavery in Egypt, only to perish in the desert because they
> believed not.
>
> Peace be with you.
> David Miller.
>
> ----------
> "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
>
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