“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”
When our children were young, we taught them a little rhyme. You may have recited it with your children, or even with your grandchildren.
HERE IS THE CHURCH,
HERE IS THE STEEPLE;
OPEN THE DOOR,
SEE ALL THE PEOPLE!
People indeed! And not only “all the people,” but all kinds of people—educated people and uneducated people, saintly people and unsavory people, very gifted people and very ordinary people, and multitudes lying between those various extremes. Many of these people have become quite visible through popular television shows—Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, T. D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Peter Popoff, John Hagee, James Robison, Franklin Graham, Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah, and a multitude of others, known and unknown. All alike claim to be part of the Church. What a variety of people claim they can be found within the Church! And what a variety of souls laid claim to belonging to the faithful throughout the ages.
The multitude of people claiming to be part of the Church appears confusing, but the confusion arises because the teachings of so many of these people is often at odds with what is written in the Word. What a confusing collection of teachings are to be found in modern Christendom! Catholic theology and Protestant theology, liberation theology, black theology, water buffalo theology, the theology of the pain of God, and the theology of hope, to name just a few. New theologies pop up on an ongoing basis. It is almost impossible for someone to keep up with the rapidly changing theological landscape.
And what about the bewildering succession of activities to be found in the churches? Of course, there are numerous accomplishments that merit the praise of everyone. But what about antiwar marches, hiding illegal aliens, providing mission monies for guerrilla warfare, ordination of homosexuals, “worship” with nude dancers, Christ portrayed as a superstar and as a clown, and… the list seems endless.
What has happened to the churches to create such confusion? You might well ask, “What in the world has gotten into the churches?” The answer is obvious— “The World!” The world has not simply gotten into the churches, churches have embraced the world—doing so eagerly!
Though we might hesitate to draw odious comparisons, the fact remains that the Church seems like a certain Pandora’s box. You may remember that, according to Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from heaven. In retaliation, Zeus sent a woman named Pandora to earth. She was given a box containing all sorts of human ills, some of which emerged each time the box was opened. Hope was also in the box—but there it remained!
Unlike Pandora’s box, the Church is in no sense mythical—it is very real. And so are the ills that all too frequently emerge from within the Church. But if the ills that plague the Church are real, so also is the hope that so often lies quiet in the Church. The challenge that confronts those of us who are followers of Christ the Lord is to make that hope more visible and more believable while labouring to cleanse the Church of the ills that plague her!
Over two thousand years ago, Jude wrote about the Church as it existed in the earliest days following the ascension of our Saviour and the descent of the Spirit of God at Pentecost. The half-brother of our Lord recognised that the Church of his day was a “mixed box,” just as the Church presents herself in this day. Jude explained that men who had no business being the Church—heretics and apostates—had “crept in unnoticed” [JUDE 4], and many of these men were even then sharing in directing the life of the churches. Unfortunately, wicked people have continued to twist and distort the mission of the Church throughout history, and many continue to do so even in this day.
Jude was exposing these deviant destroyers of all that is good and righteous, describing them in some detail so that his readers would not be duped into believing what these human cockroaches were teaching or finding their corrupt lifestyles attractive and thus dishonouring God by adopting their odious manner of life. Jude was pleading with those saints in that day that is so distant from this present day, to “contend for the faith” [JUDE 3]. The word he chose as he directed believers to contend is an exceptionally strong verb in that Greek tongue. We get our English word “agonise” from the Greek term that Jude employed. In Jude’s estimate, redeemed children of the Living God are to push back against the intrusion of evil, to fight against the evil doers if necessary. According to the Spirit of Christ speaking through Jude, Christians are to make their stand even at the risk of some personal sacrifice. In short, Jude is saying there is a time when it is right to be contentious, a time when it is right to be combative. Though the elders are to vigorously oppose the errant teachings that threaten the faithful, it is the responsibility of all Christians to resist succumbing to the insidious evil presented by error—each follower of Christ is responsible to oppose error when it is presented.
The Word of God, and hence the various books of the Bible, is written to instruct the child of God how we are to live so that we please the Father. It should be no great surprise that outsiders find the Bible to be unexciting, even confusing. This should not be surprising since lost people are guided by the natural mind. In this vein, recall the teaching delivered by the Apostle in his first missive to the Corinthian Christians. The Apostle Paul has written, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 2:14-16]. We who are saved, and in whom the Spirit of Christ has taken up residence, have the mind of Christ.
I suppose it is possible that some people might imagine that Jude is delivering a petty diatribe against other Christians who disagreed with his perspective. But as he begins his book, Jude sets the record straight for each child of God, making it evident that he was writing, however reluctantly, from a motive of love. Love? That is a strange thing to say, Pastor! Where is the love in Jude’s letter?
It had been Jude’s intention to write a pastoral letter concerning the salvation we share as Christians. But it was the infiltration of error that delivered this brief missive from the realms of forgotten reams of correspondence written by one Christian to another, thus lifting it into the canon of Scripture. Here, where it occupies a place too easily overlooked in modern Christian thought, this gleaming jewel of Christian compassion lies, awaiting opportunity to instruct the Church in righteous love until Christ shall return. No stronger evidence of love may be given than that provided by Jude. For when he realised that the heritage of the Lord was threatened by invasion by unholy pretenders, he took up pen and paper to draft the words of this book—words intended to steel believers against accepting evil. And his stance seems adopted with genuine reluctance. In those opening words, “I was very eager to write,” lies the evident suggestion that his is an unwelcome task, but love for the flock of the Lord impels him to write as he does.
My beloved people, Christian love is no sentimental acquiescence in what others may be doing, and it is no substitute for conviction. Rather, Christian love springs from holy conviction; and as fire consumes the dross, Christian love will inevitably destroy all impurities in the object of our love. Just so, Jude is driven to confront the Church with her ungodly tendency to tolerate evil by exposing the nature of the evil and the consequences of accepting that evil.
THE FAITH IS DEFINED AS DIVINELY DELIVERED TO GOD’S HOLY PEOPLE. There is a fascinating observation in the words chosen by Jude as he begins to write. This is an observation which you must not miss lest you fail to understand Jude's message. Christian experience is summarized through use of the word “salvation,” and Christian belief as “the Faith.” Salvation, according to Jude, meant not only past deliverance [see v. 5], but present experience [see vv. 22 ff.] and future enjoyment of the glory of God [see v. 25]. It is shared by the writer with his readers, just as it is shared alike by Jewish and Gentile followers of the Christ. By way of contrast, note that “the Faith” is viewed as the body of belief for followers of the Christ as opposed to the more usual understanding of the word to speak of trust, or of confidence.
The important thing for us to see is that the facts of the Christian Faith are not something which we have discovered for ourselves. We are not like some deluded soul who claims to have peered into his hat to read revelations that he claimed to have been written on plates of gold. Neither did we make up out of our fertile imaginations the truths of the Faith as did some illiterate Arabic trader claiming to have received the words of a desert demon over the course of decades. In the true sense of the word, the Faith consists of truths revealed by God to man and then handed down from one generation to another, primarily by means of the written Word of God given through prophets chosen to deliver these truths. These truths, collectively referred to as “the Faith,” go back in an unbroken chain to Jesus Christ Himself.
The Apostle to the Jews makes this evident when he writes, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place” [2 PETER 1:16-19a].
Peter continues by urging people to read what is given as the Word of God, since the impact of this Word is witnessed in shedding light on the reader. The Apostle has written, “We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” [2 PETER 1:19-21].
Have you noticed in the Word of God how frequently the writers of Holy Writ refer to this fact. In the Old Testament, it is more than a literary formula for the prophets such as Jeremiah or Ezekiel to write, “The Word of the LORD came to me,” or “the hand of the LORD was upon me,” or yet again when prophecy affirms “This is the Word the LORD spoke through _______.” These men of God to whom the Lord revealed His Word were claiming to speak the very words of God when they wrote what was written.
And when we come to the pages of the New Testament, the writers are not in the least timid in their affirmation of the divine origin of their words written down for others to read. Therefore, Paul writes that “All Scripture is breathed out by God” [2 TIMOTHY 3:16a], and it is precisely this divine origin that makes Scripture “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” [2 TIMOTHY 3:16b]. Likewise, as we just saw, the Apostle to the Jews will avow that, “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” [2 PETER 1:21]. The entire canon of Scripture is seen as given by God, and thus serves as a revelation of the mind of the Lord.
There are some, perhaps more than one might suppose, within the ranks of professed Christian who seem to imagine that the Faith is subjective, that it was produced through the mind of man operative over extended periods of time. But can the feeble thoughts of man produce strength and vitality in your soul? According to a brilliant theologian from ancient Tarsus, the Faith is conceived in the mind of God and revealed to man. Search ever so diligently and yet you would never be able to find any individual capable of conceiving the Christian Faith through his own speculations. This is the essence of the apostolic doxology that is provided for readers of the Word of God in a Letter to the Christians in Rome.
Listen as this brilliant theologian informs us that the Author of Scripture is far greater than any human mind can conceive. Paul exults, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
‘For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?’
‘Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?’
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” [ROMANS 11:33-36]. Indeed, the Author of Scripture is far greater than any human mind can conceive. Even a cursory acquaintance with the Faith gives sound evidence that what is written is of divine origin. God gave the Word, and what was given is a revelation of the divine mind.
Consider man's feeble attempts at metaphysics and the religious world. The noble thought of Greek philosophers falls far short of the classic summation of Christian salvation expressed in JOHN 3:16. I know you are well acquainted with that verse that informs all who hear, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
The major religions of the world all have in common the concept that personal effort will somehow suffice to propitiate God. The Buddhist concentrates on achieving godlikeness through personal introspection. The Hindu has no concept of a loving God willing to provide life through the sacrifice of His only Son. The Muslim is destitute of the thought of God incarnate searching for lost man. Communism excludes any concept of personal responsibility and looks to the State as saviour of mankind. Secular humanism excludes all responsibility, encouraging us to do our own thing as though it is meaningless in any case.
Nowhere in the efforts of man do you find a hope, a comfort for the grieving heart who would seek reconciliation with God. Nowhere in the efforts of man does one find the seeking element of a God who loves us. Nowhere in the efforts of man is found the willingness of God to provide a means for forgiveness of sin through sacrifice of Himself. Nowhere in the efforts of man do you find the thought of God revealing Himself to mankind. The Faith is unique in all human experience, allowing no room for speculation of the natural man in that revealed Faith.
What man, left to himself, could conceive of the universal condition of mankind of being completely lost? The very concept of man's fallen condition is repugnant to the natural mind. What individual, left on his own, could conceive of the love of God as demonstrated in the sacrifice of His very Son? The thought of such sacrifice far exceeds what even the most noble of men might imagine. And even if they could dream of such sacrifice, it would yet deny their pride. I tell you that God Himself must reveal these things. It is a mystery to the natural mind and must be revealed by God to man. And that is the position of the man of God who “hold[s] the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” [1 TIMOTHY 3:9].
THE FAITH IS DEFINED AS WHAT IS DELIVERED TO CHRISTIANS — ONCE AND FOR ALL. There is a further revelation given us as Jude attests that the Faith not only has its origin in God, but that it is fixed. The Psalmist exults:
“Forever, O LORD, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
[PSALM 119:89]
The Apostle to the Jews, Peter, revealing something of the nature of our faith, reminds followers of the Risen Saviour that we “have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” [1 PETER 1:23].
Then, reaching back to what the Prophet Isaiah wrote long centuries before, the Big Fisherman attests to the endurance and to the accuracy of God’s Word when contrasted with mankind and the nature of humanity. Peter cites Isaiah, reminding readers,
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
[1 PETER 1:24-25]
It might appear as though it should be an inconsequential matter to speak of the fixity of the Faith, but if there is no certainty in matters of the Faith we are at the mercy of the whimsy of man’s fertile imagination. And there are quite enough supposed theologians willing to affirm that the Word of God may only be understood through their intervention to discern truth (as they conceive truth) from error. These self-declared theologues imagine they have found error within the text of Scripture, and only through their so-called studies may they discern fact from fiction. I have questions for such depraved minds that think in that way. How many leaks can be tolerated in a submarine? How many leaks are acceptable for an EVA suit when an astronaut is sent on a mission beyond the confines of earth's atmosphere? If there is no tolerance for a little bit of error in matters involving only physical life, why should we tolerate greater error in matters which concern the very essence of man—his soul and spirit? Jude understood the gravity of the fight we who follow the Christ must fight, and that knowledge impelled him to engage in this struggle for a fixed Faith.
Permit me to wax practical for a brief moment. Whenever you are told of some discovery of a new doctrine, or whenever you are confronted with the introduction of some novel practise within the Church, or whenever someone rediscovers some truth which is said to have been either lost or lain dormant for a long time, you must look critically at what those insisting on imposing on the Faith may be purporting. With the Faith of Christ the Lord, know that if it is new, it is not true; if it is true, it is not new. Be extremely cautious about accepting anything that is new or novel in the realm of the Faith. The Faith is not fluid, and Christ Himself assures us that “the gates of Hades will not overcome” either His Church or the confession on which it is founded. You may be assured that the Faith shall not shift like desert sands. The Gospel I preach must be the same Good News that Paul preached and which Jude defended. And the teachings I deliver must be those that are delivered by Peter and by James. Carefully examine the teachings any mere man may present, comparing them to the unchanging Word of God.
Apostolic teaching, not current theological fashion, is the hallmark of authentic Christianity. The fixity of the apostolic Faith is inescapably bound up with that which God spoke to men through His Son once and for all. This is the thrust of the opening words in the Letter to Hebrew Christians: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” [HEBREWS 1:1-2]. In Jude’s view, progress in the Christian Faith is determined by faithfulness to Apostolic teaching. For him there is no need to attempt to “get behind” New Testament teaching, nor yet need to “get beyond” that doctrine. We must interpret it to each successive generation; but Jude would agree with John that the man whose doctrine outruns the New Testament witness is to be rejected.
THE FAITH IS ENTRUSTED TO GOD’S CONSECRATED PEOPLE. The Faith is not the preserve of one person within the Church, nor is it the private domain of one group within the Church. Rather, the Faith is the heritage of all who constitute the Church. Throughout the years of my service before the Lord and among His churches, battles were waged within many denominations over the issue of how we were to handle the Faith. Even in the camp of evangelicals, these same battles were fought, and too often were lost, as the definition of the Faith was debated and the issue of confidence in the Word of God was debated. The issues have proved to be too critical, too vital, too essential to be left to the theologian. We must understand that the theologian is a gift to the churches, and that one is no more capable of being a guardian of the Faith than is any other of the saints. It is to God’s consecrated people to whom the Faith has been entrusted.
You, the people of God, are the guardians of the Faith. This is not the responsibility of some select group of specialised individuals. You are responsible to know what has been delivered through the written Word of God. You must hold to account anyone who presumes to declare the message of life, ensuring that such a one does not attempt to distort what has been delivered. Should some individual presenting himself as a spokesman for the Lord seek to introduce “new light” on the Word of the Lord or some novel interpretation of the truths of the Word, you must stop such a one from pretending to speak in the Name of the Lord. Expose that person as the fraud he is, refusing to entertain his error even for a moment. You must do this gently, but you must stop his error; you must not permit the errant one to receive a hearing from you. The Spiritual health of newer saints and the eternal welfare of lost souls depends on your courageous defence of the Faith.
I’m speaking to you as redeemed saints of the Living God. Are you one of God's redeemed people? Do you know for a fact that should you die you would enter into the presence of the living Lord? Are you certain that you have placed your full confidence in the risen Saviour? If you are a twice born child of God, you are responsible for the safe keeping of the Faith? Every believer ought to serve as a theologian, understanding and guarding the Faith. Every child of God must be aware of the formidable responsibility conferred upon her or him to safe guard the Faith which was “once for all entrusted to the saints.”
Paul wrote to young Titus, delivering his message bracketed in these terms: “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness … To Titus, my true child in a common faith” [TITUS 1:1, 4a]. Reading this introduction to Paul’s Letter to Titus, it is apparent that the Apostle believed that the Faith was delivered to the saints, God’s elect, for safe keeping.
The churches, then, serve as guardians of the Faith. And when we speak of the churches, you understand that we are speaking of the people whom God has gathered to form those assemblies. In Acts we observe that it was “the churches [that] were strengthened in the faith” [ACTS 16:5].
And when the first missionaries returned from their missionary venture of spreading the Faith to the Gentiles, we read of them that they were “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” [ACTS 14:22].
There is a great controversy that has raged throughout western society during the past four or five decades. And the controversy has not been stifled; it continues growing even in this current day. On the one hand is found individuals wearing the garb of evangelicals who claim that the Word of God is replete with error. They promote the idea that this delivered Word is filled with fallacy. On the other hand stand a valiant few spokesmen contending that the Bible is inerrant and infallible as is fitting for the Word of God. The former seek to undermine the faith of the saints whilst the latter seek to encourage the faithful to adhere to the Word delivered and received as trustworthy and authoritative.
Obviously, there can be no comity between these disparate views. Those pushing the thought that the Bible is replete with grievous errors cannot accept an inerrant Bible given by God. Inerrantists cannot accept the reliability of anything purported by those who imagine we have an errant Bible and a make believe god. If the Word of God is errant, we cannot say that man is sinful. And if man is not fallen and sinful, we do not need a saviour. And if we have no need of a saviour, then Christ is at best a nice man who died a needless death.
But of course, we who are redeemed, we in whom the Spirit of Christ has taken up residence, know differently. As the Apostle has written, “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:22-28].
Paul continues by encouraging us who are twice born, writing, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-58]. Amen! Amen, indeed! There is real encouragement to keep on keeping on!
The tragedy of the controversy roiling the faithful is that the issue is being decided, not in the centre where all such controversies ought to be decided—the churches of our Lord and Saviour, but this issue is being determined in the arena of seminaries and colleges and in the pages of the press. As the schools are co-opted by those denying the accuracy and authenticity of the Word, the future provision of pastoral leadership is tainted. Yet, it is the saints of God who are appointed as guardians and defenders of the Faith, and it is the responsibility of the saints of the Most High God to make themselves aware of what the Faith says in these vital areas. Then, having ascertained the mind of God, it is the saints of the Living God who are to defend vigorously that Faith they have received.
THE FAITH IS DESCRIBED AS REQUIRING DEFENDING. Is it not a strange thing that God does not entrust defense of the Faith to specialists? Is it not a queer thing that He entrusts defense of the Faith to common men? A moment of reflection reveals that God chooses a mere lad tending sheep to guide His people instead of searching through the palaces of the great and the mighty. He calls simple fishermen to walk beside Him instead of entering the halls of academe when He wants to insure the development and continuation of His Faith. Just so, we are charged with the responsibility of insuring that “what you have heard from [the Apostle] in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” [2 TIMOTHY 2:2].
Every Christian must be a defender of the Faith. And that defense may well prove to be a costly endeavour, taxing every energy of the saint in his stance for truth. That may well be the reason Jude uses the word he does, which we have translated for us by our English word “contend.” Jude used the Greek word epago ni'zesthai. If you listen carefully you may hear the resemblance to our English word “agonise.” Indeed, Jude was advocating vigorous, even strenuous, resistance of evil in our defense of the truth. Defense of the Faith will be continuous, costly, and agonising. To stand for the Faith means that we will pay the price of being unfashionable. It means that we will experience the agony of making the details of the Faith comprehensible to the common man, lifting the Faith out of the realm of argot favoured by theologians in order to speak plainly, as did our Lord.
Is it not a startling thing to discover that the very ones who would do the most harm to the Faith are themselves professing believers? I have no fear of the atheist—he is soon seen as the fool he is. I do not fear aggressive assault upon the Fortress of Truth, such as raised by some cult or other religion—they cannot shake the Foundation. I do not particularly fear the ignorance of the modern world—soon enough God will snap them out of their lethargy. I fear above all else those religious wolves who slip in and make havoc of the flock of God, destroying the Faith.
The Apostle could deal with an Elymas [see ACTS 13:8 12] and he could deal with ignorance [see ACTS 17:16-17], but the noble Apostle feared the intrusion that was certain to come as men slipped into the churches intent on introducing error. It is necessary to be constantly vigilant, always ready to defend the Faith. Should a professor in a religious school teach what is contrary to the Faith, though all about wish to show their great tolerance for diversity of thought, we must be willing to speak out exposing that error. Whenever a pastor wearing the livery of a conservative declares what is contrary to the Faith, we must be willing to identify that individual and identify the heresy taught so that others may be spared harm and hurt.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers an enthusiastic plea against cheapening Christianity until it is reduced to a set of propositions assented to, or acts performed, or shibboleths observed, rather than a vibrant, vital personal relationship with Jesus that inflames, invigorates, and permeates every aspect of political, social, and personal life. Contending for the Faith is standing against error of every kind, even while fulfilling the injunctions of verses twenty through twenty three of this brief missive. In those verses, the half-brother of our Lord urges his readers, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” [JUDE 20-23].
The essence of Jude’s words is for followers of the Risen Lord of Glory to know that to contend for the Faith is to resist heresy, building oneself up in the Faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, and keeping oneself in God’s love. And the surest evidence that we are doing this is that we are merciful to those who doubt, even while we are snatching others from the fire. Standing firm in the Faith of Christ the Lord and rescuing lost souls is the sure evidence that the Spirit of Christ is working in our life.
All this is in keeping with the repeated admonitions of the Apostle. Though “the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” [1 TIMOTHY 4:1], we who will walk with the Lord are commanded to “devote [ourselves] to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” [1 TIMOTHY 4:13].
Because we are Christians, and because we realise the consequence of failure, we are obliged to “fight the good fight of the Faith” [see 1 TIMOTHY 6:12]. In this way, we will be keeping the command of God “unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” [1 TIMOTHY 6:14].
I would be remiss in my responsibility as a man appointed to proclaim the message of life if I was to neglect to invite any who hear my voice or who read my words to ensure that they have received God’s invitation to life in Christ the Son of God. God sent His Son to take on human form. We witness this when the Apostle Paul testifies, “You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,
who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself
by taking on the form of a slave,
by looking like other men,
and by sharing in human nature.
He humbled himself,
by becoming obedient to the point of death
—even death on a cross!
As a result God highly exalted him
and gave him the name,
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow
—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.”
[PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 NET BIBLE 2nd]
Now, the Living God graciously invites anyone who will receive His mercy, and He is assuredly inviting you, “If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10 ISV].
The invitation to life is simplified even further when the Apostle reaches back to the ancient prophet Joel, who testified, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. Surely, this gracious offer to forgive your sin, to set you free of all guilt, and to receive you into God’s redeemed family, is meant for you who hear the message this day.
With the Apostle of Christ, I invite all who will receive the invitation, “Since, then, we are working with God, we plead with you not to accept God’s grace in vain. For he says,
‘At the right time I heard you,
and on a day of salvation I helped you.’
Listen, now is really the “right time”! Now is the ‘day of salvation’” [2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-2 ISV]! This is the right time for you, even this day. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
