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Contend – Stand for the Truth! (1 of 2)
Stand Guard – ‘I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.’
Jude 1-16
As we turn to God’s Word we’re beginning new and short series focusing on the often overlooked New Testament epistle of Jude. I’ve given this series the title: Contend – Stand for the Truth! because the compelling call to …contend for the faith… is central.
We need Jude’s message! It’s both essential and timely – nothing is more important than remaining faithful to the truth of our Christian faith and Jude contains a bold, clear and resounding call to – Stand for the Truth!
Jude 1-4 (ESV) –
“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:
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
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. 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.”
- Jude urgently reminds us that we must stand guard because the poison of false teaching is always closer than we’d like to admit! (Jude 1-4)
Who is Jude? He was the brother of James who was Jesus’ brother! After His resurrection Jesus appeared specifically to James who became a pillar New Testament church in Jerusalem as well as the author of James, Mark 6:3 mentions James and Judas (Jude).
Mark 6:3 (ESV) –
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at Him.”
Jude was humble enough not to identify himself as Jesus’ brother instead he says he’s His servant. And the phrase – Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ… points us toward the truth that Jesus Christ is fully God because in the Old Testament there was a common formula saying something like – Moses [or whoever], the servant of the Lord… and now this common phrase is revised and Jesus Christ is used in the same place where the Lord went.
The letter is addressed to those …who are called… and this points to all Christians because to be a follower of Jesus Christ is to be one whom God has called.
The phrase …kept for Jesus Christ… – Don’t overlook the incredible comfort that’s contained in these words there is eternal safety and security for those who belong to Jesus.
Romans 8:39 (ESV) –
“…nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jude 3-4 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“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. 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.”
Did you catch the phrase– ‘contend for the faith’? It can also be translated: ‘defend the faith’ or ‘stand up for the faith’. The word contend contains the concepts of struggle and intense effort and the original language carries a picture of an intense wrestling match.
Why all the emphasis on ‘contending for the faith’? Troublemakers (false teachers) had slipped in unnoticed and these ungodly teachers who had crept in and were posing a very real threat.
When we pause and think about all of this we find ourselves facing a jarring reality check. This reminds us that not everyone is telling the truth, not everyone’s motives are good and some will lead you the wrong way.
2 John 10-11 (ESV) –
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”
Matthew 7:15 (ESV) –
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Acts 20:30 (ESV) –
“…and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
Today is no different – false teachers may come to us physically but they also slip in unnoticed through social media, YouTube, books, curriculum and music with misleading and untrue lyrics.
John 3:16 (ESV) –
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Bad news had reached Jude and the theme of his letter changed dramatically switching from a joyful comforting reflection on the Gospel to a passionate urgent plea to, hold the line. The theme of Jude could be described by the phrase – Stand for the truth! The false teachers were twisting and perverting God’s grace into allowances for immorality.
- Jude denounces the false teachers and passionately points to several examples of the threat and the doom of false teachers… (Jude 5-16)
Jude 5-16
“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.”
A number of examples are cited most of which come from the Old Testament while some were found in other well-known Jewish literature at the time and I should mention that lots could be said about all of this but for now we’re going to attempt to focus on the big picture.
In verses 5-7 we’re face-to-face with 3 examples of God’s judgment. First – after Jesus rescued His people out of slavery in Egypt they spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness and the whole generation that refused to believe God and disobeyed died in the desert. Second – an example comes from God’s judgment on the rebellion of sinful angels.
2 Peter 2:4 (ESV) –
“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…”
Third – we come to the example of the cities of Sodom and Gomorra, these cities were known for incredible immorality.
Genesis 19:4-5 (ESV) –
“But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.’”
In verses 8-10 the focus turns to an account of the Devil and the archangel Michael disputing over the body of Moses. These false teachers apparently had a flippant and even mocking attitude toward the Devil and his demons and that’s a recipe for disaster. Not even Michael, the powerful archangel behaved this way, he told the Devil in verse 9 – The Lord Rebuke you.
We need to beware of the Devil, he is not a joke but a roaring lion seeking to devour. He is always tempting, deceiving and whispering in our ears – Did God really say?
In verse 11 we come to 3 more examples of God’s judgment on those who lead others into sin and these examples come from the Old Testament. First is Cain who of course killed his brother Abel (see Genesis 4 for all the details).
1 John 3:12 (ESV) –
“We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.”
Second, there’s Balaam – he was known for his greed, you can read his fascinating account in Numbers 22-24 and the only thing that saved him was a talking donkey!
2 Peter 2:15 (ESV) –
“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing…”
Third, there’s Korah and his followers – the ground opened up and swallowed these rebellious men (see Numbers 16 for the details).
Are you thinking I’m not all that familiar with these accounts? Note the common thread – God judged! Each of these examples points to God’s judgment upon those who lead others into sin.
These false teachers are like hidden rocks that pose a dire threat to ships. These unseen rocks (or reefs) pose a serious but unseen hazard to unsuspecting people. There’s a danger that you might not see if you’re not watching – Not all teaching is true and not all ‘leaders’ motives are pure!
Jude 16 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage…”
Jude is on the offensive and remember verses 5-16 are based on the situation described in verses 3-4 – the alarm bell is sounded, the passion demonstrates the dire seriousness of the situation – false teachings were (and are) putting people in peril!
We might expect things to be different today but they aren’t! One obvious application is this – Not everyone’s motives are good! Not all good communicators and likable teachers are telling the truth! And ignoring the threat and only thinking happy thoughts is dangerous!
Beware of allowing your social media feed to disciple you, watch what you read, what you watch on YouTube and buy on a DVD. Not all catchy ‘Christian Music’ is Christian. As a church family we need to watch we teach, the materials we select – it really, really matters!
Sexual immorality was a grave threat then and it continues to be one today, in fact sexual expression is an idol in our culture.
Jude 4 (ESV) –
“…ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
The thinking of our day is that a verity of sexual expression is acceptable and many Christians say – Whom am I to judge? This thinking poses a grave threat! God has made His plan for us clear – it’s a man and a woman within the covenant of marriage until death!
Genesis 2:24 (ESV) –
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
God’s judgment on ungodliness is certain! Jesus is coming back and He will judge, hell is real! We need to contend for the reality of judgement because not everyone’s okay, it is utterly untrue that everyone (or almost everyone) is going to a better place. We must not ignore the reality of God’s judgment! If do, we do so to our peril!
What we’ve been looking at today is a bit of a ‘reality check’. False teaching is a real threat that we must beware of and guard against!
What we’ve been considering is a ‘reality check’. False teaching is a real threat that we must beware of and guard against it! And if you are wondering how to practically apply the charge to …contend for the faith… next week beginning with verse 17 the focus shifts from the false teachers themselves to us as followers of Jesus Christ.
Jude 22-23 (ESV) –
“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”
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