Untitled Sermon (12)

1. He calls us (1b)

Jude continues by greeting the recipients of his epistle: To those who are called (1b).

The word translated called suggests being personally chosen by God.

Jesus tells His disciples they would be loved by the world if they belonged to it, but they are no longer part of the world (Jn 15:19a–c).

Then, what does Jesus tell them (15:19d)?

2. He loves/sanctifies us (1c)

Next, Jude tells us why we are called. It is because we are beloved in God the Father (1c).

Many Greek manuscripts read “sanctified,” which is how it is translated in the kjv and nkjv.

The verb translated beloved is a perfect, passive participle.

This means God’s love was made known in the past but continues in the present.

It can be literally translated “having been loved.”

This means God’s love for us never changes and never ends.

How does God describe His love for us in Jeremiah 31:3b?

Everlasting love means we can never do anything bad enough to make God stop loving us.

Isn’t that great to know!

If you are using the kjv or nkjv, you will notice the word “sanctified” instead of beloved.

The word translated “sanctified” means to be set apart to be used by God.

It refers to believers being separated from sinful, or worldly, behavior.

Salvation is instantaneous because we are saved immediately and eternally when in faith, through no effort of our own, we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord.

However, sanctification is a lifelong process through which we become more and more like Jesus Christ.

This process requires much effort on our part.

In John 17:17b, how does Jesus describe the tool God uses to sanctify us?

As we study and apply God’s Word, it has a cleansing, or sanctifying, effect on us.

Therefore, the more we apply God’s Word to our lives the more we become like Jesus Christ.

ANCIENT LETTERS TYPICALLY began with an identification of the sender, an identification of the recipient, and a greeting.

Jude follows this convention, but expands and modifies each part.

Thus, he not only identifies himself and his recipients, but he provides for each a brief description that helps us understand what this letter is about.

Jude writes not as a private individual but as a representative of Jesus Christ, and his readers are people who belong to Jesus Christ.

While a typical ancient letter greeting was usually the single word, “greetings” (chairein), Jude modifies it by turning it into a prayer-wish that his readers may enjoy the relationship with Christ they have already established.

Moreover, his greeting is unusual even when compared with other New Testament letters.

It is the only New Testament greeting that does not include a wish for “grace,” and it is the only one to include a request for “love.”

“Jude” translates a Greek word (Ioudas) that occurs forty-three times in the New Testament.

Six different men bear the name, but we can be pretty sure that the Jude who writes our letter is the brother of the Lord mentioned in Mark 6:3.

We know almost nothing about him.

Like Jesus’ other brothers, he did not follow the Lord during his earthly ministry.

But, as his self-description here indicates, that changed, perhaps during the time of Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry.

Jude is now “a servant of Jesus Christ.”

“Servant” can also be translated “slave”—the Greek word is not diakonos (“[household] servant”) but doulos (“[bond]slave”).

The word obviously indicates Jude’s subservience to the Lord whom he has come to know and to whom he now gives himself in service.

But the title also carries honor.

The great leaders of God’s people in the Old Testament were also called “servants” of God, such as Moses (Josh. 14:7; 2 Kings 18:12) and David (Ps. 18:1; Ezek. 34:23).

We should not overlook the fact that Jude can now put “Jesus Christ” in the place of “God” or “the Lord” in this honorific title.

We can well understand why Jude would identify himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ.”

Like Paul (cf., e.g., Rom. 1:1) and Peter (2 Peter 1:1), who do the same thing, Jude uses this title to establish his right to address Christians with an authoritative word from the Lord.

He does not write as simply a fellow Christian, but as one who serves and therefore represents Jesus Christ himself. Significantly, unlike both Paul and Peter, Jude does not call himself an “apostle.”

But if calling himself a “servant of Jesus Christ” makes perfect sense, it is harder to understand why Jude goes on to add the designation “a brother of James.”

Without any further description, this “James” must refer to the most famous James in the New Testament—the brother of Jesus (Gal. 1:19), who attained a high position in the early Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13–21; 21:18; Gal. 2:9) and who wrote the letter we now have in the New Testament.

Perhaps Jude adds this reference to distinguish himself from other early Christians with the same name: He is that Jude who is the brother of the famous James.

Or perhaps Jude is writing to Christians who know and have a high regard for James.

Perhaps even more interesting is the question as to why Jude does not here claim to be “a brother of the Lord.”

But, as we have noted, Jude’s physical relationship to Jesus did not bring him any spiritual benefit.

The title is therefore irrelevant to what he is doing in his letter.

Jude identifies his readers as Christians.

The key word in the description is “called” (kletois).

This word reflects the New Testament conviction that being a Christian is a product of God’s gracious reaching out to bring helpless sinners into a relationship with himself.

“Call” does not mean, then, “invite”—as if God were asking people to a party and they can either accept or decline.

Calling does not merely mean “invite” but conveys the idea of God’s power in bringing people from darkness to light.

Immutability means that God is unchangeable and thus unchanging. This does not mean that He is immobile or inactive, but it does mean that He is never inconsistent or growing or developing.

The fact that we have become Christians does not mean that we shall be automatically right in all we think and in all we do.

It means “choose” or “select,” and God’s “choosing”—because it is he, the sovereign Lord, who is doing it—is effective.

All this lies in the background.

The critical point here is that “those called,” like “saints,” becomes a standard way to describe Christians, who make up the new people of God (Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1).

Jude (2. Jude Gives a Warm and Typical Greeting (2)

Mercy, peace, and love: This is not the same greeting as found in most of Paul’s letters (which usually begin with some variation of “Grace and peace unto you”).

Yet it is substantially the same.

Be multiplied to you: In the mind and heart of Jude, it wasn’t enough to have mercy, peace, and love added to the life of the Christian.

He looked for multiplication instead of simple addition.

Contending With The Pretenders

Believers Are Special

Once Jude establishes the fact that believers are Sanctified, Safe and Summoned he says, Mercy unto you, and peace and love, be multiplied.

(Jude 1:2) God loves all people, but those who have come to Christ for the forgiveness of their sin hold a Special place in the heart of God.

He seeks to bestow every blessing possible upon His own.

God’s desire is that mercy, peace and love be multiplied among believers who are faithful to God and His word.

These three blessings are especially needful when Contending for the faith.

This little epistle concerns the apostasy of the last days.

God’s people need mercy during such times.

We serve a God who is rich in mercy.

(Ephesians 2:4), and exhorts us in His word to Come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:16) We certainly need mercy when dealing with apostasy.

The next great blessing the believer needs is Peace.

The ungodly will have no peace, But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

(Isaiah 57:20–21) But as believers we can have … the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.

(Philippians 4:7) One of the ways that we can enjoy peace, is to keep our hearts fixed on Christ.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3)

Peace involves the heart and the mind.“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee” (Isa. 26:3)

Faith in God’s promises is the only way to find peace in the midst of trouble. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (26:3, NKJV).

The main hinge on which faith turns is this: we must not imagine that the Lord’s promises are true objectively but not in our experience. We must make them ours by embracing them in our hearts.

We cannot rely on God’s promises without obeying his commandments.

God’s promises are made conditionally; not that the condition on our part deserves anything at God’s hand, but when God hath given the condition he gives the thing promised.

You cannot starve a man who is feeding on God’s promises.

Tackle life’s problems by trusting God’s promises.

Then there is love.

He who does not love sinners cannot pray aright for them. When we love sinners, then prayer is fervent. And when we love Jesus, then will the prayer be earnest. Love is the flaming torch to kindle the pile of our devotions.

How do you know when love is gone? If you said that you would be there at seven and you get there by nine, and he or she has not called the police yet, it’s gone.

Whatever a person maybe like, we must still love them because we love God.

There is nothing you can do to make God love you more! There is nothing you can do to make God love you less! His love is unconditional, impartial, everlasting, infinite, perfect! God is love!

The word for love is “agape.”

It is Calvary love.

This is the kind of love that is sacrificial, kind, pure, peaceable, humble and giving.

While we must stand strong and unwavering amidst the onslaught of apostasy, we must nevertheless stand with the right attitude.

Paul said, speaking the truth in love: (Ephesians 4:15)