Fight for The Faith: Contending Against Evil & Error
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Timothy Whtimer in Shepherding model for gospel ministry, helpfully says need to know the sheep, before you can care for the sheep, before you feed the sheep, before you can protect the sheep. Last part of being an under-shepherd that I as a pastor especially felt ill equipped. Privately yes, read, think, own life , but publically together as a church to discern the evil and error -that attack Christians in this culture, this community, and to boldly, like Gandalf at the bridge in the heart of the lonely mountains : TO say to the Bolrog, - you shall not pass! If we really love each other must have the courage to contend against those things that would shipwreck the faith among us. Gandulf, shouts to them Run you fools. And then turns and faces down the great opponent. In life know what to speak against, stand against, what you would stake your life on.
Well, this letter of Jude can be summarized in this one word. CONTEND. You and I, the church of jesus Christ, not just the Gandalf type Christians, the super duper leaders, you and I are called to CONTEND for the faith in a world of error and evil. That’s the theme verse, I wanted to write you about our common salvation (never outgrow need for this because salvation is past, present and future)Need to be built up in the holy faith - once delivered. But if that’s all we hear- familiarity breeds contempt, might get the feeling hey we’re all Christians, we all believe this stuff, no sin, no error could possibly sneak into our church our home, our lives. That’s why Jude’s letter opens up like you’re pulling out live fire crackers. Imagine getting a letter int the mail, dear sir, FIGHT, Dear Madame - AGONIZE -
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.
That word contend is the word for ROCKY Balboa, Reuben the Hurricane Carter, M Ali, CONTENDER of the World - train and fight and ready myself to be heavy weight champion of the world. But what is even more interesting when you look this word up in a Greek dictionary is its antonym, opposite: Peace, to be at peace, to make peace with, to be quiet to tolerate. For sure there is much in our lives we need to make peace with, reconciling is good, make peace theme of the gospel, between God and us, between each other. Times when being quiet in not only wise, but truly Christ like things to do - love covers over a multitude of sin. Jude is not calling for mean spirited judgmental Christianity. But when it comes to false teaching regarding the gospel, twisting of the Word of God and faith - Jude’s instruction is not what we want to hear, just take it lying down, take it on the chin and turn the other cheek, let the error be it will run its course. No, he sees how the evil and error about the gospel, has snuck in like silent quick growing weed into the garden - time for action. Open this letter, it says: Christian you have some agonizing over error and evil to do. Christian you together, have some contending for the Faith to do together.
A) OCCASION: Need to Contend against False Teaching & Evil
What is the false teaching will be half of our concern, and we get a hint of that in
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
They have perverted the grace of our God and denied Jesus the Messiah being a Master and Lord. They have turned him into a Messiah who does not have Lordship is not concerned with reigning in our lives and our world.
But it is not just false teaching that Jude attacks, it is also the false living it produces. What did they turn the gospel into? Sensuality … what is it about the quality of their day to day life that he finds troubling and shipwrecking to others around them, not just the false teaching itself, but the false living, they are people who though in the church are ungodly people. Some may just be ignorant, lazy, some not truly converted, but others deliberate and deceiving , know what they are doing - Jude is saying get ready to contend with them.
And why does Jude says he’s going to write a letter to them about contending rather than just more about our common salvation? He says it is necessary. The word has a sense of urgency about it, pressure, hardship, obligation. And before we any further I need to ask you - + Jude says to us contend for faith here. How about ungodliness - why did God send judgment on his people in land - became more wicked more worldly , commit more grievous sins than the nations before them! Alarming isn’t it that - Christian statistics for lying, adultery, for cheating - same as the world, That observant Muslims because they thin salvation relies on it often more upright. We have an even greater motivation than our salvation to earn, we have a God to thank for grace of his salvation. Too many think God’s law old fashioned not applicable, though not for salvation and not same ceremonies or civil enactment - God’s law is unchanging gift to his people. Circumstance and application may change, the principles of his laws. How about in doctrine overemphasis on the fallibility of human author s who wrote the Bible, go over board and say Not inspired by Holy Spirit in a way kept from error. RELATIVISM. Deny jesus as Master and Lord with a voice to speak into our daily lives through His word. Just three areas today called to contend.
Really shouldn’t be surprised in receiving something so supernatural, so counterculture, so against fallen human nature as the Gospel of Jesus , as the Spirit of holiness, taht we’d have to cotnedn for it. IE Paradigm shift - at first people like man never fly - but now . We have the greatest of aparadigm shifts, whole new way of living, - expect opposition until Christ ia all andin all at the very end.
The very coming of the messiah was propehsied as a paradigm shift from false propehts, false teachers, shepherds who cared nothing, and God himself cominog to be the Teacher, the Shepherd, the Proopet - comiong in Christ to us:
My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.
HOw will the true sheep not be eaten up bythe false shepherds and led astray to eternal destruction? It’s by God HImself coming as the true Shepherd:
Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.
Christ Himself warned of this in that opening contistitin of HIs kingdom of grace, the Sermon on the Mount:
Christ Himself warned of this in that opening contistitin of HIs kingdom of grace, the Sermon on the Mount:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Before going ot the Cross in he says:
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Writing a parallel letter to the many Jewish Christian in the dispersion Peter writes
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Of the alter Epistles JOhn writes to Gentile Christains in Ephesus and Asia Minor in his first epstistle: 1 John, just after telling them not to love the world, of the things in it, Warning against inordinate desire of the flesh and of the eyes and the pride of life - sensuality Teaching can’t love God and love the world . friend of one, enemy of the other. He says: to Chrsitian s already then:
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
And there is the urgency for Jude’s reader, and for you and me in the church today. Behind the false teaching and false living in Church, there is a real and personal facce, Thae Spirt of AntiChrist - mbodied in these errors and evils, Satan the attacker of the churc. That’s why Jude says, listen here sermons on the faith until the cows come home, but now is an urgent time to recieve instruction, and tactics to combat error!
And one of the main tactics is a hugge surprise - history. Actually surpris\ing how many people like real history, even a channel. Why Those who forget teh past are doomed to repeat it. Tactics Satan uses tried a true spiritual tactics,have changed much. And the tactics that God’s children are to use to thwart his every move - again tried andture, not new. History is a commentary on this battle between errror and truth, godliness and godleessness. And one of Jude’s main tactics is to take that history - in fresh way says - ee this is how Satan works against God’s peoople and this is how we are to stop it. Interesting taht a yong adult, not going to study history after highschool - yeah I’d read a book on on QWorld War II., every theatre, but each section ends with assessment of gnerals on both sides what did weel what didn’t. Really what great commmanders from Alexander the Great, tutored by Aristotle, Nero by one of the greatest stoic philospiohers Nero. Westpoint Academy study battles, ambushes, - spiritually that what Jude does even with spiritual stories tthat are not recorded inthe Bible. Sya this is wht is going on now and here is how you should respond. And that’s exactly how Paul says we should be using the OT stories of episdoes in spiritual battle: He says, we were with Israel under the cloud, all passing through Red Sea all baptized in Christ, drank same spiritual food and drink… Rock was Christ, But hen they were tested - and many God’s wasn’t pleased. Then he writes: .
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
We are to learn how to hodl to Christ, how to stand against sensuality ay Paul and Jude, how to not live by an idolatry and keep on the journey in vicotyrin Christ, and that is going to take not only fleeing these things, but fighting the rorr from which they stem!
So that is the purpose for which Jude is wrtiing, and I hope youand I can start readingthis book, like that youth learning of the battles in the great War, recnizing great spiritual war is wstil on and we need to be trained to use your weapns ,tto device stratgy and find vicotry over the evil adns godless trnd that spiecitfually chalnagen us.
Martin Luther said: “If you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time, you are not preaching the gospel at all.” He saw in his day how Satan was so skilled at turning the gospel into law and law into gospel. As read jdue find what those issues where in his day, what they are in ours. Becausen not just issues to discusse have oponion and privately hold, but isssues that shipwreck peopele souls tohell, and must have a strategy to deal noonly withthe issues abut withthe people that are brithing these ideas and how to protect those who are falling for their half truths and full out lies! He comabtted that, what aer we called to comabt? Certainly in our culture the idea of abasoute right and wrong, where truth is flexible and questionable - is part of the ethical relativism have in common. Other issues called into the battle ofr Christ, for trutyh, for grace!
So that’s an introduction to the puprose of Jude’s letter, but let me conclude this evening, with the context. Who is writing these Chrsitain and to us ? and who are these Christians?
B. AUTHOR: Jude, brother of Jesus, Almost Shipwrecked Unbelief, but Saved & Serving in Power
We begin our letters with the recipeint, Dear_____, or TO Wom it may concern. But that comes second, and what we do at the bottom, Sincerely , Your’s in Christ , Shalom, and the sender of the Letters anme last; that they put first.
And in Jude’s self-descriptio, the Holy Spirit has given us two esenital facts about this sender for interpetting teh Scriptures. A lot o information in a few words. The one who sent this letter toJews presumably in Palenstine area before the fall of Jerusaem aroudn teh same time that Paul let out of prision, his name is Jude, in Hebrew Judas or Judah which means praise. But several Judas - one in Josephs lineage, two of the apsotles Judas Iscariot, and maybe you remember gospel of john, Judas (not Iscariot) says in the Upperoom what are you show us but not the world. JOhn 14:22. Well as call s him this Judas son of James. But it is not these Jude’s because he says: brother of whom? James. Well which james is this not apostles That James killed by Herod was the first apostl martyred. But his James is the brother of jesus Son of Mary - who was raised up as the pillar of the Jerusalem church. So active in first church council. And his brother was Jude also son of mary and brother of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We read about Jesus’ brothers in Matt 13:55
Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
And then again when they think he is out of his mind, don’t believe, Aren’t with mary at the Corss, But then after the resurrection - suddenly appear in Scritpu8re as believers. At elast James and Jude from this list become Chrstians and leaders in the church that their half-brother - who they thought was crazy but turned out to be the very Son of God incanrate and they didn’t believe it, turned out to be the Mesisah of the wrold, resurrected from the dead. FUlfilment of the kingdom of Godon earth. Early church calls them brothers of the Lord according tothe flesh. But the brothers themselves reconzgnizing the most imoprtant way they are related to Jesus is spiritual, Saviour and especially Lord.
You can bet in re-thinking everything - that James and Jude, thought of the mysteryof incarnation, the rising of their brother, more than most. And after having dismissed his saving plan, Messianic Kingdom, you can bet they now see it clearer than most. With a repentance for how much they missed serving with Christ when he was on earth.
Kind of like the song: The Cat’s in the Cradle - -boy says to Father who never has time, I’m going to be ike you… Or mother hear her child’s first words “Just a minute” , or song writer from Sarnia - Donavan Woods, next year we’ll build treehouse , next fishing trip - daddy when’s next year. His wown Dad gets sick - calls intowork - not going to be there -goes on Trip to Grand Canyon. You can bet taht the James and Jude with their half-brother now sitting on throneo f hheaven- had pardigm shift like that mother, like Donavan woods Dad getting cnacer. Missed out on all that learning, serving, joy of hidden growing kingdom. Going to give our lives to that. See how James did, writing letter to E Diasopra of jewish Christians, but he has died and while Jude isn’t the new leader in Jersuaelm, cousin took that postioon, he is writign what might be a sequel to James - have heard from James, long dead. now he claims listne to me - we are brethern of the LOrd
So beyond Jude,brother of james, whatis the other title he calls himself:
Not CEO, or star Chrsitain leader, not the officeo f his church function, elder or deaon, not even diakonis in broader sense. but servant. And actually teh word was not the one for a higer up househld servant, but the other slave word for the lowest kind of slave. a Doulo, which can be for bound seervant, slave. Thisis the kind that is there for life and doesn’t bleong to himself, not hired out for atime, but totatlyuy dientitiefed withthe masters house, belongs to Him. Real lesson of what it measn to be a Christian and also how we are to relate to each ther and the LORD. Belong to him, we are co-labourers, we are sevant-minded , not one better than another, but all defined more by our service to God and His household than bythe rank,opostiion.
Jude is from a family of first rank, but more than position, he thinks of who He is with everyone else inrleation toChrist. This Jesus is King, and we belong to Him, we serve Him. We joyfully submit to good kign who gave his life for us. This the false teachers don’t get - they want to live with no authroity ofver the. But from the get go Jude - examplifies that if you want Christ you must learn the way of good and healhty and life drawign submission to Christ! The desire to getout from legitimate authroity - civil, church, home, work - huge source of error and wickedness in our world.... we sons of Adama and Eve love to throw off authority. Butin Christ beuatiful way to live well under best authroti9y. At the root of his idenitty in the thrid word used descrbie hismelf. Who are you - Harry, servant of Christ!
But lastly, Jude introduces to whom he is writing.
C. RECIPIENTS: Contenders are both Equipped and Dependent.
We see that those Jude is writing too, need to realize what they already have to fight with, and what they will need to stay in the fight against evil and falsehood.
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
Have you heard a phone chime and your not surei s it someone elses or yours. You all reach for it at THE SAME TIME. iT USED TO BE MAILMAN DELIVER TO DOOR, before that Pony Express, BEFORE THAIN rOMAN TIMES QWUITE A POSTAL STYSTEM. But for most unless official Roman business, a firend or servant have to go on foot to people most likekly know to them. Knock on the door and jsut like you reaching for your pohne. Called to front who is it for? But not one - imagine all of us get a text at the same time - Message for all the church, aand by extension for all Christians.
Calling i. outward ie many called fewe chosen. ii. inward or effectual calling , with that call
Doctrine of eelction: God's people are so because of God's choice. God is the initiator, first pursuer, lover. His will beckons us, and we come; we come because he called.
Charles Spurgeon was once trying to fathom the depths of the wonderful reality of being sought out by God. He was overwhelmed by the truth that God, the Lord of the universe, decided, even delighted, to be in relationship with him. In reaching for words to express his fortune he said:
I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards. And He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. To be looked upon with the special love of God - isn't that great?
The experiential effect of knowing that God has called us to himself is unconditional love flowing and blowing like most refreshing breeze into the inner chambers of our being
- not just to be saved, but to ecome new haumanity, restored image in Christ, to be Holy beloved in God the Father - what all long for, but only by justification in Christ, transfer from under wrath to under grace, favour, smile, = fuel and foundation of all Christain living, Packer - adoption hidden jewel of Reformed viewo f salvation;
what all long for, but only by justification in Christ, transfer from under wrath to under grace, favour, smile, = fuel and foundation of all Christain living, Packer - adoption hidden jewel of Reformed viewo f salvation; and KEPT only able to persevere because God has chosen to PRESERVE - Olevianus, thankful even for hardship because intended to refine, to call us back from self-sufficiency and backsliding.
That calling and that being loved by God with His favour and grace flowinginto our lives to renew us, it isn’t for no reason at all - it isn’t even jsut to get us to heaven, we are called to be like Him, we are called into relationship with Him so that we become the new haumnity, so that we become holy. And what does he call all Christains in
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.
SAINTS. We often think of justification what ahppened to us once for all inthe past and rightly so, but do you understand sthat sanctification - being made holy - is something that can also be seen as a one time, once fdor act of the past. For sure it is more than taht. But when you were born-again, regeneration, saved, God didn’t only justify you, in His love and claling , he made you a saint. Not speaking of ongoing progressive sancrtificationk, inhwhich little by little everyd day grow in Christ’ likeness, but definitive sanctification is taht he set you adie fromt eh rest of the world, and said I set you aside and s\eparate you from the dmoinoin and riegn of sina dn Satan - you are holy and redeemed.
Mercy Me - what’s your name - Greater is the one who is living in me, than the world - failure, shame, not your name any more. How we ought to think fo ourselves IN CHRIST and how we ought to think of each other - despiate our shortcomiong and falls - we are CALLED and WE ARE BELOVED IN GOD the Father.
But the third thing that those who would Contende forthe faith must realize about is the one that shoud give them most confidence to actuallly confront and enter into battle with the erorr and wickedness. Without this you may thnk, I am not strong enough to sacknowelge error5 and wickedness inmy life, my home, in this church. pretend itsnto there. Feeeding pet racoon - it will turn on you!
You and I are KEPT for Jesus Christ. There are a couple tools my dad gave me that I look forward to handing down, There are preaching bibles calfskin cover\ed I have preached from my NIV, and now this ESV - I look forward to passing down - and imagine as you are called by the Spirit and loved by Father who sent the Son for you, kept for Christ Jesus. He bought and redeemed us, but he is coming back for us to bring His work of grace beugn to completeion and fulness. And if you are going to really deal with the wickeedness and false teaching that shipwrecks souls, need to know that in Christ you are bulletproof. He will lose none that come to Hiim, no one can snatch them out of his hand. We could persevere on our own for an hour, ifhe prayed that though sifted and tested, He choses to preserve us! With confidence say I can go through this storm of testing, dealing with eivl and flsehood instead of closing my eeys to it. This preservation such a way to be thankful in hardtimes too… PRESERVE - Olevianus, thankful even for hardship because intended to refine, to call us back from self-sufficiency and backsliding.
and KEPT only able to persevere because God has chosen to PRESERVE - Olevianus, thankful even for hardship because intended to refine, to call us back from self-sufficiency and backsliding.
PRESERVE - Olevianus, thankful even for hardship because intended to refine, to call us back from self-sufficiency and backsliding.
So how are we to think of our selves, what is our idenitty - Jude wants us to soar with this recogniztion: we are called, and we are beloved, and we are kept. Called, beloved kept. Those are past realities that give us rpesent confidence and crertainty. But last you think this is just presumption, sit back let go and let God. Listen to how the letter ends, as we are kept by god, look at the command:
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
ause God has chosen to PRESERVE - Olevianus, thankful even for hardship because intended to refine, to call us back from self-sufficiency and backsliding.
This is like Colosssians gorw witht he growth God work sin me, work with the energy He has working me. We are to stir up in each other sense of God’s love for us and , we are to stir up a love for each other in Christ’s new kingdom, we are to anticipate the fulness of tehat kingdom. There is no presumption - sit back and God keeps us without working in us. And this also why after idnetifying 3 ways weare to thnko of ourselves resourced by God, Jude also gives 3 huge Needs in a believers life if we are going to be contenders. These are things that we need reple\nished ino ur lives day by day and are never to take for granted, things that judeis praying for htem and we should be praying for eah other. Like Isaiah going to have to cotnend in his day and listen to what God says to HIm and you if you will contend:
,
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
Inthis greeting, slautation, really a prayer. Missing one typcial Pauline greeting - they always have grace and added a word never in Pauline greetings that is love.
But take all three together - if you are going to contend for the faith - against evil against falehood, in a very particular and postiive way, goign to have live life in a postureo f dependence on God for these things. Instead of starting with the grace of Jesus Christ, he says that even more fundamental is the mercy of God. ever think of the difference, grace is getting what you don’t deserve, but mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Jude is so awrethat what we deserve in hell, lostness without God, punishment wrath - but God’s ggodness is such that in mercy - he says No, I love them and I will pay for them, out of that mercy flows Christ stepping forward in grace to redeem us, and working that grace of undeserved salvation in our lives. Day by day though we have had mercy once for all inthe past, realize we ever live \by God being merciful to me. Jesu Son of David, have mercy on me. Rely on that new mercy morning. Like a wave that never ends always washing over us, what we have in receiving Christ and that works the grace. But then he says, something that error and sin, falehosod and wickedness destory in your life andin our church, and inthis world. Peace. Absense of shalom,great eschatological goal Christi s redeemign the world towards SHALOM< everything in harmony - and every day we sin and that itnroduces disharmony and lack of real peace - we distort God’s truth and live a lie - the ntegrity of our lives our comunity oru world crubmes a little. But becauseof Christ’s fnished work - he has a peace that is out of this world - peace that restores what is broken. Grace doesn’t destory nature - its sets it right and restores it. You have a lack in your olife of this peace, but if your are to content it mst be dependingon God for His peace to you in Christ. And then last one and the unusual one for slutation: Love be multipoled to you.
Every relationship goes through it -0 Hugh black 19th entury baptist classic book on Friendship calls it the Eclipse of Firendship, in marriage a Lull, 7 year itch. Come a time when though you loved in the past, maybe even love in a longterm all of life wya, that love is no longer being multiplied in that relationship. A dangerous place to be in your relationship with outher and with God. Witho other end up with relief and aid workeres - commited to a couase but run over anyone to make their cause be sucessful even if means runnnign over people and the very people they say they are helping. In marriage shell and outsideniceties -but dying for real acts of love and real recieving of it. But then with God if you are a person who wants to contend on issues and orality in this world, but have not a multiplying love - clanging gong - there is no shoortage of Chrsitian who bash someone ofver the head with truth. But Jude seems to be signalling that you are not outfitted for being a Christian Cotnender in this World if your love is not mulitpilying, and only dinvine source to be sought for it!
Sense that - God keeps us who would stumble and present us blameless that’s - del9ights to keep us, but he also delights in the gentleness and respect the mustliplying love we are to have with people who are trickedby faleshood or evil:
save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
It is goig to be hard work to discern to whom we should not gie the right hand of fellowshiop, not calling on us to be merciful with the evil or even the sourve of t4eh evil teaching , toug love that is to ultiply too. - but iti s love that will lvoe the sinner even caught in his sin. Servetus - not defending the state sanctiioned captial punishment for heresy, don’t think something that can be compelled by force, but before we throw Calvin under the bus,imoprtant to know even with that false teacher, as a pastor he went to his cell each night - sought gently to restore and save him.
Conclusion: Well, congretation you get the sense that Judes readers had a huge need for support, Standing up isn’t easy and they themselves shared in confusion and moral fog. Jude begins by giving them structural support, this is who you are , this is whwere we are at with Christ in God. It isinteresting that’s what soliders need first ona b- When a soider is in the fray, sene where is my back , wheere’s my support, remember who you are men. Remember why you are doing this. They say if lost in the woods, you can live 30 days wihtout food, a couple without water, but in harsh territory you can’t live a day without the nubmer one thing you need - shelter. That’s what Jude says we need if we are goign to be contenders - clear sense of who we are and how we are outfitted by our heavenly Father. May it be that in the sutdy of our tactics for Conrtednig forteh Fatih we might be first rooted in mercy and peace and multipying love! Amen.