The Book of Jude - Apologetics (Part 1)

Context

Three Weeks - plenty of time for questions and discussion

Expand our bible knowledge/inductive bible study

Primary focus is apologetics

Who read the book of Jude?

In a few words, or a short sentence, what were the main lessons you got from Jude?

Accost (NEXT SLIDE)

Had a different intro lined up, started semester and decided to change

Syllabi - Contributors therefore engage both in the description of biblical theology and in its contemporary contextualization

Accomplished student - accosting the reader’s perspective and fostering application, transformation, and growth

How would you respond if I told you that I planned to accost you for the next 45 min?

Definition - approach and address (someone) boldly or aggressively

How does align with scripture and tradition?

Acts 28:31 ESV

proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Mission (NEXT SLIDE)

This recalled to my mind someone else’s work that I had read

”It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission – God’s mission.”

Are you part of The Church? Congratulations! You are a missionary. Your assignment is Tulsa, OK.

What is God’s mission?

So an effective missionary will be addressing whatever topics are preventing others from God’s message

When I was ministering to Bosnian refuges in Europe I did not talk about the same things with them that I did with Filipino’s in the villages and rainforests

So, should we be talking about these topics?

Politics

Keep an open mind. Probably not about to say what you think I am going to say

Politics is one of the most effective weapons Satan has used to limit the effectiveness of The Church or to silence it all together on certain topics

World has been allowed to take them and slap a political label on them

Weaponized words/ideas/topics so now they are treated as taboo

None of these topics are political

Male vs. female

Sex

Procreation

All of these topics are addressed in the first three chapters of the bible before human politics even existed

Switch gears for a second

Read the bible as our story. It’s not, its God story. We just have a place in the story

Stop trying to make the story relevant to our lives and start making our lives relevant to the story

So what is God’s story - what’s the dealio?

(NEXT SLIDE)

With what even does God start His story?

Starts with creation

With what event does God end His story

Ends with creation

If I were talking to Izzi and I started the conversation off with “Izzi, I love you. But as much as we both want to we cannot ride the dog around the house like a llama. You know I love you right?” What the message that above all else I am wanting her to get from our talk?

Apply that to God’s story. What’s He wanting us to get out of the story? What is He trying to tell us?

Is all about creation in the middle

The entire story is about creation

Because of God’s love for His son, that love overflowed or manifested itself into creation

Colossians 1:16 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Creation and love should provide us with the foundation on which all our values and principles are built

This is a literary structure called inclusio

Anywhere we encounter this structure in the bible pay attention to the bookends

There is a second literary structure at play as well - recurrence

Why This Topic (Next Slide)

Lay leaders letter

Topic that we will be faced with

Why Jude (Next Slide)

Simple approach

One stop shop

Not the only approach

Overall Message of Jude (Next Slide)

Love, peace and mercy

This is happening because you stopped contending

The biblical view on sexual conduct/sexual identity