Hello
Friends!
Welcome
to the conclusion of the Encouraging
Concepts Bible study series focused on the powerful
little “epistle” of Jude written by our “Lord
Jesus Christ’s” younger half-brother –
“Continue CONTENDING!”
The
Epistle of Jude REVISITED: Continue CONTENDING! (Verses 20-25)
20 But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. 21 Keep yourselves in the
love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have
compassion, making a difference: 23 And
others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment
spotted by the flesh. 24 Now
unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our
Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen – Jude 20-25
OPENING POINTS TO PONDER: Beloved, we MUST live our lives soundly strengthened
and properly protected as unified “useful”
vessels for “God” through our on-going “obedience” to Him. And when we DO so, His amazing “love” pours out beautiful “blessing” upon “blessing” within our SUBMITTED lives “unto”
His wonderful “will” as we “live” in the LIGHT
of our “looking” for the “mercy” and TRIUMPHANT
reigning “return” of our “Lord Jesus Christ” and blessed “eternal life” together WITH Him – To
THIS we ARE called!
Therefore,
“we” can find THREE
remaining poignant points in which “Jude”
shares within these POWERFUL passages that
will “keep” and ARM all of “us”
for the supernatural spiritual “battle”
ground through boldly “contending
for the faith” of our GOD’S
great “truth” eternal ~ REMAIN! REACH OUT! REST!
And
as we PURPOSELY ponder the “glory and
majesty” of these final poignantly POWERFUL passages,
may they PROVIDE each of “us”
with eternal – EMPOWERMENT for Service…
Your LIFE with
God!
REMAIN! ~ Obviously, in order to engage
ourselves in this “battle” for
the “truth” of our great “God” Almighty, “we”
each MUST be deeply “discerning” with His wonderful Word!
And at the “heart” of this very IMPORTANT matter of survival and triumph
within this DARK day of “apostasy” is for ALL
of “us” to become steadfastly “strong” in our “most holy faith” eternal:
But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Keep yourselves
in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life – Jude
20-21
Here
“Jude” tells “us” that if we're going to be PROTECTED
in this PROPHECIED trying time of apropos “apostasy” from the subtleties of the
“deceivers” of whom are
embedded EVERYWHERE in our midst,
“we” must BOLDLY
live a legitimate LIFE of bravely “building up” one another in our “most holy faith” and practically “praying in the Holy Ghost”
secure. WHY? Because we MUST constantly “keep” ourselves in the “love of God” while at the SAME time long-fully “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Who gives us “eternal life”
with Him. And we MUST greatly “guard” ourselves against their
lucid “lies” and deep “deception” in kind…
For first of all, when ye come
together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly
believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be made manifest among you – 1
Corinthians 11:18-19
Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your
own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? – 2 Corinthians 13:5
Therefore,
“we” can NOT
be glibly gullible with a Biblically BLIND
belligerent ACCEPTANCE of absolutely
ANYTHING that
caustically – CLAIMS to BE Christian!
Conversely,
we MUST remain “faithful” to the “truth of God” itself. Incidentally, “Jude” is definitely not referring to a
SUBJECTIVE fickle “faith” of sorts through a quasi-subtle “believing” as such. WHY? Because that professed CLAIM of inclusion is actually
a doomed “devils” doubt:
Thou believest
that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble – James 2:19
Rather, “Jude” is rightly referring
to the OBJECTIVE eternal “faith” of which is rightly “received” from GOD
through the ONLY saving “Gospel of Jesus Christ” itself! Therefore,
in order to “keep” ourselves FOCUSED on the “Holy Spirit” during this time of
adamant “apostasy” running
rampant WITHIN the called-out “church” body, it is absolutely essential
that “we” each readily REMAIN
boldly “built up” in our “most holy faith” and thus become STRONGER in our uniform “understanding” and deep DISCERNMENT of Biblical “truth” itself ~ REMAIN!
REACH OUT! ~ Then “Jude” notes that there are DIFFERENT folds of “followers” that actually threaten
the true “church” of whom we
must WARN in this serious SATANIC
season of abominable “apostasy”
spreading abroad:
And of some have compassion,
making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire;
hating even the garment spotted by the flesh – Jude
22-23
Here
“Jude” outlines THREE
types of PROFESSING people in the “church”
of his day – And OUR Day!
ONE: There are the CONFUSED
people. These folks are “immature”
in the “faith” and are easily misled
by the “false teachers” of
whom spew
out their horrible “heresies”
and eerie “error” along with
lavishly “living” out their “licentious” and “sinful” lifestyles being tauntingly TOLERATED
by the lame leadership in which they foolishly trust.
Therefore, “we” must have “compassion”
on the CONFUSED by mindfully “making a distinction” in our “discerning” directive of concern
for their – Spiritual STATE!
TWO: There are the CONVINCED people. Here “our”
work gets a little tougher! Now “we”
must "save with fear,
pulling them out of the fire" as such. HOW? With these particular people
“we” must “save” them with the “truth of God“ itself! WHY?
Because these fickle folks are ALREADY
in the foolish “fire” of
doctrinal DANGER due to their
blind “belief” in the loose “lies” of these lame “liars” at large. This situation is a much GREATER challenge,
as they have blindly bought into these “lies” and are vividly “void”
of the “truth” given of “God” Himself. The
language here is VERY graphic! These CONVINCED people are woefully being wooed
into eternal “hell” itself.
Therefore, it is here where “we”
go boldly beyond
having mindful “mercy” on
these folks to a full-on spiritual – RESCUE operation!
THREE: There are the COMMITTED people. These particular “men” are actually the aloof “apostate” leaders themselves! Here “we” must AVIOD
these woeful worms by hotly “hating”
absolutely anything seriously “spotted”
by their fallen “flesh”
and evil “deceptive” tactics. WHY? Because
these “false teachers” are
often quite articulate
and well trained in
the propagation
of their RANK religious system.
These COMMITTED folks KNOW
very well HOW to glibly GIVE fallacious false “answers” to their lurid “lies” of harsh “hypocrisy” in kind. They are the “subtle” and “satanic” meandering “missionaries”
of menacing “madness” abroad.
They are the avid “advocates”
of appalling “apostasy” and
the terrible “teachers” of
trashy “treachery” abased. The
MAIN concern here is that “we” might ALSO
become “spotted” by their “evil” envoy. And when “we” get needlessly “near” them for too long… It
becomes – Deeply DANGEROUS!
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: Incidentally, “Jude”
was obviously a VERY devout STUDENT of
the Old Testament itself! Among other “writings” cited, he borrows incredible
imagery
from the Sovereign “Scriptures”
themselves. And in this case, quoting specifically from the Prophet
Amos:
I have
overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a
firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith
the Lord – Amos 4:11
Here
“God” says to “Israel” that HE
would “overthrow some” of the
“Jews” themselves. WHY?
Because they “have not returned”
unto Him!
However, here “God” Divinely “plucked” them “out” from the “burning” fire of “hell” itself – RESCUSED from FIRE!
Similarly,
the Prophet Zechariah
also said of “Jerusalem”
and His chosen people:
And he shewed me Joshua the high
priest standing before the angel of the Lord,
and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even
the Lord that hath
chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? – Zechariah 3:1-2
Therefore,
“Jude” uses imagery that is
derived directly from
the Old Testament writ in where our great “God” Himself is “pulling” His folks out of the “blaze” of decimate DESTRUCTION eternal. And although He ALONE Sovereignly
“saves” the uniform “unbeliever” according to His “perfect” wonderful “will,” it is “we” whom PARTNER
with Him as a “good soldier”
in this great “fight for the faith”
in our “Lord Jesus Christ”
Himself – AMEN!
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND: These “false
teachers” infiltrate the “church”
and carefully “creep in unnoticed”
by so MANY folks. They are “hidden reefs in your love feasts” and
begin to negatively affect “some”
individuals. They “draw people to themselves“
and then those people
“begin to speak perverse things”
and dankly “draw disciples after them”
as well. It happens in the our “churches”
even TODAY just as it happened in the
first-century Corinthian fellowship. In fact, the Judaizing
foolish “false teachers” had “entered” into the “church” soon “after” the Apostle Paul’s ministry
“departure” abroad:
For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also
of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them – Acts
20:29-30
And
here AGAIN the
Apostle Paul is deeply concerned for the beautiful “brethren” and urgently “urges” them to make a distinctive discerning
“note”
of the “false teachers” held
up in Rome:
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark
them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have
learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus
Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the
hearts of the simple – Romans
16:17-18
These
“savage wolves” selfishly serve
only “their own belly”
and had viciously ATTACKED the Apostle
Paul’s “character” and “motives” of his HEART
for God. They were armed with fatal “false
doctrines” of which they had INTENDED
to tacitly “teach” as their “corrupted” venomous version of the ONE and ONLY true
fruitful “faith” in our
“Lord Jesus Christ” alone…
For if he that
cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive
another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have
not accepted, ye might well bear with him – 2 Corinthians 11:4
Therefore,
the “Apostle Paul” went on to “write” throughout ALL of his excellent “epistles”
a poignant plead unto the “saints”
to NOT actively
abandon
him as the “Apostle of the Gospel”
proclaiming the “truth” of
God’s wonderful Word. Thus, “we”
too MUST all rightly REACH OUT
to the CONFUSED folks with “compassion,” to the CONVINCED folks with “distinction” and to the COMMITTED folks with a BOLD
Biblical “fear”
by faithfully
following the excellent examples of our beloved
brothers – Paul and Jude!
Beloved,
“we” as faithful “Christians” are the TOOLS
of whom our “Lord” lovingly uses
to Sovereignly “save” the
looming “lost” and dauntingly
“deceived" souls in DESPARATE need of the “truth”
from God’s great “Gospel”
message ~ REACH OUT!
Glory TO God!
Beloved,
if “we” are inadvertently INFLUENCED with
fickle “false teaching” and
are detestably “defiled” by
foolish “false doctrine” or
even begin to “question”
certain “things” such as our “faith” itself and perhaps even become ENAMORED by the “sins” of a deep “deception” demise, does this mean “we” can ever LOSE
our sweet “salvation"
gift as received FROM our great “God” Himself? – Very GOOD question!
REST! ~ Finally, “Jude”
aptly answers this very IMPORTANT
question with a beautiful benediction of “exceeding joy” inspired BY the “Holy
Ghost” Himself:
Now unto him that is able to keep
you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen – Jude 24-25
Indeed “God” is quite “able” to eternally “keep” us soundly SECURE in Him! Incidentally, the Greek word for “keep” used here in verse 24 is actually phulasso
referring unto a military word meaning to guard or
to watch over. This is a DIFFERENT
word for “keep” used
previously in verse 21 of which means
to hold or possess. Beloved, our
great “God” is quite MORE than ABLE
to keenly “keep” the true “believer” unto Himself – Eternally SECURE!
POIGNANT POINT: The true “Christian”
himself CANNOT ever legitimately “lose”
his sweet “salvation” of the
soul. WHY? Because our “Lord Jesus Christ” presents each of “us” as fully “faultless” in the “presence of His glory with
exceeding joy” found absolutely – ALONE
in HIM!
However,
the “church” itself WILL become the victim
of this DECEPTION and “our”
own personal “lives” could
thus be “polluted” by the “defilement” of these “false teachers” if indeed “we” willingly CONTINUE to foolishly FOLLOW their filthy “false doctrines,” lame “lies” and disgustingly “debased” lifestyles that originate
from the “father of lies”
himself. In fact, our “Lord Jesus
Christ” Himself woefully WARNED the “lukewarm”
chided “church” in looming “Laodicea” lethargy:
I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked… Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me – Revelation 3:15-17
& 20
That
said, it's often NOT always EASY
to rightly “discern” the
exceedingly “evil” imposed intentions
and treacherous tactics of “these men”
of whom are “deceiving” and “being deceived” in kind:
Yea, and all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things
which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast
learned them – 2 Timothy 3:12-14
Therefore,
this “godly” approach REQUIRES the utmost care and vigilance
through the LIFE-LONG disciplines of
“continued” intentional Bible study, Prayer, Obedience and Hope by legitimately “living” our “lives”
from a “God-honoring”
perspective in an “assured” confidence and “knowing” His poignant PROMISE
of powerfully – PROTECTING us from EVIL!
Here
is another
very IMPORTANT question to
ponder… WHAT element of God's “saving promise” is most encouraging,
satisfying,
attractive
and comforting
to His people? It is the “doctrine”
of Eternal Security known
as the “Perseverance of the Saints”
representing the Biblical “truth”
of which “promises” that once
the “Christian” is eternally “saved” by our great “God”
Himself. Therefore, “we” are
soundly “saved” FOREVER!
Or to put it in the negative sense… Once the “Christian” has rightly “received” this exciting “eternal life” from our Great “God” Himself, “we” can NEVER
lose it – PRAISE our Lord Jesus Christ!
Some
folks may not “know” if they ARE a true “Christian” of the soul and therefore “worry” about fickle “false teaching” and how MUCH of it they are being EXPOSED to
in their life. Thus, may our “Lord Jesus
Christ” through His sensible servant “Jude” bring to you “comfort” by these “inspired” and “eternal” wonderful WORDS of
our Great “God” Himself! And to further
support
this sweet “saving truth”
spoken of by “Jude” in kind, the “Apostle John” also has this to say in his first epistle pertaining to the “doctrine” of Eternal Security for the true “believer” in the “Son of God” alone:
These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may
know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son
of God – 1 John
5:13
YES! You CAN
indeed “know that you have eternal life” with
right REST
in Him. And after all, if the “Lord Jesus
Christ” can't HOLD
on to “us“ eternally, what “hope” is there? Our eternal “salvation” is a finally finished
and compassionately complete wonderful “work” of our Great “God”
Eternal ~ REST!
Thus,
if GOD Himself doesn't “save” me, I can't “save” myself. If GOD
doesn't “sanctify” me, I can't
“sanctify” myself. If GOD doesn't “glorify” me, I can't “glorify” myself. And if GOD doesn't “keep” me, I can't “keep” myself. Thus, I am NOT at all “good” enough to “save”
myself and I am certainly NOT
at all “good” enough to “keep” myself. In fact, I will NEVER be at all “worthy” of His “salvation” in and of myself. And beloved –
Neither will YOU!
In closing:
We
are often “deceived” about our
“sinfulness” and thus “deceived” about our own “righteousness” from GOD’S perspective. In
fact, as one humble “man of God”
once said:
"No man can keep himself, he'll surely
fail. If left to ourselves, we'll go to hell. Only Jesus can save us from our
sins… And when I heard it said that the Lord would keep His people right to the
end, when I heard it said that Christ said, 'My sheep hear My voice and I know
them and they follow Me and I give them eternal life and they shall never
perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand.' When I heard that said, I
must confess that the doctrine of the final preservation of the saints was the
bait that my soul could not resist. It was sort of life insurance, an insurance
of my character, an insurance of my soul, an insurance of my eternal destiny. I
knew I couldn't keep myself but if Christ promised to keep me, then I would be
safe forever and I longed and I prayed to find Christ because I knew that if I
found Him, He would not give me a temporary salvation as some preach. But
eternal life which could never be lost, the living and incorruptible seed which
lives and abides forever for no one and nothing could ever separate me from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” ~ Charles
H. Spurgeon
And
to this “truth” spoken of
based upon the “Word of God”
by Mr. Spurgeon, “we”
emphatically say – YES and
AMEN!
Therefore,
the most important element of “salvation” that matters in the “end” is the “promised” great GUARANTEE
from our great “God” that His “covenant” of eternal “justification” to the “believer” is FOREVER and that it is NOT up to
you or me at all. It is completely up to – HIM!
Beloved,
we must REMEMBER
the “Lord Jesus Christ” said “apostasy” would be this way. Therefore,
may we REMAIN
in the place of “blessing”
in Him! REACH
OUT to those in “danger”
of looming
evil! REST
in Him who is “able to keep you from
stumbling” for all of eternity secure – Halleluiah!
To
wrap up this study series, we’ll give “Jude”
another opportunity to speak unto this FINAL
thought concerning this magnificent matter with BOLD emphatic
EMPHASIS
added:
Now unto HIM that is ABLE to KEEP you from
falling, and to PRESENT
you FAULTLESS
before the PRESENCE
of his GLORY
with EXCEEDING
joy, to the ONLY
wise GOD our
Saviour, be GLORY
and MAJESTY,
DOMINION and
POWER, both NOW and FOREVER. Amen – Jude 24-25
This
is THE absolute “true”
and glorious “gift” of “eternal life” that WILL
one “Day” come. And in a PERFECT
word poignantly prophesied… PERMANENCE!
REAL REFLECTIONS: Beloved, may God give US the courage and boldness
to “contend earnestly for the faith”
that was signed, sealed and delivered
some – 2000 years ago…
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 – Jude 3
Please begin reading through the excellent book of Jude and
continue CONTENDING for the “faith” once “delivered unto the saints” of God ~ AMEN!
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!
Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"
