You can turn to the book of Jude, please. The book of Jude, if you're here Wednesday night, this won't be all repetition. We looked at the book of Jude on Wednesday night. There will be some some differences in our focus tonight as we as we consider this particular epistle.
We'll read the epistle and then I'll make of the entirety of it. It's one single chapter, a small book. We'll read it in its entirety. I'll make a few introductory notes and then we'll look at three aspects of this particular letter, beginning at the book of Jude here in verse one.
Jude, a bond servant 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 group 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 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. Well, let us pray again. God, we thank you for this time in your word, Lord.
We just pray that you bless it now, that you would cause this to be a time of refreshment in your word of instruction. in your word of gaining even a greater knowledge of your truth as you've revealed it to us. And we do pray, Lord God, that each and every one of us here would benefit from the opening up of your word and that we would leave this place and enter into this week all the more prepared and strengthened to live to your glory. And it's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen.
Introduction
Well, a very short book, one of the shorter ones that we have in Holy Scripture. It is the author of this epistle, as is clearly obvious, is Jude. As we see there in verse 1, Jude, a bondservant of Jesus and brother of James. Now this Jude that is spoken of here is the same Jude in Matthew 13.55, who is The brother of James, but not to say more importantly, but Jesus Christ is more important than James.
Jude is also the half brother of Jesus Christ, our Savior. The James being spoken of here that Jude is the brother of is the James of the early church prominence in the church at Jerusalem and the writer of the epistle that goes by his own name, James. So Jude here is a bondservant of Jesus Christ. and brother of James. He's writing here, most likely prior to eighty sixty five ish.
He's writing prior to Peter's second epistle, Peter and his second epistle. If you if you were to read it after this one, you'd notice many, many of the same themes, many of the same tones and flavors. Jude, most likely, would have been used by 2 Peter to some degree, and Peter was dealing with many of the same problems that Jude is dealing with in his epistle to his audience. The occasion, lastly, before we get into a threefold look at this particular book, the occasion for writing this is found in verses 3 and 4.
The reason, the purpose for writing this letter. Ungodly men had crept in unnoticed. who are turning the grace of God into lewdness. And so Jude writes to his audience, exhorting them to contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the same. That is a quick view of the letter, but we'll get into more as we move along.
I want to look at three things as we look at this small book of Jude. First off, the creeping ones. In verse four, what their conduct is, what their activity is throughout this epistle, as Jude describes them. Secondly, the contending ones, what is or what are rather the characteristics of these who are the called, the sanctified, the preserved, the ones that Jude is writing to.
And lastly, the one who keeps us, Jesus Christ. What is Jude right concerning Jesus Christ, who he is a bondservant of? So
The Creeping Ones
first off, the creeping ones. First off, notice their simple presence here at this church. Verse four, for certain men have crept in unnoticed. Now that that carries with it a lot of information.
First off, why have they crept in unnoticed? The Christian church has been charged with having both eyes open as they carry out the commission of their Lord Jesus Christ in this lower world. They are to be diligent in having both eyes open so that they can spot heretics that come into the church and seek to turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. But nevertheless, these crept in unnoticed.
And these these saints, these elders, these the audience to whom Jude was writing. I don't mean to indict them like we have. We have it all going on upstairs and we certainly notice them. But they were to be diligent in having eyes open to see these what Jesus called wolves in sheep's clothing, what Paul called or whom Paul called savage wolves who would seek to come in and steal from the flock to bring in error, to bring in heresy. to bring in damnable doctrine in order to pervert the gospel of grace.
But nevertheless, they did creep in unnoticed. And their presence there, in a way, ought not to have been shocking. Yes, we are to be somewhat incensed that any would find their way within the doors of a church and into the pews of a church. But nevertheless, Jesus warned about them in Matthew 7 and elsewhere.
Paul warned us about them, warned the church about them everywhere, but a good spot is Acts chapter 20, when he's exhorting the Ephesian elders, savage wolves will come in from among you and steal from the flock. So it is certainly not a surprise, but nevertheless, these should have been diligent in having both Christian eyes open for heretics coming among their ranks.
Their Error and Activity
Their activity. Notice the activity. Well, first off, the main description of what their problem is, what their error is, they turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the error always comes at the point of contact of the grace of God in the gospel.
And usually there's two ways that the grace of God can be perverted or that people can turn the grace of God, abuse the grace of God. One extreme, of course, is legalism. When the grace of God isn't enough or when the grace of God is somehow deficient and something must be added to that, in other words, obedience to to gospel demands, obedience rather to God's law must be added to it, added as a mixture to the finished and perfect work of Jesus Christ. That most certainly is a vile perversion of the grace of God.
And we see or we have seen as as Pastor Butler's preach through the book of Galatians. This is the issue there. You see, these epistles, these letters to churches are usually always in response to error, in response to the church of Jesus Christ being challenged, in response to doctrines being perverted. And Jude, of course, here is no exception.
The other extreme, of course, and the one that's in view here is that the grace of God has been rendered and therefore anyone falling under its efficacy can now do whatever they want. We're no longer, we are not answerable in a way to the law of God in order to carry out our moral conduct in this lower world. In other words, oh God save me, now I can go live like a wretch. Let us sin so that grace might abound.
But heaven forbid or God forbid, Paul says that that would ever be the case. So we have an adding to grace or as feeling from grace in the sense that grace is is argued by these heretics in Jude to be a reason to be able to entertain all manner of lewdness. Peter, in that epistle that we just read this morning, the section that we read this morning, we didn't consider this portion, but he touches upon that there. He says in verse 15 of first Peter two, for this is the will of God that by doing good, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of God.
You see, we're not to use our liberty won by Jesus Christ as a cloak for vice, as a as a reason for carrying out wickedness. So Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Yes, but that does not mean that now we can live as murderers, as thieves, as adulterers. It is the case that having been saved by Jesus Christ from first to last by his perfect work, we are to live in a manner worthy of that wonderful calling. by the grace of God.
So, the main error in view here is that these are turning the grace of God into lewdness, denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, it's fleshed out, or it's brought out more here, these creeping ones. We've seen their presence and the main aspect of their error, but their activity is such that it is called by Jude ungodliness six times. Jude gives them a sixfold indictment of being ungodly.
We look at verse 14 for a moment. Get verse 14 in the context of speaking about the inevitability of Christ's coming judgment against these people. Notice in verse 15, Christ is coming 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. Jude isn't just at a loss for words, so he's going to throw in ungodly there every fourth word.
Jude wants to be sure that his audience understands that this isn't just a small little difference over doctrine. but rather that these men and their perversion of the grace of God are ungodly, ungodly, ungodly, ungodly. When anyone comes into the church and brings a doctrine that is not Christ's, we don't welcome them with open arms and say, come sit in the pews, mingle among us so you can go spread your errors and we'll see what happens. Everybody has their own opinion on things. No, not in the church of Christ and not when it comes. to matters that divide the damned and the saved.
It is the case that doctrine really mattered to Jude. Doctrine really mattered to Christ. Doctrine, by virtue of Christ saving his apostles unto service in God's kingdom, mattered to them, mattered to the apostles, and it matters here to Jude, the writer of this epistle. Doctrine is very important, such to the point that Jude again calls these men ungodly four times.
Notice what peculiarly, though it's poetic language, what some of this activity is by these ungodly men. Verse 12. These are spots in your love feasts while they feast with you. without fear. You may have a marginal reading or a note in your Bible that says stains or hidden reefs with regards to the word spots.
These are hidden reefs in your love feast while they feast with you without fear. In other words, the love feast was a time where there would be instruction in the church, where there'd be instruction, the giving of doctrine, the teaching and the learning concerning the things of Jesus Christ. Well, these men were coming in and without fear were given the pulpit, if you will, were given were given the teacher's table in order to bring their heresies before the church. They were hidden reefs.
The imagery sees a ship in shallow waters hitting a hidden reef and becoming shipwrecked. That's the danger that's in view here. These false teachers were hidden reefs in your love feast, teaching error, teaching heresy to cause you to be shipwrecked of faith. The language continues here, serving only themselves.
They are clouds without water. Clouds without water. The imagery here is that on the surface they might have promise. It might be the case that what's in view here is a drought and there are clouds in view coming with the promise of rain, with the promise of watering the ground so that it would be usable again for agriculture.
But the clouds come and the clouds are carried away by the wind, never having dropped their bounteous water. That's what these teachers are like, these errorists. They come in, oh, with much pomp and much promise, but what they deliver is damnable heresy. What they deliver is error, and it is against Christ.
Again, the language continues, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots. You see, this is so serious to Jude that they're not just alive trees bearing no fruit. They are so ungodly that they are trees without fruit that are twice dead and pulled up by the roots. This is very important to the author, Jude.
It's not just the case that they're coming in talking about, oh, maybe just a marginal reading of some text that is fully acceptable within the bounds of orthodoxy. It's not just that they're coming and Jude's church is all millennial. They're post-millennial. No, they're coming in with damnable doctrine.
And they are finding, without fear, place in the love feast to instruct concerning this damnable doctrine. And so Jude is pulling no punches. These men are like trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled out by the roots. You don't have any part of them.
They bear no fruit at all. You don't listen to that garbage. Raging waves of the sea foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Wandering stars may have in view a couple different options.
One of the views here is that moving stars, rather than fixing upon a fixed star for navigational purposes, it's a star that's moving, a comet, a meteor, something like that, where its position changes. It's unreliable. You cannot fix your ship to a moving navigational point in the sky. It's not going to be faithful.
It's not going to be reliable. And so these men, obviously, by this strengthened, strong, repeated language that Jude is using here, poetic language are useless. They are ungodly. He says it six times and you can have nothing to do with that.
Not only is all of this true, but what Jude wants to make sure his audience understands is
Certainty of Their Condemnation
the certainty of their destruction and their condemnation. That's what's in view here also. And actually, right from the outset, verse four, for certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation. These ungodly men are marked out for this condemnation.
In fact, we read language like that this morning in second in first Peter two. Therefore, to you who believe he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling in a rock of offense. They stumble being disobedient to the word note to which they also were appointed. These false teachers were beforehand written out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turn the grace of our God into lewdness.
The fact and the certainty of their judgment continues, as Jude alludes to, but brings into reference three occasions where the Lord rendered judgment. in redemptive history. The first example here is the people, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. Having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Well, first off, we need to see this, verse 5, right at the beginning.
But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, I think what may be in view here, obviously, is the forgetfulness of Jude's audience. I want to remind you, though you once knew this, they were told before, most likely concerning the judgment of these errorists who would come in, that they most certainly would be condemned, that they most certainly would be destroyed. And I think it's a means of exhorting them. Because, believe it or not, brethren, we are to take great comfort in the inevitability of the doom of the wicked.
And I think we got that or we looked at it briefly this morning when we looked at first Peter, chapter two, Jesus Christ, when he was reviled, did not revile in return when he suffered. He did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. And this and what we noted was that Jesus committed not just himself, but also the wrongdoers and the situation to God who judges righteously. So we are to take comfort in and to be resigned to the fact that that those who are ungodly, the enemies, the opposition of Jesus Christ and his glorious gospel will will meet their proper recompense.
They will be judged. They will be condemned. And we ought to take great comfort that the name of Yahweh will be vindicated in the earth and and at the end of time. But again, these three examples, the people in Egypt, the angels who did not keep their proper dominion, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
And also in these people of Sodom and Gomorrah are more light. This is where he draws a more of a direct comparison, at least to morality and conduct on the part of the air as Sodom and Gomorrah, verse seven, 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. And lastly, with regards to their certain doom, verse 14, 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. Now, we ought to look at that, brethren, and just maybe, if it's still in your minds, maybe it's already gone, but the sermon from this morning, 1 Peter 2.
Jesus Christ, and just the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as one reviled who didn't revile in return. One on the cross who, when he suffered, did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Well, look at Jesus now. Consider the audience only, let's say, 30 years, 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, 30 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, we have this Lord Jesus coming with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment.
It's a vindication of Jesus Christ, a vindication of this one who was, yes, put to death according to the predetermined knowledge and the foreknowledge of God and the purpose of God, but nevertheless delivered up by lawless hands. He comes with vengeance against all of his enemies.
The Contending Ones
Well, secondly, brethren, after considering these who have crept in on notice, notice the contending ones opposed to these who are ungodly in opposition to these who are ungodly. We have verse one, the called, the sanctified and the preserved in Jesus Christ. You see, there are these who are ungodly. But there are those who are the beloved, those who are the called, the sanctified and the preserved in Jesus.
Now, this is true. These three things are true. Theologically speaking of the audience, they have been called. They have been and are being sanctified, and they are being and will be preserved in Jesus Christ.
But I think there is something that is set against the ungodly here also. You see, these ungodly, these ungodly men that Jude is writing against were what have been called incipient Gnostics. I defined that on Wednesday, but I'll define it again. Incipient simply means incipient, simply means in its beginning stages.
This wasn't the full-blown Gnosticism of the second and third centuries, so it was incipient. It was in its beginning stages. And they were Gnostics. It was an intermingling of Greek mysticism, Eastern mysticism, and Christianity.
One of their things was you had to be an initiate with special knowledge. That's what is the root of the word Gnosticism. You had to have this special knowledge. You had to be called, in a sense.
Well, they were the falsely called. These were the truly called, called by Jesus Christ, called in God's appointed and accepted time. They were sanctified by God, the father, in opposition to these who turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and Lord Jesus Christ in opposition to these who were clearly ungodly. These these contending ones were being sanctified, were being conformed to the image. of Jesus Christ, and they were preserved in opposition to the ungodly.
He would most certainly be judged by God. These would be free of judgment, being found, being found righteous in Jesus Christ. They would be preserved by him unto that great day. So, and Jude actually sets them in opposition to the ungodly in verse twenty.
Well, actually, in verse seventeen, but you beloved, and then in verse twenty, but you beloved, there is a separation, a distinction that Jude most certainly makes between the conduct and the status of the ungodly and the conduct and the status of those who were contending. Now,
Their Charge: Contend for the Faith
notice their their responsibility here. Verse three, 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. They had a responsibility here in response to the ungodly bringing in their errors. They were charged with the task of contending earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints.
There's a few things here. This contending earnestly carries with it the notion of a military marching or of athletes in a contest. Striving is a word that Paul uses, and it's similar to the meaning here when Paul writes in Philippians that the church at Philippi was to stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving for the faith of the gospel. That's like an athletic contest. a race or any sort of sporting match where great exertion is made, where there is a lot of diligence and energy set forth in order to win.
While Jude says you are to contend earnestly, you are to strive for the faith. And this faith that is being spoken of here, as we've said before, is Christianity. See, they're to contend for those doctrines that have been committed by Christ to the church. have been propagated by the apostles. They're charged with defending doctrine.
And so when these ungodly men come in trying to teach ungodly doctrine, Jude says, no, you must contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints. This faith, again, is all of the propositional content, all of the true statements of Holy Scripture committed to the church for her defense, the Trinity. Penal substitution. We looked at that this morning.
I'm not going to give you the list of everyone that Jude has in mind, but those important doctrines, those non-negotiables of Christianity, salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No works of admixture. So all of those blessed doctrines that we as Protestant Christians enjoy and love aren't just things that we necessarily are to enjoy and love, but that we are to strive for, to contend earnestly for. Anyone wants to come into this church propagating error, get out.
Get out. Oh, no, you know, have a seat. Oh, you want to teach error? OK, well, just let us finish first and you can hang out for a while or if you're if you're a teacher of damnable heresy and we'll give you food.
No. Get out. Get out. We're not going to let anybody sit in our love feasts.
We're not going to let anybody set up their hidden reefs to shipwreck any one of our blessed sheep in this place. You come with error. You come with falsity. You come with damnable doctrine and you need to hit the highway.
So they're charged to contend earnestly for the faith and notice, which was once for all delivered to the Saints. This is a characteristic of this body of objective propositional truth. It's not being added to. It's not being supplemented by anything after the completion of the canon.
We have everything that we need in the 66 pages of the Old and New Testament. You see, there's there are teachings out there where even in Protestant Christianity, where there is continuing revelation to some degree. Since the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still active in some circles, according to their theology, then scripture necessarily isn't a closed canon can be added by new revelation. Very dangerous, very dangerous.
The Roman Catholic Church speaks of progressive revelation. In other words, yes, we have the Bible, but through the continuing administration of the magisterium, the Roman Catholic Church, we are learning. We are gaining knowledge. Things are added.
Things are supplemented to the revealed will of God. We'll have nothing of it. We'll have nothing of it. This faith was once for all delivered to the saints and we have it.
We defend it. We preach it and we protect it. So they were charged with a particular responsibility to defend the faith against these false teachers.
Their Comfort: Divine Justice
And lastly, they were comforted by comforted and assured by divine justice. They were comforted and assured by divine justice. You see, they may have been somewhat fearing and somewhat grieved, to be sure, by the fact that these men have crept in unnoticed and now they're spoiling our feasts. They're spoiling our church.
They're seeking to steal away sheep from us. But Jude reminds them, I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord will or has judged and he will judge these people. In verses 14 and 15, again, the Lord comes with ten thousands of the saints. What a glorious word, what a glorious word that Jude gave to his audience.
Yes, these men are ungodly four times over, six times over actually. Yes, these men are perverting the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, but our Lord's coming with ten thousands of his saints. They're doing it for ill-gotten gain.
They're flattering people with great swelling words to gain advantage. But oh, our Lord's coming with ten thousands of his saints. to render justice, to bring recompense, to send them where they ought to be sent for their ungodliness, for their perversion, for their rejection of the pure and saving Christ.
The One Who Keeps Us
Lastly, brethren, the one who keeps us, the one who keeps us thirdly and lastly, we have, though in a small book, wonderful, wonderful words concerning Jesus Christ. First off, he is our keeper.
Christ as Keeper
He is our keeper right from the outset. And epistle writers, apostles often begin with this sort of language to those who are called sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our blessed keeper. In fact, the doxology adds to this now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling.
Isn't that wonderful? Because we cause ourselves to stumble each and every day. Or if we were left to ourselves, we would most certainly stumble and fall every day. And we'd stay there.
We'd stay there. There'd be no getting up if it was left to us. But Jesus Christ is that one, again in John 10, who holds us in His divine and unrelenting grip. No one can snatch us out of Christ's hand.
We're there. He's our shepherd. We are his sheep. And there is no grabbing us out of the hand of the strong Savior.
He is our keeper. We are preserved in Jesus Christ. He is able to keep us from stumbling.
Christ as Master
Jesus Christ is master. We have this language, I'll go back to one previous, but we have this language in verse 4. They, the errorists, are denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of your translations may say our only master and Lord Jesus Christ.
Yours might say our only sovereign and Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that this language ought to be rendered in such a way, especially given the similar book of Second Peter. And this is an argument for a test defending the deity of Jesus Christ. You don't need to turn there, but if you can, please do.
Second Peter, verse one. of chapter one to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. You see here in Jude four, those who deny the only Lord and Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. There's one article governing two nouns, which means Jude is ascribing deity to the Lord Jesus Christ here, just like the authors of the New Testament everywhere do and the old. Our Lord Jesus Christ is master, but notice also with regards to his being master Jude in verse one in his self introduction, Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ that could be rendered Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ.
Jude is a slave of Jesus, and he declares such and most certainly joyfully. He has been redeemed from the bondage of sin, slavery to it, and he's been redeemed unto that wholesome and righteous slavery. Slavery to the Lord Jesus Christ. Never turn up your nose or never straight arm the word slavery as it's biblically defined and understood with regards to Christ's saints.
We are his bondservants, and we do so. We follow the Lamb wherever he goes. We rejoice in obedience to Jesus Christ. And I noted on Wednesday, and it's worth noting again briefly, Jude is Christ's brother.
Jude would have lived with Jesus. Jude would have spent a lot of time with Jesus. Jude would have been spanked by Mary and Joseph. Jesus never, because he was never disobedient to his mother and father.
Jesus would never revile. Remember, when he was reviled, never threatened. Jesus was sinless. Jude would have, you know, would have would have lived with Jesus his entire life.
To be sure, Jude was, as a note, saved after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You did not. He was not a believer. He was unsaved.
He was not a Christian until Jesus was resurrected and he appeared and he appeared again after after rising from the grave. But Jude very humbly declares that he is a bond servant of his half brother, Jesus Christ. Jesus was his master. And yes, Jesus was his brother.
And he had no doubt set aside those feelings of harboring anger against this one who was never spanked by his parents. I don't know if that's the case, but we do know that Jude, whatever it was, Jude was now a bond servant of Jesus Christ and was exhorting Christ's sheep in order to defend his truth and to live godly lives before their God. Two more and then we close.
Christ as Eschatological Judge
Jesus Christ is eschatological judge. We've seen that already. Jesus Christ as the eschatological judge. Eschatological means the end of time.
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. Now, Jesus Christ is eschatological judge, no doubt, because he has divine prerogatives being God. But also, if you turn to Acts 10 with me, it is it is as a result of him being vindicated as judge through his death and resurrection. Acts chapter 10.
Acts chapter 10, a very powerful passage, verse 30. when you get there. And we are witnesses of all things, speaking of Christ, which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day and showed him openly. Not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead.
And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. Isn't that startling? Not for us, no, because we're you know, we're Christians. We love these truths.
We know them and we own them. But wouldn't that have been startling to this audience? This one who was a bloody massacre upon a cursed tree has been ordained to be judge of the living and the dead. That's why it was such a such a stumbling block, such a rock of offense, not only the simple fact of a of a crucified Messiah, the Jews could not endure that.
But the fact that this Jesus that was being set before the Jews by Peter on the day of Pentecost, he says to them, this one whom you murdered has been made both Lord and Christ. What a wonderful thing. Jesus Christ, the vindication of the veracity of his claims of being the Messiah, being God manifested in the flesh, being the one that must be believed upon for everlasting life, is seen in the fact that he's going to come with ten thousands of his saints, rendering justice. And brethren, that is a sobering thing.
It's a sobering thing if you're here tonight and I cannot call you brethren. You don't fall under that title. You're not a brother. If that's you, it ought to be a terrible thing.
That text, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his saints to execute justice. And if you don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's you. He will execute justice on you. I shared it again on Wednesday night, that startling quote, a great quote by Charles Spurgeon.
He said, look at the Savior now, see Christ now as he is covered in his own blood, lest you see him later when he's covered in yours. That's sobering. You don't want to be the ones who are calling upon the rocks and the trees to hide you from the wrath of the Lamb. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
What a blessed position, not because we're so great, but because Christ so great. And by grace, we believe that we can be called the called, the sanctified, the preserved in Jesus Christ. Be one of those who are the contenders in this outline, in Jude, who are contending for the faith. And don't be marked.
Don't wave the banner of the ungodly. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
Christ as Messenger Sender
And lastly, because we're reading scripture given to us by God, Jesus Christ is the messenger sender. Now, we've we've heard the term message sender before, but Jesus Christ is a message sender, but he's also a messenger sender. Verse 17. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The word apostle means the sent ones. And the apostles were not just apostles propagating Christ's doctrine, though they were that they were those who were sent by Jesus for that very task. Just one text that is that testifies strongly and gloriously to this truth. Jesus Christ, as the messenger sender, when he's pronouncing that malediction, Those bad words, the imprecation, the curses and the woes upon the scribes and Pharisees.
He speaks these words. Therefore, you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up them the measure of your father's guilt, serpents, brood of vipers. How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets. Wise men and scribes, some some of them you will kill and crucify and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city that on you may come all the right the righteous blood shed on the earth. Isn't that isn't that I'm just I'm always amazed, brethren, because right after this, very soon after this, this Jesus Christ again is crucified. But you see, he knows what scriptures are going to be fulfilled, not just his crucifixion, not just his resurrection, but his ascension and his anointing as the conquering king who will come in vindictive justice to render divine recompense upon his enemies.
And it is an aspect he can say pre-crucifixion. Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men and scribes, Jesus Christ, verily and truly, God. manifested in the flesh, divine prerogatives, arguing with great vigor and with great confidence. I will send you messengers.
Application
Well, brethren, we close again. I think the important that there's a lot of important things that we could close with, but I want to leave you with this and it's trumpeted so often from this pulpit and it shouldn't be the sort of repetitious trumpeting that causes you to roll your eyes. We need to love and to hold fast. to doctrine. Oh, not just with bare academia, not just as cold.
I don't even know what curmudgeon's is, but it just came to mind. I'll ask Leslie after, but not just as cold dogmaticians. Right. We don't just come with all penal substitution yet.
Point one point two point three. No, we glory in this doctrine. We bless the name of our Lord for giving us the disposition of mind to be able to embrace, to learn and to love. If not every jot and tittle of doctrine, then at least those ones that are important, that Jesus Christ came into this world, sinners to save.
What does that contain within it? The holiness of God, the depravity of man, the perfection of the saving work of Jesus Christ. We hold fast with an ironclad grip upon doctrine. And if anyone comes to spew out anything in opposition, get out of here.
Get out of here. We're about preserving, propagating, protecting the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the words that we were able to read from our brother Jude. We thank you, Lord God, for his diligence in exhorting his audience to contend for the faith. And we would pray, Lord God, that we would also do that, that we would do likewise, that we would hold on with great apologetic vigor that the doctrines of Jesus Christ and that we would seek to love them, to know them, to defend them, to glory in them. And we pray, Lord God, again, that it would just not be bare dogmatism, but that we would rejoice in all of these blessed doctrines and that we would seek as we are able and where you may place us to defend them and to hold tight.
And we pray that in this church that we would be about these things, that we would be about the high and heavy things of protecting and glorying in gospel truth and that you would unite us, that we would be as that Philippian church was exhorted by Paul, that we would stand fast. with one mind, in one spirit, striving for the faith of the gospel. We just pray, Lord, that you go with us now, that you lift us up in the things of Jesus that we go into this week seeking to live unto your honor and unto your glory. And we thank you so much that we can call Christ ours and that he calls us his. And might we live in a manner befitting our calling by grace.
And it's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen.