Contending for the faith, Jude 3,4
spiritual warfare • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 366 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
We have been studying spiritual warfare for several months now. And over the last couple weeks we have been examining Jude’s letter. He thought it essential to warn believers of false teachers in their midst. I think it important as well. if it was important in the first century it is even more so now as we move closer to the return of Christ.
This is especially important because we have such a plethora of media from Christian TV channels and radio/satellite channels that perpetuate this false doctrine. We have books that populate bookstore shelves that teach this stuff. This false teaching permeates almost all the Christian teaching that is available. The fastest growing religion in the world is Charismatic word of faith churches. This teaching has been exported from america all over the world.
Even in the first century Jude realized the danger this poses to the health of the church, to the believer who may find himself or herself caught up in this.
So how will you avoid getting caught up in this yourself?
When you walk into the hospital to see a friend or family member you see all these bottles on the wall or on a stand that are filled with hand sanitizer. There is a big sign commanding you to wash your hands with this stuff before you go any further. And if you forget, don’t worry someone will remind you to wash your hands. Sometimes you will be required to wear a mask, or even put on one of those funny gowns that leave you open in the back. We willingly do those things because we know they are trying to prevent the spread of germs and hence disease, among the patients who already have a compromised immune system. They realize a seemingly insignificant germ to you, that will do you know harm, might just kill the person you are there to see.
That is exactly what Jude is doing. He is asking you - did you see the sign to wash your hands? Did you? Have you been washed in the blood of Jesus to be cleansed. Oh, here is a gown to put on. Have you put on Jesus yet? Are you clothed in His righteousness? And rightly so, because there might be someone here with a compromised or weak spiritual heart. You must make sure you have the truth, the real thing. And so here we are trying to help you see that It is in Jesus that your hope lies, not in some experience or that you said a prayer or had a revelation. But do you know Jesus and more importantly, does He know you?
Jude intended to encourage the believers with words that probably would have been meant to strengthen their faith. Instead, he realized there is an issue that is far more important than that.
They were in danger of being led astray, down a path that would have shipwrecked their faith. He challenged them to contend for the faith.
I. Fight/contend for the faith
He is writing to encourage the believer to stand fast in the faith, to contend for it.
Contend-agonize, the stadium conflicts whereby you compete all out to win. In the Christian life there is conflict. There is one particular conflict Jude is talking about though. ,
Making sure we have the right understanding of the doctrine of Christ, which is what is at stake here. What you believe about Christ is crucial to your eternal salvation/security. If you are worshipping the wrong Jesus you are just as lost as one who doesn't worship Jesus at all.
So first of all, what is the faith once delivered to the Saints?
Well that is clearly the gospel - ,
Paul defined it as the Death Burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ , Then we have Paul's statement in about his preaching of the gospel, the cross,
We could look to Paul's warning about preaching another gospel than that of the grace of Christ.
So we can safely say the faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, His death, burial and resurrection to pay the penalty of our sins and deliver us from the wrath of Almighty God is the faith once delivered to the saints.
Anything more or less than that is false. Anything that demands a higher knowledge than that is false or demands another experience is false.
Then we need to look at what it means to contend for this faith.
We already looked at the word. It is a stadium/athletic term or a military term for combat. It is fighting to the death, contending to the point of exhaustion to the point of not being able to contend any further.
But what does that look like is the question.
First, of all you must know what you believe and why?
We won't go into all that entails, but I want you to know that for you know what and why of your belief is something that can only come to you as you read, study, meditate on the word of God. That would come through obvious personal reading and study, but also through listening to preaching, reading extra-biblical sources like commentaries and such. There is no replacement for this.
As you are reading you might come across a verse that stumps you by what it says because of something else you know the bible says.
Like how do you reconcile with or . Those are like speed bumps to get you to think about this
In other words, you have to become more than just a casual reader of the Bible if you are going to contend for the faith.
Second, study your opponent. Boxers do, football teams study the films of the next team. Players study the moves of the player they will oppose. Bull riders study their bull. Generals study the tactics of the generals against them. We often say study the truth and falsehoods will be clear. But we need to know our enemy. To see his tactics so we can be ready to defend or even go on the offensive. I heard Ravi Zachariah say that when he gets ready to debate someone he reads everything that person has written and watched any videos he has done. He wants to know their argument so he can understand how they think about the subject. In that way he knows how to best use the Scripture to rebut their arguments.
So contending for the faith might look like reading, listening to or watching the teaching of these other teachers to see the chinks in their arguments. You might do the same for those in our camp who are contending for the faith.
I decided to listen to what some of these teachers on the WOF/NAR side say about Peters, MacArthur and others engaged in this battle. I am certain I need to do this more rather than just take Peters, or MacARthurs word for it.
Third, it might look like actually engaging in conversation with someone when you are faced with false teaching.
Fourth it will look like teaching the truth to those in your circle of influence.
It is what we find Jude doing the writing of this letter. It is what Paul or the other writers of the Scripture are doing. Peter and John did it before the Sanhedrin. In short, it is simply sticking up for the truth of Scripture before anyone who would oppose it. Or with anyone who has questions about the faith. It is both warning to those who oppose it and a defense for those who believe. It is both offense and defense.
II. The Reason to contend
This is the clear main issue or point of trouble that has gotten Jude's attention. He thought this important enough that he shelved the other things he wanted to talk about
Here is a question:
How does a false teacher creep in unnoticed?.
Now how is it that a false teacher can enter unnoticed by the congregation with that kind of thinking?
The word is pareisduo- from teh word para meaning untoor at the side of , and eisduo meaning to enter in,. To enter at the side door, that is secretly, without notice. They slip in.
Paul warned the believers at Ephesus of these false teachers, ;
Peter warned the believers as well , , ,
So we have been warned. How does this still happen?
1. Believers do not know what to look for.
It is amazing how much you miss because you are not looking for it. Take hunting for example. A deer hunter knows what a deer looks like, but many don't know what to watch for. And it isn't the deer. It is the sounds, the movement that attracts your attention. Then you look for shapes, for lines that contrast with the background. There is an art to looking for deer in the wild.
2. Believers do not take the time to study or know what false teachers teach. The subtle things they say, the catchphrases that they use.
3. They just aren't looking for them. They either don't think it that important or they flat out reject the teaching that there could be false teachers in their church or their listening and reading arena. In other words, they don't think it will happen to them.
4. they wouldn't know what a false teacher looked like if they were faced with one.
One of the things I realize is that while Jude is saying these false teachers are here now in their midst. We still see them 2000 years later in our midst. Nothing has changed. They may package their false teaching a little different, but it is still the same false teaching.
They are able to enter in without notice because they look and act like the normal Christian leader. They may come from a good Christian family or from good Preachers - Andy Stanley, son of Charles Stanley -Read Olasky's review of 'Irresistible'.
by the way Olasky is contending for the faith here.
You ladies can you spot the false teaching in Joyce Meyer's writings if you read her books? or can anyone spot the false teaching In Joel Olsteen's 'Your best life now?" if you have read that one. It takes knowing the truth from the false in order to discern where there is a wolf in sheep's clothing because they don't come out and say they are really wolves.
However, Jude does describe them for us.
He said three things about these teachers:
Primarily that they were 'designated for this condemnation long ago. What this means is that this doesn't take God by surprise. he planned for them. He even planned them. This is another evidence of predestination. These false teachers are fulfillment of prophecy. I believe it is one way God culls the true believer from the false professor. Remember that those who are His sheep hear His voice. A false shepherd might sneak in and draw off some sheep at night, but when the true shepherd shows up they know His voice and separate from the false. These false teachers are going to come and their judgment is already set.
These are three traits of these people. Now they can serve in an accordion fashion though. What I mean is the second expands on the first or further defines it and the third on the second.
He calls them 'certain men' that is he singles them out or separates them, a specific group of persons. These persons are clearly out for dishonest gain.
-they are ungodly people- asebes basically means godless, without fear or reverence for God. It doesn't mean they are not religious. In fact, they will appear to be spiritually minded people. they will appear to be godly people. It is only as you get to see them at times when their guard is down that you begin to see the little things that to the watchful discerning eye and ear will pickup little clues as to their true nature.
Remember little red riding hood. The wolf dresses up like granny and the little girl notices that something is not right so she begins to ask questions of the wolf. When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks very strange. Little Red then says, "What a deep voice you have!" ("The better to greet you with", responds the wolf), "Goodness, what big eyes you have!" ("The better to see you with", responds the wolf), "And what big hands you have!" ("The better to hug/grab you with", responds the wolf), and lastly, "What a big mouth you have" ("The better to eat you with!", responds the wolf), at which point the wolf jumps out of bed and eats her up too. She should have been adding up the clues to discern it was not grandma and then she might have fled. or escaped to the the woodsman.
Those who are naive to think that false teachers are not here and or that do not recognize them will soon go the way of the girl in the tale and get eaten up by them.
The will appear very spiritual, but they practice the opposite of what it means to fear God. They will not sound just right, their teaching will sound off, they will emphasize self in subtle ways, they will downplay the person and work of Christ and overemphasize the Holy Spirit. They will emphasize dreams or visions, or the revelation that got straight from an angel or god or Jesus. They will minimize the Scripture's authority. This person, as we will see is one who is characterized as immoral in their behavior.
I don't mean only sexual in nature either.
The Roman Catholic church has been exposed in their Priesthood for immoral priests. It has been shown to be rampant among the priesthood. This among those who have committed to being celibate.
You can see this among a slew of tv preachers who have been found to have had affairs, and then been able to maintain their ministry.
vss. 12, 13 also give a further description of these false teachers. So pay attention to what they teach.
Secondly pay attention to what they do.
-they pervert the grace of God into sensuality (my first thought is like those whom Balaam subverted)they changed grace into moral license to do as they wish.
Turned the grace of our God into a license for evil. One of the implications that the gospel in the apostolic period was truly a gospel of grace was the fact that the enemies of the gospel could pervert it into license. If it were a gospel of works, no such abuse could be imagined. Along these lines, note —“Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?” This question could not have even been asked had the gospel been one of works. But grace is easily misunderstood by those who would abuse it. Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
We have already talked about this to some degree. The word turning one of two participles that mark out his meaning. it means to change place, to transpose. it was used in Greek to change an agreement, to change places. In LXX to transplant a people, to talk around, and so in NT to alter or turn from, It is used of Enoch in . Here it then means to take the grace of God and replace it with license. It is as NET points out a take on
The word lasciousness means license sexually, insatiable desire for pleasure with sexual excess being a main focus ; . it is that of lack of self control in pursuing pleasure. They don't deny themselves any sort of pleasurable thing. So they demonstrate their ungodly character by first of all pursuing all sorts of pleasure, not withholding anything from themselves but actually pursuing them and justifying them as though God wants them to have all this pleasure.
In other words, they promote antinomianism, which is the denial of the law of God. They would say, the 10 commandments are not for believers today. We don't have to keep the law. But remember Jesus said, "if you love me you will keep my commandments. What were those?
When He was asked about the commandments by a lawyer, Jesus responded with Love the Lord your God ... and Love your neighbor as yourself. These are the two commandments that sum up all the others.
If you Love God you will not steal from your neighbor his wife or his things.
Now thirdly, in perverting the grace of God they also reject the deity of the Lord.
So pay attention to what they believe.
-they deny the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the second participle that delineates the character of these false teachers.
And denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The very reason they can do away with the commandments is because they deny the authority of God over their lives. The Greek uses the word despoten for God which we get the word despot from. It means Lord or master. It assumes that if one recognizes another as Lord/despot then they recognize his rule over their lives. So they deny/refuse to recognize, they reject, This is the only way they can get away with the former pursuit of whatever pleases them. They do away with the authority of Jesus. and in doing that they do away with the authority of the words of Jesus, the Scripture. They attribute more authority to their dreams and visions and self revelation than Scripture.
In the apostles released from prison return to their fellow beleivers and pray together to God "Lord/despot/Sovereign Lord (ESV), Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth and the sea, and all that in them is: . . ..
The true believers, the apostles, recognize His Lordship, the false teachers reject it.
This is a clear verse teaching the deity of Jesus, calling him both despot and kurios. Both terms used of God.
Because they deny Jesus they can justify their licentious lifestyle.
So really all you have to do to spot a false teacher is to look at, examine his lifestyle. What does he say about sin? What about obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus does make demands on His followers, things like 'deny himself' 'take up his cross' 'don't commit adultery' 'don't covet' and so on. If they accepted the authority of Christ over their lives they would have to make sweeping changes in their lifestyles.