Quote from Forum Archives on May 4, 2002, 8:54 am

Posted by: abwesleyan <abwesleyan@...>

Brothers, it appears that the attachment didn't come through, so I have
pasted it below.

Brian La Croix
Pastor, Aberdeen Wesleyan Church
1701 8th Ave NE
Aberdeen, SD 57401
(605) 225-2873
abwesleyan@nvc.net
www.aberdeenwesleyan.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Aberdeen Wesleyan Church" <abwesleyan@nvc.net>
To: <pastormail@welovegod.org>
Sent: Friday, May 03, 2002 5:04 PM
Subject: Re: [PastorMail] Studies & Sermons on Jude

> Mike,
>
> Here is a sermon I did on Jude. I hope it helps!
>
> Brian La Croix
> Pastor, Aberdeen Wesleyan Church
> 1701 8th Ave NE
> Aberdeen, SD 57401
> (605) 225-2873
> abwesleyan@nvc.net
> www.aberdeenwesleyan.org

Contend for the Faith
Jude
October 21, 2001

Introduction

Have you ever had someone from your own family voice their opinion that you
are out of your mind?

Here you are, out there trying to do what you think God has you doing,
whether it is in full-time ministry, or ministry in a job setting, and your
own brother says that he thinks you are crazy.

And he means it.

Today, as we continue in our series on “The Little Guys,” those books of the
Bible which seem to get less attention, we look at the writing of a person
just like I described.

In the third chapter of Mark, we read these words:
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his
disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this,
they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

According to the best known information, the author of our Scripture passage
today is one of Jesus’ own brothers; His half-brother, actually.

Here is a guy who was at first embarrassed by his brother, then later served
Him as a leader.

Jude identifies himself as a brother of James, who was also a half-brother
of Jesus.

And Jude, far from wondering if His brother is nuts, now writes a letter
saying that the brother he once mocked is the Sovereign Lord.

God is in the business of changing lives, folks, and He does not
discriminate against those who had treated Him harshly if they come to Him
in faith, as His brothers did.

In this letter, Jude beats the same drum as the apostle John did in his
letters: truth is all-important, and needs to be defended.

Apparently, godless men had slipped in among the fellowship and tried to
destroy the apostles’ teachings. They were not men who were followers of
Christ who just made some mistakes in doctrine, they were intruders who did
not belong in the first place, and who wreck the believers’ faith.

This will give you a handle on the urgency of this letter.

And in looking at this letter, I want to help us see not the challenge of
first-century Christians, but the reality of this challenge in our own time,
20 centuries later.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Jude. If you are using
the Bibles in the seats, this can be found on page 866.
My purpose this morning is to whet our appetites for defending the truth of
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Savior, and the only hope for mankind.

In doing this, I want us to look at the need to first of all…

I. Recognize the Challenge.

Please follow along as I read verses 1-13.

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by
Jesus Christ:

2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

3 Dear 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. 4 For 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.

5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord
delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not
believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but
abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with
everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom
and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual
immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the
punishment of eternal fire.

8 In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject
authority and slander celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael,
when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare
to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke
you!" 10 Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not
understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning
animals--these are the very things that destroy them.

11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit
into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.

12 These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the
slightest qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without
rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and
uprooted--twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their
shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved
forever.

These 13 verses give us the crux of the problem. And I want to break it down
a bit, by showing that first…

A. They turned grace into license.

These people taught that if the love of God is so big, then we who call
ourselves forgiven should be able to live how we want, because God will
always forgive.

Let’s take a look at a few of the examples Jude gives us of their behavior:

1. Examples:

They led lives of sexual perversion, and God only knows what all that was,
but if we look at our own society, we can probably guess at some of the
perversions: sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, and other activities
that Scripture describes as being detestable to God.

These people also rejected authority. Last week in 3 John we noticed that
Diotrephes rejected the authority of the apostles. The same situation
exists here, in that the apostles’ teachings and authority were being
rejected.

They slandered heavenly beings. I don’t understand all that is being said
here, but Jude says their behavior is in stark contrast to the archangel
Michael, who would not even slander Satan.

They also spoke abusively about things they didn’t understand. I have found
in my own life that when someone disagrees with me about something, esp.
about spiritual things, the voice of the person I am talking to gets a bit
louder, and contains less to say. They end up getting abusive many times,
because they run out of arguments.

And lastly they chose to walk in the ways of Cain, Balaam, and Korah, all of
whom rejected God.

And then they had the gall to say that God should not only forgive, but
bless.

Turn with me please to Romans chapter 6. This is found on page 799 of the
Bibles in the seats.

2. Romans 6

This is a somewhat lengthy passage, but it is well worth our time to
discuss:

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't
you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into his death? 4 We 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.

5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly
also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self
was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that
we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has
been freed from sin.

Folks, the apostle Paul was addressing some of the same issues as Jude, and
He addresses it head-on.

Skip down to verse 11 of Romans 6:

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you
obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as
instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who
have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to
him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master,
because you are not under law, but under grace.

And then Paul returns to the point he made at the beginning of the chapter.
We pick it up in verse 15:

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no
means! 16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey
him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are
slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to
righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to
sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were
entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness.

19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves.
Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and
to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness
leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the
control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the
things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that
you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit
you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.

Folks, make no mistake about it – if Christ has saved you, and He lives in
your life, you will be changed. You are a new creation in Christ.

Does that mean that at the time you give your life to Christ, you will never
sin again? No, but the love Christ puts in your heart will, by the power of
His Holy Spirit, work to purify your heart in obedience to Him.
And it will show to everyone around you, friend and foe, Christian and
non-Christian.

Do not use the grace of God as a license to sin. God forgives sin, my
friend, but that is no reason to act as though Christ had never saved you in
the first place.

Head back to Jude, and we will continue, now looking at the fact that…

B. They denied the Lord Jesus Christ.

It wasn’t enough to live sinful lives, they had to promote heresy, or false
teachings about Jesus.

Jude calls Jesus “Lord” here in verse 4, and then he goes on to discuss how
that same Lord delivered His people from Egypt, and judged angels as well as
Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were judged for the same things
these men who had infiltrated the church were promoting.

Next, Jude tells us…

C. They face judgement.

We pick it up in verse 12, going through verse 16:

These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the
slightest qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without
rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and
uprooted--twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their
shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved
forever.

14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord
is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge
everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have
done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have
spoken against him." 16 These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they
follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter
others for their own advantage.

They will not get away with it, and neither will anyone who does this today.

And that is something to keep in mind, or we will become discouraged,
because Jude also tells us that…

D. They will be around until the end.

We continue in verse 17:

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ
foretold. 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who
will follow their own ungodly desires."

Don’t let this discourage you. The time is coming when we will no longer be
in the presence of such men.

Jude then describes them a bit more in verse 19:

1. Follow natural instincts.

2. Do not have the Spirit.

These folks are not Christians at all, because they do not possess the Holy
Spirit.

They called themselves Christians, but did not live by the Spirit, as the
apostle Paul describes in Romans 8.

They lived to fulfill their own fleshly desires.

Whew! To recognize the challenge is to recognize error not only in doctrine
but in lifestyle.

Now let’s go on from recognizing the challenge and learn how to…

II. Meet the Challenge.

In learning to meet the challenge, Jude gives us some direction, and the
first part is in verse 20-21:

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray
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.

A. Build yourself up in the faith.

How do you build yourself up?

 Daily time in the Word and prayer.
 Obedience.
 Regular time in worship and fellowship with like-minded believers.
 I forgot to put a place in your bulletin for this, but we must, of course,
pray.

Look now at verses 22-23 as we finish out this section:

Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save
them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing
stained by corrupted flesh.

We need to…

B. Be merciful to those who doubt.

 Honestly help them to find answers.

C. Snatch others from the fire –
evangelism.

D. Be merciful to others, mixed with fear.

 Reach out, but be careful to not be caught up in the same trap.

So we are to recognize the challenge of false teachings and lifestyles, and
we are to meet the challenge by building up our faith in Christ and helping
others to find Him and live for Him.

Now I want to look at the…

Conclusion - What’s the Big Deal?

The big deal is in verses 24-25:

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his
glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our
Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

First of all, if you are one who calls Christ your Savior and Lord, then you
have a glorious end waiting for you. And it’s not really the end at all,
but the beginning of a wonderful eternity in heaven in the presence of God
Almighty, who saved you.

And here’s the neat part: you won’t be presented to the Father by angels, by
St. Peter, or even by your parents.

You will be presented by none other than Jesus Christ. And…

A. Jesus will present us without fault to the
Father.

You will be presented to the Father as one who has never sinned, who has
never rejected the love of God by disobeying Him.

You will be presented as absolutely perfect, and with great joy.

Folks, that is great news. Because we can all think of someone who might
have a grudge against us, or someone who could recall sinful things we had
done, and sometimes our own memories seek to condemn us.

But the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world has only one thing
in mind: to present you as blameless.

Hallelujah!

And here’s some more good news:

B. You are invited!

Is this wonderful salvation only for the perfect? Yes!

“Well, if that’s the case, Preacher, I might as well give up.”

You are absolutely correct. But that’s the point. You can’t make it on
your own. It’s hopeless. Only perfection can enter heaven, and if we break
only one of God’s laws, we are not perfect.

But Jesus, who was perfect, paid the penalty for your sins and mine by
shedding His blood on the cross.

The Bible says in 1 Peter that Christ died for sins once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

Earlier in the message we read from Romans 6, and the last verse says that
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.

Without Christ we are condemned. Yet Jesus said that whoever hears His Word
and believes Him who sent Him has eternal life and will not be condemned.
He has crossed over from death to life.

In Christ there is no penalty, only life in heaven with Him in eternity.

And the invitation is for everybody who wants it, because the Bible says
that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

How do you get this gift of eternal life? It’s as simple as ABC:

Admit you are a sinner in need of forgiveness, and turn from your sins with
His help.

Believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins and rose from the grave.

Call on Him for forgiveness and eternal life, trusting that His blood was
sufficient for you, thanking Him for His salvation.

I am going to pray now. If you want to take Christ as your Savior this
morning, you pray along with me in your heart.

When we are done praying, I want everyone to keep their heads bowed and eyes
closed for moment, okay? Let’s pray.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Rasberry" <faithwalk@usa.net>
> To: <pastormail@welovegod.org>
> Sent: Friday, May 03, 2002 11:18 AM
> Subject: [PastorMail] Studies & Sermons on Jude
>
>
> > Would appreciate any studies and Sermons on Jude. I'm beginning an
> > intensive study on Sunday Evenings and I'm looking for additional
> > material. Thanks Mike
> >
> >
> > --
> > To unsubscribe, send ANY message to
<pastormail-unsubscribe@welovegod.org>
> >
>
>

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