A Real and Present Danger2

A Real and Present Danger

Text: Jude

Thesis—Our conduct in the day of apostasy is rooted in a passion for the glory of our Saviour. Our contention, continuance, and compassion are to be for His glory.

Controversy is never a very happy element for the child of God: he would far rather be in communion with his Lord than be engaged in defending the faith, or in attacking error. But the soldier of Christ knows no choice in his Master's commands. He may feel it to be better for him to lie upon the bed of rest than to stand covered with the sweat and dust of battle; but, as a soldier, he has learned to obey, and the rule of his obedience is not his personal comfort, but his Lord's absolute command. Spurgeon (1861) Some 26 years prior to the great battle of Spurgeon’s life.

March of 1887 the first of two articles about the downgrade in the Baptist Union.

On October 28, 1887, Spurgeon wrote to Samuel Harris Booth, General Secretary of the Baptist Union:

DEAR FRIEND,—I beg to intimate to you, as the secretary of the Baptist Union, that I must withdraw from that society. I do this with the utmost regret; but I have no choice. The reasons are set forth in The Sword and the Trowel for November, and I trust you will excuse my repeating them here. I beg you not to send anyone to me to ask for reconsideration. I fear I have considered too long already; certainly every hour of the day impresses upon me the conviction that I am moving none too soon.
I wish also to add that no personal pique or ill-will has in the least degree operated upon me. I have personally received more respect than I desired. It is on the highest ground alone that I take this step, and you know that I have long delayed it because I hoped for better things.—Yours always heartily,

C. H. Spurgeon

At this point Spurgeon had already written the November article for the S & T titled “A Fragment upon the Down Grade Controversy.”

To pursue union at the expense of truth is treason to the Lord Jesus. If we are prepared to enter into solemn league and covenant for the defense of the crown-rights of King Jesus, we cannot give up the crown-jewels of his gospel for the sake of a larger charity. He is our Master and Lord, and we will keep his words: to tamper with his doctrine would be to be traitors to himself. Yet, almost unconsciously, good men and true may drift into compromises which they would not at first propose, but which they seem forced to justify. Yielding to be the creatures of circumstances, they allow another to gird them, and lead them whither they would not; and when they wake up, and find themselves in an undesirable condition, they have not always the resolution to break away from it.

I. In the day of apostasy we must enter into faithful contention (1-19)

For what must we contend? We must contend for the faith!

Unfortunately, Christians are known for fighting over matters of a trivial mature. But there is another problem—an unwillingness to fight over what really matters.

We can say that the Faith is the body of essential, orthodox evangelical Christian doctrine, central to which is the Gospel (the truth of the Person and work of Jesus Christ) itself. That truth which is dismissed or modified causes Christianity to no longer be Christianity.

The passage revealed to us that this truth is

·        Delivered— It has been given to us by God. It is specifically revealed within the pages of Holy Scripture.

·        Definite— It is unchanging and unchangeable.

·        Demanding— It demands that we know it. (We must seek its truth within the pages of Scripture. Study!) It demands discernment. (We must be able to distinguish between that which truly is the faith and that which departs from it.) It demands a non-negotiable adherence to itself. (The three examples of apostacy demonstrate the follow of falling away from the truth.) It demands a militant defense. (We must earnestly contend for the faith.) It demands obedience to its ethical implications. (We must live out its truths.)

Against whom must we contend? We must contend against apostates!

            This is somewhat distasteful and perhaps confusing.

            We must first understand that we are not contending for the sake of controversy or personal empire building. We are to be gentle and loving, but when the truth of God is at stake we have no other option!

            We are not necessarily to seek out every heresy in the world to personally confront and battle. But as that error threatens to encroach upon us and displace us we must battle valiantly!

1.      home

2.      church

3.      world

What are these guys like? What is the enemy like? Claim to hold the truth, but have fallen away. Jude describes the particular ones that the church of his time had to confront, and we can expect some or all of these to fit with the false teachers.

Jude basically says that these guys are all about three things—sex, money, and power.

Sex—they are like Sodom and Gomorrah (v7-8). BTW, S & G were involved in both hetero and homosexual abandon (sexual immorality and strange flesh). They pervert God’s gift of sex, running to fulfill their own fleshly desires.

Money—they are like Balaam. (v11)

Power—they reject authority, setting themselves up as something great. They will use whatever means they can to get this power, including flattery, reviling, boasting, grumbling, and casuing division (v16).

The heart of their problem is that they do not have the Spirit. They are not saved!

II. In the day of apostasy we must walk in faithful continuance (20-21)

            Keep yourself in the love of God? What about nothing separating us?

            Our faithful obedience demonstrates the reality of our faith. My sheep hear my voice and follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.

            We are not saved by works, but works demonstrate that we have truly been saved!

• Growing—how devoted are we to growth in holiness?
• Praying—are we men and women of prayer?
• Looking—do we long for the day that we are to be united with the One who loved us and gave Himself for us?

III. In the day of apostasy we must walk in faithful compassion (22-23)

            Even and maybe particularly in the face of this apostasy we must continue to reach out to others, seeking to save them from eternal destruction.

• Discernment
• Diligence

Thesis—Our conduct in the day of apostasy is rooted in a passion for the glory of our Saviour. Our contention, continuance, and compassion are to be for His glory.

The heart of the matter—the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ

Contention, continuance, compassion—why?

            We serve a God and Saviour who is inexpressibly glorious and worthy! When we see a fraction of the greatness of our God, we are shaken to the very heart of our being.

• We contend because the glorious God of eternity has entrusted His truths to us. To attack his truth is to attack Him! We can’t bear the reputation of our Saviour being tainted by any apostate!
• We continue because He is glorious. He satisfies! His lovingkindness is better than life, therefore our lips shall praise Him! We cannot turn aside to seek a lesser good and glory! Our God is great and glorious! How can we turn away from the glorious greatness of our God! Even in all of this, the fountain of our perseverance flows from the grace of Calvary. We continue because He keeps us from falling away. We are, as Peter says, kept by the power of God!
• We show compassion because our God alone saves. We have been captivated by His grace, and it the most amazing message that we can know and speak! We have been blessed to be a blessing! We have been shown mercy that we might show mercy! Why, because God is worthy to be known and worshipped for who He is! We long for the world to see but a small reflection of that glory and grace in us!