Remain In the Love of God

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 3rd of March, 2024 - the third 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 third 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.

Fasting may not be at the top of our list of things to do, but we can easily spend more time in prayer.  And like Jesus, we are constantly bombarded by Satan’s temptations and traps.  Just as prayer helped Jesus resist them all, prayer will help us survive the devil’s attacks, too.

Last week we opened the Apostle Jude’s letter to the early church.  This morning we’ll finish this short epistle and, along with it, we’ll finish look at the apostolic letters.

Remember that Jude was a brother of James and a half-brother of Jesus.  And while Jude had initially intended to write about salvation through God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice, he ended up being rather forced to deal with the more pressing issue of false teachers worming their way into the churches with their incorrect teachings and bad influence.  Jude wrote this letter to defend the apostolic faith against these false teachings.  He reminds his readers of what our Lord’s apostles had already told them.  We would do well to pay attention to his words, too.

So please listen and follow along to the closing nine verses – 17 through 25 - of the Apostle Jude’s letter to an early Christian church, and I’ll be reading this from the Living Bible version of our Holy Bible…

17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you, 18 that in the last times there would come these scoffers whose whole purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable. 19 They stir up arguments; they love the evil things of the world; they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.

20 But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

21 Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in His mercy is going to give you. 22 Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. 23 Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.

24-25 And now — all glory to him who alone is God, Who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord; yes, splendor and majesty, all power and authority are His from the beginning; His they are and His they evermore shall be. And He is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, into His glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy. Amen.

Jude

--Jude 1:17-25 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for ensuring that we would be warned about those who would come bearing false witness against Your word.  There have always been people who only care about themselves, about enjoying themselves even if at the expense of others.  And then there are those who are working against Your Christ, trying to convince us that evil is good and that wrong is right.  Father, please help us recognize these false teachers who are carrying out Satan’s deeds.  Please help us see the truth even as they hide it with their smoke and mirrors.  And please forgive us when we allow ourselves to be drawn in my their lies.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Help us always stay within the boundaries of Your love and blessings.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on, "The Love of God".  As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered.  In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix.  First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound.  In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel.  There was nothing else to say.

Jesus said, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  He then showed that love by taking our punishment upon Himself.  He who was without sin, the Spotless Lamb, washed us clean of our sin and redeemed us with His own blood.  This is the epitome of love.  This is God’s love.

Our reading this morning opens right where we left off last week, as Jude wraps up his defense against the false teachers invading the church.  We’ve been warned, by Jesus Himself in our Gospel accounts and by His apostles in their letters, about the devil’s little helpers, “scoffers” as Jude calls them.  Their only purpose in life is to enjoy themselves, primarily by doing any imaginable evil.  They relish making trouble and causing difficulties for others.

You know the kind – they think practical jokes are all in good fun, especially if someone else gets hurt.  And making fun of other people is the height of humor.  They love starting fights and arguments among others, and then stepping back to watch.  Sex and lust are just for fun, and for the enjoyment of all people, especially them.

And then Jude gets to the root of the problem: they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.  They have not accepted Jesus as Lord so they have not been baptized by the Spirit, nor do they have the guidance He provides.

The trouble is, these people can be very convincing.  Their lies make it all sound too good.  Why can’t we enjoy ourselves a little?  After all, we’re saved, right?  Jesus came to wash us clean of our sin, so aren’t we now sinless?  If we should do something wrong, won’t we immediately be forgiven again?

Their arguments can even make sense, in a way.  God loves us all and doesn’t want anyone to have to suffer endlessly.  And besides, there’s so many different ways we can get to heaven, all we need to do is give a little to charity and maybe do a good deed once in a while.  Then we can do whatever else we want and enjoy this life to the fullest.

Now family, we know this is not true.  We know that Jesus said to repent, to turn away from our sin, to go and sin no more.  And when we do sin, we know we are to seek God’s forgiveness anew, promising to be better.  Yes, we’re saved, but we’ve also been set aside from the rest of the world for God’s purpose, so we must not act like the rest of the world.  Instead, Jude urges us to reinforce our faith, to build up our lives ever more strongly on the foundation of our faith, praying in the power and in the strength of God’s Holy Spirit within us.  We must stay within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless us.

Now this is not a physical perimeter, not like staying within Davidson County, or even some vast globe.  Jude is talking about spiritual boundaries.  I think the Apostle Paul can give us a good example of this concept.  In the first six verses of the 5th chapter of his letter to the Romans, he says we can know and feel God's love even as we face adversities…

1 So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us — they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

6 When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him.

--Romans 5:1-6 (TLB)

Do you see how this is completely opposite of the mindset of the false teachers Jude warns us about, how this opposes the world viewpoint that says we shouldn’t have to suffer, we should only enjoy life?  In these verses, Paul reminds me of the saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.  Problems and trials allow us to exercise our faith, and we know that good exercise indeed makes us stronger.

And no matter what befalls us, we know that God dearly loves us, for His Holy Spirit fills our hearts with His love.  But Jude cautions us to remain in God’s love, to stay where His love can reach us and bless us.

So how do we know for sure if we are in God’s love?  The Apostle John, in the first five verses of the 2nd chapter of his 1st letter to the early church, tells us we can be sure of God’s love by obeying His Son’s commandments…

1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, there is One Who will go between him and the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the One Who is right with God. 2 He paid for our sins with His own blood. He did not pay for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.

3 We can be sure that we know Him if we obey His teaching. 4 Anyone who says, “I know Him,” but does not obey His teaching is a liar. There is no truth in him. 5 But whoever obeys His Word has the love of God made perfect in him. This is the way to know if you belong to Christ.

--1 John 2:1-5 (NLV)

Right off the bat, John gives us the truth that we quite likely will sin again, even after being forgiven, even though he strongly encourages us not to.  But if… when we do sin, Jesus is still there to intercede on our behalf with our Father God.  We just need to obey Him, obey what He taught us, obey His word, and God’s love will be made perfect in us.

Jude gives us some great ways to remain in God’s love and obey His brother’s commandments.  And we can start by being patient as we wait for the eternal life that has been promised us.  As we wait, we should try to help others, even those who argue against us – pray for them.  Be merciful to those who have doubts, lovingly trying to tell them the truth of Christ Jesus.

And while we do as Jesus commands, trying to save others from the flames of eternal hell, we must be very careful to not let ourselves be tempted by the lures of the world and pulled back into its sins.  Hate the sin, but love the sinner, being merciful to them.  For this is how Jesus treated us, coming to us when we were hopelessly lost in our sin, loving us, giving of Himself for us, hating our sin, but being merciful to us sinners.  Let us be ever diligent and faithful to follow His example so we can remain in the love of God.

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 showing us your love by sending Your own Son to take our punishment, to take our sin upon Himself so that we might be forgiven.  He came to us in our darkest time, shining His light that we might see our way.  And His light shines brightest in Your love.  Please help us always remain in Your love, where Your love can reach us and bless us.  Sometimes, Father, the lures of the world tempt us.  Sometimes the lies of the false teachers start to make sense.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us see through the false teachings, focusing on the truth Your Son and His apostles shared with us.  Please help us be more faithful and true in reading and 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, we know we must obey You to always remain in reach of God’s love, but Lord, sometimes it’s just hard to love some people.  We’re supposed to love the sinner while hating their sin, but too often we hate the sinner, too.  Please help us be more like You, Jesus.  Help us be more loving, more merciful, even to those who would do us wrong.  Please help us see through Your eyes so that we will be more righteous in our words and acts, and more pleasing in God’s eyes.  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.  Help us fend off his attacks.  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.