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The Epistle of Jude. We're going 
to focus primarily this evening on Jude verse 3, contending earnestly 
for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
I do, however, want to read the entirety of the epistle as we 
will look to verses 3 and 4 specifically, but then also notice verses 20 
and 21. So I'll just begin reading in 
verse 1 of Jude. Jude, a bondservant of Jesus 
Christ and brother of James. to those who are called, sanctified 
by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ. Mercy, peace, 
and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was very diligent 
to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it 
necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for 
the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were 
marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turn the grace 
of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our 
Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though 
you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people 
out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep 
their proper domain but left their own abode he has reserved 
in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great 
day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar 
manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality 
and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, 
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise, also these dreamers 
defile the flesh, reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael, the archangel, in 
contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of 
Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but 
said, The Lord rebuke you. But these speak evil of whatever 
they do not know, and whatever they know naturally, like brute 
beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them, 
for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in 
the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion 
of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts while they feast 
with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds 
without water, carried about by the winds, late autumn trees 
without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, raging waves 
of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for 
whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now Enoch, 
the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, 
Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints to execute 
judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of 
all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly 
way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken 
against him. These are grumblers, complainers, 
walking according to their own lusts. and they mouth great swelling 
words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, 
remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you that there would 
be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their 
own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons who 
cause divisions, not having the spirit. But you, beloved, building 
yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 
keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of 
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, 
making a distinction, but others save with fear, pulling them 
out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to him who is able to keep 
you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence 
of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone 
is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now 
and forever. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
rejoice in Your goodness. We rejoice in Your kindness. 
We rejoice in the written Word. We pray now that Your Spirit 
would guide us and lead us into truth. We pray that You would 
again forgive us for sin and its darkening influence over 
our minds. Grant us the grace to receive 
with gladness Your Word. And grant us grace to receive 
with a desire to implement it. And we ask in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Well, as I said, we're going 
to focus primarily this evening on Jude, verse three, and the 
command there that we contend earnestly for the faith, which 
was once for all delivered to the saints. B.B. Warfield, in 
an article or an essay entitled The Dogmatic Spirit, said this. He said, What is called the dogmatic 
spirit is not popular among men. It is characterized by an authoritative 
method of presenting truth. by an unwillingness to modify 
truth to fit it to current conceptions, by an insistence on what may 
seem to many minor points. He goes on to say, it is irritating 
to men. They would rather discuss truth 
than receive truth. That's a very perceptive statement 
written obviously several years ago, but perhaps even more fitting 
in our own day and age. You can insist upon anything 
in today's political and even religious climate. It's almost 
like we're living under a pantheon, where whatever God you may have, 
that's simply okay. But when you insist on Jesus 
Christ alone, when you insist on grace alone and faith alone, 
then automatically you're tarred and feathered and branded as 
one who has that dogmatic spirit, one who's a bit of a bigot, one 
who's a bit prejudicial, one who really is not with it or 
with the spirit of the age. Well, Jude would have nothing 
of such an attitude. He wants us to have the dogmatic 
spirit. He wants us to contend earnestly 
for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
That is the point of this small book in God's Holy Word. So tonight we're going to do 
three things. First, we're going to consider 
the command of verse 3. Secondly, the reason for the 
command. I understand it's a very similar 
outline to this morning, different text, but the same sort of an 
idea. A command stated. Secondly, a 
reason given. And then thirdly, the means of 
defense. the apostle, or rather the brother, 
half-brother of our Lord Jesus. That's who Jude was, the brother 
of James. James, the half-brother of our 
Lord Jesus. He not only tells us what we're 
supposed to do, but he also gives us a means by which we can be 
inoculated from the attacks of apostates, or defectors from 
the truth. Now, notice first, the command 
stated, it is addressed to the beloved. It's very important 
that we get that. He is not writing to the seminary 
at this particular instance. He is not writing to a Christian 
think tank. He's not writing to the intellectuals 
among a certain body of believers. Beloved are identified in verse 
one. They are those who are called, 
those who are sanctified by God the Father. They are those who 
are preserved in Jesus Christ. In other words, this command 
is given to Christians. If you are a Christian, then 
you must heed the command of verse 3. It is simply not an 
option. Now, I realize that there are 
certain men gifted in this area of polemical theology. That means 
to take a stand against the detractors. It's those who are on the front 
lines. I think of James White. He's 
an elder in a Reformed Baptist church in Phoenix. He heads up 
a ministry called Alpha and Omega. He's on the front lines. He's 
debating Muslims. He's debating Catholics. He's 
debating a whole host of people that have defected from the truth 
of Christianity. And while there may be some specialists, 
that does not militate or that does not get rid of the imperative 
for each and every one of us. In other words, you cannot reason, 
well, my pastors or my elders or the deacons in our church, 
they're really good contenders for the faith. Or James White, 
he's a Reformed Baptist and he's out there, so I don't have to 
do it. That is simply unacceptable. Every single Christian is obligated 
to this particular command. We see a similar thrust in first 
Peter, chapter three, first Peter, chapter three, a classic passage 
dealing with Christian apologetics. You notice in first Peter, chapter 
three, verse 15, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. 
and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason 
for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." He hasn't 
stopped writing to the entirety of the church. He hasn't said, 
now I want to just address the doctors of theology. I just want 
to talk to the men who are on the blogs. I just want to address 
those guys who are in the front line. No, he's talking to every 
single Christian. This is absolutely crucial. And 
for you young people, this is one of the reasons why we urge 
you to pay attention, to listen, take in the scripture. As you 
grow up in this world, there will be many opposers, many people 
who will say, How in the world can you believe such things? 
How in the world can you be convinced that your Bible is indeed the 
word of God when there's all these other competitors? Well, 
you need to be ready for that. You need to always be ready in 
the language of 1 Peter 3. It's not just when you're on 
your game, but it might be when you're off your game, but somebody 
will come to you and ask you specific questions. Young people, 
old people, we need to take every thought captive to the obedience 
of Christ so that we can obey God and contend for the faith. that was once for all delivered 
to the saints. Now, notice back in Jude three, 
the specific command. He says, I exhort, or I found 
it necessary to write to you, exhorting you. Love the language 
that he uses here. I don't get much into word definitions 
and all of that unless they bear on the text very specifically. This exhortation means to urge, 
to encourage, to beseech. It is the word used of speeches 
of leaders and soldiers who urge each other on. So Jude intended 
to write to them concerning their common salvation. But when he 
took pen to paper, he found it necessary to sort of change directions, 
if you will. When I took the pen to the paper, 
I felt it necessary to exhort you, to urge you, to call upon 
you as a leader to the troops. This lexicon goes on to say it 
is used of words that sent fearful and hesitant soldiers courageously 
into battle. So, Judah's functioning here 
as a general, rallying the troops, that they may not just sit and 
enjoy their salvation, but within the Roman Empire, where God had 
placed them, in that pluralistic society, they would not just 
say that Christianity is one way of many, but they would have 
that dogmatic spirit. They would pound their pulpits 
and they would contend earnestly for the faith that was once for 
all delivered to the saints. So he exhorts them. Notice as 
well, he tells them to contend for the faith. This means to 
struggle for, to contend for, to exercise great effort and 
exertion for something. Again, I believe the language 
implies vigor and zeal. This truth is not only worth 
living for, it's worth dying for, and it's certainly worth 
fighting for. If you're going to get so fired 
up about whatever else, perhaps you can take some of that energy, 
some of that zeal, some of that fervency, and pour it in to your 
Christian faith. You need to contend. You need 
to get fired up. You need to be about facing the 
opposition. You need to be what Warfield 
described here. It is characterized by an authoritative 
method of presenting truth. We're not offering one way among 
many. We are offering the one way alone. Our Savior laid plains to exclusivity. It wasn't the church that developed 
this later on. Jesus said, I am the way, the 
truth, and the life. Before Jesus, Elijah at Mount 
Carmel said, How long will you falter between two opinions? 
If Baal is God, serve him. If Yahweh is God, serve him. In other words, fish or cut bait. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 
12, 30. He who is not with me is against 
me. Brethren, Jude wants us to contend. He wants us to struggle. He wants 
us to exercise great effort and exertion for something. The word 
was used of athletic contests and the struggle and effort for 
the athletes in their games. You don't go out in a running 
race and just kind of meander about. But how many of us as 
Christians just kind of meander about? We come on Sunday and 
we hear the word of God. Hopefully we're reading our Bibles 
Monday through Saturday in private. Hopefully as families we're rehearsing 
the great truths of redemptive religion. And why? Just so we 
can go through the motions, or so that we can contend for that 
faith, so that we can seek to inoculate our children, so that 
we can be a positive influence on society at large, so that 
we can shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation, and 
genuinely hold forth the word of truth. Perhaps we're not holding 
forth that word of truth more so because we're ignorant and 
lazy and not applying ourselves to the study of scripture, to 
its intake, to its assimilation, so that we may then be able to 
teach and instruct others. And when he says, I found it 
necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for 
the faith. He doesn't mean your subjective 
belief in the gospel. You need to contend for that. 
You need to fight for that. You need to make sure you're 
always looking to Jesus. You need to believe on the Lord 
Jesus, not just initially, but constantly. You need to look 
at the cross. You need to be cross-centered 
in all of life. But when he says, I want you 
to contend for the faith, he is talking about the objective 
system of revealed truth. He is talking about the Bible. 
He is talking about the fact that God has spoken. that God 
has revealed himself propositionally through the Old and the New Testaments. 
Listen to another contender for the faith, J. Gresham Machen. He said, in the first place, 
a true Christian church, now as always, will be radically 
doctrinal. Man, we need to hear this. Maybe 
not we specifically. I think we at least have a... 
We're not where we ought to be, but I think we've heard these 
sorts of things before. But much of the church today 
is about experience. It's about what can I get. It's 
about how you make me feel better. How you pander to my felt needs. 
Machen is absolutely correct. The first place or in the first 
place, a true Christian church now, as always, will be radically 
doctrinal. He says it will never use the 
shibboleths of a pragmatist skepticism. It will never say that doctrine 
is the expression of experience. It will never confuse the useful 
with the true. It's been confused today. True is no longer important, 
but what works? How do we get people in? How 
do we build our churches? How do we make people happy? 
Wait a minute. Just a moment. Is what you're 
doing true? That's the primary concern. That's what Machen points out. 
It will never confuse the useful with the true, but will place 
truth at the basis of all its striving and all its life. He 
says, into the welter of changing human opinion, into the modern 
despair with regard to any knowledge of the meaning of life, it will 
come with a clear and urgent message. That message it will 
find in the Bible, which it will hold to contain not a record 
of man's religious experience, but a record of a revelation 
from God. Amen and amen. Notice as well. I found it necessary to write 
to you, exhorting you to contend, not only to contend for the faith, 
but to do it earnestly. They are not to be slack or lazy. It is not to be haphazard. It 
is not to be if you feel like it. It is to be an earnest contention 
for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
You're to defend this doctrine with vigor. you to treat it as 
the very soul of godliness to fight for what is right. Brethren, 
we are called upon in this particular letter and in various other portions 
of Scripture to be excited about the truth of God. Again, not 
excited about what God is doing to me. That's a good thing. I 
don't want to negate that. But excited that God is that 
he has revealed himself in the Scriptures of both the Old and 
the New Testaments. We have the very revelation of 
God Most High. It's worth fighting for, it's 
worth contending for, and it's worth doing it zealously. C. H. Spurgeon said, remember that 
our Bible is a blood-stained book. The blood of martyrs is 
on the Bible, the blood of translators and confessors. He says the doctrines 
we preach to you are doctrines that have been baptized in blood. 
Swords have been drawn to slaying the confessors of them. And there 
is not a truth which has not been sealed by them at the stake 
or the block where they have been slain by the hundreds. It's 
a blood stained book. And we're going to come along 
and limp-wristedly try to argue very feebly for the truth of 
Christianity. God calls us in our thinking 
to be men. God calls us to take every thought 
captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. God tells us to confront 
the unbelief of our age, not with our experience, not with 
our feelings, not with what we think, but with the truth of 
Holy Scripture. That's what Jude is communicating 
here. Samuel Miller said the church 
has to fight for every inch of ground, and whenever she ceases 
to contend for the truth, she ceases to advance. It's a great 
statement. She may contend with an improper 
spirit. If she does this, it is her mistake 
and her sin. But to contend no more is to 
disregard the command of her master in heaven and betray his 
cause to the enemy. The church must contend. She must, in the language of 
Samuel Miller, fight for every inch of ground. Whenever she 
ceases to contend for the truth, she ceases to advance. If it's 
only about social relationships, if it's only about feeling good, 
if it's only about a little boost in the arm so you can enter into 
another work week, there's any number of social organizations 
out there that will fit that bill. The thing that binds us 
together is the truth of God's unchanging word. And Jude tells 
us to contend for it. Notice, secondly, the reason 
that he gives. If this was a perfect world, 
we wouldn't have to contend. Because in a perfect world, everybody 
would acknowledge the Trinity. Everybody would acknowledge justification 
by faith alone. Everybody would acknowledge. 
Those things most surely believed among us, but the fact that there 
are apostates necessitates the church engaged in contending 
earnestly for the truth of for the faith. Notice verse four 
begins with four, which is a reason you need to do this for certain 
men have crept in on notice. who long ago were marked out 
for this condemnation on godly men who turn the grace of our 
God in the lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord 
Jesus Christ. So you see that necessitates 
an offensive plan on the part of God's people. You need to 
be on the lookout. You need to be watchful. You 
need to be mindful. Certain men have crept in unnoticed. They don't generally walk in 
holding a sign saying, I'm an apostate and I want to take you 
to hell. That's not generally the way 
they operate. When you look at other passages 
in the scripture, Paul speaks of those who pray on women who 
are laden with lusts. They don't just wander in and 
say, here's my agenda, here's my hope, here's my intent. No, 
you need to understand the Christian truth so that when somebody comes 
and deviates from it and starts to try and lead others away, 
you're guarded, you're watching out, you're protected. Notice 
his description of these apostates. He says, first, they are sneaky. Certain men have crept in unnoticed. 
Again, as I said, they don't walk in and say, here's my agenda. 
Here's how I want to take you all down to hell. Here's how 
I'm going to try and get you to deny the Lord Jesus with me. 
That's not the way they operate. Very often, it's all in the guise 
of piety and in godliness and in a higher, better way to do 
what you are called to do. So beware. Notice, secondly, 
they are ungodly man. You see, the truth is, is that 
truth accords with godliness. First Timothy six, verse three. 
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome 
words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the 
doctrine which accords with godliness. He is proud, knowing nothing, 
but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words. What 
we believe concerning God affects the way we live. And these apostates, 
because they have rejected truth, because they have rejected sound 
doctrine, because they have rejected good theology, what is the result? They are ungodly men. They're 
ungodly in their thinking, and therefore they're ungodly in 
their living. Remember that pattern in Romans 
1, verse 18. The wrath of God is revealed 
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of man. There 
is specific precision in that order. Ungodliness precedes unrighteousness. What we believe concerning God 
affects the way that we live. with reference to God and these 
men having rejected sound theology, these men having rejected good 
exegesis, these men are now ungodly men. Notice their specific error 
according to verse 4, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness. They are perverters of the grace 
of God. The specific example, we don't 
have it here, but we can only imagine. They added works. They 
abused grace. They said we can continue in 
sin that grace may abound. Paul had to counter such thinking 
in Romans six. May it never be. There's a whole 
host of ways that men pervert the grace of our God who turn 
it into lewdness. And notice the core. They deny 
the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. A denial of Christ 
turned back for just a moment. The second John. Second, John. Verse six, this is love that 
we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment that 
as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many 
deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess 
Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and 
an antichrist. Look to yourselves that we do 
not lose those things we work for, but that we may receive 
a full reward. Notice verse nine, whoever transgresses 
and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine 
of Christ has both the father and the son. If anyone comes 
to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him 
into your house or greet him. For he who greets him shares 
in his evil deeds. Perhaps you've met somebody before. 
They're not a Christian, but they believe they have a relationship 
with God. And you mentioned something about 
Jesus Christ. And they say, well, that's good 
for you. But I have my relationship with God another way. Well, according 
to John in this defining text for the Christian church, to 
deny Christ is to deny the father. You do not have access to the 
one true and living God apart from the only mediator. the only 
Redeemer of God's elect, even our Lord Jesus. If you have no 
Christ, you have no God the Father. So these apostates that Jude 
is warning the people of God about in the first century are 
those who have denied the Lord Jesus Christ. You can read 1st 
and 2nd John. He deals with that whole thing 
called Antichrist. And a lot of us or a lot of people 
believe it's some malevolent figure in the future that's going 
to do horrific things. But John says there are many 
antichrists. He speaks of them presently plaguing 
the churches. Antichrist was more than likely 
a heresy which denied cardinal truths concerning the Lord Jesus. Enough time, but Warfield actually 
has a great treatment on that whole issue of antichrist. So 
the reason is the presence of apostates. He describes the apostates, 
but he also wants to encourage them that the apostates will 
meet their end. They will meet their doom. God knows how to deal with apostates. Second, Peter two reads very 
similarly to the epistle of Jude, and he basically says the very 
same thing. Notice in verse five, he reminds 
them concerning Egypt. I want to remind you, though 
you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people 
out of the land of Egypt afterward, destroyed those who did not believe. 
Why is he adding these examples of judgment? Because while it 
is necessary for us to be on our guard, we mustn't be paralyzed. We mustn't be so afraid. You 
ever meet those Christians who will never do anything because 
it's only destined to fail? Well, God, through Jude, is telling 
us and reminding us that he took care of the Egyptians. Notice 
he took care of the angels who did not keep their proper domain. 
Verse six, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness 
for the judgment of the great day. So be cautious, be on your 
guard, be earnest contenders for the faith, but don't be paralyzed. Don't adopt that mentality that 
says, why polish the brass on a sinking ship? This ship is 
God's, and God has called us to shine as lights in this crooked 
and perverse generation, holding forth the word of truth. Peter 
tells us in 2 Peter 3 that we are to consider the long suffering 
of the Lord to be salvation. What's his point? The point is 
that since Christ has not returned, that means there are sinners 
to be saved. And so do not, in all of your 
being cautious, in all of your being watchful, in all of your 
being careful, don't be paralyzed. Right? You've got these three 
examples. Egypt. the angels, and Sodom 
and Gomorrah. Verse 7, as Sodom and Gomorrah 
and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having 
given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange 
flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal 
fire. Yes, be cautious, but don't be 
paralyzed. The Lord God knows how to render 
judgment upon his enemies. The Lord God has this all under 
control. The Lord God is sovereign. And 
while men may rise up and while there will be opposition, King 
Jesus has promised to build his church. And he said that the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So be cautious, be 
on guard, but be faithful to your calling in this world. And 
then he describes these apostates in vivid detail, verses 8 to 
16. You can look at that later. But 
now notice thirdly and finally, the defense means of defense 
that he gives us. And just before we get to the 
actual, the one thing he does tell us that we ought to consider 
in verse 17. But you, beloved, remember the 
words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus. They told you that there would 
be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their 
own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons who 
cause divisions, not having the spirit. So before we get to the 
particular means that I want to draw our attention to in verses 
20 and 21, just remember this. This is an unforeseen. This isn't 
dropped out of nowhere. I mean, you shouldn't just freak 
out at the existence of these apostates. Remember the words 
of our Lord Jesus. Remember the words of the of 
the apostles. They forewarned us. They told 
us these things. In fact, Jude is in good company. 
Jesus Christ warns against false prophets in Matthew chapter seven. 
He warns his disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees in 
Matthew six. Revelation chapter 2 and 3, he 
comes to the seven churches and he condemns them for their entertaining 
of false doctrine. The Apostle Paul, remember in 
Acts 20, when he's addressing those Ephesian elders, he tells 
them, he says to take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, 
among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. He says, 
shepherd the church of God, which he has purchased with his own 
blood. And one of the reasons he gives this command is because 
that after he leaves, savage wolves would rise up from among 
their own ranks, not sparing the flock. You see, the apostles, 
the Lord Jesus, the history of Israel in the Old Testament underscores 
this truth, that wherever the truth of God is, there will be 
opposition to it. So don't freak. Don't abandon 
ship. Don't be so taken unawares that 
you are paralyzed. You beloved, remember the words 
which were spoken. Consider the scriptures. Look 
at the opposition that Micaiah the prophet faced. Look at how 
he had to deal with Ahab, king of Israel. Look at Jeremiah. I mean, he gave specific counsel 
to kings that just rejected everything he said and ended up putting 
him into prison. Consider the prophets. Consider 
the apostles. Consider the life and the ministry 
of our Lord Jesus. Don't be alarmed. Don't be shocked. 
Be on guard. Be cautious. Be ready. But realize 
that there will be attacks. to the doctrine of Scripture. Now, notice the specific means 
verses 20 and 21. There is one command in the text. Verse 21 begins with it. Keep 
your cells in the love of God. That is the only imperative in 
verses 20 and 21. You have an imperative or a command, 
and then it's surrounded by other words that describe how you are 
to keep yourself in the love of God. You see, God doesn't 
just say through Jude, keep yourself in the love of God. Now go figure 
it out. What does that mean? I got to climb up to Mount Shan 
to get close to God and chant and hum and, you know, eat berries 
and fruit. No, God tells you how to keep 
yourself in the love of God. But just look at that for a moment 
in verse 21. The best defense is to stay close 
to God. Right. The best defense against 
these sneaky, ungodly, grace-perverting, Christ-denying apostates is to 
stay close to God. It's like having a bodyguard 
and somebody's threatening you. You're going to run and stand 
behind the bodyguard. You're going to let him fight 
your battles for you. The best means of protection 
for both individual Christians and churches of Christ is to 
keep themselves in the love of God. The more we keep ourselves 
in the love of God, the closer communion we maintain with God, 
the more full of God we are, the less likely we will be to 
fall into heretical doctrine and wicked practice. Also, the 
closer we are to God, the more we keep ourselves in the love 
of God, the more earnestly, guess what, we will contend for the 
faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. We have 
the command, we have the imperative, we are to keep ourselves in the 
love of God. How are we to comply with this? 
How does one keep himself in the love of God? Well, it obviously 
presupposes that you're a Christian. It obviously presupposes that 
you're born again. It obviously presupposes that 
by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ 
alone, you are saved. You have passed from darkness 
into light. You have passed from death into 
life. And as a believer on the Lord 
Jesus, God has ordained certain means for your health and your 
strength and your well-being as a Christian. Again, this is 
a great way to enter into 2011. You're not going to get any strange 
views out of Jude. He's going to tell you three 
simple ways to keep yourselves in the love of God. And the first 
is build yourselves up in your most holy faith. What is Jude 
saying? Read your Bible. That's it. We don't have any 
exegetical gymnastics to do. How do you keep yourself in the 
love of God? Build yourself up on your most 
holy faith. Read your Bible. Know the scriptures. Study the word. Listen to good 
sermons. Make sermonaudio.com one of your 
links, one of your favorites. Find a preacher that stirs up 
your soul and feeds you the truth and glut yourself on that message. Have a systematic approach to 
reading your Bible. God willing, next Lord's Day, 
there'll be a bunch of Robert Murray McShane calendars. That's 
not the only way to read the Bible. If you would like to apply 
that, please take one. You basically read through the 
Old Testament once and the New Testament Psalms and Proverbs 
twice in a year, four chapters a day. Sometimes people say, 
well, that's so much. People that read that much in 
newspapers, or that much in sports, or that much in recipes, or that 
much in home decor, whatever it is that interests you, you 
will read. Certainly, as redeemed believers, 
you ought to read the Word of God. Build yourselves up in your 
most holy faith. Nurture your soul. Be like that 
man in Psalm 119. Delight yourself in the truth 
of God. Be like the man of Psalm 1. How 
blessed is that man! He is like a tree firmly planted 
by the waters. It yields its fruit and its season. That imagery is picked up in 
Revelation 22. The whole idea is one of fruitfulness 
and zeal and productivity for the Lord God. Well, how does 
that happen? You just lay on your couch, brother, 
and build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Some self-denial 
is in order. Read your Bible. Deny yourself 
other things that you might want to do and do what you know you 
should do for the good of your soul. This is a means by which 
we keep ourselves in the love of God, building yourselves up 
on your most holy faith. Read good theology. It's always 
a danger in reading devotional books, because you'll read another 
man's thoughts on a text. You should first read a bunch 
of texts before you read another man's thoughts. Get into the 
scripture. But if you are disciplined and 
you do have time, get a good book on theology. Get a good 
book on the system of Christian truth. Learn about the scriptures. Learn about God. Learn about 
redemption. Learn about man. Learn about 
salvation and all those things. Learn first and foremost about 
the Lord Jesus. Study his person. Study his work. Go back to the early creeds and 
realize that he is one glorious person in two natures, that he 
is the God man. The works of the Lord are great, 
they are studied by all who delight in them. Redemption ought to 
be the greatest of works for the believer and he ought to 
study that. Should it be foreign to you? 
And we mentioned certain theological words or doctrinal statements. You should be familiar with the 
Confession of Faith, the 1689 London Baptist. It is a good 
ready guide of those things most surely believed among us. It's 
not on par with the Scripture, but it summarizes those great 
truths of Scripture. Study the Word of God. Notice, 
secondly, how do we keep ourselves in the love of God? Well, we 
read our Bibles and we pray. We pray in the Holy Spirit. See, Judas is out here in the 
esoteric realm of super extra spiritual Christianity. He's 
right here in the house, in the church, in the home, in everybody's 
life and saying, look, there's no brain surgery involved here. 
You have to be a rocket scientist. You're not splitting the atom 
as a Christian, man. Sometimes we make it so hard. 
It's 40 days of prayer and fasting, if you want to do that, I don't 
see anything forbidding it. You know, each and every day, 
take some time out to open your Bible, to carefully read it. 
That's what God calls us to, just a regular, everyday, normal 
guy approach to the scriptures. If it comes to pass that you 
never revert off systematic theology, but you have faithfully read 
the scriptures. Praise God. You've never read all of morning 
and evening. You can still go to heaven. Joe, of course, you can still 
go to heaven without having read morning and evening. But prayerfully 
search the scriptures, search the scriptures prayerfully. So 
what happens, sometimes men search the scriptures without prayer 
and they end up in weird places. They end up in strange doctrines 
and strange views. You need to prayerfully go to 
the Word of God. That little pamphlet in the back 
on the Bible by C.H. Spurgeon, he makes the point 
that if you are reading a book by an author who lived next door 
to you and you didn't understand a certain point, you would walk 
out your front door, you would go across his lawn, you would 
go up to his door and knock and say, what do you mean by this? 
You can do that as a Christian. God, give me light on this particular 
passage. Give me light on this particular 
doctrine. What happens is we don't get 
it immediately and we conclude that he's not going to do it. 
No, work at it. Stay with it. The scripture, 
the confession makes it clear that not everything, and Peter 
even says this, not everything is as clear. Those things necessary 
for God's glory, man's salvation, they are clear. Some of those 
other areas that we stumble upon, other areas that we stub our 
toes on, other areas that we bump into other believers on. 
Prayerfully search the Scripture. Wait on the Lord. Ask Him to 
guide you and give you grace. Search maybe other good theologies, 
other good doctrines, other good writers, other good men. But 
the point is, pray. Pray that God will guard you, 
that God will keep you, that God will watch over you. It is 
not the case that a man wakes up one day and says, I'm going 
to go be an apostate. I'm going to deny the Lord Jesus. 
I'm going to sneak into a church and try to destroy it. I'm going 
to be ungodly. I'm going to pervert the gospel 
of the grace of God. That doesn't happen. It's usually 
gradual. It's by steps. He leaves off 
prayer. He leaves off reading. He leaves off those means that 
Jude is putting forth there that keeps oneself in the love of 
God. You see, it's not magic. Keep 
yourselves in the love of God this way, building yourselves 
up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, and then 
thirdly, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto 
eternal life. I actually think the idea here 
is having a hopeful expectation of the second coming. Live with 
watchfulness. Live with hopefulness. Live with 
a holy expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Eschatology 
ought to promote careful living. Eschatology ought to promote 
a nearness to God. If your eschatology is at a distance 
from God or questioning God or searching charts and whatever 
before God's word, your eschatology is probably wrong. The hope-filled 
believer is looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto 
eternal life. I think this is the idea that 
Paul alludes to in Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2. Verses 11 
to 14, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared 
to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly 
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in the 
present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing 
of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Christian is 
one who's looking forward. The Christian is one who, yes, 
keeps an eye on earth, but he keeps an eye on heaven. He has 
an eager expectation that his Lord Jesus is coming, and this 
has a sanctifying influence on his life. It has an influence 
on his life of bringing him nearer to God, of keeping him in that 
sphere of the love of God. He goes on to describe Jesus 
as the one who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from 
every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, 
zealous, for good works." So Jude's answer to the question, 
how do I guard myself against these apostates? How do I watch 
over my soul with reference to these seeky, ungodly, grace-perverting 
deniers of the Lord Jesus? He says, keep yourselves in the 
love of God. How do I keep myself in the love of God? Read the 
Bible, pray, and have a confident expectation in the second coming 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, brethren, in conclusion, 
we understand, and we need to understand, that there are recurring 
attacks on the Christian faith. This is not only confined to 
the first century. In our studies in Galatians, 
we have had cause to reflect on that. The Judaizers came to 
the churches in southern Galatia, and they said, faith in Jesus 
is good, but you must undergo circumcision. You must go under 
the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic law. That's wrong. Paul 
pronounces an anathema on such a doctrine. Paul says that anyone 
who preaches another gospel to you, let him be damned to hell. 
And this has not been confined to the first century. Roman Catholicism 
is not a faith alone religion. It is a faith plus works. There 
are several attacks on the Protestant doctrine of justification by 
faith alone, operative today. And so the Christian church needs 
to be on guard. We need to keep ourselves in 
the love of God so that we may indeed contend earnestly for 
the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
Secondly, we need to remember to contend in a Christian manner. To contend in a Christian manner. Peter says this in 1 Peter 3. The end of verse 15, after setting 
forth our duty, our responsibility, after saying that we are to always 
be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason 
for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. This doesn't 
mean you don't get fired up. It doesn't mean that you don't 
get earnest. It doesn't mean that there aren't times like 
when Jesus went into the temple complex and overturned tables. 
It doesn't mean we're supposed to just lie back and be the most 
soft spoken people in the world. But it certainly means that we 
are to defend in a Christian manner. Quite frankly, a lot 
of the things that go on today lacks the grace and the charity 
and the love that ought to typify the Christian church. Maybe sometimes 
we're repelling unbelievers because they see the way that we treat 
each other. Just read something interesting 
about a man by the name of Asheville Green. He lived in 1762 to 1848. He was a key person in the founding 
of Princeton Seminary. Princeton used to be a bastion 
of good theology. It was a place where there was 
an earnest defense of the Christian faith. They had a strong and 
vital polemics department, good systematic theology, men like 
the Hodges and Warfield. It was a bastion of orthodoxy 
up until around the turn of the 20th century. But this man, Asheville 
Green, in 1791, he went on a preaching circuit, and he took tour of 
colleges in the Northeast. And he did this in order to acquaint 
himself with the theological landscape of these regions. There 
were three primary things that the Presbyterians had to deal 
with. What was called Hopkinsianism, from Samuel Hopkins. The second 
was Unitarianism and the third was basic Anglicanism. And so the Presbyterians needed 
a seminary. So Ashbel Green goes about to 
do some research to figure out the theological landscape in 
these regions. All of that is really beside 
the point. What interested me was the fact that he set forth 
or imposed 18 rules on himself before he went on this expedition. 
He wrote down 18 rules that he imposed on himself before he 
went on this expedition. I just want to read four of them. 
I think they're fitting. The point is, we need to contend 
earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to 
the saints. We need to do it in a Christian way. We need to 
do it, Pauline. We need to do it, Petrie. We 
need to do it like James. We need to do it like Jesus. 
We need to do it like Jeremiah and Isaiah. We don't need to 
be jerks. That just repels people. Rule 
number two, let not controversy on religious subjects make me 
lose my temper or say anything hastily, harshly or severely. Pray that one in, right? It's not always an easy thing. 
When we love something and we get fired up about that thing, 
we tend to get animated. You just heard this morning, 
man, your ears turned bright red when you referred to that lady 
this morning. That wasn't calculated. It just happens. That's a good 
thing. Let not controversy on religious 
subjects make me lose my temper or say anything hastily, harshly 
or severely. Now, again, you all know the 
idea here. Jesus pronounced woes on the 
scribes and Pharisees. There's a place for that, but 
that was not the overarching characteristic of his ministry 
all the time. He didn't pronounce woes everywhere 
he went. When woes needed to be pronounced, 
he pronounced them. Rule three, he says, let me not 
deny any sentiments that I really hold, be the consequences what 
they may. In other words, let me not compromise. It's a good rule. Fourth, he 
says, let me in answering questions or in giving relations and in 
everything else, keep vigorously and entirely to the simple truth. That's a good rule. And then 
rule five, he says, let me endeavor to suppress pride and vanity. It's good to contend earnestly 
for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
It's good to do that for the glory of God, for the purity 
of the church, and for the purity of sound doctrine. But I fear 
at times we might enter into some of these ventures with a 
desire to win one. It's not wrong to want to win 
for the glory of God and for the good of the church. It's 
wrong when it's us that gets the praise. It's wrong when it's 
us that is congratulated for our debate tactics or our blog 
writing abilities or our stringing together arguments. No, Asheville 
Green is on the right path here. Let me endeavor to suppress pride 
and vanity. You know, this is a perennial 
question. How do we earnestly contend without getting, you 
know, obnoxious? I don't I certainly don't have 
that figured out, but I'm convinced that we need to be earnest contenders 
without being obnoxious. We need to be genuinely Christian. 
We need to be godly and upright. We need to be charitable and 
loving, even in our zeal for the promotion of God's truth. 
And finally, if you don't know Christ tonight, he is worth living 
for. He is worth fighting for and 
he is worth dying for. Come to the Lord in faith. It's 
not by works. It's not by what you do. It's 
not what you perform. It's by God's grace alone through 
faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Believe on him and go from this 
place and be an earnest contender for the truth. Let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for your word and we thank you for the emphasis 
of this man in the first century, an emphasis certainly needed 
today in our own context. We ask God that you would just 
bless and strengthen us. We pray that you would help us 
to wrap our minds and hearts around good doctrine, help us 
to understand your word first and foremost for our own. Our 
own walk with you, our communion with you, and as well, God, that 
we may be contenders for your faith. We ask now that you would 
go with your people here. We pray that you would watch 
over us in this coming week. Again, Father, we pray for those 
brethren in our church who have physical need, those who are 
having struggles and difficulties. We just ask that you would watch 
over them and bless them and grant them that peace which does 
surpass all understanding. We ask these things in the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.