Tag: faultless
Contend for the faith!
Scripture reading for November 30th: Jude
Jude was a half-brother to Jesus Christ and the brother of James. His short letter mirrors some of the same issues that Peter dealt with in his second letter: false teachers and apostasy. His letter speaks to the church of today.
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude 3-4)
The main issue that Jude felt compelled to address was the infiltration of false teachers into the church. These men were slipping in and teaching destructive doctrines. They believed in a cheap grace that taught that believers could keep on living in sin and Jesus would forgive them. In doing so, they were denying the true work of Jesus Christ to do away with sin and deliver the sinner from its power. This cheap grace is also in the church today! It is a false doctrine that divides the church and is devoid of the Holy Spirit. (vs. 19)
“But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear–hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” (Jude 20-22) The best defense is a good offense of actively doing God’s will!
Contending for the faith!
Scripture reading for December 22nd: Jude
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for he faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Jude 3
Jude was the half-brother of Jesus Christ. His letter was written to the church as a wave of false teachers were enticing believers to live in worldly ways and enticing them to sexual immorality and idolatry. (Jude 4) He planned to write about their common salvation, but instead wrote a letter of encouragement and warning about the need to contend earnestly for the faith! We are in a spiritual conflict and the enemy of our souls is trying to steal our faith!
Jude points God’s people back to God’s past dealings with His redeemed people. God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. They all experienced God’s grace but not all believed and they were destroyed in the desert. (Jude 5) Lot and his children were delivered from Sodom, but God destroyed these towns because of sexual immorality and perversion (homosexual behavior). (Jude 7) These towns were destroyed by fire and serve as examples for us today of eternal fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Jude’s strong warnings were meant to help those in the church to resist these false teachers and stay on the path of righteousness. Jude gives some positive instruction to the church to help them. They are to remember the teaching of the Apostles who had warned about these scoffers of the last times who would seek to divide the church. (Jude 18-19)
The best way Jude suggested to build yourself up in your faith was to pray in the Holy Spirit. By doing this, a believer could keep himself in the love of God and wait patiently for Jesus Christ. While waiting, each believer should be merciful to those who are doubting or weak in their faith and show mercy to others by snatching them from the fires of hell. They must be careful to keep their faith and focus on Jesus.
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy–to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen!” Jude 24-25