Our Common Salvation And Contending Earnestly For The Faith - Jude 1 Verse 3 Series

OUR COMMON SALVATION AND CONTENDING EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH - Jude 1 verse 3

MESSAGES IN JUDE – MESSAGE 2 Jude 1 v 3

{{Jude 1:3 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you, appealing that you con-tend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints”}}

VERSE 3 THE NECESSITY OF THE BATTLE

[1]. OUR COMMON SALVATION. This verse is in two parts. In the first part, Jude speaks about “our common salvation”, and in the second part he speaks about what our position is to be regarding that common salvation. The NIV uses “the salvation we share”. We can see that Jude was ever so keen to write to the Christian world, or to certain Christians, about the very important matter of our common salvation, that is, the faith we hold to, and the body of belief we have. Let me make it clear that there is not one faith for Gentiles and another for Jews; there is not one faith for native Fijians and another for Indians. Christ is not divided; neither is the faith we uphold, or the be-liefs of that faith. It is criminal that false teaching and men’s pride have mutilated the simplicity of salvation; and the doctrines we uphold. One of the most insidious doc-trines eating into the church today is the one called “the prosperity doctrine” and I in-tend speaking about this some time in the future, in Jude.

Jude was making every effort to write to these Christians and set out before them, no doubt, the facts of the faith and to encourage them in what we all have in common. He had been thinking of God’s salvation, the wonder of it, and the mystery of it. The Church was being formed. It was while he was in deep contemplation of that, the Holy Spirit directed him to the urgency and necessity to defend this faith. One commenta-tor said, “He had been intending to write to them on what is the common interest of all Christians, salvation through Christ, but was compelled to abandon his intention because news had reached him of a special danger threatening the Gospel once for all delivered to the Church. His duty now was to stir up the faithful to defend their faith against insidious assaults.” We are going to look at this common salvation.

If you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, you don’t have a different salvation from mine. There might be many paths to the cross, but there is only one Door, one entry, and one sheepfold. The door is the door of faith, the entry is through confession and be-lief, and the sheepfold is for those who are born again through the Good Shepherd lay-ing down His life for the sheep.

Salvation that belongs to God embraces all ages throughout time, all nationalities and all cultures. All who are part of it know there is only one Way, one Truth and one Life. All come as sinners, hopeless to fix themselves, realising that salvation is obtained only through believing in the Saviour, and receiving Him personally. That is our common salvation.

A truly converted person will accept the bible as the inspired word of God and will trust the Lord through the journey of life. His and her fellowship is with the Lord as He comes to dine with His own. We dine with the Lord and he dines with us.

Jude was as Jewish as you could get, his father being Joseph the carpenter, and his mother being Mary, the one blessed among women. “Blessed among women”, NOT blessed over women. However, he knew his salvation was exactly the same as that of any saved Gentile. There is one body comprised of all those who have entered in by faith, the Body of Christ, the Church redeemed by the Lamb, sanctified by the Spirit, faithfully kept by the Father who will bring all things to pass.

Great is the mystery of godliness – 2 Tim 3 v 16 – God was incarnate in Christ, God the Word taking on the form of man, and being found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself, going to Calvary for the redemption of mankind. His completed work on that cross has paved the way for man to be right with God – reconciled – man, the enemy; with a holy God. The bible uses different words and expressions for this common sal-vation ? reconciliation, redemption, justification, born again, conversion.

The ones who are God’s, are believers, saints, sanctified, heirs, beloved. All these terms and descriptions belong to every Christian who is a member of the Body of Christ, the Church, the Bride of Christ. This is our common salvation.