Sermon #8 Jude Sermons

Title: Contending for the Faith

Text: Jude 1:3

Subject: The Faith of The Gospel

Date: Tuesday Evening — November 16, 2004

Tape # Jude #8

Readings: Lindsay Campbell & Larry Brown

Introduction:

Can you imagine what stories Jude could have told about his life’s experiences, growing up in the same household with the Lord Jesus Christ? How fascinating it would be to read them. Here is a man who grew up with an older brother who never once teased him, or grabbed his favorite toy out of his hands just to break it, or lost his temper, or hit him. His older brother was never disobedient, pouting, envious, or jealous, not once. His older brother was always good, kind, loving and gentle, and was always a good influence. His older brother didn’t teach him to cuss, but to care. His older brother didn’t teach him to hurt, but to help. His older brother didn’t teach him to blaspheme, but to pray. How fascinating it would be to read the things Jude could have told us about his childhood experiences with his older brother! But he didn’t tell us a thing.

In verse three of his epistle he tells us that he really wanted to write to us about “the common salvation” that is ours in Christ. I would like to have read that that book of theology! It would have been instructive, edifying and delightful. But Jude did not write that either, though he really wanted to.

Something More Needful

Instead of telling us about his fascinating childhood, instead of writing to us about “the common salvation,” Jude was compelled by divine inspiration, to write to us about contending for the faith. — We read, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” That is my subject tonight. — Contending for the Faith.

Even in those earliest days of Christianity heretics were abundant. Many had crept into the church unawares who perverted the gospel of Christ. The gospel they preached was “another gospel.” The Jesus they preached was “another Jesus.” The spirit by which they preached was “another spirit.” Yet, they were not only accepted as brethren in Christ, but were accepted as teachers and preachers in the churches. By their heretical perversions of Holy Scripture apostasy was rampant, the souls of men were being destroyed, and the truth an glory of God in Christ was despised. Therefore, Jude was constrained to write this letter instead of more pleasantly writing about “the common salvation” of God’s elect in Christ.

(Jude 1:3) “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

Proposition: It is this necessity of earnestly contending for the faith that Jude presses upon us throughout these twenty-four verses. — Jude tells us that we who believe the gospel must “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

His exhortation is full of weight importance. I pray that God the Holy Spirit will graciously make us to know its full weight and importance, in these days of rampant apostasy, in these perilous times, that we may be found earnestly contending for the faith.

Divisions: I want to show you four things in this exhortation.

1. “The faith” for which we must earnestly contend

2. Jude tells us that “the faith” was “once delivered unto the saints.”

3. “The faith” for which we must earnestly contend “was once delivered unto the saints” with finality.

4. we must earnestly fight for, preach, defend, and contend for the faith.

The Faith

I. What is “the faith” for which we must earnestly contend?

“The faith” Jude speaks of here is not our faith in Christ, the act of trusting or believing in Christ. Here the word “faith” is not a verb, but a noun. “The faith,” as Jude uses the term is one faith, one body of truth. It is not “your” faith, or “my” faith, or “a” faith, but “the faith.” It is that singular body of truth which is believed, which is accepted as true, by all who trust Christ.

One Faith

Jude is saying, in effect, that if we are true believers, if we are truly the children of God, if we really are Christians, there is one body of divine truth, one body of divine revelation that we all bow to, accept, believe and adhere to as “the faith of God” (Rom. 3:3). This is exactly what Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:5. — “There is one faith.”

“The faith” is whole revelation of Gospel truth revealed in Holy Scripture. This is “the faith” we believe, live by, and proclaim to the world. It is called “the word of faith” (Rom. 10:8), “the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27), the “most holy faith” (Jude 1:20, and “the common faith” (Tit. 1:4). — “There is one faith.”

Pure Dogmatism

I can almost hear the cries of the sons of Cain, Balaam, and Korah, was Jude’s letter was read in the churches. — “That just ignorant bigotry.” — “What arrogant dogmatism.” — “What? Does Jude think everybody must bow to him?” — “He is so divisive.” — “How dares any man be so dogmatic, acting as though he is lord over God’s heritage!” — “We are as holy as he is.” — Does Jude think he has a corner on God’s truth?” — “He always thinks he’s right and everybody else is wrong.” The fact is none of God’s servants are like that. But we do think, (No, we know!) that God is right and everybody else is wrong.

Things were no different in Jude’s day than they are in ours. The cross of Christ has always been offensive to unbelieving men, and always will be. For us to declare that salvation can be had only by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, that salvation is altogether the work, operation, and gift of God in Christ, that there is no redemption but redemption through his blood, and no righteousness but the righteousness of God in Christ, and that there is no faith in Christ but that which God gives by his own sovereign will is to court the enmity of the world.

The notion that people can be saved and yet deny what the Scriptures affirm or refuse to submit to the that which the Book of God declares to be the truth of God, is preposterous. Christianity is defined by revealed truth. Christians are defined by our adherence to that which God has revealed in this one body of truth called “the Bible.” This Book is “The Faith” about which Jude speaks.

Once Delivered

II. Second, Jude tells us that “the faith” was “once delivered unto the saints.”

Entrusted

The word “delivered” might be translated “entrusted.” If we read the text that way, the meaning is this. — The Lord God has entrusted to his church, his saints in this world, “the faith” for which we must earnestly contend. He has put his truth in our hands as a sacred trust, that we might preserve it, proclaim it, and hand it down to succeeding generations exactly as we have received it. This is precisely what Paul told the Corinthians about the gospel he preached to them (1 Cor. 15:3).

(1 Corinthians 15:1-3) “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.”

When writing to Timothy about pastors and deacons, Paul tells us that they must be men who hold “the mystery of the faith” in a pure conscience (1 Tim. 3:9). Then he tells us that this “mystery of the faith” is that which we are responsible to hold, generation to generation, just as we have received it (1 Tim. 3:14-16).

(1 Timothy 3:14-16) “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: (15) But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (16) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Delivered

“The faith,” this body of revealed truth is not something concocted by men. It is that which was “delivered unto the saints.” It was handed down, it was “delivered” first by God himself to his prophets and apostles, and by them to us, as the full, authoritative revelation of God. It is this faith that we preach to the world (Heb. 1-3).

(Hebrews 1:1-3) “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

“The faith” was delivered to Christ as our Mediator in eternity to reveal to us in time. It was promised, pictured and prophesied in the Old. It was delivered to the apostles by Christ himself and to us by his apostles, who in the New Testament, made a full and authoritative revelation of the facts and the truth, to the church and the world (Heb. 2:1-3).

(Hebrews 2:1-3) “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. (2) For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; (3) How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”

It is this revealed faith that brings to light in our souls the wondrous things God has done for us in Christ, which we must ever hold fast and proclaim (2 Tim. 1:9-14).

(2 Timothy 1:9-14) “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (10) But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: (11) Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. (12) For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (13) Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (14) That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.”

It is this “faith” which brings salvation and effectually teaches us the way of life (Tit. 2:11-15).

(Titus 2:11-15) “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (15) These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”

This Treasure

Now, watch this. — Turn to 2^nd Corinthians 4. The Apostle Paul is talking about “the faith once delivered unto the saints,” and tells us that this is the treasure the Lord God has entrusted to us (2 Cor. 4:3-7).

(2 Corinthians 4:3-7) “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. (6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Let us contend with everything we have in us for this faith entrusted to us as a gift and a treasure to guard, and cherish, and keep for the glory of God and the salvation of his elect.

Finality

Look at our text again.

III. Mark those words “once delivered.” — The third thing Jude shows us here is that “the faith” for which we must earnestly contend “was once delivered unto the saints” with finality.

The word “once” is very emphatic. It means “once and only once, once and for all.” A literal reading of Jude’s words would be, “ye should earnestly contend for the once delivered to the saints faith.”

Jude’s statement is very important in this day of charismaticmania, in which the religious world is oozing false prophets, like the heretic Joseph Smith, who claim to have another word from God, another revelation of Jesus Christ. The only difference between these modern deceivers and Smith is that their revelations never cease. But Jude tells us that there never shall be another word from God than that which is revealed in the Volume of Holy Scripture. This Book, and this Book alone is “the faith once delivered unto the saints.”

It has been handed down to us in a complete, final and perfect form. “The faith,” as God has revealed it through his apostles is “the faith” for all times and is unalterable. There was not one faith in Jude’s day, another, somewhat different faith for us. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Author and Finisher of “the faith,” is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” All that he did as our Savior he did once for all (Heb. 9:12, 26-28; 10:11-14).

(Hebrews 9:12) “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

(Hebrews 9:26-28) “Now, once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (27) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (28) So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

(Hebrews 10:11-14) “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: (12) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (13) From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (14) For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

The singular and only authoritative explanation of Christ’s being and work, the only and authoritative explanation of who he is and what he did in his life, death, and resurrection is the written, inspired Word of God.

Jude is telling us that this faith, this singular body of revealed truth was revealed once, only once, with fulness, completion and finality. Nothing can ever be taken from it. And nothing can ever be added to it. Take anything from it, and you destroy it. And anything to it, and you destroy it. And in the process, you destroy your own soul (Rev. 22:18-19).

(Revelation 22:18-19) “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (19) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

Two Things

Here are two very important things I want you to hear. They need to be heard; and they need to be remembered.

1. There are no new revelations from heaven.

Those who pretend to have a new word from God are, as Jude describes them, “filthy dreamers.” That includes preachers in the pulpit, palm readers in the back alley, and clairvoyants in Ivy League colleges.

2. Truth is never relative. It is always absolute.

I know that puts us at odds with the rest of the world, religious and secular, just as it put Jude at odds with the generation in which he lived. But that is a fact as plain as the nose on your face. Truth is never relative. It is always absolute.

In the minds of most people the saying, “everything is relative,” is the only thing that can be said with absolute dogmatism. Any other opinion is considered bigotry and ignorance. One day last week one of the reporters on Fox News quoted Catie Corick as saying on the Today Show, “Who’s to say what truth is. My truth may not be your truth. And your truth may not be my truth. Each of us have to decide what truth is for ourselves. And each must decide for himself or herself what is moral and immoral.”

That is the philosophy that rules in our world. It has been devastating in its consequences on our society. That means that the only thing heretical, indecent, or immoral in the world is to assert that some things are heretical, indecent, and immoral. The fact is relative truth is no truth, relative decency is indecency, or relative morality is immorality.

In all such matters, believing men and women adhere to one, singular, authoritative, never varying Word of Truth, the Word of God, which Jude here declares is “the faith once delivered unto the saints.”

Contending for the Faith

IV. Fourth, Jude tells us that in a world that despises, mocks at, and derides anything and everything absolute, we must earnestly fight for, preach, defend, and contend for the faith. — “It was needful for me to write unto you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

“The faith,” as I have shown you, is the whole revelation of God. It is to be preached, contended for and defended against false teachers. The things revealed in this Book are both absolute and vital. They must be preached, received and believed (Isa. 45:17; 2 Tim. 1:9-14).

(Isaiah 45:17) “But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.”

Eight Stubborn Statements

“The faith” Jude urges us to contend for, the Truth for which we must contend is the Revelation of God in Holy Scripture. And that which is written in this Book, the Truth is Christ himself, who said, “I am the Truth.” In a word, “the faith” for which we must contend is “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” It is the gospel of the grace of God. It is all about the Person and work of Christ our God and Savior.

Here are eight, stubborn, irrefutable statements. They go right to the heart of true Christianity. You will either accept or reject these eight statements. There is no middle ground; and you will find it impossible to be indifferent regarding them. There is no room for compromise on any of these eight points.

1. Either the Bible is in its entirety the holy, inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God, or it is in its entirety a lie by which the souls of men are eternally deceived and damned (1 Tim. 3:16-17). If the Bible is not the Word of God, throw it away. But if it is, as it claims to be, God’s Holy Word, we will be wise to pay attention to it. It claims, as such, a total sway over our lives. It must be our only rule of faith and practice.

2. Either God almighty is absolutely sovereign, in total control of all things, at all times, or there is no God (Ps. 135:6; Rom. 11:36). Again, there is no middle ground between these two poles, between God’s absolute, total sovereignty and absolute, total atheism. To speak of a god who is not totally sovereign is utter nonsense. Atheism is far more sensible than Arminianism. If God is, he is sovereign! He who is God, the only true God, the Triune God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, is the sovereign Monarch of the universe.

3. Either man is totally depraved, utterly dead in trespasses and in sins, or there is nothing wrong with him and he needs no Savior (Rom. 5:12, 17-21). There is no such thing as partial depravity or partial goodness before God. Either we are totally sinful and depraved or we are totally righteous and good. There is no middle ground.

4. Either God chose to save some of Adam’s fallen race to salvation and eternal life in Christ before the world began, as the Bible says he did, or no salvation is possible for any man. Salvation is God’s prerogative, not man’s. Grace is God’s gift, not man’s choice. If God does not choose to save and choose whom he will save, no sinner can ever be saved (Rom. 9:15-18).

5. Either the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God is altogether and alone the effectual Redeemer and Savior of his people, or he is a fraud and a failure. Again, there is no middle ground, no room for compromise. Either Christ did what he came to do, or he is a failure. If he is a failure, he is not God, and we have no Savior (Isa. 42:1-4). He who is the Christ, the Lord Jesus, is alone our Savior. Everything he has done for us has these four marks upon them…

· Sovereignty!

· Substitution!

· Satisfaction!

· Success!

6. Either we are regenerated and called to life and faith in Christ by the irresistible power and omnipotent grace of God the Holy Spirit, or there is no such thing as salvation. The only hope for a dead sinner is free and sovereign grace, grace that asks for nothing and gives everything, grace that waits for nothing and does everything (Eph. 2:1-9).

7. Either God’s people are entirely free from the law, as the Scriptures declare us to be, or we are yet under the bondage of the law and entirely obligated to keep it perfectly (Gal. 3:10, 13). There is no such thing as being partially under the law and partially free from it, not in biblical terms. The only way sinners can satisfy, fulfill, and establish the law is by faith in Christ (Rom. 3:31).

8. Either every saved sinner shall persevere to the end, being preserved and kept by God’s infallible, immutable grace, or none shall. The perseverance of the saints is demanded by the purpose of God, the purchase of Christ, and the power of the Spirit (Jude 24-25).

Our Responsibility

Are these things meaningful to your soul? Are they important to you? Do you understand how very vital they are? The Lord God has trusted this faith to our hands. We have “this treasure in earthen vessels,” in these broken clay pots, “that excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” Oh, what a treasure it is! And it is our responsibility to earnestly contend for it, that we might pass it on to the generation to come just as we have received it. Let us therefore “earnestly contend for the faith.”

· by preaching it openly, boldly and faithfully,

· by bearing an experimental and faithful testimony to it,

· by praying for the success of it,

· by supporting with our gifts, our presence and our prayers the preaching of it,

· and by encouraging and exhorting other believers to do the same.

“What that faith is, the New Testament, in the inspired writings of the Evangelists and the Apostles, most plainly, and fully shew. The great and leading doctrines of the Gospel, in the everlasting love of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, more or less, are in every page. The Person, glory, blood shedding, and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, with redemption only in his blood, and regeneration only by God the Holy Ghost; these are the bottom, and foundation of all our mercies. To contend for these, and with earnestness, is to contend for the very life of our souls. Any indifference, or coldness to the open profession of these glorious truths in ourselves, or to the denial of them in others, is wounding the Redeemer, in the house of his friends. It is high treason to the Majesty of God. It is traitorously admitting the enemy into our citadel.”

Robert Hawker

Our faith is not founded upon visions, and dreams, and experiences, but on decisive Revelation. We cheerfully confess that our faith and our lives stand or fall on the truth of that Revelation and the reality of those things written in this Book. Paul himself made no bones about this. He said to the Corinthians, “If Christ be not risen from the dead, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”

(1 Corinthians 15:12-19) “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? (13) But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: (14) And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (15) Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. (16) For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: (17) And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (18) Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. (19) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

Following Paul’s example and Jude’s exhortation, I stand before you to confess that if Jesus Christ is not the God the Son come in the flesh, if he did not bear the sins of his people away when he died upon the cursed tree, if he did not rise from the dead, if all for whom he died are not redeemed, saved, justified, made righteous, sanctified, and ultimately raised up to glory by his obedience and death as our Substitute, if he does not save to the uttermost all who come to God by him, then we are all wasting our time here tonight, all this nothing but a bunch of sentimental poppycock. Either it is all true, or it is all a lie. — Blessed be God, it is all true!

(Romans 1:15-17) “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. (16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

(2 Timothy 1:12) “I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

Amen.