Traverse the Sea of Lostness

April 27

“(They are) raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever,” Jude 1:13.

This brief verse is a rather scathing indictment against someone…but against whom? Taken out of context, it would appear that Jude (a half-brother of our Lord) has some harsh things to say about unbelievers, but in fact he is speaking here of leaders within the church.

Jude’s accusation is that these false pretenders of faith in Christ are, in fact, the perpetrators of contention and strife within the Body of Christ. Jude’s reference here indicates that they are like raging storms at sea which froth and foam discord within the Church.

We know about the potential outcome of different points of view among religious groups. We know that they can become divisive to the point of culminating in an actual ‘split,’ a separation of one portion of the body of believers from another. New churches and even new denominations have been formed because of doctrinal differences.

This kind of breech is not unique to our day. In fact a sharp conflict ensued between Paul and Barnabas that resulted in two missionary teams going forth rather than the one they shared together. Paul and Barnabas argued because Paul did not want to include Mark, Barnabas' cousin who had deserted them on a previous missionary journey, on their next venture.

Scripture does not record the results of Barnabas' missionary activity, but we know Paul continued the ministry that propelled the gospel across Europe and into the known world and ultimately into history.

Even though they were not of one mind regarding Mark, they remained true to one purpose-- spreading the saving message of Jesus--and God honored their efforts. They acknowledged their division, then continued to work toward the furtherance of the gospel. Unfortunately, all divisions between believers do not result in the kind of success story that Paul had.

We can speculate that because of the silence of the Scriptures regarding Barnabus’s missionary journey, his efforts were not noteworthy. (See Acts 15:36-41.)

We can also resolve to settle our disagreements amicably and to be so focused on the dispersion of the gospel among the lost that we won’t have time to indulge petty differences. However, if any who have departed from the true faith are in leadership among us, we must earnestly strive to remove them from their high office so people of mature faith in Christ will be at the helm of this great ship that traverses the Sea of Lostness to bring those who are lost to the Shore of Salvation.