Contend and Defend the Faith
Bible Text: Jude 1-25 | Preacher: Pastor Steve | Series: Abiding in the Lord
Humanistic Spirituality Statements
We experience God through feeling rather than reason, experience rather than knowledge.
Sin and evil are largely illusions that will ultimately be reconciled rather than defeated. There is no hell.
Perfect happiness is available right now.
Who Are We?
(1-2) Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called,sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Called
Sanctified
Preserved
Contend and Defend
(3-4) Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
We Fight Daily Against the Devil and Evil
We battle COMPROMISE!BUSYNESS! DISTRACTIONS!
We must Fight Together!
Alone, isolated believers are a contradiction to God’s Word
The ultimate arrogance and pride is to declare that you need no one and that you can go it alone.
God’s truth must be studied and lived out in community!
The Battle of Spiritual Seduction
(4) For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 7:15-20
The church today is turning the grace of God into an excuse for open immorality and denying the ABSOLUTE truth found in God’s word using cultural and humanistic arguments to justify and rationalize sin.
Learn from Our Mistakes
Jude calls us to remember the Israelites and happened to them when they ignored the Word of God
The fact is that even if you have received the grace of God it is still possible to lose eternal salvation by knowingly, arrogantly, ignorantly living in disobedience and faithlessness and rebellion!
(5-13) But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord…
What was their mistake?
Rebelled
Rebelling
Rebellion
Critical, self-centered pride!
(10) But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them!
Be Warned!
Jude is warning us to not get trapped into believing that God’s moral law does not apply to us. There are people who believe and say that the law is dead and that they are only under grace. That the rules of God’s word no longer apply to them and so they can do whatever they want or feel like doing.
Romans 6:1-4 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
14-15 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
Spiritual Error
16-19 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
Spiritual Truth
20-23 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
Jesus will keep us from slipping and falling
Jesus will present us faultless
Jesus will bring us into His presence