jude - part 8

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Jude Contending for the Faith Jude Contending for the Faith Instruction To the Church Part 2

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This presentation continues to focus on the instructions Jude gives to the church concerning the apostate leaders that had come in among them.

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Page 1: Jude - Part 8

Jude – Contending for the Faith

JudeContending for the Faith

Instruction To the Church – Part 2

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

Review of 17-19Instruction to the Church

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

"But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the

apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ―In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly

lusts.‖ These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the

Spirit."(Jude 17-19)

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

Exposition of 20-23Instruction to the Church – Part 2

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep

yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save

others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment

polluted by the flesh."(Jude 20-23)

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting;

save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh."

(Jude 20-23)

Questions to Consider

What does it mean to ―pray in the Holy Spirit‖?

How does one keep oneself in the love of God?

What ―mercy‖ are Christians waiting for?

Is it a sin/wrong to doubt?What ‗doubts‘ does Jude‘s audience have?

What does ―have mercy with fear‖ mean?

How do Christians build up their faith?

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God,

waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life‖

-Jude 20

1. Building2. Praying3. Keeping4. Waiting

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“building yourselves up on your most holy faith…”

What is Jude asking his readers to build themselves up upon? Their faith

or THE faith? Or is this a false dilemma? Jude asked his audience in

vs. 3 to contend for the faith that once for all delivered to the saints, and his readers are believers who have made this faith their own, so perhaps it is

both.

In any event, the faith is ―holy‖, which means separate. It comes from God

and does not include any other teaching or doctrine.

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were

instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."(Colossians 2:6-7)

"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the

building up of the body of Christ;"(Ephesians 4:11-12)

"Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."

(1 Thessalonians 5:11)

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

“building yourselves up on your most holy faith…”

How does a Christian primarily build themselves up?

"―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 20:32)

" Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of

the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,"

(1 Peter 2:1-2)

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―How can you live out your faith without truly understanding it?"

- John Hannah

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“Praying in the Holy Spirit…”

This does not refer to speaking in tongues as some might teach – the Bible specifically asks the rhetorical question

―All do not speak with tongues, do they?"

(1 Corinthians 12:30) .

Praying in the Holy Spirit is ―praying out of hearts and souls that are indwelt,

illuminated, and filled with the Holy Spirit‖ (George Lawrence Lawlor, Translation and Exposition of the

Epistle of Jude, p. 127). It is praying in the power of the Holy Spirit.

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"With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be

on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints"

(Ephesians 6:18)

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“Praying in the Holy Spirit…”

The Word of God and prayer certainly go together (Acts 6:4).

Evangelist Billy Sunday used to give his converts three rules for

success in the Christian life. Each day they were to read the Bible and let God talk to them. They

were to pray; in other words, they were to talk to God. And they

were to witness and talk to others about God.

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The Christian’s Building Process

1. The Word of God2. The Spirit of God3. Prayer in the Spirit

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“Keep yourselves in the Love of God…”

―Keep yourselves in the love of God‖ does not mean that our salvation

depends on our efforts; we‘ve already learned in this study that we are kept

and preserved by God Himself (Jude 1).

Instead, a believer is nurtured as he is occupied with God‘s love for him, and is

in fellowship with Him. Note the contrast here with believers who keep

themselves in God‘s love vs. the rebellious angels who ―did not keep their

own domain‖ (vs. 6).

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"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you

keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father‘s

commandments and abide in His love.‖(John 15:9-10)

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God’s Sovereignty and our Responsibility

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created

thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Romans 8:38-39)

―Keep yourselves in the love of God‖(Jude 21)

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"Hate evil, you who love the Lord, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the

wicked."(Psalm 97:10)

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“Waiting Anxiously for the mercy…”

Lastly, Jude points his readers to the hope that awaits them – the parousia

(second coming) of Jesus Christ.

The apostates have no hope – only one thing awaits them, which Jude has

reiterated constantly in his letter: judgment. By stark contrast, those

who are true believers have the hope of mercy found in the sacrifice made by Jesus for them, which they have

trusted. True believers receive mercy; all others receive judgment.

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"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny

ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed,

and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."

(Titus 2:11-14)

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"For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God."

(Romans 8:19)

"And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,

will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him."

(Hebrews 9:27-28)

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Jude instructs his readers to help three classes of people:

1. Those who are doubting2. Those who are unsaved3. Those who are sinfully dangerous

"And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.―

(Jude 22-23)

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

Is doubt wrong … is doubt a sin … ?

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

―She was no more exempt from the realization that religion is a human fabrication than any other

person, and that her attempted cure was more and more professions of faith could only have

deepened the pit that she had dug for herself.‖- Atheist Christopher Hitchens

:A new, innocuously titled book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday), consisting

primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors over a period of 66 years, provides the spiritual counterpoint to a life known mostly through its works. The letters, many

of them preserved against her wishes (she had requested that they be destroyed but was overruled

by her church), reveal that for the last nearly half-century of her life she felt no presence of God

whatsoever — or, as the book's compiler and editor, the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, writes, "neither in her

heart or in the eucharist.―‖ – Time Article.

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

―The disclosure of previous secret letters from Mother Teresa indicates that she was deeply

troubled by doubts and a sense of Christ's absence. The fact is that many Christians

struggle with doubt. Indeed, the most thoughtful believers are most likely of all to understand what is at stake, and thus to suffer pangs and seasons

of doubt. Doubt can be healthy. It can drive believers to a deeper knowledge of what we

believe and a deeper embrace of the truth of the Gospel. It can deepen our trust in God and

mature our faith. At the same time, doubt can be a form of sin . . . a refusal to trust God and his

promises.‖ - Al Mohler

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

What are the top causes of doubt in

the lives of Christians?

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

What are the top causes of doubt in the lives of Christians?

False Teaching

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

What are the top causes of doubt in the lives of Christians?

Pain and Suffering

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"And Jesus answered and said to them, ―Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what

was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‗Be taken up and cast into the sea,‘ it will

happen."(Matthew 21:21)

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be

given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that

he will receive anything from the Lord,"(James 1:5-7)

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe

that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."(Hebrews 11:6)

No doubt that God exists…

… No doubt in the God Who exists

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“And Have mercy on some who are doubting …”

"for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction‖

(1 Thessalonians 1:5)

―Full conviction‖ is actually a singular Greek term It is found in only three other places in the New Testament

(once in Colossians and twice in Hebrews), with the word meaning ‗A state of complete certainty‘ (Danker, 2000). It is produced in believers by

God‘s Holy Spirit.

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“Save Others, Snatching them out of the Fire …”

In this aspect of outreach, the challenge for believers increases over simply dealing with confused believers. It is no longer merely a

matter of showing mercy; it becomes the difficult and eternally-important task of

rescuing those who are already convinced of false teaching.

Snatching translates harpazō, and presents the strong image of seizing something, or

taking something or somebody by force. Jude undoubtedly borrowed this imagery from the

prophets, specifically Amos‘s statement about Israel, ―You were like a firebrand

snatched from a blaze‖ (Amos 4:11; cf.Zech 3:2).

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“Save Others, Snatching them out of the Fire …”

―Is it not odd that God would put the salvation

of men and women‘s souls in our mouths?‖

- John Calvin

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“Save Others, Snatching them out of the Fire …”

The only way to rescue such people is to crush and destroy the false ideologies they have been infected with before it is too late.

The way to accomplish this is with God‘s Truth:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of

our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses [lit. prisons]. We are destroying speculations and

every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience,

whenever your obedience is complete."(2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

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“And on Some Have Mercy with Fear …”

The phrase with fear means ―with caution.‖ In trying to help those who have erred, we must

be careful not to be trapped ourselves. Many a would-be rescuer has been drowned himself. When an unstable believer has been captured

by false doctrine, we must be very careful as we try to help him, for Satan can use him to

defile us. In trying to save him, we may be stained or burned ourselves.

The principle Jude was laying down was that stronger believers must never think they are

beyond satanic influence. Even while serving the Lord and seeking to rescue one of His

children, we can become defiled by those we want to help.

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"Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking

to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted."

(Galatians 6:1)

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"And Jesus said to them, ―Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and

Sadducees.‖"(Matthew 16:6)

"Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of

dough?"(1 Corinthians 5:6)

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“Hating even the garment polluted by the flesh…”

Jude used extremely graphic, coarse language to highlight the degree of danger involved in this type of outreach to those involved in sin.

The word ―garment‖ refers to the clothing that the people of that day wore under their outer tunics, i.e. their underwear. The word

translated ―polluted‖ means ―to stain,‖ or ―to spot.‖ To be polluted by the flesh means ―to

be stained by bodily function.‖

Just as no one wants to handle someone else‘s dirty underwear and be defiled

physically, so we should be extremely wary and cautious of getting too close to the spiritual

and/or fleshly defilement of those corrupted by false teachers.

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" ―To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‗I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive,

but you are dead. ‗Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. ‗So remember

what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. ‗But you

have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are

worthy."(Revelation 3:1-4)

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"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall."

(1 Corinthians 10:12)

"You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,"

(2 Peter 3:17)

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Concluding Thoughts

• What is it that you wait eagerly for? Anxious longing for Christ‘s return should result in a desire to live a pure and godly life: "Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,"(2 Peter 3:11). We also have the hope of

• How ready are you to help those in doubt? Or those blinded by false teaching? Or those entangled in sin? Can you live out what Peter asks: "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;"(1 Peter 3:15)

• Ideas have consequences and false teaching can lead to eternal consequences.

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Ideas Have Consequences

―To keep you is no benefit. To destroy

you is no loss‖ -Pol Pot

The above mindset was built upon the nihilistic philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre.

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Jude – Contending for the Faith

JudeContending for the Faith

Instruction To the Church