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. — Jude 1:4
There are many lessons that I have learned in my life. As long as I live, I will never forget the words of my dad as I grew up, reminding me that I should guard my reputation. The lesson was that when you have something that is good, you want to protect it. You do not want to let something in that will ruin it.
We see a warning similar here in Jude, where in verse 4 he describes how certain men crept in. From all indications, these men crept in over a period of time, but some time had elapsed since they got into the group of Christians he was writing to. He said that these men were ungodly, corrupting the group and turning the good thing that God was doing into wickedness. They were denying God and Jesus Christ.
As I read these words, I cannot help but think about our nation today. We used to be a nation that stood for God and valued God. But now, we are a nation that has turned its back on God. It was not because God changed, but we allowed leaders to gain control that turned our nation against God. They turned our nation toward wickedness and sin.
As a nation, we did not guard what we had and protect it from these ideas that crept in. It was not an immediate move, but a gradual one over some time, just like Jude describes here. God has blessed our nation so much, but we have allowed leaders who push ideas that are directly contrary to the word of God.
As a nation, we must turn our focus back to God. We must defend the things God has given us once again. If we do not change our ways, our ways will destroy our nation once and for all.
