Sermon 2 in Jude Series--(Also Attached In WordPerfect 9.0 Format)
Posted by: jnthrower <jnthrower@...>
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
THE BOOK OF JUDE
THE PICTURE OF A TRUE BELIEVER--JUDE 1
INTRODUCTION
Jude says that he is the brother of James. The only James who would be so famous and well known that all the believers of the first century would know him by his first name was the James who pastored the church at Jerusalem who was also the half-brother of the
The only claim Jude has is that he is a slave to Jesus Christ and the brother of a famous pastor. He could have easily been jealous of his famous brother, resentful of the fact that he had to live under the shadow of his brother, resentful that he had to use his brother's name to get a hearing from believers. But we do not get the sense that Jude was jealous or resentful. He was a true minister of God: he walked humbly among the believers of the world, humbly before God.
I. BELIEVERS ARE "SANCTIFIED" BY GOD THE FATHER.
"To them that are sanctified by God the Father" is a reference to Christians in general.
The basic meaning is to be separated, set apart, and different.
Morally, it means pure, sinless, righteous, holy.
Something holy is set apart, separated, different from all other persons or things.
It is something that God has set aside for Himself. Man cannot set it aside as holy. It has to be set aside by God Himself.
The sanctified person is a person who has turned away from sin by God's grace and power working in his life and set his life apart to follow God by that same power. He is a person who is set apart unto God, a person separated from the world and its possessions and pleasures, a person who is dedicated to following God, a person who has given all he is and has to God.
If sanctified and glorified, all the honour and glory must be ascribed to God, and to Him alone. God is the one who begins the work of grace in the souls of men and it is He who carries it on, and perfects it.
II. BELIEVERS ARE "PRESERVED IN JESUS CHRIST."
The word "preserved" (teteremenois) means to be kept; to be guarded and watched after. God keeps the believer, guards and watches over him.
(Exp.-- swimming pool.)
Being preserved gives assurance.
Assurance is the Christian's full conviction that, through the work of Christ alone, received by faith, he is in possession of a salvation in which he will be eternally kept. This assurance rests only upon the Scripture promises to him who believes.
The believer is a person...
· who is watched over by God.
· who is guided and directed by God day by day.
· who is strengthened by God to walk through all the trials and temptations of life.
· who is protected from all the enemies of life, even death.
· who is to be escorted into heaven quicker than the blink of an eye when the time comes for him to leave this world.
· who is given life, both abundant and eternal.
· who is given assurance of God's presence and love through all of life.
The true believer is a person who is preserved and kept by God. He is a person who is looked after and cared for by God. But note: it is in Jesus Christ that God keeps a person. The believer is a person who has placed his life into Jesus Christ; he is a person who is trusting Jesus Christ to save him. It is the true believer in Jesus Christ whom God preserves.
III. BELIEVERS ARE "CALLED" IN JESUS CHRIST.
Christians are called out of the world, from the evil of it and all that goes with it; called above the world, to higher and better things, to heaven, things unseen and eternal; called from sin to Christ, from vanity to seriousness, from uncleanness to holiness; and this according to the Divine purpose and grace.
This means several things.
A. It Means That Believers Are The Persons Who Have Responded To The Call Of The Gospel. (2 Timothy 1:9)
God calls people to accept the gospel.
He tugs and pulls at the heart strings, convicts and convinces people to accept Jesus Christ as His Son, but we have to respond to the call of God.
God cannot make the decision for man.
The believer is a person who has genuinely accepted the call of God.
God summoned him, called him, and the believer responded.
He became a believer, a person who truly believed in Jesus Christ.
"[God] who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9).
B. It Means That A Believer Has Been Called To Be A Saint, That Is, To Live A Life Of Holiness. (Romans 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 1 Peter 1:15)
The word "saint" (hagios) means holy one or holiness.
The believer is called to be holy and pure and righteous just as God is.
"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints [holy ones]: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom1:7).
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours" (1 Cor. 1:2).
"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation" (1 Peter 1:15).
C. It Means That The Believer Is Called To Have A Heavenly Hope.
(Eph 4:4; Hebrews 3:1; Phil 3:14)
He is called to an eternal hope, the hope of living forever with God.
He is called to be perfected and conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ forever.
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling [the hope of eternal life]" (Ephes. 4:4).
"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus" (Hebrews 3:1).
"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14).
D. It Means That The Believer Is Appointed To A Very Special Task And Duty While On Earth. (Romans 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1)
He is called to serve Jesus Christ.
"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God" (Romans 1:1).
"Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother" (1 Cor. 1:1).
IV. THE BELIEVER IS A PERSON WHO HAS RECEIVED THE MERCY AND PEACE AND LOVE OF GOD. (JUDE 2)