Jude - Contending for the Faith

I have the pleasure of introducing the preacher this morning. Christian Moscoso served as a

pastor here at Metro Life Church for years. He is a friend of mine, and I am so glad that he's

here today to preach the word of God to us. Christian was called to Trinity Community Church

in Titusville years ago with his wife Megan, his son Santiago, and daughter Nora, and I believe

they're all here today with us. Yeah? Yes. Church, Christian loves the word of God.

I know that about this man. He always tells me, told me before I preach, not to be nervous. You're

going to go up there and hide behind the word of God. People aren't here for you. They're here for

those words, and that's what I would say to my friend right now as he comes up and delivers the

word of God to us.

Hi. I am so happy to be here.

My name is Christian, as Shane just mentioned. Shane, thank you for not forgetting our names.

Just had to. I'm so sorry. Yes, like Shane said, you know, I served here for almost four years,

and it is a joy to be back here this morning. You know, it's good to be back after almost

three years and see things are not only going well but thriving, which is also a little rude,

if I can be honest. But you guys can, you know, I leave and you guys are doing just great.

But, you know, thank you. I miss you guys too. No, but I do bring greetings from Trinity Community

Church in Titusville. As Shane said, we are so thankful for the partnership with Metro for the

fact that we get to be part of a partnership together. We love you guys. We need you guys.

And with that in mind, I do want to invite you guys, and I don't have a graphic or anything,

but I do want to invite you on February 20th. We're going to have our next Grace Partnership

Conference.

Here's the thing. For years, Metro Life Church has faithfully served Grace Partnership. You guys

have hosted, and we realize that a lot of the weight of the organization and everything has

fallen on you guys, and you guys have served us really well. Next year, we're actually going to

be hosting in the Trinity Community Church, and we would love for you to be able to come and to just

enjoy the conference. So please consider signing up soon. The sign-up's not up yet, but soon you

will be able to.

If you sign up, I just didn't want to miss this opportunity to invite you to come. And please come

to Titusville. Get an Airbnb or whatever. Just come and hang out with us. We want to spend time

with you guys. And so again, that is in February next year, and I'm sure more information will be

coming. You know, I'm preaching this morning from a beautiful Bible that you guys gifted me

when I left, and I am very thankful for this Bible. Last week, I was actually preaching from

1 Thessalonians 3, and as I'm preaching, right?

Here on the side, there's a note from Nancy Susie, you know, encouraging me. So thank you, you know,

and it's always a gift to see your messages as I preach the Word. And so this morning, I get to

preach the Word here. And so how about we do that now? So it's the year 2024, and I believe we all

know, we are all aware that the last 10 years have been very difficult for us as a country,

for the world in general. The last 10 years have been just crazy.

But it doesn't mean that a lot has happened in this last decade, not only here in America,

but also in the church. I think we can all sense that there has been a shift in the church.

According to Jim Davis and Michael Graham in their book, in the book they wrote, they say this,

they said, we're currently living in the largest and fastest religious shift in U.S. history.

The shift is larger than the number of conversions during the first great awakening,

second great awakening, and the totality of the

grand crusades combined. Except that this shift is in the other direction. In the last 25 years,

40 million Americans have stopped attending church. And this is heartbreaking. It's a

staggering shift. And it is shocking to see the number of people who have left the church

to make a home of this world. Equally concerning, though, is another shift that I think we can also

sense. And by this, I mean that we have seen

a shift in the church. We have seen a shift in the church. We have seen a shift in the church.

We have seen a shift in the church. We have seen a shift in the church. We have seen a shift in the

early attitudes creep into the church and influence the way that we act. In the last few

years, I have heard Christians, Christians I love, Christians I respect, I have heard Christians say

things and even defend things that I would have never thought possible. This morning,

I want us to look at a passage that I believe will help us fight this trend. And because the

word of God is inspired, it's authoritative and sufficient,

Jude, the brother of Jesus, has a lot to say about the things that are going on in the church

today. So would you stand with me for the reading of the word? We're going to read the first four

verses of Jude. And as you get there in your Bibles, I do want to thank Chris and the elders

of Metro for inviting me. I did not take this lightly. I appreciate you guys letting me stand

behind this pulpit and share the word. So would you follow as I read Jude verses one through four?

And this is the word of the Lord. It says,

Let us pray. And you may be seated. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your inspired word. We

thank you that you speak to it, through it to us, Lord. And I pray that as I teach your word this

morning, that if there's anything that I say that comes out of my own understanding, anything that

is my own preference or anything that I say that comes out of my own understanding, anything that

that does not align to the truth of Scripture, Lord, I pray that it would fall down and be

forgotten. Lord, make us a people of the word. Give us discernment when we hear the word. In the

name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. So we are looking at a letter written by Jude, the brother

of Jesus. And the first thing I want you to notice, just even from the greeting in this letter,

is that the starting point of the Christian life is humility and confidence. And this is what I

Jude starts by introducing himself to his audience. And in this simple greeting, you'll see

that it packs a punch. All these few words are very rich theologically. And there is a lot to

unpack from these words. But here's what I mean that the starting point of the Christian life is

humility and confidence. Jude is the brother of Jesus. He grew up in the same household. He

possibly bunked with Jesus. And I don't know about you,

was him. I might have casually slipped in this truth into the conversation, right? I don't know

if it's only me, but in my flesh, I would have been Jude, by the way. Jesus' brother right here

speaking to you. So now listen. But he doesn't say that. He says, introduces himself by saying,

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. This is wild to me. This is crazy to me

brothers. And you would have to pay me a lot. As much as I love my brothers, I would have to get

some real cash to ever introduce myself as a servant of Andre, as a servant of Marcel, as a

servant of Abba. I could not do that. Right? To me, this is compelling proof of the deity of Christ

that his very brother, not only Jude, but also James, they would both introduce themselves as

servants of Jesus Christ. And they would live lives of the same God. And I don't know if you've

that would end up in their death because they believe that Jesus Christ is God.

You see, Jude's personal relationship with Jesus, not as his brother, but as his Lord,

causes them to be humble. Jude is a humble man, but his humility was accompanied by certainty

and confidence. This confidence, though, does not come from who he is as a person. It doesn't come

from what the things that he has done. It doesn't come from what he has done. It doesn't come from

what he has done. But it comes from his standing with God. You see, Jude understands where he stands.

Then Jude, he reminds us of our standing with God when he writes, and I want you to listen to

these words. Jude says, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus

Christ. Church, this is you that Jude is talking to. He's talking about you. He's talking about me.

What glorious truths these are. Jude is reminding us here that as children of God, we are called,

we are beloved, and we are kept by him. These beautiful words speak of our past. They speak

of our present and of our future. You see, in Christ, we have been called by name, which speaks

of God's particular redemption, and that he didn't just open the door for a certain number of people

to be saved, but he actually called each one of us.

By name. He called us, as Peter says, out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Jude also reminds us of our present. He says that we are beloved in God the Father.

Let's soak in that truth for a moment. Do you see that you are not just tolerated by God?

You're not just barely accepted by God because now he has to get you in. You are beloved by God the Father.

Jude then speaks of our future, and he reminds us that in Christ, we are also kept, which means

that we are not temporarily beloved. We are safe in God forever because we are kept by him.

He who started the good work in us, the same God who called us, will also keep us. Church,

we are safe in him, and because of his grip on us,

never fall away. Later in Jude, we'll see that we are kept by Jesus, but here he tells us also

that we are kept for Jesus. That's how beloved we are, church. Christ doesn't hold on to us

because it's his duty, but he actually finds joy. He delights in keeping us in himself.

Then Jude ends his greeting here with a rich benediction where he says this. He says,

May mercy, peace, and love be with you.

May love be multiplied to you. Church, these are the things that we are promised as believers.

As believers, we're not promised more stuff, power, influence, but an abundance of mercy,

of peace, and love. See, this little greeting, these little two verses that we just read,

really pack a punch. I pray that these truths will be tattooed in our hearts

and that we would keep these as reminders of where we stand in Christ.

Now, he calls us, you'll see in verse 3, he goes from telling us who we are to telling us how we

should act. The second thing I want you to see from this passage is that as Christians, we are

called to contend for the faith. It says in verse 3, just as a reminder, it says, Beloved, although

I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing

to you to contend for the faith. I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith.

That was once for all delivered to the saints. You see, after this brief but beautiful greeting,

Jude just gets into it. He's telling us what this letter is about. First, I want you to notice that

Jude really wishes he could be writing a different kind of letter. He wishes he were writing a letter

of praise, a letter of celebration about our salvation. But as a good pastor, he writes not

the letter he wants, but the letter his people need.

This is a good reminder not only for pastors, but for all Christians in general, that it is important

for our people not to hear only what they want to hear, but also what they need to hear. And this

requires love and boldness. But I want you to notice his tone. Jude doesn't sound like he's

someone who loves arguments. He's not ready for a fight. But Jude finds it necessary to write this

letter, to appeal to the people. And he's not ready for a fight. He's not ready for a fight.

He's not ready for a fight. He's not ready for a fight. He's not ready for a fight. He's not ready for a fight.

With the church, or to the church, to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the

saints. This, of course, begs the question, what does it mean to contend for the faith? And I think

that most Christians have at some point wondered, what does it mean to contend for the faith? And so

to contend means to strive. It means to struggle and to fight for something. It is an active verb

that is only used once in the entire Bible. We only see it one time. And in the original Greek,

this word here refers to the ancient Greek athletic contest in which participants contended.

They fought for something. And Jude is calling us not just to contend in general,

or to contend for our personal preferences. Jude is calling us to contend specifically

for the faith that was once delivered. This, of course, refers to a set of beliefs

that we often refer to as the gospel for shorthand.

Jude is calling us to contend for the sake of the gospel.

Now, we are not Christians because we believe. We are Christians because we believe a specific

set of beliefs that we were handed, that we were handed down by the apostles,

or that were handed down to us by the apostles, I'm sorry. And those are the beliefs that we

believe, right? We don't just, we're not a Christian just because I believe in general.

are considered Christians because we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here, Jude wants us to

realize the importance of having good doctrine. Jude wants us to be good theologians. He wants us

to pursue good doctrine, and pursuing good doctrine is not just an intellectual exercise, but a

spiritual one that helps protect ourselves and protect others, protect those around us. Jude is

telling us that it isn't only the responsibility of the elders to uphold some doctrine, but it is

the responsibility of every believer. So let me ask you this morning, have you considered that this

is your personal responsibility to contend for the faith, to protect the truth, to uphold some

doctrine? It's not just Chris, Shane, Danny. It's not the elders' responsibility. It is part of the

responsibility, but it is all of our responsibility. We are all responsible for this, as we will see in

a moment. Jude had in mind a

couple of particular distortions of the gospel that he wanted us to be ready to fight. But this

principle of contending is one that applies to other issues as well. And here's the thing. I want

us to talk about what biblical contending looks like, because if what Jude is calling us to fight

up is to, sorry, if what Jude is calling us is to fight among each other, if what Jude is calling us

is to being contentious, we're nailing it. We are, right? I mean, just get on social media right

now. We're killing it. But I actually want to talk about what contending is truly, what contending

is in a biblical form. And in order to do that, I want to start by talking about what contending is

not. Because I believe it's not only important that we contend, but it's also important how we

contend. So here's the first thing I want you to know about biblical contending. Biblical contending

is not the same as being contentious.

Notice that Jude is calling us to contend, not to be contentious. Contending means standing up for

what is true and right. Biblical contending is fueled by the truth that it is defending. The

truth found in God's holy, inspired, and inerrant Word. Contentiousness, on the other hand, is fueled

by the flesh. It focuses on the fight. It focuses on the argument, the outrage, not the truth that

is being defended.

Being contentious is not what we are called to do. Contentiousness is a distortion of biblical

contending. While contending for the faith is a mark of a faithful believer, a man marked by

contentiousness is actually disqualified from the office of elder. Remember that Paul tells Timothy

that if anyone aspires to the office of elder, he must be gentle and not quarrelsome.

This is not just for elders.

Contentiousness is a mark of the flesh and the world, not of the gospel. In Galatians 5, Paul

tells us that strife, rivalries, dissensions, and divisions are actually works of the flesh,

while love, kindness, gentleness, and self-control are the fruit of the Spirit.

So church, contending for the faith is a mark of a faithful Christian,

while being contentious is a mark of worldliness.

The second thing I want you to notice about biblical contending is that biblical contending

is not culture warring. There's a difference between contending for the gospel and culture

wars. Contending for the faith is not culture wars. Culture wars are a cheap counterfeit of

what it means to contend for the faith. Culture wars are focused on circling the wagons, on drawing

lines of separation, and gatekeeping, while contending for the faith is evangelistic in

nature. It's aiming not to keep people out, but to bring people in. You see, culture wars exclude,

condemn, and weaponize differences. Contending for the faith always aims towards evangelism,

redemption, and restoration. Do you see the difference? Culture warring is to take a secondary

or even tertiary role in the church. It's to take a secondary role in the church. It's to take a

primary issue and make it a primary issue, all the while missing the primary issue, which is the

gospel of Jesus Christ, the very thing that we are called to contend for. Church culture wars focus

on all the reasons why Target, Disney, Bud Light, and now the Olympics are the enemy.

Contending for the faith, on the other hand, points not to our enemies, but to Jesus Christ

as the Savior.

Biblical contending is to watch the Olympics opening ceremony and to be grieved by the mockery

of the gospel, but then to pray for salvation of those who participated in it. Culture wars,

on the other hand, would see this very same thing and then look at France as the enemy.

Do you see the difference?

Church culture wars focus on all the reasons why Target, Disney, Bud Light, and now the Olympics are the enemy.

Church culture wars miss the point.

This misses the very thing that we are to contend for.

We can be so focused on the cultural issue that we miss the gospel issue.

Biblical contention is different.

B.B. Warfield puts it this way. He says,

The object of our contention is not simply to silence opposition, but to win men to the truth.

We contend not for victory, but for the truth.

Michael Horton put it another way.

He says,

Contending for the faith ultimately serves both the church and the world.

It guards the church from error and brings light to the world.

Church, do you see the difference then between biblical contending and culture wars?

Here's another difference.

Biblical contending results in truth.

Contentiousness eventually results in error.

Here's what I mean.

I mean, Jude is calling us to contend with the aim

to preserve the beautiful truth of the gospel.

But have you noticed how since our culture rewards contentiousness

and applauds the idea of telling it like it is,

people keep pursuing outrage and shock value.

People are screaming more and more.

This never leads to the truth.

This infighting, this insulting, this condemning doesn't lead to truth.

Have you noticed how those who are famous for saying it like it is

inevitably end up defending the indefensible?

I wish this were true only of cable news.

But it's a problem that has also crept into the church.

People who were respected are now saying things that are so wild

that they now find themselves defending the indefensible.

That's not what biblical contending is all about.

What Jude is prescribing here,

is not that we chase the shock value,

is not that we yell at others,

but that we preserve the truth.

The next thing I want you to notice is that biblical contending

is aimed at the worldliness inside the church.

As we'll see in a minute,

Jude has some very specific theological concerns.

But I think it's important that we understand that in his contending,

Jude is calling us,

to actually not be aimer contending to the world,

but at worldliness inside the church.

And I know I just butchered that sentence, so I apologize.

English is not my first language.

That's a card I always have in my back pocket whenever I mess up.

In verse 4, Jude tells us there are people,

that there are ungodly people who have crept in unnoticed into the church.

People who pervert.

The grace of God.

You see, Jude is worried, not about those outside the church,

but about those inside the church who are acting like the world.

The same was true of the ministry of Jesus,

who reserved his harshest words,

not for the godless Romans out there,

but for the people inside the temple.

Especially those whose behavior had become an obstacle to those who were not in the faith.

When Jesus addressed those who didn't know him,

his words were,

his words were always true.

And they were kind.

And they had some huge implications for those that rejected him.

Some might say that some of the things that Jesus said were offensive.

And yet his words brought salvation to some,

and condemnation to others.

But in his dealings with the world,

he always called people to repentance.

And he always pointed them to a better way.

Jesus' choicest words were for the Pharisees,

for the scribes,

and for the lawyers who gave the appearance of godliness,

but whose behavior was an obstacle to the Gentiles.

In Matthew 23, 13, he said this, he said,

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

For you shot the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.

For you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.

You see, their hypocrisy and worldliness,

their hypocrisy and worldliness,

was shutting the doors of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.

And this was a big deal to Jesus.

Unfortunately, in the last few years,

I have seen this worldly idea

that the way we engage with those we disagree with

is by responding with outrage and by maligning them.

Talking about people as if they are our enemy

instead of our mission field.

There are those who love the story of Jesus,

who love the story of Jesus flipping the tables

and pulling out a whip.

And there are those who use that very story

as an excuse to engage the world violently.

And though the story of Jesus flipping the tables

and pulling out a whip is absolutely true,

I think that if we're not careful,

we might miss the point of the story.

Here's what I mean.

Jesus did indeed flip the table.

But he did it in the temple,

not outside the temple.

Jesus was angry, and rightfully so.

But he wasn't angry at the godless Romans.

He was angry against those inside the temple

who, by acting like the world,

were hindering the coming of the Gentiles into the temple.

I fear that with our outrage,

we are acting not like Jesus

when he flipped the tables in the temple,

but more like Peter when he caught the ear of Malchus,

a Roman soldier who came to capture Jesus.

Remember that story?

I was reminded of this story by a book I recently read.

In it, Jared C. Wilson says a couple of things

about this story that I think are relevant

that I want to share with you.

If you're not familiar with the story, by the way,

when Jesus was being captured,

Peter, one of his disciples, pulled out a sword

and he chopped Malchus' ear.

Again, we don't know if he was really good with the sword

and was going for the ear,

or if he was going for the head and completely missed.

But the point is that Peter chopped off his ear.

Here's what Jared C. Wilson says about this story.

He says,

Here, Peter's passion gets the best of him again.

But what is really driving this passion?

Protecting Jesus?

Maybe.

More immediately, however,

we may think of Peter's actions

as being driven by a persistent worldly conception

about the kingdom of God.

On the surface,

it may seem like Peter is doing a good thing,

a sincere thing.

He's defending Jesus.

But it's really,

it's really his own self-centered agenda at work,

his own ambition,

his own misunderstanding and misuse of the notion

of the kingdom of God.

Later, Wilson says,

Boy, does this sound like us today.

If you remember the story,

Jesus picks up the ear

and he heals Malchus' ear.

He does that as if to remind us

that the kingdom of God is not built with the sword,

but by laying down our lives.

What I'm trying to communicate this morning

is that there is a right way to contend

for what you believe.

Let's just make sure that it's driven by faith

and righteousness,

not fear or self-righteousness.

When we contend,

let it be by upholding the beautiful truth

that we have in the gospel.

Let this be how we contend.

Not by tearing down those

who are in the world around us.

Sometimes we think we are being brave

when we go off in a tirade

against the broken world around us.

Well, in reality,

what we're doing is we're preaching to the choir.

Being truly bold

is actually calling out the sin and temptation

of those who are in the room

and whose attitudes,

attitude, and behavior

might be shutting the doors

of the kingdom of God in front of others.

Church, biblical contending

is also not a call to tribalism

or to friendly fire.

Now, while Jesus' harshest words

were reserved for those inside the church,

and even though Jude is asking us

to contend against those who are inside the church,

perverting grace,

this is not a call to tribalism

or a call to friendly fire.

Because if that's what Jude was calling us to,

again, we're nailing it.

I fear tribalism and friendly fire

are cheap counterfeits

of Bible or biblical contention.

Tribalism is another distortion,

and its effects are damaging

not only to the souls inside the church,

but also to the witness outside the church.

In the name of contending for the faith,

we can often fall,

into the trap of tribalism.

I have sadly seen the effects of tribalism

even in well-intentioned brothers and sisters

who convinced they are contending for the faith

end up tearing down

and excluding other Christians

because they disagree with them

in secondary or even tertiary issues.

This is so common in social media,

and it is absolutely heartbreaking.

Seeking to be faithful,

they end up calling everyone else

a heretic or dangerous.

This is the only way to be faithful.

A recent example of this comes to mind,

and I'm sure some of you are aware of it,

but in the last couple of months,

there's a book that made it

to the New York Times bestseller.

This book was published

by a Christian author and reporter,

and in that book,

she calls out a number of pastors

and other Christian voices

that she considers are selling out.

In this book, she calls them wolves,

she calls them cowards,

she calls them mercenaries,

she calls them fools.

The whole point of the book

is to point out how many pastors

are selling out to specific agendas.

The reality is that

there is some of that going on.

The problem with this book

is that many of the people

she calls by name

and accuses of being sellouts

are faithful Christian men and women

who she just happens to disagree with

in secondary or even tertiary issues.

Now, the Bible warns us

against wolves and false prophets.

It does.

Let's just be careful

that we are not calling wolves

those who the Lord calls His children.

I'm not saying that there's no room

for disagreement.

There's always room for disagreement.

Clearly, we should be able,

and I think as a church,

we are called to model

how we should disagree.

It is also appropriate for us

to talk about it to our family,

to our church,

and even our elders.

If there are things that we're worried about,

let us, by all means,

let us do that.

The problem, though,

is that many in the church

believe that they are contending

for the gospel

as if they are the last line of defense

while in reality

they are disparaging

brothers and sisters

inside the church.

Church, the problem

is not with drawing lines.

The problem is drawing lines

where the Bible doesn't.

I worry that I see so many

brothers and sisters online

thinking they are contending

for the faith

when in reality

they're just being contentious.

But enough about what contending is not.

I want us to turn now

to verse 4 again

and I want us to look at

what Jude is telling us

to contend against.

Jude mentions two main issues

in verse 4

that I believe are still worth

watching against.

So here I want you to see

that Christians contend

for a true understanding of grace.

Verse 4 says this,

for certain people

have crept in unnoticed

who long ago were designated

for this condemnation.

Ungodly people

who pervert the grace of our God

into sensuality

and deny our only

Master and Lord Jesus Christ.

Now Jude is telling us

the specific dangers

that he has in mind

when he's calling us to contend.

First, he wants us to contend

against those who pervert

the grace of God.

Here, he's directly speaking

of antinomianism

or licentiousness.

Antinomianism is a fancy term

that comes from the words

anti-antinomianism.

And nomos,

and the word nomos means law.

So antinomianism is a rejection

of the law.

It appears that there were those

inside the church

who taught that because of grace,

Christians didn't have to agree

to any moral standards

specifically when it came

to sexuality.

And isn't this the case today?

Church, we must be ready

to contend against

the recalibration of morality.

As a dad,

I am worried

at the constant normalization

of unbiblical sexual ethics

that are being preached

to our kids day in and day out.

Church, we must be on guard

against the idea

that wants to creep into the church

that promotes a revised

sexual ethic or morality.

We do have to stand against that.

With that said,

let us keep in mind

that we are called to contend

against the sexual revolution itself.

Not against its captives.

By this I mean that the ethics

that come from the sexual revolution

are the enemy

while those who are entangled

and deceived by it

are the mission field.

Church, a faithful proclamation

of the word

will be offensive to many.

But let us make sure

we are not excluding

and condemning those

who the Lord is seeking

to save and restore.

Then I want you to look

at the second part of this.

The second part of verse four.

And here I want you to see

that Christians are called to contend

for the authority of Christ.

He says that there were those

that would deny

our only master and Lord Jesus Christ.

The second issue

Jude is deeply worried about

is those who deny the authority

and the supremacy of Christ.

There are not people who deny,

these are not people

who deny Christ with their mouths

because remember,

they have crept into the church

but they do deny his authority

and lordship with their actions.

These are those people

who confess Christ as Lord

but in practice

they make themselves lords

of their own lives.

The problem with this

is that this kind of denial

is easier to hide

than antinomianism

or licentiousness.

When you live in licentiousness

you often don't care

to hide your sin.

Because you don't think

that you need to.

But those who deny Christ

with their actions though

can easily hide themselves

under a shroud of religiosity.

About these teachers

Martin Luther said this,

he said,

it is not done by their mouth

for with this they confess

that God is one Lord.

But they deny that Christ is Lord

in fact and by their works.

They do not hold him

but themselves as their Lord.

For while they preach

that fasts, pilgrimages,

church ordinances,

chastity, obedience, poverty

are the way to salvation

they lead the people

astray to their own works

and yet are silent about Christ.

And it is just as much

as if they said

Christ is of no avail to you.

His works no way help you

but you must by your own works

merit salvation.

Thus they deny the Lord

who has bought us with his blood.

See, there are false teachers

who are equally condemned

as the antinomians.

But at times

they are harder to spot

because under a stride of piety

they hide their godlessness.

These false teachers

that Jude is talking about

they do great good works.

The problem is that

they make themselves the savior

and this is a grave insult

to Christ's work of redemption.

So the question is

how then do we contend

for the faith

against these common distortions of grace?

Well, Jude tells us

at the end of his life

in his letter.

And so for this I want you to jump

to verses 20 to 23.

And this is what it says

in verse 20 and on it says

but you beloved

building yourselves up

in your most holy faith

and praying in the Holy Spirit

keep yourselves in the love of God

waiting for the mercy

of our Lord Jesus Christ

that leads to eternal life

and have mercy on those who doubt

save others by snatching them

out of the fire

to others show mercy with fear

hating even the garment

stained by the flesh.

I wish I had time

to go through this lowly.

This is a whole sermon in itself.

But as Jude closes his letter

he gives us two main instructions

on how we should contend for the faith.

First he tells us

that we should abide in the love of God

and then that we should show mercy

to those who are wrong.

Which is

a little bit counterintuitive

isn't it?

So the first way we contend for faith

is by abiding in the love of God.

In verses 20 and 21

Jude's first instruction again

is to keep ourselves in the love of God.

He is telling us to abide in God's love

and then he tells us

that we do this by growing in doctrine

in prayer and hope.

First we are to grow in doctrine.

Jude tells us to build ourselves up

in the most holy faith.

This is a call to growing

in our knowledge of the teachings of Scripture.

The most holy faith

refers to

to what he called

the faith that was once delivered.

By this he means the gospel.

So let us resolve to grow

in our knowledge of God.

Our faith is built upon the authoritative

and sufficient word of God.

So church

one of the ways that we contend

is by digging into the word.

Number two is growing in prayer.

If we are to stand up

for what is true and right

this is not something we do in our own strength.

Your mind

your memes

on Facebook

or your quick words

on Twitter

that's not enough.

We need the power of God

if we are to persevere.

Ligon Duncan says this

he says show me a Christian who is prayerless

and I'll show you a Christian who is vulnerable

to the teachings of false prophets.

So church let us resolve

to grow in prayer.

And lastly he says to grow in hope.

Jude tells us that we should be

waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ

that leads to eternity.

This means we should live our lives

with our eyes fixed on the second coming.

We hold fast to the fact that Christ

is holding fast to us.

Then the second thing

he says

is that we are to show mercy

and this we see in verses 22 and 23.

The second way in which we contend

is by showing mercy to others.

This is a little counterintuitive

isn't it?

Because a lot of times we think of contending

as attacking.

And here Jude is telling us

that we do so by showing mercy to others.

Our contending church

needs to be marked by mercy.

Meaning that the goal of our contending

is evangelism

nor owning our enemies.

Winning an argument.

That's not the point.

We are to show mercy

not only to those who are in doubt

and leaning into their doubt

but also to those who are running

head first into hell.

And even

to false teachers.

You will notice that there is a progression

in Jude's tone.

There are times when we are to be gentle.

There are other times when we are supposed

to be a little bit more forceful.

But we always ought to stand firm

in the word of God

not on our opinions or preferences.

Church you see how contending

is not the same as being contentious.

Being contentious

seeks to divide

to exclude

the goal of being contentious

is to be contentious.

Is to win an argument.

The goal of contending

is to win a soul.

I'm thankful

that scripture is full of models

of how to contend.

In scripture you find Moses.

You find Elijah.

You find Jeremiah.

Isaiah.

You see Daniel and his friends.

You see Peter.

You see Paul.

And many others that show us

how to contend for the faith

in a biblical manner.

But what better example

than our good shepherd

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who spoke truth.

Who proclaimed a better kingdom.

But also laid his life down

for those that did not know him

or even want him.

He laid his life down for you

and for me.

As I close this morning

Church I want you to notice

that Jesus is the perfect model

for us in all these things.

During his earthly ministry

Christ showed us

the way to contend

in a way that glorifies God.

Christ was bold.

He spoke truth.

He unapologetically proclaimed

a better kingdom.

He called people to repentance.

But he did all these things

with redemption as the goal.

Jesus is the lion

but he's also the lamb.

I would submit to you this morning

that it takes boldness

to contend like Jesus did.

From a place of mercy and love.

More than that

it takes the power

of the spirit

in us

to do this in a way

that gives them glory.

Church it's easy to pick teams.

It's easy to tear down.

It's easy to call others out.

Because when we do that

we are actually indulging our flesh

and our sinful instincts.

Even when we do so

from a position

of theological accuracy.

You don't need to be bold

to fight.

But it takes the power

of the Holy Spirit

and boldness

to contend with love,

and with patience.

It takes boldness

to put to death

the desires of the flesh

and to contend

with the aim of redemption.

There will be times

when we need to be lions

but there will also be times

when we need to be patient

and gentle.

And that takes work.

It takes boldness

to patiently engage

with those we disagree with.

It takes boldness

to snatch others out of the fire

as Jesus is calling us to do.

My message this morning

is not that you should be liked,

by others.

We're not all Mr. Rogers after all.

Not everyone's going to like us.

This message is not a call

to niceness or passivity.

But Glenn Scribner says this,

he says,

we must put to death

the idols of respectability

and niceness.

But in their place

let us bear the spiritual fruit

of true wisdom and love.

Church, this message

is meant to spur us all to boldness.

To contending in a biblical way

that points others to Christ.

Let us resolve together

this morning, church,

to contend like Jesus did.

I know I have failed.

Some of you know me well.

You know that even if I'm not

the loudest or really boisterous,

I can be mouthy.

I can be opinionated.

I can be nitpicky.

I know I have often failed

in this respect.

And I need help.

But I bet I'm not alone.

Would you pray with me this morning

that He who started the good work,

the work in us,

would bring it to completion.

And that He would continue

to mold us into the image

of His Son, Jesus Christ.

That He would shape our hearts,

our minds, and our speech.

That He would fill us with wisdom

as we seek to faithfully contend

for the faith.

Heavenly Father,

thank you for your word.

Father, thank you for the reminder

of what contending is like

in a biblical way.

Father, I confess that I have failed.

Father, but I also know

that there is grace for me.

And that your Holy Spirit is at work

in all of us.

So Father, with this in mind,

we turn to you and we respond to you in worship.

Amen.