North East Park Baptist Church Series: Message: JUDE: Contend for the Faith 2. The Problem and the Solution Passages: Jude 3-4 Speaker: Rev. Sam Letson, III, Lead Pastor [Find: Jude, verses 3-4] Looking back on last weekend and the first part of this past week, when tropical storm Colin was threatening St Pete, I realized that in every text message to Caleb I included a reminder to be careful, because of the storm. Our son is eighteen years old, a good driver and a smart young man. Did he really need for me to continually say, Be careful, while he was out and about? No, he did not. So why did I do it? Because I m a parent! And as parents we sometimes feel compelled to communicate (perhaps, over-communicate) our thoughts and feelings to our children. Have you ever felt compelled to communicate something to your child; compelled to the point that you could not help yourself? Jude felt compelled to communicate something that was on his heart. He felt compelled to give you and me a warning, to alert us to a serious problem in the church and to offer a solution. We see this in the verses for today. As we begin, let s pray and ask God to bless our time together in His Word and to help us receive the message Jude felt compelled to share. PRAYER In our culture, and particularly when you see what is happening in the church across America, there may be no book in the Bible more appropriate for us than Jude. Indeed, there may be no more important warning for you personally than the one Jude writes! His message is timely, being very much needed in our churches today. In this message, we are focusing on two verses Jude 3-4 Often, when reading a passage of Scripture, I think that many of us read too quickly. We read to get finished, rather than to discover all the details in the passage. For example, we just read two verses. Did you see the five important phrases in these verses; five phrases that are critical for understanding the seriousness of the issue Jude presents? Let s look at the five phrases together. The first phrase is found in verse 3, where Jude writes Page 1 of 5
1. I found it necessary to write [you] (vs. 3c) Jude wanted to write a letter about our salvation. And what a wonderful topic salvation is. In fact, there is nothing more wonderful or more important in your life than that in Jesus you are saved! And seeing the passion and power with which Jude writes, it would have been wonderful to have a letter from him on the subject of our salvation. We can only imagine how encouraging and uplifting such a letter would have been. But instead, even though Jude desired to write about our salvation, he was compelled to deal with another issue. One that was threatening the Church. As he put it: I found it necessary to write [you] (vs. 3b; emphasis added) In your life and mine, sometimes God does that. You have a desire to do one thing, but He leads you He compels you to do something else. Fortunately for us, and for the Church, Jude was obedient and wrote as God compelled him. So even though this letter is not about our salvation, Jude does make one important comment about our salvation in this verse. And that comment is the second phrase we need to notice 2. our common salvation (vs. 3b) Why is it important to know, as Jude writes, that we all share a common salvation? For this reason, there is only one salvation in which all believers enter when they personally come to faith in Jesus. There is no other salvation. There is no other form of salvation, or way of salvation. There is no other requirement or process to experience salvation. There is one, and only one salvation a common salvation in which each person who is truly saved shares. Which means, any doctrine or person or church that tells you of another salvation is false, and you must avoid them. There is only one salvation, and it is the one which is common to us all who are truly saved. Next, notice the third important phrase Jude writes 3. the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. (vs. 3d) Just as we all share in one salvation, there is only one faith. There is no other Gospel (or faith) other than the one delivered to the saints The Gospel was shared with the original Apostles, who shared it with the first believers, who shared it with subsequent ones. This process continued until eventually this same Gospel came down to us. Just as there is no other salvation, there is no other Gospel. Therefore, anyone who says they have a new Gospel, or that you need more than just the Gospel (i.e., the Mormons), they are a false teacher! Page 2 of 5
The fourth phrase is found at the beginning of verse 4 4. certain men, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth (vs. 4a) Jude s concern is with a specific group of men who had come into the local church by stealth. Unnoticed at first, this group was now among the believers. Jude writes that these false teachers were designated long ago for the judgment they would receive. In other words, God knew that false teachers would invade His Church, so He is not surprised by them. In fact, He has their judgment already planned! The last phrase we need to see is 5. they are ungodly (vs. 4b) This is very important for you to understand: False teachers are not just good men (or women) who are mistaken or wrong on a doctrine or issue. They are much worse than that. They are, as Jude writes: ungodly. They are not good people, and we must not tolerate them! They are not simply misguided, or just in need of correction. They are ungodly. Therefore, you must get such people off your television and radios, and get them out of your life! They are dangerous, because they are ungodly. Now that we have briefly seen the five phrases in this passage, we should be able to answer this question: What is Jude s point with this passage? Why did he write these two verses? He did so to very clearly lay out the Problem and to give us a Solution. First, see I. The Problem Ungodly, false teachers have come into the church and are, as Jude writes: turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (vs. 4c) Their false teachings were creating two issues for the Church. First, they were leading people to think that since they were saved by God s grace, they could live as they pleased. Since my sins are forgiven, I can do anything I want! Paul dealt with this same false teaching in his letter to the Roman believers. Look at Romans 6:1-2 Just because we know our sins our forgiven is never license to sin more! But this is the message of the false teachers. And it still is today. If you listen carefully to what they say, in some form or fashion, you will hear that it is okay to live your life, your way. But clearly, according to the Bible, this is not true. We are followers of Jesus, which means that we live as He commands! Page 3 of 5
The second issue Jude said the false teachers caused was a denying of the Lordship of Jesus in the lives of believers. They were downplaying the importance of absolute obedience and faithfulness to Jesus, in favor of a watered-down, do as you please religion. Do we ever hear something that sounds familiar to that in our culture today? All the time! And what you need to understand is that such ideas are false. This is not how genuine followers of Jesus are to live. He is our Lord and Master. Remember how Jude introduced himself at the beginning of this letter? Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ And so he was, and so are you, if you are genuinely saved. Twisting the message of the Gospel and denying the truth about Jesus, this was the immediate Problem the false teachers were causing. What could the church do? What must we do? Jude tells us by giving us II. The Solution You might not have noticed it in this passage, but the Solution to false teachers and their false doctrines is here. Look carefully near the end of verse three. Do you see it? Jude writes: [I] exhort you to contend for the faith (vs. 3d; emphasis added) We must be on guard for false teachers and their doctrines. And at all times we must contend for the faith. To do so successfully: You must be able to recognize Biblical truth, and you must be willing to defend it. If you do not know what is true, or are not able to recognize Biblical truth, then you will not know when a false teacher is giving you bad doctrine! But even if you are able to recognize the false teacher and his or her bad doctrine, if you are not willing to fight against them, then what good is it? Jude implores you and me, for the sake of our faith family, to learn Biblical truth and to fight anything else which pretends to be so. So now the question is: Will you commit to learn what is true Biblically, and will you commit to fight against all that is false? Such a commitment might mean you cannot watch some of the people on television whom you enjoy. It might mean you lose some relationships. It might mean that family members or friends get upset with you. Standing for Christ, and for Biblical truth, has always been costly. And it will, sooner or later, cost you. But despite the cost, for the sake of your faith family, are you willing to learn what is true and to fight against all that is false? It is a simple question, really. But living it, should you make such a commitment, will be anything but simple. You should realize this before you make any commitment. But if you are ready if, like Jude, you want to see truth proclaimed in the Church in your church then tell God. Make your commitment to Him today. Page 4 of 5
Commit to be in the Word so you can learn what is His truth. Commit to confront false doctrine and those who teach it wherever you find it. If you are ready, then make your commitment now. As we have gone through this passage today, God has spoken to your heart. What has He said? What do you need to say now, in response to Him? Whatever you need to say to God, in response to what He has said to you through this message, take a moment now and have that conversation. Tell Him what is on your heart and mind. PRAYER If you have any questions related to this study or the material presented here, please email our Lead Pastor at: nep.pastorsam@gmail.com; or write to him at: North East Park Baptist Church, Rev. Sam Letson III, Lead Pastor, 3737 1 st St NE, Saint Petersburg, FL 33704. For more information about North East Park, visit: www.nep.church. 2016 North East Park Baptist Church All rights reserved. Page 5 of 5