Defend the Truth

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 25th of February, 2024 - the second Sunday in Lent.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today is the second Sunday in the season of Lent, our time to look deep inside ourselves to see if we are living as God would have us live.  Lent reminds us of the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying, all the while being tempted by the devil.

While fasting isn’t observed too much these days, we are certainly encouraged to spend more time in prayer.  And we are definitely facing constant temptations from Satan and the world, including those that directly assault our faith.  Just as prayer helped Jesus, prayer will help us survive the devil’s attacks, too.

Last week we finished looking at the Apostle James’ letter to the early church.  This morning we’re going to move on to the last of the Apostolic letter – the one written by Jude.  Jude was a brother of James, which also makes him a half-brother of Jesus, too.  Where James wrote about how we should live and act as Christians, Jude realized the need to see to a more pressing issue.

Jude’s letter is short, and our canon provides it all in one chapter, but we’ll be breaking that into two pieces for our examination.  So please listen and follow along to the first 16 verses of the Apostle Jude’s letter to an early Christian church, and I’ll be reading from the Living Bible version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 From: Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James.

To: Christians everywhere — beloved of God and chosen by Him. 2 May you be given more and more of God’s kindness, peace, and love.

3 Dearly loved friends, I had been planning to write you some thoughts about the salvation God has given us, but now I find I must write of something else instead, urging you to stoutly defend the truth that God gave once for all to His people to keep without change through the years. 4 I say this because some godless teachers have wormed their way in among you, saying that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God’s punishment. The fate of such people was written long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 My answer to them is: Remember this fact — which you know already — that the Lord saved a whole nation of people out of the land of Egypt and then killed every one of them who did not trust and obey Him. 6 And I remind you of those angels who were once pure and holy but turned to a life of sin. Now God has them chained up in prisons of darkness, waiting for the judgment day. 7 And don’t forget the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, all full of lust of every kind, including lust of men for other men. Those cities were destroyed by fire and continue to be a warning to us that there is a hell in which sinners are punished.

8 Yet these false teachers carelessly go right on living their evil, immoral lives, degrading their bodies and laughing at those in authority over them, even scoffing at the Glorious Ones. 9 Yet Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, when he was arguing with Satan about Moses’ body, did not dare to accuse even Satan, or jeer at him, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these men mock and curse at anything they do not understand, and like animals, they do whatever they feel like, thereby ruining their souls.

11 Woe upon them! For they follow the example of Cain who killed his brother; and like Balaam, they will do anything for money; and like Korah, they have disobeyed God and will die under His curse.

12 When these men join you at the love feasts of the church, they are evil smears among you, laughing and carrying on, gorging and stuffing themselves without a thought for others. They are like clouds blowing over dry land without giving rain, promising much, but producing nothing. They are like fruit trees without any fruit at picking time. They are not only dead, but doubly dead, for they have been pulled out, roots and all, to be burned.

13 All they leave behind them is shame and disgrace like the dirty foam left along the beach by the wild waves. They wander around looking as bright as stars, but ahead of them is the everlasting gloom and darkness that God has prepared for them.

14 Enoch, who lived seven generations after Adam, knew about these men and said this about them: “See, the Lord is coming with millions of His holy ones. 15 He will bring the people of the world before Him in judgment, to receive just punishment and to prove the terrible things they have done in rebellion against God, revealing all they have said against Him.” 16 These men are constant gripers, never satisfied, doing whatever evil they feel like; they are loudmouthed “show-offs", and when they show respect for others, it is only to get something from them in return.

--Jude 1:1-16 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for giving those people You chose to follow Your Son the insightful advice and warnings of Jesus’ brothers and His apostles.  When our Lord’s church was still young and new, it faced trials and temptations from all directions, even from within itself, from those who claimed to be followers and teachers of the faith.  Father, we still face many of these issues today, so we need these words now, just as did those worshipers long ago.  Please help us be alert to those who would try to spread a message that runs counter to the life Jesus lived, the examples He set, the words He spoke, and the deeds He performed.  Please forgive us when we let some self-proclaimed authority lead us astray.  Help us be more diligent in this regard, as the Apostle John advised, especially during this Lenten season.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Help us better understand our need to listen to and heed the voice of Your Holy Spirit within us, who will help us discern the truth.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

John of the Cross was a 16th century Spanish priest, a Carmelite friar.  He once encouraged us to, "Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul.  Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you.  Do not think that He is leaving you alone, for that would be to wrong Him."

If we live in faith and put all our trust in God, we know that we are never alone, that He is always with us.  Even during the darkest times, our heavenly Father stands at our side, and protects our soul.  We are His and He will never forget us.

The question is, will we always remember Him?  Will we always stand up for Him, and specifically for our Lord Jesus?  Or will there come a time when the world is pressing in and we fear for our own safety, that we will deny His name, will deny even knowing Him?

That’s what Peter did.  After watching as they carried Jesus off for trial, he feared they’d do the same thing to him.  So when someone mentioned that he had come to town with Jesus and they’d seen him with Him, he denied it all, three times, just as Jesus said he would.  And when he realized what he’d done, Peter regretted it deeply.  We do not want to live with that kind of regret, so let’s be sure we stand up for Jesus and never deny Him.

Getting back to Jude’s letter, we’re not sure which church in particular nor the exact audience he was writing to.  But we do know they were struggling with false teachers among them who were immoral, covetous, proud, and divisive.  Their teachings strayed from what the church had been told by the apostles.  Some of the people believed them, while some held to the old ways, and this was tearing the church apart.

Jude had originally planned to write to the church about salvation, but now these pressing, urgent circumstances forced him to deal with the growing threat posed by these false teachers instead.  So he wrote this letter to defend the apostolic faith against the false teachings.

At this time, there was a rapidly growing trend in the Christian belief and practice of a form of Gnosticism that held that everything material is evil while everything spiritual is good.  So the adherents of this belief cultivated their "spiritual" lives while letting their material "flesh" do anything "it" wanted to do.  This led to all manner of lewd and immoral behavior.

Jude condemned this practice in no uncertain terms and exhorted the readers of this letter to strongly oppose it and maintain the true faith.  He tells the church that just because we’re saved doesn’t mean we can do anything we want.  He reminds them of the fate of the children of Israel who did not trust in and obey God, even after He had led them out of captivity in Egypt.  They thought they could do whatever they wanted, in effect denying God’s law, and they were wrong.  God demands our obedience, and especially when it comes to our obeying His Son, Jesus.

Of course, Jude is not the only one to warn us of false teachers, and probably not the first, either.  Hear what the Apostle Peter tells us in the 2nd chapter of his 2nd letter, verses 1 through 9…

1 But there were false prophets, too, in those days, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly tell their lies about God, turning against even their Master who bought them; but theirs will be a swift and terrible end. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching that there is nothing wrong with sexual sin. And because of them Christ and His way will be scoffed at.

3 These teachers in their greed will tell you anything to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago and their destruction is on the way. 4 For God did not spare even the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, chained in gloomy caves and darkness until the judgment day. 5 And He did not spare any of the people who lived in ancient times before the flood except Noah, the one man who spoke up for God, and his family of seven. At that time God completely destroyed the whole world of ungodly men with the vast flood. 6 Later, He turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into heaps of ashes and blotted them off the face of the earth, making them an example for all the ungodly in the future to look back upon and fear.

7-8 But at the same time the Lord rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a good man, sick of the terrible wickedness he saw everywhere around him day after day. 9 So also the Lord can rescue you and me from the temptations that surround us, and continue to punish the ungodly until the day of final judgment comes.

--2 Peter 2:1-9 (TLB)

Peter and Jude share the same message, that false teachers will say that there is nothing wrong or immoral with sexual sin.  They are clever and will tell us lies that go against God, tell us anything to pull us away from our heavenly Father and turn us against Him.  This is the work of Satan and God will not let it go unpunished, just as He did not spare even the angels who sinned against Him.

The Apostle Paul also warns us against the teachings of those who are working against our Christ, but he also encourages us to spread the true word of God.  Please hear what Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to his young protégé Timothy, from chapter 4, verses 1 through 4…

1 And so I solemnly urge you before God and before Christ Jesus — who will someday judge the living and the dead when He appears to set up His Kingdom — 2 to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not. Correct and rebuke your people when they need it, encourage them to do right, and all the time be feeding them patiently with God’s Word.

3 For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. 4 They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.

--2 Timothy 4:1-4 (TLB)

We are urged to share the word of God every chance we get, whether it is convenient to do so or not.  And Paul says we should make this a matter of urgency, for the Lord Jesus will return someday to judge us all, the living and the dead.  We should encourage each other to do what is right, correcting and rebuking wrong behavior as needed, all the while patiently spreading the word of God.  For there is going to come a time when people just will not listen to the truth, but instead will choose teachers who will tell them what they want to hear.

And family, that time has come!  People blithely follow their own misguided ideas and beliefs, thinking like those Gnostics of old that they can do anything with their bodies because their souls are saved.  This is not true to our belief system, to our faith.  And this is why Jude strongly urges us to steadfastly defend the truth that God gave, once for all, to His people, to keep without change throughout the ages.

So let’s be ready to stand up for Jesus and defend our faith whenever and wherever necessary.  Let’s be faithful and true in spreading the Gospel message as we walk this earth.  Let’s defend the truth.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came in the flesh to redeem us, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You inspiring Your Son’s brothers and apostles to record Your truth in their words of advice, encouragement, and warning.  And thank You for seeing that we would have these words to study even today.  No matter what we are facing, Father, no matter who may say they are speaking for You, please help us discern the truth of their words by listening to Your Spirit within us.  Please help us pay closer heed to the urgings of Your Spirit.  Sometimes we think we know what we’re doing and don’t need Your help.  Sometimes we ignore Your Spirit as He tries to guide us in the righteous way.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Please help us remember that Your gave us Your Holy Spirit to help us, not to hinder us.  Please help us be more faithful and true in sharing Your word.  And please help us do a better job of sharing our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, Your brothers followed You and served as Your apostles as You ministered to us during Your walk on earth as a man.  We can only imagine what it would have been like to grow up with You as children.  Please help us be as true and faithful to You as were James and Jude.  Help us share Your Good News of salvation with the world.  Please help us stand up for You and defend the Christian faith whenever needed.  And Lord, please help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.