938 Jude 1-9 Turning Grace into a License to Sin
Contending Earnestly for the Faith • Sermon • Submitted
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In the Disney animated classic Alice in Wonderland, Alice wanders through a frustrating world of tardy rabbits, singing flowers, and one curious-talking cat. Her visit with the cat begins as she continues down a mysterious darkened trail and stops at a large tree.
The tree is covered with signs that point in every possible direction: “Up,” “Down,” “Yonder,” “Back,” “This Way,” and “That Way.” Poor Alice looks more confused than ever and asks herself, “Now let’s see. Where was I? I wonder which way I ought to go?”
Just then, Alice hears a melodic voice that seems to be drifting down from the trees. She looks all around and finally observes two ghostly eyes and a wide toothy grin, floating amongst the boughs of the great tree.
The grinning teeth inquire of Alice, “Lose something?”
“N-n-no, I was just …” stammers Alice in reply.
Suddenly, a pink striped feline body emerges from the branches.
“Oh, you’re a cat!”
“A Cheshire cat,” he responds.
“I just want to ask which way I ought to go,” asks Alice.
“Well that depends on where you want to get to,” says the cat.
“Well, it really doesn’t matter,” answers Alice.
“Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go,” says the grinning cat just before vanishing into the woods again.
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The Cheshire cat, I guess, gives a picture of a person who seems to offer help, but its pure philosophy
“If you don’t know where you want to go then it doesn’t matter which way you go”
As benign as his response is - & is probably fair enough - at the heart of this premise lies a real problem for mankind
It is the philosophical premise that you can go wherever you want to go & it really doesn’t matter
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False teaching tends to head in this headless direction - wherever you want to go, rather than, where does God want you to go
The direction you go, ought to be the same as God’s
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In these modern times, the Christian church, so caught up in her worldly culture, tends to ignore a book like Jude
Jude is a hard-hitting book that doesn’t mince with words.
It tells us that there are consequences for going our own way & not accepting the truth of God
While it might make some of us feel uncomfortable, it is the word of the living God & His word is a light to our path & nourishment for our soul
1. The Called, The Beloved and The Kept
1. The Called, The Beloved and The Kept
This Epistle is written by Jude - his name short for Judas. He is the brother of Jesus - strictly speaking, His half-brother
55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
Jude was not the only brother of Jesus who was influential in the early church
His half-brother, James, was a leader in the church at Jerusalem
His brothers originally did not believe that He is the Messiah
5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
Yet after His resurrection, they had certainly changed their tune
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This letter is tied to apostolic teaching
17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
It is also expressed by “the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints”
Here is a solid foundation on which to accept the truth of what is being said here - the benchmark is the apostle’s teaching
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The opening greeting reminds us of who we are before God & what position we hold in Him
It’s addressed to the called, the beloved & the kept - all giving wonderful security of the family status we have in God
We are the called
Paul says that we were predestined to become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ
Those who were predestined to this, God called
Q. How can we perceive of this? How can I grasp the fact that God had me & you marked out for this salvation
That having predestined us, He then called us to Himself
I can’t help but be reminded of Lydia at this point
14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
Q. Was she one of the called? Of course she was - the Lord opened her heart to believe
She was one predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ
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Being called is not an end in itself - it is an amazing blessing, but we are called to a higher purpose - to be part of God’s family & to stand against sin, corruption, vice & the like which stands so contrary to the Person of God & Christ
To be in His family means that we will start to exhibit the family traits
If you are proud of your family, who wouldn’t want to exhibit the family traits?
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Not only are we called, but we are beloved - simply put, the beloved of God
Yes, Gaius was called the beloved, by the apostle John - & probably because he recognises that Christians are all the beloved of God & if we are all family, then we are all each others beloved
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How about this next one - we are kept for Jesus Christ
This means protected for salvation in Jesus Christ
Somewhat similar to 1 Pet 1.5
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
This is great assurance, because we know that God is on our side - side with His Son, Jesus, & God the Father sides with you
Furthermore, that in spite of those who crept in unnoticed, God will be with you & keep you protected until the end
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Now, Jesus tells us that God cares for us & will provide for our needs as he provides for the birds of the air etc..
However, the birds have to go & get their food, it doesn’t come to them
Same with the church - false teachers will come into the church & you can’t just ignore it - you have to deal with it
Just because God promises you your salvation & protection, doesn’t mean, like birds who never leave a nest, that God’s promise will still come to pass
The promise comes with our actions & responses just as the promise that the destroying angel would pass over the houses of the Israelites, came to them through applying the blood on the doorposts & lintels - the promise is void if they didn’t keep the conditions
2. Turning Grace into an Excuse for Loose Living
2. Turning Grace into an Excuse for Loose Living
Jude wanted to write something to the church that was positive, as he says, “about our common salvation”, however, there was a pressing need that had to be addressed
4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Now part of accepting this - what appears to the modern person as discrimination - is to identify the error of the discrimination mindset
It is based upon the premise that truth is in the eye of the beholder
Truth has moved from external reality to the internal & every individual now becomes the final arbiter of what is truth - this is my truth & that’s the end of it
It has caused no end of damage to households & society
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The reality is that truth is not a personal matter - truth is part of the substance of God & cannot be altered by those who chose not to accept it
This is why Jude’s Epistle is entirely consistent when it talks about sin, judgement & exclusion
It is right for Jude to speak this way about the ungodly who claim to be godly, but deny & refuse to submit to the authority of Jesus Christ
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Jude, therefore, urges these Christians, & by extension ourselves, “to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints
Whilst the ESV doesn’t have the word, “earnestly”, the thought IS that you have to content earnestly
The word, contend, means “to fight for, go into battle” so the thought is to do that earnestly
That may not sit well in our postmodern climate, but we must resist the spirit of licentiousness & the denial of, & refusal of, submission to Jesus Christ
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Now, you may not be familiar with reformed theology, but in essence, reformed theology, at its heart, says that you are not saved by works but by faith in Jesus Christ & it pits doing works (deeds) over against faith
Now on the surface, you might think:- of course, how could that be wrong
However, it is wrong because it has seriously overlooked what works means
Works, in the apostle Paul’s writing means, strictly & I mean strictly:- the “works of the law” - the issue being the law
20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
KEY: The works of the law was a means whereby the Jew could make an exclusive claim on God & deny God to any other person who does not bind themselves to the Law
This is not a works vs. faith thing as reformed theology has emphasised
It is a law vs. faith emphasis
The point is the law, contrary to what the Jew thought, doesn’t govern whether a person can be accepted by God or not
He or she is accepted apart from the law - which is what Paul says in the very following verse
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
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Here’s the issue that I have with the reformed theological emphasis
If works means any kind of good deed, then that not only misses the point of what “works of the law” means, but it feeds a person into the thought that what they do is unrelated to faith - i.e. doing good is not necessary for salvation, but an optional extra - that could not be further away from the apostles point
Now, let’s make a distinction here: Jesus saves on the basis of His saving sacrifice for our sins - His crucifixion
But we are saved, in order to be conformed (predestined) to the likeness of Jesus Christ - that can NEVER be separated from salvation
If a new Christian gets fed the reformed theological emphasis that there is a sharp divide between faith & doing works to the point where he is told that works are not required, then it can lead into this “denial of our only Master & Lord Jesus Christ”
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
This verse is utterly ignored or screwed up by people indebted to the reformed understanding to mean something very different from the straightforward understanding you get from just reading it
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We had a camp at Crystal Creek a number of years ago & had a missionary come & lead the studies
He was from the heavily reformed understanding of the New Tribes Mission missionary organisation
He taught that you couldn’t lose your salvation & that a friend of his, a previous NTM missionary who left the faith, turned his back on God & Christ, in his opinion is still saved
That is destructive especially for new Christians
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Notice the problem here in Jude - these false teachers turn the grace of God into a license to sin - put in 2 ways:
Licentiousness & lack of submission to Jesus Christ
2.1 Licentiousness
2.1 Licentiousness
Licentiousness means “morally loose living” - “indulgence in sensual pleasure unrestrained by convention or morality” - in short, it’s giving way to sensual sin - ignoring it, diminishing it, downplaying the seriousness of it
18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, 19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.
The grace of God should never, ever, by used as an excuse for sinful behaviour
2.2 Submission to Jesus Christ
2.2 Submission to Jesus Christ
This is the other trait that false teachers exhibit
Deny our only Master & Lord Jesus Christ
To deny our only Master is to deny the authority He has over our lives
This word master is the same here in the plural in 1 Pet. 2:18
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.
As servants are submissive to their masters & obey them, we are servants of Jesus Christ & obey Him - all authority on heaven & earth has been given to Me, Jesus says
We have a distinctively different lifestyle from those in the world
They chose to live as they please & by the standards they set - sure, they will be careful since there are still some standards that exist in the world which most people agree on, but those standards may not be God’s standards
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The point here should be obvious - we are not our own
Here are some Scriptures to ponder...
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
We cannot welcome morally loose living, as the norm, in the name of tolerance
3. Examples To Prove the Point
3. Examples To Prove the Point
Jude now brings up 3 examples that prove that unrepentant sin; an unwillingness to obey God, all end up in a judgement of condemnation
Firstly, those Israelites who experienced God’s salvation - some of them would have been the firstborns that were spared when the destroying angel passed over their houses
All the Israelites were saved through the parting of the Red Sea, so that they were able to safely be separated from their enemies - furthermore, God destroyed their enemies in the sea
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Then, He supernaturally provided food & water for them while they were living in the wilderness
However, when it came to obeying God through Moses, they were stiff-necked & often unresponsive
They had the option to obey God & move to the Promised Land - after all His saving actions, you would think they would say, “sure, let’s go” & Joshua & Caleb did, but the others were afraid & in fear, did not rely on God
These God let die in the wilderness
28 “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; 29 your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30 ‘Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
A salvation gained but then lost
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The 2nd example are angels that “did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper abode”
This comes from Gen. 6:1-2
1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
The sons of God interpretation here is referring to angels that abandoned their proper domain & married the daughters of men
They are kept in eternal bonds awaiting judgement day
So they decided to choose for themselves to become like men, abandoning that state of being that God had assigned to them
A position right with God, then lost
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The 3rd example is similar to the sin of the angels with the “just as” & “in the same way” written here in v.7
7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
They went after “strange” or “unnatural” flesh just as did the angels did, when they went after “unnatural” flesh - that of human women
These men of Sodom & Gomorrah went after sexual relations with angels - those that visited Lot & who told him to get out of Sodom before the Lord destroyed the place
Sodom & Gomorrah were known for their gross immorality (known as homosexuality) & went after “strange or unnatural flesh” - that of angels, contrary to the commands of God
Such behaviour is not excused & was judged when God rained down fire & brimstone on Sodom & Gomorrah
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These examples serve to show that moral corruption - licentiousness - will not be tolerated by God & judgement will result from an unwillingness to obey God
Let these people, who propagate this loose morality, flourish in the church & the faith will be lost - that which was handed down to us, once & for all, from the apostles
People will then be lost because such behaviour in the church will make void, the salvation of God
4. Making Yourself an Authority
4. Making Yourself an Authority
When we looked into 3rd John, we looked into the character of Diotrephes & found that he was one who loved to be first
He rejected apostolic authority, he ruled by his own decrees - he refused to listen to the apostle John
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These people in Jude, Jude says, are dreamers - they have claimed, no doubt, a sort of prophetic ministry
But this ministry does not have messages from the Lord, but from their “dreams”
Better, from their imagination
32 “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.
This should serve as a warning to us about declaring anything from a dream or the imagination that may be contrary to the truth of the Scripture
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This wild or reckless use of the imagination supports 3 vices:
The defilement of the flesh - it supports loose living
The rejection of authority - unwillingness to obey apostolic teaching - the faith, once & for all, delivered to the saints - this is ultimately the denial - rejection - of our only Master & Lord, Jesus Christ
The reviling of angelic beings or majesties
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What we have here are false teachers who have a problem with authority
Usually people who have problems with authority have a problem because they only know one authority & that is their own - ergo, Diotrephes!
They refuse to submit to God-ordained authority
Their dreaming (imagination) becomes the mantle piece of their authority & the excuse to oppose all other authority - to place themselves on the top
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We would say that their type of prophetic revelation is the basis for their arrogance against authority
To use the phrase “Satan, you go to hell” or “blep, blep, blep you” - & I have heard it before - it’s the very attitude that Jude opposes here
There has to be respect for God’s agents whether you agree with them or not
They revile or blaspheme glorious ones (angelic beings)
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Angels were seen as guardians of the created order
10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
As guardians of the created order, Paul points out the inappropriateness of women looking like men & men looking like women or not understanding the headship role that God has given to the man
Perhaps, these false prophets were flirting with the boundaries of the created order as we just saw regarding Sodom & Gomorrah going after sexual relations with angels & the sons of God - angels - going after sexual relations with humans - the daughters of men
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Jude’s example here of the devil disputing with the archangel Michael comes from what is called the Pseudepigrapha which is a collection of books from the period of time largely between the Old & New Testaments
They are not a part of the Scripture, but Jude refers to it here just for illustration purposes
That when Michael the archangel disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, he did not bring a railing accusation or an abusive accusation against Satan
But instead said, “the Lord rebuke you”
In other words, he left any indictment against Satan with the Lord - even though he was an angel of the highest rank or authority - an archangel
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The message today is that we must contend earnestly for the faith which was once & for all, handed down to the saints - it is not easy road
But we need to guard the truth for future generations, lest, we hand on to them a salvation that has been stripped of its saving power & made void
Next week, we will continue in Jude’s message