This is not a warm and fuzzy prophetic word that will make us feel good. It is a somber warning. Unless we understand its reality, we will become unwitting victims of something we do not need to experience.

A recent news report advised that a snapping turtle, an invasive species native to the South, has been reported wandering in a pasture in Harrisburg, Oregon just north of Eugene. Who knows if it has produced offspring? Apparently, someone released the turtle into the wild – an illegal act. A snapping turtle is large and has a very strong bite. If provoked or harassed they have been known to can take chunks of flesh, fingers, or toes. 

There are also invasive species in the Church. These are people who have entered the faith whose purpose is hidden until it begins to inflict damage. Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote his very strong single-chapter epistle about such a warning. We ignore the reality of his warning to our peril. 

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (vs. 3-4). 

The operative word in those verses is “contend.” It’s not a passive word. To contend for something requires our engagement. It is taking a stand for truth once an error is discovered. Jude is referencing immorality and a denial of the Lordship of Jesus. The error carried by this kind of person can slip into our most intimate circles of fellowship like an invasive species bringing with them deceptive heresies ignored by those whose faith is immature and who see no danger in their continued presence.

These people remain hidden like an ocean reef until our faith collides with their presence. “When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you” (vs. 12). Unless discovered and challenged, they will sink the faith of people who assumed nothing was amiss.

The unchallenged presence of such people will eventually create division, “But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. They told you that in the last times, there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you” (vs. 17-18).

We have an assignment when these individuals are discovered. “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others. but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives” vs. 22-23). An invasive species carries with it a strong deception that unless removed by contending for what is true will eventually contaminate the environment of our fellowship. The strength of our contending is motivated by a hatred of the sin that’s taking place, not the ones perpetuating the sin. An unredeemed mind tells us this is impossible. With God’s love, all things are possible, even hating the sin but loving the sinner.

The plumbline of truth is hanging in the fellowship of God’s people examining us in preparation for what is coming. This is not about being preoccupied with all the evils we see taking place in an unredeemed world or allowing the spirit of suspicion to rule. This plumbline examination is to determine what we have allowed to live and prosper in our midst that stands against the truth of God’s word and the Lordship of Jesus. This is never a comfortable or welcomed assignment, but a necessary one that will keep our faith and our circles of fellowship safe living in the truth and free from the bite of an unchallenged invasive species of falsehood and error.