“Oh, when the saints go marching in Oh, when the saints go marching in Lord I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in.” Do you know what that song is about? Here’s a clue: it wasn’t originally a pep song for sports teams called the “Saints.” Listen to another verse of that song. “Oh, when the moon turns red with blood Oh, when the moon turns red with blood I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in.” This song is an old gospel spiritual about Judgment Day. The Bible tells us that on that day the moon will turn to blood, the sun will stop shining, and this world will be engulfed in fire. Believers in Jesus, the saints, do not have to fear this day, however, because they will be ushered into the everlasting joys of heaven. So yes, when the saints go marching into heaven, I want to be in that number and you do too. So listen carefully to Jude’s “Tweet from Heaven” today. He will speak about the saints, or holy ones, defining who they are and what challenges they must endure before entering into glory. (Read Jude 14-21.)
Our text is a continuation from last week’s reading where Jude spoke about the false teachers in the midst of his listeners. He compared those false teachers to wild waves that should be avoided. Today Jude tells us that the existence of such false teachers shouldn’t be a surprise. An early believer named Enoch prophesied about such people. Enoch was only seven generations removed from Adam, the first human to ever live. What Enoch is best known for is that he was taken to heaven while still alive (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5). What you may not know about Enoch is that he was also a prophet. In one of his sermons he prophesied how the Lord would return with a “myriad” of holy ones. Enoch probably had in mind the countless angels that will attend Jesus when he returns to judge the word. But we also know that with the angels will return the believers who had died and gone to heaven. These saints can also be described as “holy ones.” Enoch said: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jude 14b, 15).
When Jesus returns, his purpose will be to judge all people and to condemn to hell those who have spoken defiant words against him. That makes it sound like Jesus is only going to condemn those who actively blasphemed him like the hardened atheist who goes on the airwaves to make fun of the Christian faith, or the terrorist who actively persecutes Christians. But listen to how Jude describes people who speak defiantly against the Lord. “These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage” (Jude 16). Grumblers. Faultfinders. Flatterers. Yikes! We’re good at doing all three aren’t we? When we grumble about what God has done or not done for us, we’re speaking defiant words against his plans for us. But grumbling is so easy to do! It seems only human and natural. Well it is natural for our sinful nature to do, but that does not excuse the sin. So watch yourself when you’re tempted to grumble about those leftovers, or grumble about the cold. Don’t speak defiantly against God in that way!
We also speak defiantly against God when we find fault with others. Jesus has urged us to love one another. In fact he said that it is by our love that the unbelievers of this world will know that we are his disciples. Ah, but this is a tough one isn’t it? It’s hard not to find fault with those who don’t quite clean the kitchen floor like we do, or handle customers like we think they should be handled. It’s hard not to find fault with those who ignore our suggestions for how something could be done better at church, or at home, or at work. But refusing to find fault and gladly accepting the way someone else has chosen to handle a job shows Christ-like humility. You’re also putting your trust in the Lord to take care of the matter. If what the other person is doing is really that harmful and unwise, God will intervene. Of course when someone calls us to repent of a sin, we should not call that individual a faultfinder - not if their motivation is love and concern for our eternal wellbeing. To such a person we owe our thanks and we will want to take to heart their call to turn from our sin.
But it’s not just those who are mean to others who are speaking defiantly against the Lord. We can be outwardly kind and sweet and yet be guilty of defiantly speaking against the Lord if we’re speaking our sweet words to manipulate and to get our way. Such flattery is a sin because it’s just another form of selfishness.
Jude reminds his readers that these sins divide God’s people. Perhaps you are experiencing such division at home or even here at church. If so, it hurts doesn’t it? It’s also disappointing because we expect better from fellow Christians. But it shouldn’t surprise us to find grumblers, faultfinders, and flatterers in God’s house. This is, after all, a hospital for sinners and not a museum for saints as the saying goes. So how are you going to deal with the sin that you find here? You can take it personally and bear the burden of that sin by letting it bother you. But that seems like a funny thing to do when you consider how Jesus has already borne the burden of that sin. And since Jesus has already forgiven that sin, he invites you to follow in his footsteps and do the same.
That’s the point Jude was getting at when he went on to say in our text: “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 20, 21). “Keep yourselves in God’s love.” That’s like keeping your milk in the fridge. Why? Because if you don’t, it’s going to sour. Likewise if we don’t continue to keep ourselves in God’s love and remind ourselves daily of the forgiveness God gives us for our grumbling, faultfinding, and flattery, our love for others will soon sour.
And how exactly do you keep yourself in God’s love? Well God speaks to us through his Word. So we need to be in his Word to continue to hear just how much he loves us. But Jude also urged his readers to pray in the Holy Spirit. Why not just say “pray”? Why say “pray in the Holy Spirit”? Perhaps it was a way to remind his readers that we will want to pray in the way which the Holy Spirit urges - to pray not just for ourselves, but for others; to pray for spiritual blessings like the increase of faith and the courage to forgive, and not just to pray for health and good weather.
Jude wanted his readers to keep building themselves up in the faith as they awaited Jesus’ merciful deliverance to eternal life. Jesus spoke about that too in our Gospel Lesson didn’t he? He told the parable of the Ten Virgins. These ten virgins were waiting for the bridegroom so that they could go to the wedding reception hall together. But the bridegroom was delayed well into the night. When he finally arrived, the women hurried to light their lamps, but five of them discovered that they had no oil. While they ran to get some, the bridegroom came and led the other women to the banquet hall. By the time the women who had forgotten to bring oil finally reached the banquet hall the door was closed and the bridegroom refused to open it.
What ought to strike us about this parable is how each one of the ten women knew that the bridegroom was coming. But knowing that he was coming wasn’t the same as being ready for him. Therein lies the warning of this parable. You just heard Jude say to you: “Build yourself up in the faith.” You can nod your head in agreement and say, “I know I need to do that, but I’ll get serious about it once Christmas vacation comes, or once I retire. I’m just too busy right now.” How do you know that it won’t be too late then? The time to prepare for Jesus is now! Stop your grumbling. Stop your faultfinding. Stop your flattery. Instead immerse yourself in your Savior’s love and forgiveness so that you eagerly share that love and forgiveness with others.
But no matter how hard you try you’re going to fail aren’t you? Why, you might not even make it out of the church building this morning without grumbling. That’s why it’s comforting to hear Jude say: “…keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 21). It’s finally only God’s mercy that opens the door to heaven to us, and not because we have managed to somehow stop grumbling and finding fault with others. So keep building yourself up in the faith as you keep hearing what Jesus has done for you. That’s the only way to ensure that you will be among the saints when they go marching into heaven. That’s a parade you won’t want to miss! Amen.
SERMON NOTES
Jude introduces us to Enoch. List at least three things we know about Enoch.
Enoch prophesied that the Lord will return to judge all people, and to condemn those who spoke defiantly against him. Explain why the sins of grumbling, fault-finding, and flattery are examples of such defiance against Jesus.
It should not surprise us to find grumblers, fault-finders, and flatterers in the church. When we do, how does God want us to deal with them?
Jude urges us to “pray in the Holy Spirit” as we await Jesus’ coming. Why did Jude specify that we pray “in the Holy Spirit”?
What connection is there between the Gospel Lesson today (Parable of the Ten Virgins) and the sermon text from Jude?
