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Jude calls Christians to contend for the faith without contention and without compromise. As we wrap up this series, there is one final question that we should ask: What are we contending for?
I believe the bottom line for Jude is that we are contending with saints for people. In other words, we have to be united in our efforts as we seek to expand the Kingdom of God.
The first hurdle we need to overcome is eliminating the dividers. Paul told the Ephesian elders about these people (Acts 20:29-30). And Jude describes them in verses 12, 16-19 as…
blemishes
self-serving and boasting about themselves
unfruitful
grumblers and faultfinders
ungodly desires
following natural instincts = governed by their appetites
Jude then makes a stark distinction—saints are to be different! Saints are to be united in their love for Jesus and their love for each other. In fact, this is what Jesus said would distinguish His followers (John 13:35) and Paul elaborates on this in Philippians 2:1-4.
In verses 20-25, Jude calls saints to live in contrast to “these men” who divide. He challenges saints to—
keep being built up in our faith (see also Ephesians 2:20; Colossians 2:7)
praying in the Holy Spirit
keeping ourselves in God’s love
waiting in assurance for Christ’s imminent return
And as we are building, praying, keeping, and waiting, we must also be rescuing people from their path toward Hell. Our battle is never against flesh and blood. Our battle is against those powers that divide and those powers that bind and blind (Ephesians 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:26).
We must not get sidetracked or distracted, we must not contend in a contentious way, but we must remain united with Jesus and united with fellow saints as we seek to expand the Kingdom of God.
If you’ve missed any of the previous messages from this series on the Book of Jude, you can find them all here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
In the first ten verses of Ephesians 2 Paul talks about the amazing transformation from who we WERE before we met Jesus to who we ARE now with Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Before Jesus we…
were dead
used to live in sin
used to follow the world
were living to gratify fleshly cravings
were following only earthly desires
The result of this lifestyle is quite clear: We WERE deserving of God’s wrath (see vv. 1-3).
Verse 4 opens with an amazing word: “But” here is what our new life looks like. We are…
made alive with Christ
rescued from death
raised up with Christ
seated with Jesus in heavenly realms
benefitting from God’s kindness
The bottom line: We ARE saved by God’s grace from God’s wrath (vv. 4-8)!
It’s only now that we can realize that we ARE God’s handiwork, created to be in Jesus, to do good works, and to bring God glory. Our lives now ARE a display of the “incomparable riches of His grace” (v. 7)—we ARE a living testimony of His love for lost people.
Being transformed from what we WERE to who we ARE allows us to echo the words of the psalmist—Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for people! (Psalm 66:5 NLT).
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The dictionary defines a rhetorical question this way: A question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion of affirmation or denial. In other words, the question is asked with the assumption that the answer is obvious.
The apostle Paul does this five times in five consecutive verses at the end of Romans 8 (see verses 31-35). These questions are Paul’s way of getting us to reaffirm our rock-solid assurance of just how amazing it is that God holds us so securely.
Even though these are rhetorical questions, I want to add the extra assurance by giving you the answer to each question.
(1) Who can stand against me? No one!
Because Almighty God is for me.
(2) Who can cause God’s blessings to be withheld from me? No one!
Because God didn’t withhold His Son Jesus, He won’t withhold any other lesser blessing either.
Because Jesus intercedes for me and imputes His righteousness to me.
(5) Who can separate me from God’s love? No one!
Not a single thing, person, or circumstance can diminish any part of God’s love for me.
Don’t ever buy into the devil’s lies—not even for a second—that somehow you have put yourself in a place where God’s love for you is questionable. Whenever you hear these lies, return again and again to these five powerful rhetorical questions to reassure your heart, mind, and soul of just how securely you are held in God’s grip of grace.
The word gospel simply means the good news about the salvation that comes only through Jesus.
Paul loves this word!
Interestingly, although we refer to the first four books of the New Testament as “The Gospels,” the word itself barely appears:
Matthew—4 times
Mark—8 times
Luke—0 times
John—0 times
And even though these four opening books are the Gospels about Jesus, He Himself only uses the word nine times, with the other three times attributed to someone else mentioning what Jesus was doing.
Peter only uses this word twice (Acts 15:7; 1 Peter 4:17). And John uses it just once (Revelation 14:6).
Paul, however, uses this word 64 times!
It becomes such a part of who he is and how he thinks, that he calls it “my gospel” twice (Romans 2:16, 16:25) and “our gospel” three times (2 Corinthians 4:3; Colossians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:14).
For Paul and for us this Good News is—
God’s promises fulfilled
salvation power
the fullness of God’s blessing
the opening of mysteries
the guide for godly living
glorious light
the expression of God’s grace
the standard of all truth
a key part of the Christian’s spiritual armor
the empowerment for ministry
the anchor of unshakable hope
the means by which we experience Christ’s glory
the only door to life and immortality
For those of us who have been called to preach this Gospel, these thoughts should both humble and empower.
For those of us who have been saved by believing this Gospel, these thoughts should cause us to desire to know more, and more, and more about our Savior.
“The God who is our salvation” is on each side of this sacred pause. What can we consider from this?
God is my salvation
God is for me
God is my daily provision
God is my light and my life
God is my escape from death
God is worthy of all my worship
Let’s take time to slow down and truly savor the inspired thoughts when the Holy Spirit moved the biblical author to pause. There are powerful, encouraging, life-changing truths just waiting to burst into our heart and mind!
One of the best pieces of advice if you’re looking to regulate your emotions is very simple: SLOW DOWN! Constantly having your game face on or being “on a mission” can cause your emotional regulation to suffer, and seriously hurt your leadership. Be sure to check out all of my videos on my YouTube channel.
You may have heard the oft-repeated line that human beings and chimpanzees share 98-99% of our DNA with each other. This simply isn’t true, and yet it will not die. John Stonestreet has an idea of what is behind this claim in his post Of Primates and Percentages.
“The unprepared mind cannot see the outstretched hand of opportunity.” —Alexander Fleming
John Piper asks, “Why is anxiety about the future a form of pride?” Check out this faith-building post that concludes with these words, “The way to battle the unbelief of pride is to admit freely that you have anxieties, and to cherish the promise of future grace in the words, ‘He cares for you.’ And then unload your fears onto His strong shoulders.”
“Hold fast to eternal salvation through the eternal covenant carried out by eternal love to eternal life.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.” —Mia Hamm
Scott Klusendorf wrote, “If Roe and Casey are struck, it will be a truly historical moment, and pro-lifers should indeed celebrate. Nine unelected judges on the Supreme Court will no longer have sole legal authority to determine abortion policy. Rather, the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, along with those in the individual states, will now decide how the practice is governed. Put simply, the American people—your friends, your classmates, your coworkers, and your family members—will now determine if unborn humans enjoy the same legal protections as you and I, or get relegated to the dumpster.” This is a fascinating article about how pro-life Christians should prepare for a post-Roe America.
Even the pro-abortion research firm The Guttmacher Institute reports “an estimated 100,000 children are killed after the first trimester of pregnancy each.” Let that sink in: 300 lives are snuffed out every day by burtual, inhumane abortion techniques!
Dr. Tim Clarey at the Institue for Creation Research explains how the dinosaurs in the Juassic Park series are “imaginary dinosaur science.” He then lays out the facts.
J. Warner Wallace is a cold-case detective. His investigation into the biblical claims of the death and resurrection of Jesus led him to become a Christian. In this video he explains his thought process as an atheist—
These are some outstanding lists I found in my Life In The Spirit Study Bible (sometimes referred to as “The Fire Bible”). If you want to see how the Holy Spirit is at work throughout the entire Bible, this study Bible is a must-have resource.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week I said, “You are God’s gift to the world IF you are revealing God’s Gift to the world in everything you say and do.”
That “IF” is a big one.
I’ll be the first one to admit that I struggle with consistency in this! But before we all get frustrated, throw up our hands and say, “This is so hard! Why even try?” I’ve got a word of encouragement for you: God’s Gift in us is both perfect and being perfected.
In order to explain this, I need to go back in time. In fact, I need to go all the way back to when Time began. The opening words of the Bible are, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God the Father, the Nicene Creed says, is “the Maker of heaven and earth.”
But God the Son is involved in Creation, as is God the Holy Spirit (John 1:1-3; Genesis 1:2). Again, the Nicene Creed quotes John 1 about Jesus, “Through Him all things were made,” and the Creed also says the Holy Spirit is “the Giver of life.”
So the Father created everything through His Word and by His Spirit.
All of the Godhead is also involved in our salvation too. The Father loved us and gave us His Son. Jesus paid the price for our atonement and justified us with the Father. And the Holy Spirit draws us to the Father through the Son as He sanctifies us.
The reason I said the Gift in us is both perfect and being perfected is because when Jesus said, “It is finished,” nothing was left to be done: it is a perfect Gift, fully paid for. “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. … [But] by one sacrifice He [Jesus] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:1, 14).
Do you see those verb tenses? Jesus made our atonement perfect, but we are now being made holy by the Holy Spirit.
When I serve as a coach or a consultant, I tell people up front, “There is going to be a time that you won’t like me very much because I’m going to keep uncovering things that you’ve overlooked. It’s going to get uncomfortable before we see improvement. But if you will stick with me, I promise you that there will be a noticeable improvement on the other side of this uncomfortableness.”
God disciplines those He loves. He wants His Son’s Gift to be seen by the world, so the Spirit must keep saint-ifying us. He will continue to hover over us, never letting us get complacent, vivifying us so that more and more of Jesus is increasingly seen in our lives.
It’s going to get uncomfortable before we see improvement!
Instead, listen to this prayer from the apostle Paul and make it your own prayer—
For this reason we…have not ceased to pray and make special request for you, asking that you may be filled with the full, deep, and clear knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom—in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God, and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things.
That you may walk, live, and conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition.
We pray that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, to exercise every kind of endurance and patience, perseverance, and forbearance with joy, giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints—God’s holy people—in the Light. (Colossians 1:9-12 AMP)
You are God’s gift to the world IF you are revealing God’s gift to the world in everything you say and do. The Gift in you has already been made perfect, and now the Holy Spirit is going to help you demonstrate this Gift more perfectly. Your fruitfulness is being made holy through His loving work in you.
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Charles Spurgeon. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Spurgeon” in the search box to read more entries.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
No Other Name
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! (Philippians 3:20—4:1).
What is it to be in the Lord? Well, brothers and sisters, we are in the Lord vitally and evidently when we fly to the Lord Jesus by repentance and faith and make Him to be our refuge and hiding place. Is it so with you? Have you fled out of self? Are you trusting in the Lord alone? Have you come to Calvary and beheld your Savior? … There is no shelter for a guilty soul but in His wounded side! Have you come there? Are you in Him? Then stay there. You will never have a better refuge! In fact, there is no other. No other name is given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved [Acts 4:12]. I cannot tell you to stand fast in the Lord unless you are there. Hence my first inquiry is, are you in Christ? Is He your only confidence? In His life, His death, and His resurrection, do you find the grounds of your hope? Is He Himself all your salvation and all your desire? If so, stand fast in Him.
From The Watchword For Today: “Stand Fast”
I am reminded of two of the stanzas from a Charles Wesley hymn:
Jude calls Christians to contend for the faith without contention and without compromise. As we wrap up this series, there is one final question that we should ask: What are we contending for? 
Craig T. Owens 