17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. —Jude 1:17-25 ESV
Jude encourages perseverance, mercy, and joy as we walk in faith and reach out to those struggling in challenging times.
Contending for the faith takes
and
.
24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. —Matthew 24:24-25 ESV
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. —2 Timothy 4:1-4 ESV
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. —Acts 20:28-32 ESV
Yet despite the threat that exists from wolves without and within the church, God knew in advance that they would be there. And this was a reality almost 2,000 years ago when Jude was written. It is not different for us today. The truth is there are going to be people like this in every generation. So God is calling us and preparing us, his people, to stand against them and overcome.
18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. —Jude 1:18-19 ESV
The truth will be mocked
There will be division
The Spirit will seem absent
However, Jude does not have a fatalistic view where we should just hole up with our truth and wait for the trumpet to sound. Jude’s appeal ends with a call to action but not based on being
warriors but in being
givers.
EVEN in (and especially in) challenging circumstances.
Sometimes we may be tempted to think of “Contending” only in terms of a fight. But it is so much more than that. We cannot allow ourselves to limit its meaning.
We are most prepared to contend when We
ourselves up in the faith,
,
God, and experience his
which leads to eternal life (vv. 10–21).
“Here we find the typical two sides of the New Testament approach to the Christian life. God has done all in Christ that we need to be saved; yet we must respond to God if we are to secure our salvation. God ‘keeps’ us; we are to ‘keep ourselves.’ Both are true, and neither can be sacrificed without missing something essential to the Christian pursuit of godliness” —NIV APLICATION COMMENTARY
A deep, secure, and
relationship requires an
from both parties.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. —Jude 1:20-21 ESV
WE ARE ALL UNDER CONSTRUCTION
- We are to
FOUNDATIONS MATTER
In Construction, In Relationships, In Bussiness, In Marraige, In our Faith, In Education and everything else in life.
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” —Matthew 7:24-27 ESV
9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. —1 Corinthians 3:9-17 ESV
on our Most Holy Faith.
- This is the core message of the gospel. Jesus life, death, resurrection
- We are to embrace the life and teachings of Jesus in EVERY area of our lives.
We do not only need the gospel
becoming a believer; we need the good news of Jesus Christ
of our lives.
“It is one thing to understand the gospel but is quite another to experience the gospel in such a way that it fundamentally changes us and becomes the source of our identity and security. It is one thing to grasp the essence of the gospel but it is quite another to think out its implications for all of life.” —- Tim Keller
Ask yourself this; “Do you allow the gospel to impact and influence your daily life?”
Give ourselves to
.
“..be praying in the Holy Spirit.” – We are to pray by God’s Spirit as he directs us, rather than by our own will.
Jude urges follower’s to “keep yourselves in God’s
”
The passionate, unconditional love of God is not just a message for those who are far from God. The Greek word for “KEEP” means, “Continue in a state of”. As disciples of Christ, we are to remain continually in God’s love.
1 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 1:1 ESV
We build our lives on the foundation of the gospel as we “wait for the
of our Lord Jesus Christ”
a. We are to stay alert. We know that he is coming again soon.
Even those who abuse God’s grace are
further than it can reach. Grace
run out.
God is not a God of
but of
.
23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. —Jude 1:23 ESV
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. —Ephesians 2:13-22 ESV
When someone has lost their way, we gently urge them back onto the path. We don’t add insult to injury. We Come alongside them and help them if they are willing.
NYC Marathon Runners Help Man Across Finish Line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTG1PEYmtio
- We can be people who stop and support rather than run by to protect our personal victory.
It is because we
that we have to
.
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. —Jude 1:24-25 ESV
Might we approach our call to contend for the faith with the care of Jude and the eyes of Christ.
10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. —Ephesians 4:10-16 ESV
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. —1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV