Truth In Tension

INTRODUCTION:

Before Jesus’ crucifixion he was put through a mock trial by the religious establishment.

As part of that trial Jesus stood before Pilate, governor of Judea. They had a fascinating discussion about truth. (John 18:33-38)

Pilate asks Jesus, “So you’re a king?”

Jesus responds, “That’s right, I’m a king and my purpose is to testify to that which is true. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)

Pilate responds with a cynical question. “What is truth?”

I say cynical because he wasn’t curious for an answer.

For Roman politicians, truth was determined by power. Truth for Jesus (and the Biblical vision) is objective, fixed and eternal.

Truth in Tension

Those two approaches to truth are still in tension today.

Some see truth as a something fixed and objective. Others say it’s more fluid and subjective.

In our culture, truth is much more stretchy and open to manipulation.

It’s not discovered it’s constructed.

We don’t live by it, we leverage it.

It’s more like a brand than a thing to which we bow.

This battle for truth has existed for centuries. Every culture that loses touch with the truth eventually ceases to exist.

It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. “Did God really say…?”

And just and Adam and Eve lost the Garden of Eden - every culture since then who abandons the truth begins a trajectory of decline.

The corruption of truth begins the end of a culture.

Read The Text

This dynamic is addressed in the letter of Jude. (If you’re new to Jude you’re not alone!)

It’s one of the most interesting yet neglected letters in the New Testament.(shortest but least understood)

Jude introduces himself in the first two verses and then gives his reason for writing..

Jude 3–4 CSB

3 Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. 4 For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

We introduced this book last week by focusing on his greeting. To be true contenders there were things you must remember. (your chains, calling and God’s compassion.)

Their contending was due to a poisonous rot was spreading within the church.

“Certain people” were the source of this rot. We don’t know their names or identities, only the things that they did.

They were professing faith but perverting grace and denying the authority of Jesus.

FIGHT FOR TRUTH

So Jude tells these believers that they need to “contend for the faith.”

Faith is an important New Testament word. It gets used in a variety of ways (just as we use it today)

Sometimes faith describes a relational dynamic, a subjective disposition of trust and allegiance. This is why Christian faith involves a “personal relationship with Jesus.”

But Christian faith isn’t just a relationship “with” Jesus. It also involves certain truths “about” Jesus. That’s an important dynamic that often gets neglected.

People can make equal but opposite errors on either side of the equation.

Some only focus on the subjective nature of faith. Others only focus on the objective nature of faith. The reality of Christian faith includes both.

Truth faith involves confidence IN a catalog of truths.

While Jude addresses both, his emphasis here is on the latter.

The faith they were to contend for was objective, fixed and theological truth .

Truths about God.

Truths about Christ.

Truths about sin.

Truths about man.

Truths about the future.

On and on we could go.

When you divorce the Christian faith from it’s theological substance, you no longer have a genuine faith.

Subjective experience without objective truth can take any shape that it wants.

This is why the Bible says faith comes by HEARING. There cannot be faith without the hearing of words. (Rom 10:17)

Words are the vehicle for conveying ideas. Faith is not a feeling it’s a response to certain truths.

It’s showing through your actions your allegiance to that truth.

Because faith is a catalog of truth two things logically flow.

There will always be need to contend for that truth.

There will always be attempts to counterfeit that truth.

Those are two points Jude makes in these verses.

Contend for the Truth

First, there will always be appeals to contend for the truth.

The word translated “contend” is used only here in the New Testament.

It’s where we get our English word “agonize.” It’s not always a pleasant experience. (especially in a culture swimming a different direction)

Some people take it in a negative sense of fighting against certain threats. That’s certainly possible. But it’s not the only option.

Outside the NT it conveyed the positive idea of fighting FOR something good. (the difference of fighting “with your wife” or “for” your marriage.)

The word “contend” is actually a great translation. You’re contending for something good against those who would corrupt it.

Notice those “corrupting” the truth weren’t outside the church but inside its walls.

External opposition has never destroyed the Church. It strengthens and multiplies our influence.

“The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church” (Tertullian)

If you want to destroy something strong then you take it down from within. Deploy an internal corrosion that destroys the foundations.

That’s what “these people” were doing in Judea and that’s what “those people” do in churches today.

We’re not sure when or how it might rise. But, when truth is attacked there’s a need to contend. Every generation will hear this appeal.

We don’t get a choice on when it may happen. Jude originally had different plans for his letter! The rise of this issue caused him to pivot. I’m sure it was inconvenient.

So also we these issues rise up today, God’s people are called to “contend.”

The Truth is a Gift

The question I want to answer this morning is “WHY” we contend for the truth. Jude hints at this in several ways.

The very nature of truth makes it something worth defending. It’s eternal, divine and exclusive.

To use the language located in your notes, truth is a gift, a guide and a gate.

First, truth is a gift from the past.

Notice in Jude 3 these truths were “delivered to the saints once for all…”

In other words, truth is discovered not defined. It’s fixed and objective and passed down by those before us.

That’s one of the reasons we have documents like the creeds. They systematize and clarify the faith of our Fathers. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.

Could you imagine if we had to start from scratch every time a new generation was born?

Tradition is valuable in showing what all Christians in all places in every generation have always believed.

We want to give to the next generation the same truth that changed our lives.

That’s why we have a “doctrinal statement” at Broadview Baptist Church. (BFM2K)

It’s why the church developed Catechisms and disciple-making manuals like the 1st century Didache. Truth is a gift that’s delivered.

When we stop treating the truth as a gift we receive, we’ll begin the process of losing that truth. That’s exactly what happened in the Dark Ages (God forbid we make the same mistake.)

Contend for the truth as a gift from the past, faithfully delivered, received and passed on.

Truth is a Guide

Secondly we contend for the truth because it’s a guide for God’s people.

Truth isn’t just delivered to anybody. It’s delivered “to the saints.” Some translations say, “to God’s holy people.”

In one sense, it was delivered “to the saints” in that God’s people have always been mediators of divine revelation.

He spoke to Moses as a man speaks face to face. He called Abraham. He spoke to David. Jesus called his 12 disciples. Jesus even hid the truth from others in parables.

But truth is also “for God’s people” in that only God’s people have ears to hear it today. Truth is a guide for God’s people as it shows them how to live.

Those who live by lies have no ears to hear. Those who walk in darkness will never find their way. Only those who trust in the Lord will have a straight path on which to walk.

The purpose of truth is to guide God’s people in the way. It’s given to equip and strengthen the saints. Without truth from where would our wisdom arise?

We’re not born with wisdom out of the womb. It must be discovered and learned through divine revelation.

Truth is a Gate

Finally truth is a “gate” for prevention.

Notice the phrase “Once for all.” It’s a word used only here in the New Testament. It conveys the idea of immutability - truth is never changing.

If something never changes it’s a good standard for measurement. By nature it delineates one thing from another. (this not that)

In that way, Christian truth is a gate. It excludes from entry what doesn’t belong. It says of what is that “it is” and what is not that “it is not.”

Cultural trends may change but truth does not. People’s opinions may change but the truth does not. Truth is a gate that excludes every lie.

This is important because our enemy is skilled in deception. Sneaky little lies that worm beneath the surface. Before you know it, they’ve spread like gangrene.

A lie can spread half-way around the world while the truth is still putting its boots on.

What does every gate need if it’s going to exclude? It needs a guard! It needs someone who can look at the list and say this but not that!

Our culture is obsessed with the idea of inclusion. While inclusion in good in certain contexts it’s a terrible idea in others.

What makes food taste great instead of terrible? The right combination and proper amount of seasonings.

What makes an airplane aerodynamic? A certain balance between certain laws of physics.

People obviously concede the importance of truth when it comes to certain sciences (although even that is now under attack). But, when it comes to other domains, nobody stands guard at the gate.

The same poison that was spreading in the churches around Judea is alive and well in our culture today. Truth will be sacrificed if no one guards the gate!

Counterfeiting Truth

Which brings me to the next reason we must contend for the truth.

There are always attempts to counterfeit God’s truth.

“Whatever God creates Satan counterfeits.” (One of my favorite quotes I don’t know who to credit)

God’s original design is always good. Embracing God’s design usually invites his blessing.

The counterfeit of Satan is a cheap imitation. (It looks similar on the surface but its made with perishable goods.)

Have you ever seen counterfeit money? Identical to the naked eye but it won’t spend when it really matters. What about counterfeit shades or watches? They’re shiny on the shelf but deteriorate at home.

Counterfeits look like a deal but they’re never worth what you pay. The same can be said of counterfeit truths.

This is exactly what Jude describes in verse 4.

“For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.”

We don’t know the specific identity of “some people” in this text. We do know, however, where and how they operated.

They were “talking the talk” sufficient to have fellowship with believers. But they had impure motives and a spirit of irreverence.

Jude’s description of these people will help us in spotting counterfeit truths today.

These people and their counterfeit truths share the following four things in common.

They looked/sounded good on the surface.

At root, they rejected God in their thinking.

They twisted the grace of God into a license for sin.

They denied the glory and authority of Jesus Christ.

Let’s take these one at a time.

Good on the Surface

First, counterfeit truth always looks good on the surface.

Did you notice it says, “these people came in by stealth.” It’s a NT Greek word used only here in Jude.

Outside of the New Testament it carried the idea of presenting yourself one way while having a different motivation underneath.

I’d be like a spy from one country developing an accent and changing their appearance to disarm the people they’re spying on. The goal is to put those they’re spying on “at ease” so they’ll lower their defenses.

That means “these people” - whoever they were - didn’t seem like false teachers at first. They weren’t broadcasting their deception on the surface.

That’s how counterfeit truth always works. It’s always attractive on the surface. Maybe it even seems too good to be true. “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”

This is what Paul warned the Ephesian elders about in his farewell speech in Acts 20:28-30. “Savage wolves distorting the truth to lure the disciples into following them…”

Think about Satan with Eve in the garden of Eden. The lies began as subtle suggestions that were aimed at her flourishing. (Don’t you want to be “like God?” Why do you think God is holding out? Did God really say?)

This is what makes counterfeit truth so dangerous. It’s often sympathy for the truth that causes undiscerning minds to adopt it.

Imagine, if these were Jewish Zealots, advocating the overthrow of Rome to bring back the Messiah, they might’ve found sympathetic ears in the Judean church.

After all, Rome had become increasingly ruthless. Jesus had already proven himself as Messiah. He told us to make disciples of all nations. Rome is getting in the way of that. Maybe this is how we get things moving.

We see the same thing today at many different levels. I call it weaponized virtue. Christian virtue is weaponized against divine revelation.

The virtue of Christian love and mercy is weaponized so that any rejection of an unholy sexual ethics is deemed by others at hateful and violent. (If you really loved me you’d accept me for who I am.)

That’s just one example but we could go down the list. These counterfeits use Christian language and Christian virtues to advocate behaviors that dishonor God.

Godless Underneath

Which leads me to the second characteristic of counterfeit truth.

Counterfeit truth rejects God at the root.

The philosophical assumptions undergirding these lies reject God and divine revelation. They are rooted in atheistic/naturalistic worldviews.

It’s easy to see atheism when it’s out in the open. But the most insidious attacks are more subtle in application.

Many of the popular “isms” of our day are rooted in assumptions that reject the existence of God. They’re subtly implied in our cultural narratives.

It’s in our politics and economics. It’s easy to see in biology but it’s also in our history.

Even Christian scholars can adopt godless methodologies that undermine their confidence and discovery of Scripture! Seminaries and local churches are not immune from the spread.

From the arts to the sciences they creep their way in.

Did you know the original motivation for “liberal Christianity” was a desire to “liberate” Christian dogma from fundamentalism?

For the sake of “evangelism” they argued preaching a Gospel that denies the supernatural power of God.

I love the Richard Niebuhr quote, “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross”

I would imagine there are people sitting in this room who have adopted these assumptions without even knowing it.

That’s how powerful these counterfeit truths are in our world. The younger you are the more effective they’ll be. Spiritual immaturity leaves you defenseless against the lies.

It feels counter intuitive. How could these kind of lies come from WITHIN the church. But that’s exactly what Jesus warned us about in the days before his return. Wolves would rise up from within us and the love of many would grow cold.

Twisting Grace

The third characteristic of counterfeit truth is how it relates to God’s grace.

Counterfeit truth twists God’s grace into license.

In the words of Jude, “they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality…”

The word translated “turning” is sometimes translated “twisting” or “perverting.” The idea is that of exchanging one with with another or turning it into something else.

The word translated “sensuality” sounds sexual (and is often applied that way) but captures a broad range of immoral excess and debauchery.

Essentially, these false teachers were appealing to God’s grace as justification for their immoral indulgences.

We’re not sure exactly what they did, but it came from a spirit of rebellion and irreverence. They denied the Lordship of Jesus by appealing to God’s grace!

You may think that sounds outrageous but it’s not that uncommon today. I agree it’s a bold move but I hear it all the time as a pastor.

It goes something like this “I know what I’m doing is wrong but surely God will understand…”

“I know what I’m doing is technically sin but it’s okay because my situation is unique.”

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that logic I’d have more farmland than Bill Gates.

This is especially true when it comes to issues like sex, dating and marriage.

I hear it from Christian…

singles to justify sex/cohabitation before marriage.

spouses, unhappy, to justify unbiblical grounds for divorce.

divorcees to justify unbiblical grounds for remarriage.

teenagers to justify illegal behavior for the sake of popularity.

seniors who justify the same for the sake of personal finance.

You name the season or challenging circumstance and I’ve probably heard an excuse for immorality.

The particulars are always a little bit different but the essence is always the same. “They appeal to God’s grace to justify actions they know deep down aren’t good!”

Denying Glory

I’ve heard arguments that were so creative even I started believing the lie. Counterfeit! It’s dangerous!

Should we continue in sin so that grace may abound? By no means! Why? We died to sin how can we live in it any longer?! (Rom 6:1-2)

At the end of the day, each of these things are a denial of Jesus Christ and his glory.

Which leads me to the mark of counterfeit truth.

Counterfeit truth denies the glory of Jesus Christ.

Jude assigns Jesus once again with the title of Christ our only “Master and Lord.”

These titles are not accidental. He’s not only emphasizing the deity of Jesus but his absolute authority as king of all kings.

At the end of the day, the problem with “these people” is they were unwilling to live under God’s authority.

The Zealots had a slogan in response to Ceaser that said, “There is no king but God.”

They were “using the name of God in vain.” Justifying violent rebellion while rejecting the authority of God’s TRUE king, Jesus who is Christ.

He is both “master and Lord.” Their unwillingness to bow the knee was to rob him of that glory.

CONCLUSION:

What was true of “those people” is true of people today. We are faced with a need to contend for God’s truth because his truth is under attack.

Are you willing to answer the appeal to contend for the faith once delivered?

Those who contend for God’s truth today may be called partisans or “culture warriors.”

I think the title is assigned as a pejorative but it’s more true than it looks on the surface.

Political talking points are always downstream of culture. And culture is always downstream of our “cult” (aka, what we worship.)

Our culture has swallowed the lie of secularism: the idea that we can divorce God and/or religious truths from the public sphere.

That’s a lie. At the heart of culture is the cult of the culture because humans can’t help but worship something.

The question isn’t whether or not we’ll worship but whether what we worship is true or false. That’s why contending for truth is so important.

Salvation Or Judgment

There are eternal implications for our response to the truth: whether we contend or counterfeit what’s true.

This is seen in our passage with Jude’s juxtaposition of God’s grace in salvation with judgment.

Jude expressed his desire to write about their common salvation. Instead he wrote a call to arms to contend against the counterfeit.

Faith is allegiance to a catalog of truth and truth demands a response.

Truth is always choice between salvation and judgment.

Those who have faith in the truth about God are given eternal life.

Those who have faith in counterfeit truths are eternally separated from God.

What you believe about God is so much more than the name of your theological tradition.

Truth is not about denominations/traditions it’s about eternal life and/or death.

Contenders obtain God’s mercy in salvation, counterfeits God’s wrath in judgment.

Our commitment to fight for the faith once delivered is the most loving thing we can do for our world.

The question is whether we’ll answer the call to “contend for the faith once delivered.”