Contending for the Faith - Jude
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Tonight I want to being this message and speak about the idea of contending for the faith.
When you hear that word “contend” what do you think of?
When I think of the idea of a struggle, a battle where by one is working to advance something, you are pushing back the enemy. Understand that the devil seeks to stop us (Christians) in our efforts so that he can hinder the gospel.
We (Christians) as servants of the Lord are working to advance the gospel message that many lives might be changed, set free from sin.
So when we think of the idea of contending for the faith we find that idea spoken of in Scripture. One place especially is the New Testament of Jude.
So what do we know of Jude.
So what do we know of Jude.
Jude we know is a brother of James, the same James whose epistle we have the joy of studying. And while he does not mention it, like James he is a half brother of Jesus but I would say he is to humble to mention it.
It is a very short book, but powerful to say the least. It is only one chapter. We think it is written probably after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and it is written to combat heresy, there were some in the area who were perverting the truth of the gospel and salvation. He also encourages those true believers to live faithfully in their walk in front of God.
The devil has always sought to misinform, half truth, mis lead, and discourage people into giving up.
We cannot allow that to happen, eternity, someone’s eternity depends on it.
So lets begin this morning by looking at verses 1-4
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude 1_4
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So we have the introduction right off the bat as to who is writing this letter and we have already talked about who Jude is and in his humility he simply defines himself as a servant of Jesus Christ.
Honestly that is a beautiful statement, he doesn’t want anyone who possibly elevate him or consider him as special. He is nothing and Jesus is everything. He is simply the Lord’s servant
We also know that Jude lives into the reign of Trajan, emperor of Rome and his reign was 98-117.
Historical fact about Trajan: Now Trajan was officially declared by the Roman Senate Optimus Princeps ("best ruler"), Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman history, leading the empire to attain its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death.
Now with the end of verse 1, we see who the letter is written too. The church! The saved and redeemed of Jesus. It didn’t matter if they were Jew or Greek, if their hearts had been changed by the gospel message the were the called out ones, the Ecclesia, the Church!
These are the ones like us, whom the Father loves and has kept until He appears a second time. The church is kept by God… It doesnt mean they are free from suffering, it means they are saved and secure in the power of God. Salvation cannot be lost.
Let me share 3 passages of Scripture with you..
Listen to the Gospel of John, 2 passages from John 17
11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
and,
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
;
and then lastly one from
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 2.. Is a blessing of sorts as he opens this message to those who will read this letter.
Verse 2.. Is a blessing of sorts as he opens this message to those who will read this letter.
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
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Being recepitants of God’s love, his salvation, Jude wanted, or hoped the blessings of the Lord, those things enjoyed by their salvation would multiply and bless their life.
Take peace or example, they had no peace in this world, but because of the cross they enjoy peace, the unsaved person is at war with God and cannot please him, but when he trusts the Savior, the war ends and he received God’s peace.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then we come to the heart of the idea here of contending for the faith you possess. Listen again to verses 3-4
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude’s one desire was to write just about their common salvation, Common is not a disrespectful word, it simply refers to the one work that was accomplished in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection that is enjoyed and loved by all who call upon the name of the Lord in faith.
Jude’s very desire was to speak to them about that.. But something happened.
The thing that happened was those heretic's, those false teachers who are distorting the truth.
The second part of verse 3 says...
V. 3B “… I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”...
Because of those false teachers, he says he had too, it was necessary to write to you… The verb tense here (present infinitive) carries passion, He is exhorting them… it has a great deal of weight behind it.
To contend is to go on and struggle against those who would seek to do wrong with their false teaching.
Paul says something similiar in
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
Paul wanted to know they Philippians were striving together for the faith of the Gospel.
Jude is saying the same thing here.
Think of us here. in a world where there are so many seeking to change the gospel for their own needs, to twist it to fit a lie that the devil would seek to spread so that people would led astray.
Let me ask you a question....
Let me ask you a question....
What ways does the devil seek to distort the gospel today… in your opinion?
And then we come to verse 4
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude says fro certain people have crept in and then there is this one word.. Un-noticed.
Secretly they entered, people were unaware. They pretended to be one of them but they were not.. the old thing is like .... Sheep in Wolves clothing.”....
Peter mentioned such people in
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
There were some in the areas where Peter ministered that brought in heresies secretly..
Their end is swift destruction, I like that...
Now Jude says that these people were designated for condemnation long ago. They have not been true followers, they are false. The Lord knew their hearts and their actions.
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
And we shouldn’t be surprised about this… People will follow away. Let me share this with you… 2 Tim 3:1....
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
Notice that Jude calls them ungodly people, there is nothing in them that would speak of a changed heart, corruption in their lives is all that is known of them.
And to further prove the point, listen to what Jude says "...ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Those who pervert the gospel do so only to condone their own desires, they seek to twist it in hopes of giving license to their sin.
;19 says
19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
Their hearts have become hardened, no longer concerned with their sin, all they care about is their own lust and fleshly desires.
And they deny Jesus as the only Lord and Savior. It may be that they do not deny him openly, they may tell everyone they are one of them… but their actions speak other wise.
So in reality Jude brings 4 charges against these people.
(1) the Scriptures condemn them, (2) they are godless or impious, (3) they change God’s grace into “a license for immorality,” and (4) they deny “Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
They are taking the doctrines of the faith and twisting them and also causing others to fail and fall away is what can happen.
Christians are toe take the basic doctrines of our faith and we are called to live by them. They are not to be denied and they are not to be distorted.
Do you remember what Paul said…
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
When we think about doctrines that are non-negotiables… what would we say.
The inerrant of Scripture
Literal Adam and Eve
Sinful nature of humanity
Deity of Christ
Virgin birth
Sinless life of Christ
Substitutionary death of Christ
Bodily resurrection
He is coming again
A literal heaven and hell
So it is important that we contend for the faith..
Jude provides a simple answer, there are false teachers among us. Christians cannot allow this to go on, we must do our best to fight against them.
Jesus and the New Testament wrtiters warned that there would be those who would come in and lead people astray.
One example is
4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Jude, is sounding the alarm, Christians be aware they are here and others are coming.
We must contend for the faith because Satan has a strategy to counterfeit the truth. I think he seeks to do this booth experimentally and biblically.
I knew a friend who worked at a bank, someone asked them once what type of training do you get to spot counterfeit bills, their answer was simple, None, when you handle the real thing all the time, it makes the fake easy to spot.
As Christians we are filled with the Holy Spirit and with His help, guidance and so forth we can tell what is real and what is not… amen.
And how are we do contend for the faith… remember the word eagerly. The root word is where we find the word agony.. so there must be a deep down inside of us push and excitement and want to do this ..
I and eager for people to know the truth. i am passionate they know the truth. If i was not, i wound tbe worth much.
Think about a military fight, the army has gone to war and they are seeking to defeat the enemy.. their determination is the one we are to have as well.
Now I want to stop there for tonight
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude A. Body Opening: Thematic Statement (Exordium/Narratio) (vv. 3–4)
Jude makes a series of four charges about these people: (1) the Scriptures condemn them, (2) they are godless or impious, (3) they change God’s grace into “a license for immorality,” and (4) they deny “Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
Collins Thesaurus of the Bible D Fighting for the Faith
D Fighting for the faith
Shall we strike with the sword? (Luke 22:49); if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting (John 18:36); contend for the faith (Phil. 1:27; Jude 3); fight the good fight (1 Tim. 1:18); fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12); I have fought the good fight (2 Tim. 4:7); I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:32); who will contend with me? (Isa. 50:8).
175 Sermon Outlines 25. Contenders for the Faith
CONTENDERS FOR THE FAITH
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Jude 1:3
1. The Nature of Our Labor (Love)
2. The Motive of Our Labor (Salvation)
3. The Strength for Our Labor (Jesus)
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 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.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
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.
24 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, 25 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.