Scripture: Jude 1-4
Theme: The best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and live like you
believe it.
Seed: Personal Study
Series Wake Up!
Purpose: Challenge the congregation to make certain the KNOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE and then live it out!
THE POINT: The best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and to live like you believe it!
ME
Open your bibles to the book of JUDE…if you don’t have a bible with you, the ushers will gladly hand you one.
[Ushers hand out bibles to any who need them]
While they’re handing out Bibles, let me begin by giving you some background and a little bit of set-up as we start our study through the book of Jude.
• Jude…was the brother of Jesus…actual flesh and blood brother…son of Mary and Joseph, brother of James (who wrote the book of “James”)
• Scholars agree that Jude did not come to believe that his big brother was the Messiah…the SON OF GOD…until AFTER the resurrection
• The letter written by Jude is called a “General Epistle” or a general letter. It’s not written to a specific congregation but to believers in general…more on that later.
• Jude is considered to be somewhat controversial because, in order to make his point, he quotes texts that are not considered to be scripture but that were widely know and understood by the people who would have received his letter…(he was culturally relevant…)
• It’s a VERY SHORT book…only has 25 verses
But those 25 verses are PACKED with great truth that is incredibly relevant for us today…so, let’s get started…
WE
And as we start, let me ask a couple of questions…questions about sleeping?
Who in here feels like you need more sleep?
Who has ever fallen asleep while trying to watch a move?
Every Sunday afternoon I try to turn on the Cards and watch the game until I fall asleep and then I, bleary eyed, attempt to keep tabs on the score…
Who in here has ever fallen asleep in church?...remember that I can see you from up here…
have you ever fallen asleep at the wheel? Seriously, have you ever fallen asleep while driving? I have…it scared me silly. No one got hurt but it put the fear of God in me and I didn’t have any trouble staying awake the rest of the trip…fear proved to be a pretty good motivator.
Have you ever driven to work and not remembered the drive? You weren’t physically asleep but you were completely checked out mentally. You got in the car and started driving and the next memory was walking across the parking lot at work…you honestly have no appreciable memory of the trip because you weren’t alert, you were on autopilot and slept your way to work.
Falling asleep while watching TV or at church…probably won’t get anyone killed
Falling asleep behind the wheel of a car can have DISASTROUS consequences.
There are certain times when been asleep, being complacent, being unprepared can make a lot more mess than we can clean up…that’s why, from time to time we need to get a BIG LOUD WAKE UP CALL!!!!
And that’s exactly what Jude does in his letter to the church…it’s a call to wake up because, as the church has been complacent, those who would distort and twist the faith have slipped into the church and the risk of shipwrecking the faith of many while destroying the church is a very real possibility!!!
And I think that this is exceptionally relevant for us today. I believe that, for far too long, the church in America has been asleep at the wheel…driving with our eyes closed…and we have begun to see and feel the impact of that carelessness…
So let’s look at how JUDE dealt with the issue at hand and how we can follow his example in DEFENDING THE FAITH.
He calls the church to get UP AND AT ‘EM in a effort to defend the faith. And I want to add that, The best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and to live like you believe it!
That’s the ONE THING I want you to walk out of here with today…that THE POINT. the best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and to live like you believe it!
Let’s dive in and see where Jude takes us today…
GOD
1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
Jude identifies himself…not as the brother of Jesus, but as a servant (?????? – slave) of Jesus and as the brother of James…
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
What does he mean by “those who have been called…loved by God the Father…and kept in Jesus Christ?”
These are not live and die issues
They divide us, not unite us which is exactly what the enemy would have…
Whatever conclusion we may come to here, the bottom line is that it’s clear from this introduction, though, that Jude is writing to those people who are a part of the church and, more than that, who consider themselves to be followers of Jesus…not in name only…but in how they live out the truth he taught and the grace he brought. He doesn’t mention any specific city or any particular group of believers…we don’t really know the EXACT group of believers he is addressing, but his words are relevant and meaningful to ALL who are followers of Jesus Christ…in the first century and today!
So Jude is addressing those that are – if I can say it – “real Christians”…those who are truly followers of Jesus…those who are not merely religious but those who truly belived that Jesus is the Son of God and who live according to that belief.
I’m afraid that, just as there was in Jude’s day, there is an apparent difference between calling yourself a Christian (literally…LITTLE CHRISTS) and actually being a follower of Jesus.
• Both are a part of the church
• Both are INVOLVED in the life of the church
• Both know scripture (and can probably quote it)
• Both pray (most likely)
• Both know ABOUT Jesus
But a true follower of Jesus actually follows Jesus’ teachings. A follower of Jesus actually lives the truth he taught. They recognize that they are citizens of another, a higher, kingdom and while they can comfortably operate in this world…they know it is not their home. They know that they are sinners saved by grace. They know that to follow Jesus means to live as Jesus lived and love as Jesus loved…its not about comfort, happiness, pride, tradition or belonging to “the group.”
Many who call themselves Christian…even within the church…wear the name only, but not the life of Jesus…this is the VERY REASON that Jude is sounding the WAKE UP CALL for the church!!! He knows that there are those within the church who wear the name Christian, but do not live the life Jesus lived and he is calling the church to wake up and defend the faith from those who are posers, pretenders, whatever. He is attempting to WAKE UP the church so that they will “contend for the faith.” And the best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and to live like you believe it!
Now, before he reveals his motives to the first people who would be reading his letter he offers them a blessing that would carry great meaning for them if they are truly followers of Jesus and not just “Christian in name only.”
2Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
• Mercy…God’s goodwill and kindness towards us (though undeserved)
• Peace… of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is This is more than just the absence of trouble, it’s the ability to find peace in the midst of trouble because you know that you belong to JESUS…
• Love… Agape…the undeserved and unconditional love of Jesus for the church and of the saints for one another.
After this greeting that will encourage them and prepare them for the work ahead, Jude gets down to business, he reveals his intentions for writing this letter…intentions which, as we can see, the Holy Sprit changed.
3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
There is a sense of urgency here. Jude was going to write the church a letter that would encourage them and help them to have a deeper understanding of the faith! However, there is a dangerous situation and as a result, God the Father – Through God the Holy Spirit – has changed his plans…
IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: Sometimes we have plans – even plans that we have prayed over and received God’s blessing in – that God later changes. WE MUST BE HUMBLE, OBEDIENT and WILLING to listen to the voice of the HOLY SPIRIT as he speaks to us…sometimes in prayer, sometimes in scripture, sometimes through other people…While Jesus is unchanging, our world – due to our free will – is not and we must be willing to listen to his voice and make changes as we navigate our world.
So, Jesus – via the Holy Spirit – has spoken to Jude and he now knows that he must write a letter URGING, COMMANDING, EXHORTING, PUSHING, the people of the church to become defenders of the faith...He is urging them to CONTENT FOR THE FAITH…
The word “CONTEND” comes from a Greek word that means to enter into a battle and face danger while fighting with all of your strength…Jude is urging them to FIGHT for the faith that they hold…
…and as you have heard several time already today, the best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and to live like you believe it!
So what has happened? What has caused Jude to change the content of his letter and to move in this direction…? WHY is he calling followers of Jesus to CONTENT for the faith…the purity of the gospel?
4For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Jude 1-4 (NIV)
So, here’s the story. There are “certain men,” people who have become a part of the church by “secretly slipping in” that are godless and who are perverting the truth of Jesus, abusing grace and – by their very presence – threatening to damage if not destroy the faith and those who are followers of Jesus.
Jude says that their condemnation was written about long ago…
…this is not saying that these specific men/people were prophesied about, but rather it is true that in every age there have been and there will be those who become a part of the church
-whose motives aren’t pure,
-who want to receive grace but don’t want to give grace
-who want forgiveness but not repentance
-who want to be happy, not sacrificial
-who want EASY CHRISTIANITY without total commitment
Some of these people come in with false motives from the start, others just come wanting what Jesus offers but don’t want to give what he demands.
In either case the focus is always on them and what they can receive and never on Jesus or what he has called us to give…
Jude says that their destruction was written about long before this time…in other words, God knew then and he knows now that such people will be present in the community he seeks to build through and for us and he will deal with them at the proper time…none of this is a surprise to Jesus…
So what is it that these men have done/are doing…?
• Change the grace of God into a license for immorality…
If grace covers sin, then we should sin more and more so that God’ grace can be poured out more and more… this brings glory to God Right? That was the very flawed logic these guys operated by.
Since God’s grace reveals God’s glory…and since, because of sin, God gives us his grace…THEN more sin = more grace, therefore we should sin more so that God can pour out more grace and his glory can be seen even more!
Part of it was faulty logic, but part of it was simply a desire to live a sinful life and fulfill the natural, sinful desires of our hearts and bodies and use the grace of Jesus as an excuse to live they way they wanted to…But a few years before the book of Jude was written, a guy named Paul wrote a book to the church at Rome…the book of Romans…and here’s what he says about this VERY ISSUE…
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)
Paul makes it crystal clear that sinning so that grace can increase is a horrible idea…
Should I keep hitting myself in the head with a hammer so that the pain medication the doctor gave me can have more opportunities to work…NO – that’s stupid – so it is with sin.
Paul says that if we love Jesus and have been baptized into him (the symbol of our faith) then we have shared in his death and his resurrection and through his resurrection we now LIVE A NEW LIFE…not a life controlled by sin, greed, selfishness, bitterness, anger, consumerism, perversion, etc.
But a new life that is guided by and empowered by the HOLY SPIRIT!!!!
Jude was addressing this issue. There were people in the church who were basically saying…sin Jesus died to cover our sins…since his grace is abundant…we can sin all we want because he’s already taken care of it….THIS IS A COMPLETE ABUSE AND CORRUPTION OF GRACE!!!!
We are called to live holy lives through and because of the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus…not to live however we please and then call on the grace of Jesus to clean up the messes!
• Deny Jesus Christ our only sovereign and Lord…
The other issue facing the church was the fact that there were those within who denied that Jesus Christ was indeed God…
Let me state this clearly…if we are going to be a community of transformed lives…If you are going to be a follower of Jesus Christ…If I am going to be a follower of Jesus Christ, then we must acknowledge that JESUS CHRIST IS GOD…HE IS THE GOD OF THE BIBLE…HE IS THE GOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AND OF THE OLD TESTAMENT..
HE IS THE INCARNATION…GOD IN HUMAN FORM…
It all starts and ends with believing that JESUS IS GOD!
He is sovereign…that means HE ALONE rules the universe
He is Lord…that means HE ALONE is master of our lives
The church in the first century that Jude was addressing was dealing with the fact that there were those among them who denied the sovereignty and lordship of Jesus Christ.
There were those who claimed that Jesus was NOT God…that he was NOT the ruler and master of the universe…
WE STILL STRUGGLE WITH THIS TODAY!!!!!
There are two ways you can deny Jesus…
-WITH YOUR MOUTH… declaring that he was just a good teacher, or that he was a good man, or that he was the messiah but didn’t do miracles…etc.
Dan Brown et al.
Atheists & Agnostics
Non Believers
Etc.
-WITH YOUR LIFE…this is probably the bigger issue in the church today. Thousands of American Christians claim faith in Jesus, they claim to be his followers, they claim to know him and love him but they deny him with their lives…
Grudges
Anger
Bitterness
Selfishness
Greed
Failure to care for the poor
Legalistic
Etc.
To truly acknowledge the sovereignty and lordship of Jesus…we must acknowledge him with our lips AND our lives…
Do we openly acknowledge that Jesus is God…telling others this truth?
Do we openly live like Jesus called us to live…
Sacrificing
Giving
Serving
Denying ourselves
Helping the poor
Giving full allegiance to HIS KINGDOM
The problem Jude’s audience was facing was that, within the church, there were those who were sinning with reckless abandon so that God could show more grace…
…and at the same time they were denying that JESUS IS GOD…
Their words and their lifestyles revealed to the world what they really believed…
And it was a danger to the church
Both of these put together were an early form of Gnosticism…
All matter is evil…all spirit is good…
THUS
If you sin with your body it’s not bad, it has no impact on your spirit
Jesus either…was only a spirit no real body (thus no real death and resurrection) OR
Jesus was a created being, lower than God since God is spirit and spirit is good.
THUS…they abused grace and denied Jesus…
These problems still exist within the church today and it is against these fallacies that we must defend the faith…and the best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and to live like you believe it!
EXAMPLES OF HOW THESE EXIST IN THE CHURCH TODAY…
So what do we do about it…we do what Jude called the church to do…we CONTEND FOR THE FAITH… and the best way to defend the faith, is to know what you believe and to live like you believe it!
So…WHAT DO we believe…?
I want to spend that last few minutes we have together today laying out, in plain English, what it is we believe…
WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY TRINITY
• God the Father
• Jesus, the Son
• The Holy Spirit
WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS GOD IN HUMAN FORM…(2nd person of the trinity)
• He was born of a virgin
• He lived a sinless life
• He was crucified for our sins
• He rose again on the 3rd day
• He ascended into heaven
• He is coming again to judge the living and the dead
WE BELIEVE IN FORGIVENESS OF SINS
• Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sins
• If we confess our sins and repent he will forgive our sins
• When we put our faith in Jesus, repent of our sins and receive his forgiveness he makes us NEW creations, giving us NEW life here and now and the promise of ETERNAL LIFE with him
WE BELIEVE IN THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT
• We believe he gives us the Holy Spirit
• The Holy Spirit enables us to live holy lives
SO WHAT?
YOU
The BEST way to defend the faith is to know what you believe and live like you believe it.
So what, do YOU believe?
Let’s Pray
