Contend for the True Faith Pt. 2

Sermon Transcript

One of the many benefits of being a parent to school-aged children is that I get to learn all sorts of new phrases that I’d otherwise be completely ignorant to. For example, I’ve learned from Soren that “drip” isn’t something my faucet does when it’s broken, but Soren tells me that drip is your cool, fancy clothes and shoes. So, this tie that Josh Boyer gave me is my drip. Great. You knew this? I guess I really am nearly 40. In the spirit of being a middle-aged parent, I want to teach you some new words and phrases this morning. These phrases may not make you cutting edge, but they will help unlock glorious and needed truths from God’s word for everyday life. And the first phrase that I want to teach you is “cheap grace.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer defined cheap grace as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance…[it’s] grace without Jesus Christ.” Real grace is beautiful, it forgives us of the penalty of sin and increasingly releases us from the power of sin. Cheap grace is ugly. It turns Jesus Christ into the excuser of sin and license to indulge temptation.

Jude wrote his appeal because cheap grace invaded a church that he loved. Jude 1:3-4 – 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 that was once for all delivered to the saints. 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. Cheap grace cuts Christ in half, leaving him as Forgiver, but not Lord. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, through Jude appeals to all of us to contend for the costly grace that forgives and changes us. And that brings us back to the big idea of Jude: Contend for the true faith. Last week we learned from Jude why to contend for the true faith, namely, because cheap grace is a deadly temptation common to all of us. This week as we draw our study of the Letter of Jude to a close we’ll explore how to contend for the true faith. Three ways according: 1. Remember the predictions (Jude 1:17-19) 2. Keep yourselves in God’s love (Jude 1:20-21) 3. Bring wanderers home (Jude 1:22-23).

REMEMBER THE PREDICTIONS

According to the Bible, we are living in the “last time” between Jesus’ first and second coming. The Apostles – the majority authors of the New Testament – predicted that a particular thing would happen in this last time. Jude says that contending for the true faith involves remembering it. What did the apostles predict? Jude 1:17-19 – But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. [18] They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” [19] It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. Who are these people that the apostles predicted would arise in our day until Christ returns? It says that they are scoffers, meaning, as we just read in verse four, that they deny and blaspheme Jesus Christ by embracing cheap grace. They use the wonderful doctrines of grace and forgiveness of sins as a license to follow their heart rather than what is written in God’s word. But as my friend Greg Peters says, “Nothing will ever be okay in God’s eyes if it’s not okay in God’s word.” Cheap grace is divisive; it tears churches apart.

Now, let me ask you a question. What do you do when you see someone you trust, someone you love, or someone you admire embrace cheap grace and plunge into a life of sin, which always divides churches or causes legitimate church hurt? Jude says, “You have to remember that this was predicted!” Remember, for example, that the Apostle Paul predicted this would happen in Acts 20 when he spoke to the Ephesian elders. “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; [30] and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). Remember the predictions. The next time someone you love or admire embraces cheap grace and follows their lusts as Lord, open your Bible and read one of the many Apostolic predictions that this would happen in the last time. Read it and pray, “Father, I’m tempted to give in to disillusionment and doubt about you, the gospel, and the church, but I’m not going there because I remember you promised this would happen. And since it’s happening, this proves you’re trustworthy. This is painful, but it is also proof that you’re trustworthy and your word is true because it was predicted. And keep me from my every inclination to follow them into cheap grace.” You must remember the predictions because when you do, these situations are transformed from faith-killers to faith-builders. Contend for the true faith, first, by remembering the predictions. The second way to contend for the true faith is…

KEEP YOURSELVES IN GOD’S LOVE

Soren recently taught me a word that’s completely new to me: rizz. Apparently, “rizz” refers to how attractive you are. Totally new to me. Well, at this point I want to teach you a phrase that may be completely new to you: “Means of grace.” Let’s all say that together: Means of grace. The phrase “means of grace” will help us understand how the Christian life & growth works, and how to approach the command in Jude 1:21 – Keep yourselves in the love of God. If you’ve read all of Jude’s letter, then that may strike you as an odd command because Jude begins and ends his letter by telling Christians that they are kept by God; kept by God and eternally secure in Christ. Jude 1:1 – Jude…To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ… Jude 1:24 – Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy… Since God keeps us in his love, why are we commanded “keep yourselves in the love of God”? This is where our new phrase “means of grace” is really helpful. Dr. John Piper explains it this way. Over and over in the Bible we see this: God’s action is decisive; our action is dependent. And both actions are essential. So I urge you again to resist the mindset that cynically says, “If God is the decisive keeper of my soul for eternal life (verses 1, 24), then I don’t need to ‘keep myself in the love of God'” (verse 20). That would be like saying, since God is the decisive giver of life, then I don’t need to breathe. No. No. Breathing is the means that God uses to sustain life…This is what I mean by the term, “means of grace.” “Grace” is the free keeping-work of God to sustain our spiritual life that leads to everlasting joy. The “means of grace” is our “keeping ourselves in the love of God.” God’s “keeping” inspires and sustains our “keeping.” His keeping is decisive and our keeping is dependent on his. You keeping yourselves is the means that God uses to keep you. His keeping is decisive. Yours is dependent.

How do you keep yourselves in God’s love? To answer that question, we need to learn one last new word. Last word: participle. In Jude 1:20-21, there are three participles that show us how to carry out the command: keep yourselves in the love of God. The participles will be underlined and the verb in bold. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, [21] keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. How do you keep yourselves in God’s love? By building, praying, and waiting.

First, building. By building yourselves up, you keep yourself in the love of God. The plural “yourselves” reminds us that building our faith is something we do together. That’s why I can honestly say that one of the best ways to build yourselves up is by showing up. Keep showing up to worship, fellowship, pray, and encourage one another. I want to mention two things we do together that may not be on your radar for building your faith. One is to take one of the classes offered through the Citylight Institute this fall. The classes are offered during one of the morning worship services on Sunday. Next month when we roll out the class offerings, remember this verse and register for one. Second, give a genuinely sacrificial portion of your income to our shared mission of making disciples of Jesus to the glory of God. Few things will strengthen your faith like giving. The reason I say that is because Jesus says that you cannot serve two masters, you’ll either serve God or money. Why? We trust money to provide what we want and need. When we give to our shared mission, it grows our faith in God to be our provider and our sufficiency. So, first participle, building.

Second, participle: praying. Keep yourself in God’s love by praying in the Holy Spirit. Jude 1:20-21 – But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, [21] keep yourselves in the love of God… Praying to God is the way we keep ourselves in God’s love. Prayer is pouring out our hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving. Breathing is the means of keeping alive physically and praying alone, together, and all the time is the means of keeping alive spiritually. Praying in the Holy Spirit is praying in line with the Holy Spirit’s power and priorities. The best way that I know how to pray in the Holy Spirit is to pray Scripture, since the Scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Whether you’re alone at home or in the car, in a small group of believers, or at a prayer gathering, turn passages and promises of Scripture into prayer. You’ll always be praying in the Holy Spirit when you’re praying with your nose in the Bible. I grew up in California near the ocean, I like to surf, and I’m relatively experienced in the water. But I still can’t hold my breath very long. I can go more than two minutes without breathing. We probably shouldn’t go much longer than that without praying.

The final participle is waiting. Keep yourselves in God’s love by eagerly waiting for Jesus’ second coming. Waiting on the Lord isn’t the same as killing time. Waiting on the Lord means drawing present strength from future promises. It means drawing present strength to live for God’s glory from the promise that in the future I will dwell in God’s all-satisfying glory forever. What can this look like? I’ll give you one example, but you can probably think of a hundred. God has called my family labor for the gospel in Philly, but I’d rather live in a pretty place that’s a little more in the country, near my in-laws so that they can help with our kids. But since God promises that I’m going to dwell on a gorgeous new earth forever when Jesus returns in mercy, I can draw present strength to live for God’s glory from that future promise. By actively waiting for Jesus’ second coming, we keep ourselves in God’s love. Contend for the true faith against cheap grace. How? Keep yourselves in God’s love, but do it with joy and freedom, with your heart soaring with peace, because God is decisively keeping you. Remember the predictions, keep yourselves in God’s love, and, finally to contend for the true faith….

BRING WANDERERS HOME

The Bible says that the church is like a flock and Jesus is our Good Shepherd. And like a flock, sheep stray and wander. Amazingly, the Good Shepherd sends his sheep to bring wandering sheep home. Contending for the true faith means bringing wanderers home. Jude 1:22-23 pictures a person in three different stages of wandering and provides different instructions for how to bring them home depending on where they are in their wandering. Of course, the lines between each stage can be blurry.

The first stage of wandering is doubt. The way to bring a doubting wanderer back is by having mercy on them. Jude 1:22 – And have mercy on those who doubt… A doubting person is someone who is beginning to read and listen to stuff that makes them wonder if, in light of the grace of God, maybe some things Christians have always believed the Bible to condemn are actually ok. They’re confused, tied in some knots, and are doubting. Don’t bring that wandering doubter back with a harsh warning, but through merciful question-asking and gentle encouragement to nourish their soul on God’s word, not man’s. Merciful, long-suffering, patient, but honest time is the way to bring the doubting wanderer back. But over time, if mercy doesn’t bring the wanderer home and they’re moving toward the edge of departing from the faith once for all delivered to the saints, departing from being a member of a true church, or indulging cheap grace, then you have to snatch them from the flames of judgment. Jude 1:23a – save others by snatching them out of the fire… Years ago a young man in our church who loves Jesus began dating a non-Christian woman. Cheap grace led King Solomon to do similarly and his entire heart was drawn away from the Lord. So, this young man’s brothers in Christ recognized that their friend was beyond considering if grace excused dating a non-Christian, he had jumped head first into it. So, they confronted him lovingly, but sharply. They laid the relationship on the line. By doing so the young man repented with tears. They snatched him from the flame. It’s never totally clear when someone actually moves doubting wanderer to wandering into the fire, but I will say this: my tendency as a pastor is and our tendency as a church has always been to wait way too long to put it all out on the line in a great act of love and snatch someone from the flames and bring them home. I’ve been a pastor for a long time and a Christian for far longer. I’ve seen far more damage done by waiting too long to step out and bring a wanderer home. Who is wandering in doubt that you need to love enough to mercifully bring home? Who is wandering near the fire that you need to pull out all the stops to snatch from the flames. Now, sadly, there can be a third step in wandering, when someone refuses to be snatched from the flames. This is when someone who once professed faith in Christ embraces cheap grace and plunges into ongoing, unrepentant sin. How do you know when someone has gotten to this point? This is where being a member of a local church is so helpful because the biblical way to know that someone has wholly wandered into cheap grace is that, as Jesus commands in Matthew 18, one person told them their sin, then three to four people together, then the whole church membership, and then they’ve been removed from the membership of the church in an act of excommunication. But even if someone has wandered that far, Jude says to still not give up on them. Show them mercy with fear. Jude 1:23b – …to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. This is similar to the instructions the Apostle Paul gave in Galatians 6:1 – Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Do you know someone who has gone all the way into ongoing, observable, unrepentant sin? Show mercy, do all that you can to bring them back, but watch yourself because the Devil loves to tempt us to wander in the same way that they are.

CONCLUSION

Now, dear friends, that is a lot for us to do. Cheap grace is deadly, so the Holy Spirit says “contend for the true faith by remembering the predictions that this would happen, by keeping yourselves in God’s love, and by mercifully bringing wanderers home. Yes, we have a lot to do, but remember what we learned last week about what it means to be a gospel-centered church. It means, as Sinclair Ferguson says, “You need to go backwards to what Christ has done to go forwards into what you are to do.” Now that Jude has told us what to do, he will conclude his letter by taking us backwards into what God has done for us in Christ so that we can move forward in doing it. Jude 1:24-25 – Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling (We contend for the faith because God called us, adopted us and is keeping us by grace) and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.(Since he saved us and keeps us from stumbling away from Him, he will present in his presence with great joy forever by grace), [25] to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Since it’s all grace, he gets all the glory. He will keep you. Keep the faith.