A Challenge For Dilligence

INTRODUCTION:

I- A COMMON SALVATION (Jude 3 a).

Jude 3a NLT

3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

A- A common Savior

1. There is no other Savior.

(John 14:6)

John 14:6 NLT

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

(Acts 4:12)

Acts 4:12 NLT

12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

2. There is no other gospel.

(Galatians 1:6 – 9)

Galatians 1:6–9 NLT

6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. 8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

B- A common experience.

1- there is only one experience that imparts eternal life.

(John 3:7)

John 3:7 NLT

7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’

Long ago, there was a greatly disappointed young man at West Point. He came all the way from Wisconsin to enter the military Academy, and when, on arrival, he found that several documents with large seals were needed to permit him entry, he felt very badly indeed. He was born and reared in a little town in Wisconsin. He had dreamed of being a soldier and determined to come to West Point for military education. He had a long, hard trip from Wisconsin to the Hudson. He spent 2 months walking and riding on freight trains in making the journey. A sentinel stopped him when he tried to enter the barracks and explained the necessary requirements to get in therON The boy was heartbroken, then cried like a child. The Savior says there will be some deceived like that at the last judgment. People who imagined they were going to get into heaven, and yet, have made no preparation for it and will be turned away at last. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.

C- A common goal.

There is only one goal that the Lord has in mind for all believers.

That goal is to glorify God.

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

In body (that which others see).

Jesus living through you. (Galatians 2:20)

Galatians 2:20 NLT

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Song: “let others see Jesus in you”

by Tony Weeks

Verse 1

While passing thro' this world of sin, and others your life shall view. Be clean and pure without, within;Let others see Jesus in you.

Verse 2

Your life's a book before their eyes, They're reading it thro' and thro' Say, does it point them to the skies, Do others see Jesus in you?

Verse 3

Then live for Christ both day and night, Be faithful, be brave and true, and lead the lost to life and Christ. Let others see Jesus in you.

Verse 4

While passing thro' this world of sin, and others your life shall view. Be clean and pure without, within; Let others see Jesus in you.

Chorus

Let others see Jesus in you, Let others see Jesus in you. Keep telling the story, be faithful and true; Let others see Jesus in you.

in spirit (that which God alone sees

worship in spirit and in truth

(John 4:23 – 24)

John 4:23–24 NLT

23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Richard Foster stated “if worship does not change us, it has not been worship.”

Gordon Dahl once observed, “our problem is that we worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.”

II- CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH (Jude 3 b)

A- There is a clear reason.

It is THE faith.

There is only one true faith. (Ephesians 4:4 – 6)

Ephesians 4:4–6 NLT

4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

It is the faith delivered “once for all.”

a. The truth does not change with the times.

(Malachi 3:6)

Malachi 3:6 NLT

6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.

B- It is a continual fight.

It is an intense fight. (ἐπαγωνίζεσθαι= to exert intense effort on behalf of something—‘to struggle for.’

They are known as the 40 martyrs of Sebaste. In the famed 12th Legion of Rome’s Imperial Army there were 40 soldiers who profess their faith in Jesus Christ. One day the captain informed them that Emperor Licinius had sent out an edict commanding all soldiers to offer a sacrifice to pagan gods. These Christian warriors said, “you can have our armor and even our bodies, but our hearts allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ.” Because of their stance they were marched onto the frozen lake in the midwinter of 320 and stripped of their clothes. At any time they could renounce Christ and be spared from death. Instead, they huddled close together and saying their song of victory. “40 martyrs for Christ.” That freezing nights all 39 men fall in their icy graves. when there was but one man left he stumbled onto the shore and renounced Christ. The officer in charge of guarding these men had secretly come to believe in Christ. He then replaced the man who had broken right and walked out onto the ice. He threw off his clothes and confessed his faith in Christ. At sunrise the soldiers found 40 men who gave their all for the cause of Christ.

It is an unending fight (earnestly defend is in the present tense). (Ephesians 6:10 – 17)

Ephesians 6:10–17 NLT

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We are not to stop until we go to be with Jesus.

III- A CREEPING THREAT (JUDE 4)

Jude 4 NLT

4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

A- The source of that threat:

People who are ungodly (ἀσεβεῖς= “impious, ungodly,” “without reverence for God,” not merely irreligious, but acting in contravention of God’s demands)

(Romans 3:11-18)

Romans 3:11–18 NLT

11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” 13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “They rush to commit murder. 16 Destruction and misery always follow them. 17 They don’t know where to find peace.” 18 “They have no fear of God at all.”

People who forsake holiness for worldliness.

(ἀσέλγειαν= “wantonness, licentiousness, lasciviousness, that which is characterized by moral impurity.”

The idea conveyed is someone who turns from obedience to the fulfillment of unholy personal whims and desires. (Romans 1:23).

Romans 1:23 NLT

23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

People who deny (ἀρνούμενοι) Christ by their lifestyles.

It is possible to deny Christ through our actions and be active in church.

B- The seriousness of the threat:

It leads to corruption of biblical truth.

Attempts to justify sinful actions bringing about the perversion of biblical truth. (Acts 13:10) (Galatians 1:7)

Acts 13:10 NLT

10 Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?

Galatians 1:7 NLT

7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

It leads to judgment .

(κρίμα= denotes “the sentence pronounced, a verdict, a condemnation, the decision resulting from an investigation.”

Judgement through a destroyed life.

Judgment through the loss of rewards at the judgment Seat of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:10).

2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT

10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

CONCLUSION: