Stay True to the Gospel

REFLECTION TEXT: Psalm 24

Psalm 24 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

SERMON TEXT: JUDE 17-23

Jude 17–23 ESV

17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

INTRO / TRANSITION

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 4636 Twenty-One Days Adrift

Edward V. Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace, and seven servicemen drifted for twenty-four days under a searing sun after their plane was forced down in the Pacific. Their only food was four oranges, a seagull and two fish. Some have tried to survive on less in the spiritual life.

We don’t drift toward success.

We don’t autopilot toward truth!

This morning, the Word of God from the Epistle of Jude will point us to a tactical response to fight the drift and stay alert to false teaching, for us as individuals, families, and church family.

Overview / Context

(insert Timeline Graphic here while sharing context)

INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND:

DATE: Written somewhere between 67-80 AD, by Jude the half brother of Jesus.

STYLE/INFLUENCE: Jude was clearly influenced by Peter. You can hear it tone, and see it in direct quotes. Reminds of one of the core principles of discipleship - the message/teaching has to be simple enough to be reproducible. 2 Tim 2:1-2

2 Timothy 2:1–2 ESV

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

PURPOSE:

The Bible Knowledge Commentary Purpose

One thought characterizes this epistle: beware of the apostates. In keeping with this warning, Jude proceeded to sound an exhortation to his readers to “contend for the faith” (v. 3). The heresy of Gnosticism had raised its head. “Here, in an undeveloped form, are all the main characteristics which went to make up later Gnosticism—emphasis on knowledge which was emancipated from the claims of morality; arrogance toward ‘unenlightened’ church leaders; interest in angelology; divisiveness; lasciviousness” (Michael Green, The Second Epistle General of Peter and the General Epistle of Jude, p. 39).

EXHORTATIONS / CALLS

Remember

Keep (Build, Pray, Wait)

Rescue (Have Mercy)

1. Remember

Jude 17-19

Jude 17–19 ESV

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

You Must Remember / Ought to Remember (NASB)

Remember What? REMEMBER the Word of God, the Forces against Christ and His Church, the Fruits of False Teaching

Notice the contrast between those in the faith and those outside the faith

TEXT NOTE: The "predictions" is not a specific reference to 1 text, but a summary of a themed content regarding the ramping up of the ungodly's assault on the people and Word of God.

NOTES ABOUT THESE PEOPLE

Romans 8:9 they are not Christ's

Philippians 3:3 Christ's followers put no confidence in the flesh

Jude 15-16

Jude 15–16 ESV

to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

(James 4:3) When your prayer life is driven by your own passions, you are praying wrongly and WILL NOT RECEIVE.

This PASSAGE mirrors 2 Peter 3:3-4 with echoes back to Paul's warning of savage wolves in Ephesus that will come to destroy the flock and distort the truth!

IMPORTANT - I'm not saying that if you grumble, are a malcontent (dissatisfied and complaining or making trouble), a loud-mouth boaster that you don't know Jesus as Savior - but you are acting like and exhibiting the behavior of people whose goal is to DESTROY the truth and DISTORT the truth.

James 3:9-10

James 3:9–10 ESV

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

The grammar of this passage is kind of funky. There’s a triad here of beauty when organized in the original grammar flow.

2. KEEP

(JUDE 21) YOURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD...

Jude 21 ESV

21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Hebrews–Revelation Comment

It is not clear whether Jude means God’s love for the believer or the believer’s love for God. Both ideas are present in Jude, but on the whole, God’s love for the believer seems to be the preferable reading

DEFINED:

Keeping oneself “in God’s love” (Jude 21) does not indicate that salvation depends on one’s own efforts, for that would contradict other Scripture passages (e.g., v. 24). Instead, a believer is nurtured as he is occupied with God’s love for him, and is in fellowship with Him (cf. John 15:9–10, “remain in My love”). -Edward C. Pentecost

John 15:8–11 ESV

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

1 John 4:16 ESV

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

I can’t help but think back to the 2 commands Jesus gave that summed up all the 10 commandments:

Love the Lord Your God with all your heart...

Love your neighbor as yourself.

There’s a good indicator that you are guarding/protecting/keeping watch over what God has given you - that you are sensitive to the threats that sin, apathy, complacency, distortion of the truth and self-destruction.

Believers keep themselves in the love of God by doing three things: Building, Praying, Waiting

- BUILD (Jude 20 )

Jude 20 ESV

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

TEXT NOTE: "ON or IN"

Your most holy faith can be connected with what is before it in two ways: either with “in” or with “on.” This is because the Greek itself does not explicitly use a preposition, and since the noun is in the dative, the prepositions “in” and “on” are both possible. If “in” is chosen, it means that Jude is exhorting his readers to help one another to grow in the knowledge and practice of their faith. If, however, “on” is chosen (as in RSV and TEV), then it means that the holy faith is the foundation upon which the Christians are going to build. This latter interpretation is quite appropriate here, since the Christians to whom Jude is writing are facing the threat of heresy and false teaching. (Arichea)

What builds us up? What does the Bible say?

with God's Word

Acts 20:32 

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

with God's Preacher!

Rom 10:17

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

with God's Church! Heb 10:23-25

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Are you building up your most holy faith...or "you got this"?

Are you more biblically driven than culturally driven?

Look at your calendar/your reading consumption/your intake (social media, news, otherwise)/your investments and ask yourself, "am I building...stalled...or tearing down?”

- PRAY (Jude 20)

Jude 20 ESV

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

Praying in the Holy Spirit is not speaking in tongues, but is “praying out of hearts and souls that are indwelt, illuminated, and filled with the Holy Spirit” (George Lawrence Lawlor, Translation and Exposition of the Epistle of Jude, p. 127). It is praying in the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph. 6:18).

Romans 8:26 ESV

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Ephesians 6:18 ESV

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Pray specifically. Pray always. And in all ways. Pray alertly. (Focused) Pray for one another. (Tom Tucker)

It’s studying the Word of God, seeking the mind of God, advancing the Kingdom of God, focusing on the Son of God - this enables us to pray in the Holy Spirit!

It keeps us from praying selfishly, with “folk” theology, without superstition, and for the right reasons.

Notice the contrast - instead of complaining and grumbling, we go to God in prayer…on His terms.

“The ungodly are mocking, speaking great swelling words, and walking after their ungodly lusts, while the righteous are building up themselves in their most holy faith, and keeping themselves in the love of God.

The ungodly are showing the venom of their hearts by mourning and complaining, while the righteous are manifesting the new principle within them by “praying in the Holy Ghost.”

The ungodly man bears wormwood in his mouth, while the Christian’s lips drop with the virgin honey of devotion.

As the spider is said to find poison in the very flowers from which the bees suck honey, so do the wicked abuse to sin the selfsame mercies which the godly use to the glory of God.” -C. H. Spurgeon, “Praying in the Holy Ghost,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 12 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1866), 613.

While the wicked grow yet more wicked, let us become more holy, more prayerful, and more devout, crying with Joshua, “Let others do as they will, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

NOTE: Pursue the Holy Spirit indirectly.

“His (the Holy Spirit) ministry is to point away from himself to the wonder of God the Son and God the Father. Being filled with the Spirit means being filled with love for Christ. When Jesus promised the Spirit (in John 16:14), he said, ‘He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’ The Spirit is shy; he is self-effacing. When we look toward him, he steps back and pushes forward Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, in seeking to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit we must pursue him indirectly - we must look to the wonder of Christ. If we look away from Jesus and seek the Spirit and his power directly, we will end up in the mire of our own subjective emotions. The Spirit does not reveal himself. The Spirit reveals Christ. The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness he gives as we gaze on Christ. The power of the Spirit is the power we feel in the presence of Christ. The joy of the Spirit is the joy we feel from the promises of Christ.”

-John Piper, Sermon, Conceived By The Holy Spirit, Luke 1:26-37, March 11, 1984

- Wait (Jude 21)

Jude 21 ESV

keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON? CHRIST IS COMING BACK!

The context of this letter in dealing with the harsh words of the ungodly are primarily centered around them scoffing at the return of the Christ! You’re hope is not in an answered prayer…but in the return of Christ himself!

TEXT NOTE: Waiting (prosdechomenoi, “looking expectantly”) for the blessed hope, the return of Christ for His church, the Rapture will be the consummating evidence of His mercy.

Jude added that it will bring you to eternal life, that is, to enjoying never-ending life in God’s own presence (cf. 1 Peter 1:5, 9, 13).

Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

2 Peter 3:11-13

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

ARE YOU WAITING IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT AFFECTS YOUR DAILY LIFE?

3. Be a Rescuer (Jude 22-23)

Jude 22–23 ESV

And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Have Mercy on Christians who are doubting/confused

1 Thes 5.14

1 Thessalonians 5:14 KJV 1900

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

Be involved: Save Others (even those closest to Hell)

In the 2nd verse of Rescue the Perishing, Fanny Crosby penned these words many years ago:

Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,

feelings lie buried that grace can restore;

touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,

chords that are broken will vibrate once more.

Refrain: Rescue the perishing, care for the dying;

Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Show Mercy to the corrupt - be on guard against corruption

Psalm 14:1-3

English Standard Version Psalm 14

1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

there is none who does good.

2  The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

3  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

An alternative translation model for these verses is:

[22] Show compassion (or, Have a loving heart) toward those people who are uncertain about what they believe; [23] rescue others by snatching them from the fire of judgment. And there are other people to whom you must be kind, but at the same time be very cautious. You must hate their very clothes, as if their sinful lusts have made these garments filthy.

You won’t be a rescuer if you think too much of yourself.

Romans 12:3 ESV

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

CLOSING

ENCOURAGEMENT: The main thought would be “YOU DON’T HAVE TO STUMBLE, YOU CAN STAY TRUE TO THE GOSPEL”

2 Peter 1:3 reminds us that He’s given us what we need to glorify Him!

2 Peter 1:3 ESV

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

You will set yourself up to avoid stumbling if...

you will fill your mind with Scripture so that you can Remember the Word of God.

you will keep yourself identified and walking in the love of God instead of the lust of the flesh (pleasure-driven vs. spirit led)

you will build up your most holy faith instead of stall out or undermine it.

you will pray in the Holy Spirit more than you complain or grumble.

you will live like you are expecting His return! Recognizing that this is not all there is…live with eternity in view.

BE A RESCUER to Christians who are confused, the perishing, the corrupt - without being corrupted.

WARNING: This is not a list of “dos” as much as it is a plan for success.

If you’re not careful you’ll have wrong motivations…which result in rotten fruit. This is not "Special Forces" training = no elitism here.

You are not setting your mind right so that you can think more highly of yourself than you ought.

You are not keeping yourself in the love of God so that you are inaccessible to others (Christians who are struggling, wired differently, or LOST people who are hateful.)

You are not Building Yourself Up so you can be domineering and demeaning others who aren't on your level.

You are not Praying in the Holy Spirit to make a name for yourself or launch a brand of "real" praying.

You are not looking for the mercy of God to the exclusion of looking to your fellow man/woman.

You are not a Rescuer so you can put another notch in your belt, fuel your dogmatic superior methodology, or jump to the front of the line

You exist for His pleasure. You were made for His glory. You were saved for the sake of His name. You are called to take His Name to the Nations. You have been bought with a price!

NOW TO HIM...Look to the LORD

INVITATION

— If your life has been characterized by one stumble after another, there is hope and forgiveness in Christ.

— If you have NO DESIRE to please the LORD and up and until this morning, your SIN hadn’t bothered you at all…RUN TO JESUS. He wants to make you NEW!

“The Christian faith, simply stated, reminds us that our fundamental problem is not moral; rather, our fundamental problem is spiritual. It is not just that we are immoral, but that a moral life alone cannot bridge what separates us from God. Herein lies the cardinal difference between the moralizing religions and Jesus' offer to us. Jesus does not offer to make bad people good but to make dead people alive.” -RAVI ZACCHARIUS

— CHRISTIAN, Remember…you don’t have to stumble - but that is the DEVIL’S plan for your life.

Benediction

Jude 24-25

Jude 24–25 ESV

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.