Sermon passage: Jude 3-4
Below is a sermon manuscript from August 18, 2024. Watch the sermon here.
Introduction
When you see the right light, it means go right through it.
If you want to pick up a first down in football, you have to go five yards.
If you are hanging shelves in your house, make sure the level looks like this with the bubble all the way to one side; otherwise, they will be crooked.
Anyone irritated? Does anyone feel the need to correct it?
Like a football coach saying, “You know what, some people might think it’s 15 yards for a first down, others 5 yards; who am I to say they are wrong? Let’s go with it.” No, there are certain things that coaches come to different conclusions on, but there is also something that they all must uphold. If a player is trying to convince other players to only gain five yards, it will affect the whole team. The coach must correct this. We also must correct and keep in line when deviating from the faith.
I sat in a seminary class where the professor shared how a theologian denied the Trinity and reduced faith in Christ to following your inner light. He asked the class how they would respond to someone who taught this. Should they confront them? If people in their church followed the person, should they correct them? Some of the responses shocked me. Those training to be in the ministry said, “I don’t think we should really judge them; we don’t know. I don’t ever want to be known for what I’m against. I would rather teach them, but I don’t think it’s ever necessary to confront or correct.” Now, it’s true that we can jump the gun. We can get our facts wrong. We can misunderstand someone. Sure. But the context was, “If this is the case, should you.” We should also understand that we can have multiple voices while ministering to others. There is a difference between someone who is working through something and someone who is a teacher and is leading others astray, unwilling to be corrected. The professor helpfully brought up these verses in Jude to remind the class that there is a time to contend. Some things are worth fighting against. Christian leaders must say, “These things are out of bounds for Christian orthodoxy.” Not because we arrogantly set up these boundaries but because they are received and passed on. To change them is arrogance.
Read Jude 3-4
We Have Received the Gospel
These two verses mark out two interrelated ideas. First, Jude discusses the characteristics of the gospel and then the characteristics of the false teachers. He is not so explicit with the former. Instead, it is embedded within the urgency that he writes.
Jude begins by calling them beloved. Love is already prominent in this letter, and he addresses it again here. It is his love for them that compels this change in the letter. He does not want to see them led astray. He cares for their spiritual well-being. We live in a culture that reduces love to mere affirmation. But to love someone is to protect them from danger, from others, and from themselves. In order to understand what’s happening, we need to first know what is at stake.
Christians have a common salvation
He acknowledges that they share a common salvation. This idea is reiterated by saying faith was once delivered for the saints. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are united to him and to one another. We share in something bigger than ourselves. While each of us might hear the gospel at different times and different places, it is the same gospel message that unites us. While the way the gospel is communicated may change, the gospel itself does not change. It might be taught in different languages, pressed home with various analogies, but the good news that Jesus came to save sinners is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It requires a person to acknowledge their sin and insufficiencies to save themselves. It requires repenting from sin and trusting in the finished work of Christ. There are many implications of this, but there is one central message. It is not for us to change or alter it but to deliver it to others. Changing it turns it into our message, not God’s message. And the good news of Nick is not good news. Only the good news of Jesus Christ is able to save and transform.
This is what Jude is getting at. When faith is used in Scripture, sometimes it refers to those who have faith. It is speaking of active trust. But other times, it refers to the content of that trust. That is the case here. It’s not enough that we trust and rely on something to save us; the object of our faith must be sure and reliable. New Testament scholar Doug Moo writes,
[Faith] describes what Christians believe—such things as Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, salvation by grace through faith, and (especially in Jude’s situation) the holy lifestyle that flows from God’s grace in Christ.[1]”
Christians apply the faith in various ways in order to be faithful within their cultural context, but Christians cannot alter the faith in various ways in order to be fashionable within their cultural context.
Interestingly some skeptical scholars take issue with the faith once delivered for the saints because it implies a tradition of common doctrine within the church. But this shouldn’t surprise us. Paul says that he passed on what was delivered to him. The idea of tradition and doctrine is not some new invention. When the church responds to attacks on Christ’s divinity later on, there is content to the faith that Christians must agree on. Later developments, like the Trinity, was the church responding to errors that must be addressed.
The faith is worth fighting for
The essentials are not up for debate. We cannot agree to disagree on the basic content of the faith once delivered for the saints. Christians are to accept it, pass it on, but do not have the authority to change it. To change it is to lose it. The creeds help us to see what Christians have always agreed upon.
With this in mind, they are to contend for it. This word contend is strong, to struggle for, to fight for. It carries connotations of competing, like Paul’s use of a similar word in 1 Corinthians 9:25, referring to strict training and self-restraint to achieve a prize. Here, there is a struggle against the false teachers to maintain the faith. It is a struggle against but also a struggle for.
Responding to present challenges is necessary to keep the gospel central.
There is a catch phrase, “keep the gospel central.” Even within our association, we are glad we keep the main things the main things. We want to be known by what we are for. We want to gather around the central claims of the Christian faith. And yet, keeping the gospel central does not mean doctrinal minimalism. It doesn’t mean the lowest common denominator or even that secondary things don’t matter. It also doesn’t mean avoiding confrontational topics. To keep the gospel central, it needs to be taught explicitly and it also needs to be defended. Teaching the gospel without dealing with errors is a great way to dilute the gospel. Think about the truth of the gospel. We are sinners, Jesus came to save us through his life, death, and resurrection. All who repent and trust in Jesus will be saved. If we are to be gospel people, then why should we address things like specific sins? Just talk about the cross, not obedience. But the cross takes sin seriously. The cross says that sin deserves punishment. Not because Jesus sinned but because he was providing the way for our sins. Sin also implies unbelief. We do not really believe that God is King, that he knows what’s best for us. We are content to rebel against the One who was crucified. It makes a mockery of the cross and of Christ.
The EFCA’s recent statement of affirmations and denials was their way of doing this.
We believe that as an association of churches, we in the EFCA are bound together by the biblical gospel, and we seek to live in the unity which that gospel creates. We believe and practice, “In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things, charity.” In that light, we seek to address social movements and cultural trends that can create division among us.
Just as Paul needed to explain and defend himself and his ministry (2 Cor 10-13), we, too, sense a need to explain the ministry the Lord has entrusted to us. Because of questions asked, concerns raised and criticisms made about or against the EFCA, which both prompted and limited the issues addressed, the Board of Directors and the Board of Ministerial Standing have adopted this declaration. The following statements are not meant to demonize or denigrate but are attempts to clarify where we in the EFCA stand as we seek to make the biblical gospel, and not any social movement, central among us.[2]
We Must Resist False Teachers
Next, Jude gives characteristics of False Teachers that were among them.
Designated for this condemnation
First, false teachers should not be a surprise. Moo, “Jude introduces the evidence for the false teachers’ condemnation that he will adduce in the rest of the letter. He makes his case by citing from the Old Testament (vv. 5–8, 11), from Jewish traditions (vv. 9, 14–16), and the teaching of the apostles (vv. 17–18). In all these sources, he says that the “condemnation” of these false teachers has long been established in all these sources.[3]”
Jude appeals to the Old Testament by saying they were designated for this condemnation. This is an important point. It comes right after Jude both refers to himself as a servant of Jesus Christ – and Old Testament allusion to “servant of the Lord” and after he says that Christians are called by God – terminology that would be associated with Israel. Why bring this up? Because, just like in our day, it would be easy to try to separate the Old Testament from the New Testament. Many could think that this new Jesus movement is a complete break from everything that went before it. Certain warnings don’t apply anymore. But Jude relates this present circumstance in the church to previous Biblical content. We can indeed misapply the Bible by not recognizing the particular location and context of a Biblical passage, seeing a 1:1 correlation in everything. But we can also misapply the Bible by not seeing the similarities.
Today, many seek to circumvent Biblical teaching on sexuality by saying it was only for a specific time, that the apostles were people of their time, or that there was a trajectory that makes all of it irrelevant for us today. Just as teachers may seek to avoid the accusations leveled against them by saying “it doesn’t apply,” many false teachers today say “it doesn’t apply” when speaking of obedience to Christ.
In our flesh, we want to hear certain things. We desire to follow Christ as those who have been made new in Christ, but our sin still remains. So, we downplay the commands of Christ in order to satisfy both impulses. This is what makes false teaching so appealing. You can affirm Christ in your outward confession but live in a way that satisfies sinful inclination. But this is to embrace the flesh and resist the Spirit’s work. It is to rob us of true joy and flourishing in Christ and to replace it with bondage to sin. It takes the promise of being free from sin and replaces it with being free to sin.
Ungodly
A second characteristic that is given by Jude is that these individuals are ungodly. “The word connotes a person who is “without religion,” who “fails to worship”[4]”
One commentator wrote how this would have shocked his audience. Perhaps these were people they were looking up to. They knew all the phrases to use and songs to sing. They appeared to give a liberating understanding of the faith that was appealing. But this was all deception. Jude was calling it like it was. This is a challenge for faithful teaching and leadership; it must call things as they are.[5]
We will see that they sought to pervert God’s grace, likely as a way to cover for their own sin. It is true that someone can teach the truth when they don’t believe it or live accordingly. We should praise God that he can use broken instruments to accomplish his purposes. After all, no one is without sin. Still, when we live in a way that is contrary to God’s Word it is more of a temptation to adapt God’s Word to justify our own behavior.
Let me put it this way. Preaching about parenting before you have kids is easier than after you have kids. Why? Because as you put the mirror of God’s Word against your own life, you see your own sins and failures. So, it’s easy to soften or adapt those parts to make you appear more righteous.
Pervert the grace of our God into sensuality
The passage tells us how these teachers were going wrong. They were perverting the grace of God into sensuality. The word sensuality is more comprehensive than sexual sin, including greed and other vices; it is really a lack of self-restraint. But in the context of the book of Jude, sexual sin is certainly included. It’s interesting today that many accuse Christians of focusing on only a certain subset of sins, but often, the focus on these issues is provoked in response to false teaching and cultural decay, as we see here. The liberation and freedom in Christ are perverted into a license to sin and slavery to vice.
Daily, the temptation is to presume upon grace. Presumption is our greatest sin. This verse belongs to the church. According to Jude, many are heading ever so unwittingly toward condemnation, never having been saved at all.[6]
The specific presumptions being taught will appear again in the passage. As one person put it, to understand this passage and teach it correctly, it means that you must avoid the error of false teachers. We cannot use grace to presume sensuality if we truly submit to what this book is teaching.
Deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ
They are also denying the master and Lord Jesus Christ. This phrase is debated whether it should be only Lord God and Master Jesus Christ or only master and Lord Jesus Christ. Most modern translations will read the latter, but if you have a King James or New King James, it will be the former. A reason some go there is because, typically, only Lord God is a phrase used of God the Father and not God the Son. But it does appear this is a better reading of the Greek, and it would be consistent with Jude’s early usage of terms typically applied to the Father to be applied to the Son.
In any case, the point is clear – these teachers deny Christ’s lordship. This may be in the content of what they are teaching, but it is certainly in a practical sense in how they live and influence others. Their lifestyles equate to a denial of Christ’s reign in their lives. They are not living in submission to his way of life but instead using His grace to cover what they want to do. In doing so they deny Him. This may seem like freedom, but it is actually embracing chaos.
Theologians have called this antinomianism. It is the belief that God’s grace means that obedience to Christ doesn’t matter. Paul responded to this in Romans 6:1, saying, “Should we sin so that grace may abound, certainly not.” Obedience to Christ matters. He is Lord and deserves our allegiance, and he also knows what we need.
I recently heard a story about a dad in charge when his wife was out of town. The kids loved it. They stayed up late and ate junk food. It was terrific until it wasn’t. It turns out a diet of candy and pizza doesn’t end well. The kids were looking forward to when mom came home, and their stomachs weren’t ready to explode anymore.
Calvin once said,
“It is bad to live under a prince who permits nothing, but much worse to live under one who permits everything.”[7]
Jesus loves us too much to permit a lifestyle that is against our flourishing and well-being. He is the one who knows us best and what’s best for us. Do we trust him?
Conclusion
The faith is worth fighting for because it is beautiful. It is the truth that saves us from sin and to a life of holiness. Have you embraced this faith once delivered to the saints? It is just as true and good now as it was then. It’s also just as much contested now as it was then. Let us hold firm to this as we remember together the goodness of this faith and how it saves and transforms. An excellent way for us to remember is through the Lord’s Supper what Christians have been doing throughout the ages to reflect on what Jesus has done.
[1] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 229.
[2] “Where We Stand in the EFCA: Denials and Affirmations — Evangelical Free Church of America,” accessed August 26, 2024, https://www.efca.org/where-we-stand-in-the-efca-denials-and-affirmations.
[3] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 230.
[4] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 230.
[5] R. C. Lucas and Christopher Green, The Message of 2 Peter & Jude: The Promise of His Coming, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 179.
[6] David R. Helm, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 298.
[7] David R. Helm, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 298.
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