This is a part of a sermon series on the book of Jude. You can watch more here.
Sermon Manuscript
We are going to start a new series in Jude. Jude is in the New Testament. Jude is only one chapter, so might be hard to find, but Jude is right before Revelation toward the end. Or you can tur to page 171 in our devotional.
Anyone ever read Jude, raise your hand? Anyone ever had a memory verse from Jude? This is going to be fun, because Jude is a letter written by Jude and Jude is about creepers creeping into the church and creating confusion.
I think this is so applicable for our day today because it is more difficult than ever to know what is true and what isn’t true. Right? Right now, people are arguing about what exactly hit President Trump’s ear; a bullet or piece of debris. Will we ever know?
It’s also possible Google is trying to erase the assassination attempt from history! People are worried about chemtrails in the sky. Is the world flat? Is the government using robot birds to spy on us? Illuminati? What happened on that Jeffrey Epstein island? Qanon? Covid-19? What a weird day we live in!
There’s a scene in the Hunger Games series when Peta is so confused about life that he doesn’t know what to believe so Peta and Katnis develop a game called, “Real, not real.” Is my favorite color green? Real. Are you still trying to protect me? Real. Do you love me? Real! Real, not real!
In our passage this morning, Jude is writing to followers of Jesus to help them know what’s real and what’s not real, what’s true and what’s not true, so that jump into verse 1:
Jude 1:1, “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.”
In verse 1 we see the name Jude and Jude is actually the half-brother of Jesus. Stay with me. Jesus was born of Mary through the incarnation but we know from Matthew and Mark that James, the leader of the Jerusalem church and Jude are born of Joseph and Mary, so that Jude is the half-brother of Jesus.
This is important because in the next phrase we see Jude describing himself as a “bond-servant of Jesus Christ.” How many of us would describe ourselves as “bond-servants” of our siblings?
A bond-servant is someone who willingly submits themselves to be a slave and in verse 1 Jude is identifying himself as a slave of Jesus, which is someone Jude grew up around as a little boy.
This is my big brother Franz in 1988. I mean, I loved my big brother. He got Franz, the most interesting name in the world and I got Michael, the most common name in the world. I thought my big brother was amazing but there’s no way I am coming close to worshipping my brother as God in the flesh. Right?
In the same way, James and Jude were some of the last people to follow Jesus as God in the flesh. 1 Corinthians 15, Acts 1 we see James and Judas needed to see Jesus resurrect from the dead because you’re not worshipping your brother as a bond-servant unless they resurrect from the dead, right?
In the same way, God’s Word isn’t just telling us to just believe in Jesus. You might be growing up in a home where mom and dad are followers of Jesus. You might be coming to a worship service to explore what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Please know, the invitation of God’s Word isn’t “just believe in Jesus.”
No, God’s Word invites us to look at the evidence of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Look at the promises throughout the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus. Look at the eyewitnesses who gave up their lives to follow Jesus. Examine the evidence.
Look at the historical events recorded in Scripture. Look at the geographical locations referenced in Scripture. These are real, verifiable events and locations.
Look at this gnawing disturbance in our soul that life shouldn’t be this broken. All of humanity knows on some level that life shouldn’t be this frustrating and Jesus comes to invite us into life with Him, therefore, explore the claim, examine the evidence, because God’s Word isn’t just calling to believe but to examine. Do you see the difference?
Still till this day, I am not a follower of Jesus because I am a pastor or because I have followed Jesus for 31 years. Still till this day, I look at the evidence, I look at the validity of God’s Word, I look at other things this world has to offer and I keep coming back to Jesus, because God’s Word isn’t calling us to “just believe” but to put our faith in the evidence that has been provided in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Amen? Look at verse 1 again:
Jude 1:1, “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.”
In verse 1 we not only see the author of Jude but we also see the audience to whom Jude is written. Do you see it in verse 1, “To those who are called.” The word “called” means “invited.”
You need to know God’s Word is inviting us to examine, inviting us to explore and it isn’t just God’s Word but all of life is inviting us to examine the glory of God made known in Jesus.
When we look at creation; mountains, seas, trees we are seeing beauty, we are seeing design, we are seeing detail and we might not even know it but God’s Word is calling out to our soul to know the designer of these details.
When we go through challenges and frustrations in life, those challenges and frustrations in life are calling out to our soul to find answers.
We might try to find answers through food, career, romance and those desires are satisfied for a season but have you noticed it never lasts. It’s always fleeting because the Lord has designed life in such a way that He is using those frustrating circumstances to “call out” to our soul to examine who He is and what He is doing.
Think about it, what made you want to come to a worship service? What made you want to open the Bible? What made you want to watch that Tik-Tok video on the claims of Jesus?
There is nothing else in the world that is encouraging you in that direction other than the Spirit of God “calling out” to you to explore the claims of Jesus. Isn’t that wild?
In addition, look at the past, present, and future being captured by Jude in verse 1. It is the Holy Spirit who called out to the original audience (past), it is the Father who loves them (present) and the Son will keep them into (future). Do you see that in verse 1?
Yes, we might live in a day when it is hard to know the difference between truth and lies. Yes, we might live in a day where we need to ask questions like, “Real or not real?”
Yes, there might be people who are trying to deceive us and maybe there are times we will be deceived but God’s Word is teaching us in the opening words, “He is in control; past, present and future. He is working, He is calling out us and “holding on to us” until the very end. Amen? Look at verse 2:
Jude 1:2, “2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”
In verse 1 Jude begins the letter and in verse 2 Jude reminds us of God’s glory in just a few words, “Mercy, peace and love multiplied.”
It’s possible we could read over these words because it just sounds like one of those frames you buy at Hobby Lobby like, “Live, Laugh, and Love.” What does that mean? I don’t know, it just sounds cool.
But Jude is about to write words that are incredibly challenging. Jude is only one chapter. Jude is only 25 verses; 600 words in total and these opening verses are encouraging but the rest of the letter is an explosion of chaos.
Jude is written around 70AD so this is about 30 years after Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, so that within 30 years false teaching and confusion is creeping into their midst.
Jesus said these wolves would be coming. Peter and Paul both write about these wolves that are going to come. Jude writes so as to say, “The wolves are here.”
Therefore, Jude starts off with a reminder of God’s mercy. God’s mercy is His character to hold back judgment. All of humanity is created in His glory but we turn from His glory toward darkness, so that we are worthy of His judgment and the fact that He is holding back the totality of His judgment is His mercy. Praise God!
We need to be reminded of His mercy, so that we aren’t surprised by darkness and death in our day. In our sin we turned from life to death, so as a result we are going to see wars, we are going to see conflict, we are going to see natural disasters, we are going to see confusion.
We are going to see flat tires, disease, sexual immorality, divorce, instability and we are going to see wolves and false teachers, so that Jude reminds us of God’s mercy.
We need to be reminded of His peace, so that when we are frightened by this confusion in our world we remember there is One who brings peace, even in the midst of the confusion.
We need to be reminded of His love, because we need His love to persevere through these wolves and false teachers. We need His love to sustain us as we take on these wolves and false teachers, so let us not skim over verse 2 as just introductory.
We need to be reminded of His mercy, His peace and His love and we need His mercy, peace and love in abundance, multiplied, as we engage these wolves and false teachers. Look at verse 3:
Jude 1:3, “3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Verse 3 is really the heart of our series. First, I love that Jude addresses them as “beloved.” This isn’t an academic exercise. This isn’t a post on Reddit for the sake of discussion. This is personal, this is a relational letter written from one follower of Jesus to other followers of Jesus.
And in verse 3 we see that Jude didn’t sit down to write a letter about wolves and false teachers. Do you see that in verse 3? Jude wanted to write about their “common salvation.”
Jude wanted to write about the joy they have found in being followers of Jesus. Jude wanted to write about how they are serving their neighbors, growing in their faith, encouraging one another but Jude sees that it is “necessary” to invite them to not only be followers of Jesus but fighters with Jesus. Do you see that in verse 3?
The word “necessity” means pressure or squeezed because sometimes it feels like these wolves and false teachers are creating so much confusion that we have to speak into these conversations to bring clarity.
Listen to me church in Austin, as a follower of Jesus we can’t sit back and remain silent. It doesn’t mean we need to enter every discussion and take on every battle but gone are the days of just “going to church.”
There was probably a day when coming to faith in Jesus would have helped your social life, circle of friends, career opportunities but not in Austin, not in 2024, therefore, as followers of Jesus we need to be actively learning what we believe, why we believe it and trying to learn how to explain that to other people because there is a “necessity.”
This is why Jude uses the language of “contend for the faith” in verse 3? Do you see that in verse 3? The phrase “contend for the faith” is an athletic term to win by pushing ourselves beyond that which is comfortable, so that we must lean into the challenges of our day.
I think it’s possible we look at the world fighting over politics, social issues like racism, immigration and women’s rights, fighting over the Olympics, fighting over gender, so that we could find ourselves thinking, “I don’t want to fight over my faith.”
I want my faith to be loving and kind and I want to escape from all the fighting, right? I get it. I am not an argumentative person. I don’t like it when pastors rant about current events in the news. I hope you see that but at the same time we can’t shrink back, disengage, and hunker down as followers of Jesus.
This is why we are rallying around our Yearly Focus called Embolden. We are asking the Lord to Embolden us for the fight because like it or not, the fight is here, so let’s see if we can capture some practical application around this fight.
First, in verse 3 we see the fight is for “all the saints.” Do you see that in verse 3? This isn’t just a fight for elders and pastors but God’s Word is calling all who are in Christ, all the saints, to “contend for the faith” so that all followers of Jesus are invited into this fight.
It’s possible you find yourself thinking, “I am so tired.” You should be. In Christ, we are in a fight! Like it or not, in Christ, we are in a fight! You feel the fight? (Zimmerman, Dustin, Buddy)
Second, the phrase “the faith” is a reference to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. It’s important to see that it isn’t “a faith or my faith.” It is “the faith.” It isn’t subjective like a feeling about faith but it is objective truth of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
It is why Jude adds in the qualifier “once for all handed down to the saints.” It isn’t you having your faith and me having my faith but it is “handed down” do you see that in verse 3?
It is a technical term, like a certified letter that needs to be signed to receive because there are specific details of “the faith” built around Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
This is the context of the fight. God’s Word doesn’t call us to fight for the next president of the United States. God’s Word doesn’t call us to have a 3-point outline on our views of immigration or abortion. We are called to fight for “the faith” made known in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
This is why you are learning to study the Bible. This is why you commit to a local church in Austin. This is why you bend your heart toward prayer. This is why you share meals with one another. We are learning what we believe, why we believe it, and how to fight for our faith in Jesus.
This is so important for us today in our culture today. It’s important to understand that we live in democratic government, theoretically, that should represent the people, therefore, as a follower of Jesus we aren’t going to see a theocracy in our country where everyone loves and worships Jesus. Does that make sense?
As a follower of Jesus, we aren’t going to see a country that looks like heaven, therefore, it means there are times as a follower of Jesus we might lose the battle to win the war. Does that make sense?
If I win someone over to my personal views on immigration, politics, environment but I lose them on “the faith built on Jesus’ life, death and resurrection” then I didn’t win, therefore, contending for the faith doesn’t mean we should be contentious.
It doesn’t mean we get to be jerks for Jesus. It doesn’t mean we are doormats who hunker down but with gentleness and respect we are fighting for the faith so as to win as many possible to the faith. Look at verse 4:
Jude 1:4, “4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
In verse 4 we see the contrast of “certain persons” in verse 4 compared with the “saints” in verse 3, so that in verse 4 we see some specific characteristics of these wolves and false teachers that we need to draw out this morning.
First, in verse 4 we see these wolves and false teachers aren’t “out there.” Do you see that in verse 4? These aren’t boogie-men that sneak up on us. These are men and women who have “crept into the local church unnoticed.”
These are men and women in our community groups, worship team, leadership in the local church, so that we need to be asking ourselves, “Where has false teachings of this world crept into my thinking, my emotions and maybe I don’t even know it?”
This is why Jude reminds us of God’s mercy, peace and love in verse 2. We don’t need to be filled with fear and suspicion of the people around us but through the Holy Spirit we need to ask Him, “Help me to see where false teaching has crept into my soul!” Amen?
It’s possible you might be thinking, “Did Harry Potter get me?” Was it Taylor Swift? Should I lock myself in a room or cut out all electronics and live in the middle of the woods? But thankfully verse 4 gives us some characteristics of these false teachings; licentiousness and denying Jesus as Lord.
The word “licentiousness” means sensuality. It’s a reference to immorality with sexual overtones, so that God’s Word teaches us that sex is good, He just created sex to take place between a man and a woman in marriage, therefore, when we cross the line in those areas we are falling into sin and licentiousness is when we give approval for that sin. Does that make sense?
God’s Word knows we are going to fall into temptation. That’s not what Jude is talking about. God’s Word knows we are going to fall into sin. This is why Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is so important. There is grace and forgiveness for our sin past, present and future. There is grace and forgiveness for our sin over and over until we are face to face with Jesus.
But “licentiousness” is when we start making excuses for our sin. Licentiousness is when we tell ourselves, “I want to do what I want to do.” Licentiousness is when we try to convince ourselves and others that our sexual immorality isn’t that big of a deal.
Of course, we see that in our culture today and we would be naïve to think we can live in this culture and not be influenced by this culture; therefore, we need to ask the Lord, “Where has licentiousness crept into my soul?”
The second characteristic is “denying Jesus as Lord” which means to deny Jesus as God in the flesh. It’s to say Jesus is just a good guy. It’s to say Jesus isn’t the way, the truth and the life and there are many ways to God, we just need to find one that works for us.
Again, it makes perfect sense that our culture would make those kinds of claims but because we live in this culture, consume this culture, live and breathe this culture, then we would be wise to assume that this culture can influence our thinking and lead us to a place to have a lower understanding of Jesus.
It’s why Jude describes these people as ungodly. It is a term Jude uses throughout the letter. It is a person who claims to be godly but they are unlike God in their lives and unlike God in their thinking, so that God’s Word invites us to “fight for the faith by examining our lives and examining our thinking.” Does that make senses?
Let’s lower the lights. Let’s invite the worship team to the stage. You need to know there is an urgency to God’s Word this morning.
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
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