Jude - Fight for the Faith
At times you must turn the other cheek, yet at other times you must fight for the faith.
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Jude (ESV)
1 Jude,
a servant of Jesus Christ
and brother of James,
To those who
are called,
beloved in God the Father
and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain people
have crept in unnoticed
who long ago were designated for this condemnation,
ungodly people, who
pervert the grace of our God into sensuality
and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want to remind you,
although you once fully knew it,
that Jesus,
who saved a people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
6 And the angels
who did not stay within their own position of authority,
but left their proper dwelling,
he has kept
in eternal chains
under gloomy darkness
until the judgment of the great day—
7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire,
serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in like manner these people also,
relying on their dreams,
defile the flesh,
reject authority,
and blaspheme the glorious ones.
9 But when the archangel Michael,
contending with the devil,
was disputing about the body of Moses,
he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment,
but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”
10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand,
and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
11 Woe to them!
For they walked in the way of Cain
and abandoned themselves
for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error
and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts,
as they feast with you without fear,
shepherds feeding themselves;
waterless clouds, swept along by winds;
fruitless trees in late autumn,
twice dead, uprooted;
13 wild waves of the sea,
casting up the foam of their own shame;
wandering stars,
for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying,
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,
15 to execute judgment on all
and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
16 These are
grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires;
they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers,
following their own ungodly passions.”
19 It is these
who cause divisions,
worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved,
building yourselves up in your most holy faith
and praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God,
waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
22 And have mercy on those who doubt;
23 save others by snatching them out of the fire;
to others
show mercy with fear,
hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
24 Now to him
who is able to keep you from stumbling
and to present you blameless
before the presence of his glory
with great joy,
25 to the only God,
our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority,
before all time
and now and forever.
Amen.
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Previous DIG DEEPER posts on Jude
Jude Summary
Jude intended to write a letter to fellow Christians about our common salvation, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was compelled to urge his readers to contend [literally: fight] for the faith (v3).
This was necessary both then and now because the church was being infiltrated by ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord (v4).
We need to pay close attention to this short letter, because immorality is being defended by more and more 'Christians' at all levels of our society, including in our denomination.
Dig Deeper
Verses 20-23 contains the imperatives you must live by in order to follow this letter's command to contend for the faith (v3):
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Notice how you're not just told what to do, but also how you are to do it:
Keep yourself in God's love BY:
building yourself up
praying in the Spirit
as you wait for Christ's return
Show mercy & save others BY:
snatching them from the fire
hating sin
AAA Prayer :
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is able to keep you from stumbling
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to strengthen you to build yourself up in faith and prayer to keep you in His love (v20-21)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
