Jude
Twice dead v 12
Why could it not be that the church is the perfect place without any problems and everyone is nice? Jesus wanted his church to be a beautiful bride without any blemishes but it is not. Torn aside by division and anger, traditions and pride the church in this world has been defiled, muddled and abused. Jude brings these things to our attention. Written before the close of the 1st Century we realise that the church has always had problems and most of those problems have been caused by so called member of the church.
Here the man whom we believe may well have been a brother of the Lord Jesus himself writes about those who are twice dead. People who do not have Jesus as the centre of their lives and whose reliance is not entirely upon Him; rather they seek their own glory and position of authority. But how can something be twice dead? The image is of a fruit tree that bears no fruit and therefore no seed for the future and secondly it is torn up by the roots. Nothing for today and nothing for tomorrow.
The church is a living organism thankful for its heritage but serving for today and working towards tomorrow. Each generation must re-new its own vows to Christ. The elderly are concerned for the future but it is their duty and privilege to have used their lives in preparation for those to come. Each older generation wants good to come when they have gone to their eternal rest. Seeds of the future need to be constantly planted in ground that has been filled with love, fed with spiritual nutrients and when the seeds of salvation have been sown the emerging sapling has been nurtured and protected so that it might stand against the harshness of the winds of Satan. Then in turn the sapling becomes a tree to bear fruit for another generation. Not twice dead but twice alive. Each one re-born in Christ and offering up fruit for the future. Let the church be filled with new life in Christ.