Contend for the Faith | Jude 1-16 | Holding Fast to the Faith That Saves

The little letter of Jude begins with warmth but quickly takes a serious turn. False teaching had crept into the church, and Jude calls believers to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. In this sermon on Jude 1–16, we see why the gospel must be guarded, how error slips in unnoticed, and how the church must treasure and pass on the faith as its greatest legacy.

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Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon from First Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Each week, we dig into God's word, trusting that the Holy spirit will continue the good work of sanctification in us. I would guess that most of our families have some item that is of value to us. It's very important. Something that even though it may not have substantial value by the standards of the world, it means something to us. This might be jewelry from someone a few generations back. Maybe it's a family Bible. And these type of items not only require care that we maintain them, but they also require that we pass on the stories of the family members who pass this down to us, those who have gone before us. We need to instill in those family members who are younger than us an appreciation of the history of all of this and give them a desire to not only be the next one to have the heirloom, but to value it and to value it enough to pass it on to the generation that follows and continue the legacy. Now, we live in a very temporary, throwaway culture.

I would argue that this has created a lack of this attitude I just mentioned. This lack of a concern. It has created a lack of a concern for legacy. Now, for those of us with quite a few years behind us, imagine telling your 25 years ago self that you were going to buy a phone that costs $750. Then after the shock wears off, after you pick yourself up off the floor or your past self up off the floor, imagine telling that past self that you were only going to use it for 2-3 years. Everything. From the smartphones we carry with us to the appliances in our homes, now they have pretty short life expectancy, and we've just accepted it. And I believe this way of thinking has also infiltrated beyond just the modern conveniences that we enjoy, just the things that we have. I think this temporary idea of things has gotten to us and how we think and view the world. We're so enamored with the moment. We're so obsessed with the temporary that we don't really bother ourselves with the idea of legacy anymore. Well, as Christians, it's vital that we understand that the faith that we have is not about the moment, and it's something that is vitally important that we pass on.

So as we come to the first of our two weeks in Jude, we see that we are to contend for the faith, the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. It's vital that we protect it. It's vital that we pass it on. Before we dig into this challenge to pass on the faith, to contend for the faith that Jude offers us, we need to take a quick moment and look at the opening of this book so we can learn a little about who the author of the book is. This short letter is written by Jude, who refers to himself as a servant of Jesus and the brother of James. While the James being referred to here is not the apostle James, but the author of the Book of James. They, Jude and James, are the half brothers of Jesus. What is interesting about this is the way that Jude and James introduce themselves in these two letters. They don't rest on a genetic connection they have to Jesus. First and foremost, what they focus on is that acknowledge the fact that all of us, like us, they are sinners saved by the grace of God.

They are servants of Jesus, and they aren't leaders in the church because they have a family connection But because they've been saved by the grace of God. Now they are responding by being a servant of God. So just like us, Jude was called. Jude was kept for Jesus Christ. And that's an amazing statement to think about. And it's one that we should really lay hold of ourselves, that we are all at the same level in the family of God. Each one of us, we're born dead in Trespasses and sins. Each and every last one of us needs to be brought to life by the Holy spirit and saved by the work of Jesus. Every Christian ever has that story. It's a story of mercy of peace and love. We see that Jude here wishes that these things would be multiplied to those who receive this letter. It's a really nice opening with a pretty soft and warm tone. But pretty quick here, business picks up as we move in to the next couple of verses. We see that Jude was eager to write about the salvation that they share in Christ. But he needs to strike a more serious tone because Jude realizes that the purity of the gospel message is at risk.

It's for this reason that he tells them to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Now, we live in a time where deliveries are very, very normal. On a weekday, I bet most of us don't go a day without seeing multiple deliveries battery trucks in town. You don't go a day without seeing somebody having a package being brought to their door. I remember when I was in high school, so I would often order band shirts, other merchandise, demo tapes from obscure little Christian metal zines, they called them. They were like the magazines that people made on pieces of paper. They folded them over, mailed them to you. I got all kinds of these things, and I would order stuff from these things, and I would fill out a form, I would write a check, and I would wait. I had no idea whatsoever if my order was received. I had no idea when it was going to arrive. Now, you younger folks probably think that's crazy, but that's just what you did. Now, we order, the purchase is immediately confirmed, we see when it's shipped, and in some cases, when it's out for delivery, we can see how many stops the delivery person has left.

And then after it's brought, we might get a picture of it sitting on our porch. But all of this detail means nothing if what's inside that package is wrong. If you order a tool to do a particular project, or you order a part to fix something, and what's in the package is wrong, it doesn't do you any good, does it? So just recently, I ordered a magnetic car charger mount for the car. Got the notice that it had shipped. I had got the notice that it had been delivered. I even saw the picture of it on the porch. I wasn't home at the time. I got home. I asked my wife, Where's the package? She said, Oh, I put it away. I wasn't aware we had a place that we placed our magnetic phone car mount. She reached up and got it and handed me fish oil. I was able to follow all of this stuff. I was able to see that the package had been delivered. But I don't care how many omega-3s are in those fish oil tablets. They I can't charge my phone. It was worthless to me. Jude tells us that the faith has once and for all been delivered to the saints.

We have received this message, and it's the right message. It was brought to us by God through the spirit. He has given us the real thing, the gospel that saves sinners. It was delivered, and it was the genuine article. It wasn't packed incorrectly, and it wasn't a cheap imitation. The gospel we have received is the real deal. So the correct delivery is important. But even more, the transmission of that message is critical, because if the faith gets distorted, it won't save. If the message is wrong, it won't last. And Jude lets us know in this book how this was happening. He has heard that certain people have crept in unnoticed. And it's important that we quickly stop and we acknowledge this. False teachers and their teaching creep in. Error comes in sneakily. It's a tweak here, a distortion there. Because if someone came in here and said, I am going to teach you something that has been considered heresy for 1,700 years. I would like to think each and every one of us would get up and walk out. But that's not what happens. False teachers give the impression that they are teaching the faith as it has been delivered.

They deliver it with nice words. They make it sound nice, but in reality, they are spewing venom that kills because it presents a gospel that doesn't save. This is why we need to be on guard and we need to ensure that what is being transmitted is the faith once for all delivered to the states. We need to stand strong because attacks against the faith will come, and they are toxic to the Church of Jesus Christ. This truth of false doctrine being secretly introduced is followed here with a difficult statement, because Jude says that these ungodly people were designated for condemnation long ago. What is being expressed here is the idea that prophets have always warned against the spreading of false doctrine. This was a great warning throughout the Old Testament. False prophets were a reality in the old covenant, and they aren't going away because there is a new covenant. There will always be those who not only twist the word of God, but there will always be those who will try to lead people astray to gain power, influence, or money. It's just what's going to happen in a fallen world. Those who distort the word of God are destined for destruction because they deny our only master and Lord, specifically, that he has come to save, that he is the savior.

They are denying the one who saves. This is why they're spreading something that's toxic. By what we see Jude saying here about these who have come to pervert the grace of God in his sensuality, causes us to see that the issue is people saying that because the grace of God has come, you no longer need to worry about the moral law. God has forgiven you. He will forgive you so you can go do whatever you want. You can participate in any type of sensuality reality because God has given you his grace. Well, not much has changed, has it? Because this error still infects the church. This is a great reminder for us to be on guard and to be certain that we hold to the faith once for all delivered. As this passage continues, Jude points to examples of why it's important that we hold to the faith. The first thing he does is he points us back to the Exodus. He says that many were brought out of slavery in Egypt, but yet there were those who did not believe. Now, I always find the story of the rebellions in Exodus to be both fascinating and alarming.

These are people who were saved from the Passover judgment. These are people who walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. When they were hungry, manna came and fed them from heaven. When they were thirsty, water came out of a rock. But yet there were those who died in unbelief. We naturally hold to the idea that all of this that we believe would be a whole lot easier if we could just see the miracles described in the Bible, or if we could hear the voice of God like they did in the Bible. But scripture lets us know that that's not necessarily the case. The human heart is in rebellion against a Holy God. And even those who saw and heard still rejected God. Let that sink in for a second. And then he takes it even further. He also speaks of angels falling away. If anyone should know the fruitless nature of going against God, it would be angels, yet it still happened. And then Jude next calls upon the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, who also indulged in sexual immorality and unnatural desire and were punished by eternal fire. His point is not hard to understand here, is it?

God is not indifferent towards sin. These examples show us that rebellion against God results in judgment. Jude isn't using these examples here for shock value. Instead, he's reminding us of the consequences of sin, and that we need to hold fast to the faith so that we don't drift away from the truth. If the Israeli in the desert and angels can fall away, we are not immune to falling captive to false teaching. We are not immune. We need to be on guard, and we especially need to be on guard when sensuality is involved, when the temptation of pleasure follows it. But Jude doesn't dwell too long on his examples, because right away, he lichens the problem of the past to the false teachers they see in the present. He says that the teachers that have snuck in among them rely on their dreams instead of the faith revealed in God's word and given by the Apostles. They defile the flesh instead of honoring it as God's law commands them to do. They reject the authority of the teachers God has put in place, and they blaspheme God by doing so. And once again, these are sobering statements.

If those who were so close to the time of Jesus, so close to the time of his teaching, and the teaching of the Apostles could mess all this up, How much more is this a threat for us? We need to be on guard, and perhaps even more than our sisters and brothers in the first century, because you don't need to just worry about false teachers creeping in here. You need to be on guard for what is on TV, what is coming at you in your podcast feed. You even need to be careful of what is on the best seller list at a Christian bookstore. Once I saw a top 10 section at a Christian bookstore, and most of the books were false prosperity gospel books. One of them was an author who denied the Trinity. You need to be on guard. My point is that we need to be ready because this isn't just a first century issue. It's a 21st century reality as well. As we continue through this first half of Jude, we see a story that we don't know. There was a story in Jewish tradition, not in scripture, in Jewish tradition, about the Archangel Michael having a dispute with the devil about the body of Moses.

Now, we would see this as a historical event, even though it isn't recorded in Deuteronomy, because Jude is inspired by the Holy spirit to write about this event here. The details of the story aren't necessary. What's necessary is the that Jude is making. He recalls this event to remind us that even someone as powerful as the Archangel himself, he didn't try to rebuke the devil by his own authority. He said, The Lord rebuke you. He calls upon the power of God and the authority of God. This is a reminder of us to do the same. We don't judge by our own authority. We appeal to God's authority. We hold the authority and the sufficiency of the word of God over false teachers. We are not the judges. God is. Jude tells us why this is important. He gives us the severity of it in verses 10 through 13. He says that false teachers blaspheme because they don't understand the gospel of God. They lead others astray, and they are judged because of it. He calls them unreasoning animals. They reject what they do not understand. They go after sin instead of considering the truth. They run after pleasures and sensuality of the flesh, and they don't stop and think about how they are rejecting the commands of God.

Jude says, Woe to them. In other words, the judgment of God is great, and they are receiving what they deserve for rejecting the truth that has been revealed. So Jude once again calls on the past. Faultful teachers, he says, walk in the way of Cain. Remember Cain? He was warned of the sin creeping at his door, and God warned him that he would be overcome by it. But what did he do? He chose murder anyway, despite the warning from God himself. Balaam was trying to use his authority as a prophet to go against God. Then we see Cora, a little bit more obscure story. But Cora rejected the authority of God, the authority that God had given Moses, and the Earth swallowed him up. Cora and his followers were swallowed by the Earth. And yet people still continued to speak falsely about God. The warnings were there, but in our sin, we still ignore them. And then June warns them further by pointing to what is happening among them. He says that there are hidden reefs or rocks under the water that the ship of their faith might crash against. The false teachers are right there as they dine together.

They're eating at the love feast together. These false teachers have no fear of the judgment of God for what they're doing. They're right there among them. And look how they are described. They're shepherds who feed themselves. Instead of caring for the flock, they enrich themselves. He also calls them waterless clouds. They just blow through and don't nourish the church. He calls them fruitless trees. They don't provide anything for the people of God. No nourishment. He calls them wild waves producing foam. In other words, they create chaos They crash against the walls, but all they create is foam, and that foam is nothing of substance. He also says they're wandering stars. Any light they may have had is going to be relegated to utter darkness forever because they've rejected the truth and the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our passage today closes up and drives home this point we've been seeing with some words that are attributed to Enoch. Again, this is not anything from scripture, but it's a statement attributed to Enoch that the people reading this letter would have known. So Jude is using this statement to call upon the truth of God's judgment on those who teach falsely.

And it's a sweeping statement that reminds Jude's original audience and us that every ungodly deed, harsh word, and denial of Jesus will be judged. What we need to take away from these words here, and really all of this first half of Jude, is that false teaching is not merely an annoyance or just a matter of opinion. It's rebellion against God, and it will be judged. And notice how practical Jude makes us in this last verse. The false teachers aren't just wrong on minor little points of theological teaching. He says they're grumblers and complainers. They're chasing after their sinful desires, and they are loudmouth boosters. They even show favoritism for the purpose of gaining advantage in the church. Yes, their theology is wrong, but so are their lives. This is where we leave off in Jude's letter this week. Now, in the second half, we're going to find a positive call to keep ourselves in the love of God. But this first week in Jude 1 through 16 has been rife with warnings. We've seen the seriousness of the threat and the certainty of judgment. As we finish up, it's important that we consider what this means for us.

As the people of God in Christ Jesus, we have received a great gift, the faith once for all delivered to the saints. In It's not only our responsibility to guard and protect it, but we also need to pass it on. Think back to that idea I opened with of the family heirloom. If you just lock that away and you never hand it down, it functionally dies with you. The tradition and the legacy that your family had in those things just ends. Or if you tamper with it or fail to maintain it, it also loses its value. But if you preserve it and you entrust it to the next generation, it endures. It's a legacy that continues beyond your time. That's the call on us from the epistle of Jude, to hold fast to the gospel and pass it on to those who come after us. We contend for the faith, and it's more than just guarding the truth and treasuring it and keeping it from being distorted. Contending for the faith means we pass on what we have guarded to our kids, to our grandkids or any believer who comes here and gathers with us to worship with us.

It means that when we worship and when we disciple people in the faith, that we are thinking beyond the moment. And we remember the generations that will come and worship God after us. The gospel is our greatest legacy. We can pass down possessions to the next generation. But if we fail to deliver the gospel, we've lost the plot. So may we be a people who guards what God has given because the gospel doesn't expire, it doesn't need to be upgraded, and it doesn't change with the times. May we be a people who protect the gospel and pass it on that Christ might be glorified. The faith once for all delivered to the saints is our greatest heirloom. Guard it, treasure it, and pass it on. Amen. Let us pray. Great and Merciful God, we praise you for the gift of your word that it gives us not only the hope of the gospel, but it gives us warnings, and that we can see that false teaching can so easily creep in. We pray that we would desire to guard the message. But may we always remember that one of the greatest ways that we can guard it is by sharing it and passing it on in all of its purity, that it might continue, that it might grow, that it might be pervasive in our lives and in the lives of others, that Jesus might be glorified for who he is and the salvation that he has brought to us in his gospel.

It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information about First Reformed Church, head to page or website, edgertonfrc. Org.