Jude 1:5–7
Spiritual privilege does not shield those who abandon faith or reject divine authority from judgment.
5 Now I desire to remind you, though you already know this, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who didn’t believe.
6 Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having in the same way as these given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are shown as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
Spiritual privilege does not shield those who abandon faith or reject divine authority from judgment.
To warn believers that God consistently judges rebellion, even among those who have experienced deliverance or held privileged positions.
These verses begin Jude’s first major proof section. After identifying infiltrators (vv. 3–4), Jude supplies three historical examples to show that God judges rebellion. This triad establishes the theological seriousness of the crisis and prepares for further denunciation (vv. 8–16).
Contend for the Faith, Keep Yourselves in God’s Love, and Rest in the God Who Keeps You
Because ungodly distortion threatens the church, believers must contend for the once-for-all faith with discernment, mercy, and confidence in the God who keeps his people.