Stay Faithful to the Gospel

If you can be a sibling of someone famous, who will it be?

And how will you live differently?

If you're a sport fan, maybe you want to be one of Williams or Watts,

or if you enjoy movie and entertainment, how about being one of the Hemsworths,

or the White Brothers of Aviation or the Kennedys in American politics.

Let's play a guessing game, okay, to see whether you can recognize those siblings of the foreign peoples.

The hints are their siblings is in entertainment industry.

They go, Kimon, very obvious.

Got resemblance, this is issues.

This is harder.

Steve might know this one.

We all know this.

The next one should be easy for all the Yanwans.

Yeah.

Very well.

Great job in working out who these people are.

But do you remember my original questions?

There are two questions.

The first is, whose sibling do you want to become?

And what about the second questions?

Wendy, can you hold back a bit on that one?

Yes.

I think the second question is comparatively a bit more important.

And I won't ask for a show of hands, but I'm confident around half of us,

so many of us will forgot that question, is how will you live differently?

Which is about what changes people will see in your life to show that you are a member of a particular family.

I'm confident, for I know that I myself often miss important parts of a conversation

because I'm very frustrated on some earlier parts or become very quick to react.

One of the writers in the New Testament, James, teach us from his book in chapter 1, verse 19 to 20,

that my dear brothers and sisters, take note of this.

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry

because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Learning to hold back our reaction, being quick to listen and slow to speak,

and or slow to become angry is such a lifelong lesson.

It's much easier to stay angry and demand justice, an eye for an eye.

But take note of James' warning that human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires,

which is end up causing you to become ungodly.

Ash preached last week about how the gospel,

the good news of God's action to save people through Jesus,

bring everyone into a family.

Talking about family and sibling,

we read today that James also has a brother who wrote a letter in the New Testament.

His name is Jew.

Jew, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

he wrote a letter to those who have been called,

who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ,

to encourage them to content for the faith,

deliver once and for all to the saints.

My intention today is to explore three questions from Jew's letter.

Who is Jew?

Who are the ungodly?

And how do we stay faithful to the gospel?

We know from what we have read that Jew is James' brother.

The beginning of the letter can also be translated as,

I, Judas, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James,

writing to those loved by God the Father,

called and kept safe by Jesus Christ.

We can make three observations of this different translation.

Firstly, Jew and Judas are interchangeable names.

Matthew 13, verse 54 to 55 says,

Matthew 13:54–55

So, apart from being the brother of James,

Jude or Judas is also a brother of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 3 of Mark's gospel says,

Jesus' family went to take charge of him

because they thought he has gone out of his mind

for being so busy dealing with people and even skipping meals.

But Acts 1, 14 indicates that Jesus' brother later become his follower.

And Paul, right in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 5,

1 Corinthians 9:5

implied that Jesus' brother become traveling missionary later in their life.

James and Jude's writings provide so much for us

to learn about how to live as a follower of Christ.

I urge you to set your goal this year to read their writing

and be familiar with their teaching.

The second observation is about the term a slave to Jesus Christ,

which is the first lesson we can learn from Jude.

Jude did not claim his status as a brother of Jesus Christ,

but addressed himself as a slave to Jesus Christ

because he was fully committed to glorifying Jesus.

He does not want anything to distract his audience.

Being a slave is a much stronger term than being a servant.

Jude's self-destination describes his complete devotion to Jesus.

Jude is an ordinary person who became special

through his association with Jesus.

And the association is not through being his sibling,

but through his submission to Jesus as a slave to his master.

Jude is a person who knows his standing with God.

His identity comes from his heart to serve and glorify God.

It does not come from his status

or standing among the believing community

or his position in the church.

He wants the best for his audience

because he's writing to those loved by God,

which is my third observation.

The love that Jude referred to

is a completed action

that continues in the same state.

God continues to love the people Jude is writing to

because they are called and kept safe by Jesus.

Jesus is the ultimate carekeeper

of all those who follow him.

Jesus is the only person

who ensures his followers' abundance

in mercy, peace, and love.

And Jude is very confident

that Jesus continues to keep his followers safe.

Jude loved the followers of Jesus

as much as Jesus loved them.

And in his letter,

he provides bookends of encouragement and praises

for the faithful followers.

His letter may seem heavy and sober in the middle,

but we must remember that Jude writes it

out of love and encouragement.

The faith that was once for all

and trusted to God's holy people

frames the whole body of the letter.

Jude writes to remind

and to urge his readers to remember that faith.

It was once and for all

and trusted to them who are God's holy people.

It will not change, diminish, or be taken away.

Faithful followers knew how to behave

and only needed to be reminded

of what they had already learned and demonstrated.

Nick reminded us in his preaching a couple of weeks ago

from Ephesians that Jesus' followers

are God's holy people

who have a glorious inheritance waiting for them.

There is such a true hope

and an incomparable great power

for those who believe.

Jesus' believers and followers

are special because Jesus calls and keeps us.

Jude told us that he originally intended to write

about their common salvation in Jesus Christ,

but had to change subject

to provide with tools to defend their faith.

His strong warning is necessary

because there are ungodly people among his readers.

Dear friends,

although I was very eager to write to you

about the salvation we share,

I felt compelled to write and urge you

to contend for the faith that was run for all

and trusted to God's holy people.

For certain individuals

whose condemnation was written about long ago

have secretly slipped among you.

They are ungodly people

who have preferred the grace of our God

into a license of immorality

and denied Jesus Christ our only Savior and Lord.

Jude told us that the ungodly people

are those who preferred the grace of our God

into a license of immorality

and denied Jesus Christ our only Savior and Lord.

The critical word here is only.

Jesus is our only Savior.

Ungodly people have an incorrect understanding

of what it takes to be saved

and live in a moral life,

which if followed will be detrimental.

There's nothing and no one else can save us

or keep us safe except Jesus.

False teacher create problems,

abuse the support of the Holy Ghost church,

and claim to have particular inspiration

from the Holy Spirit.

They will claim to know better

than your leaders in how to do things.

At the beginning of our summer series a few weeks ago,

Steve preached about Jonathan Edwards

and how he should be added

to the list of faithful people

mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

You can revisit all those sermons

by Steve, Ash, and Nick on our website

or visit our YouTube live stream.

The Bible has many positive examples

of how God encourages a follower

to stay faithful to him.

And they are also examples of those

who suffer the punishment

of their rebellion towards God.

And Jude uses many negative examples

from the Old Testament,

from verse 5 to 19.

Hebrews 11 and Jude provides

a positive and negative examples

of faithful interaction with God.

If you're not familiar with them,

you should make it your goal

to read through them

so that you will not fall

into the same punishment

as those who rebel against God.

I have compiled this leaflet

of how Jude used the Old Testament.

So take a copy as you leave

and familiarize yourself

with the negative example

so that you can take

Jude's warning to heart.

But Jude compiles a summary

that the ungodly people are

those who do not believe.

They abandoned their proper dwelling

and gave themselves up

to sexual immorality and perversion.

They polluted their bodies,

rejected authority,

and hid abuse on celestial things.

He further explained that

these people slander

whatever they do not understand.

Jude go on to say,

these people are blamishers

at your love feast,

eating with you

with their slightest crime,

and shepherds who feed only themselves.

The ungodly people

present a worrying problem

not because they actively

oppose the church.

They are a problem

because they have secretly

slipped in among the believers

and infiltrate the community.

They appear to have

your interest in their mind.

They enjoy the fellowship

and may even hold

leadership positions

shepherding others.

But all their care and concern

are themselves.

Jude described the ungodly people

as cloud without rain,

blow along by the wind,

autumn trees without fruits

and uprooted tristead.

They are wild waves of the sea

forming up their shame,

wandering stars

from whom

blackness

has been reserved forever.

They are like clouds

that overshadow others

but never bring the rain

that will nourish

and produce growth.

They like to keep you

under their control.

They are fruitless trees

and spiritually dead.

Their fires

often seem possible

but will not help you

to grow closer

to God or his people.

They do not hold back

from telling others

about their experience

or achievements.

They appear

to be committed

to God or the church.

Stars

serve a great purpose

of giving travel

a direction at night,

pointing the lost

to a safe place.

As followers of Christ,

we are to point people

to Jesus

for salvation.

But the ungodly people

are wandering stars

who lead people

away from God.

And if people rely

on their advice

or follow them,

they will not grow

in their faith

as God's intended.

So Jude continues

saying,

these people

are grumbler,

fault-finder.

They follow

their own evil desires.

They boast about

themselves

and flatter others

for their own advantage.

They grumble,

they find faults

in others,

especially those

leading them.

The ungodly people

often complain

behind their leader's back

and use flattery

to manipulate

and gain an advantage

in getting what they want.

They are scoffers

who follow

their own ungodly desires.

People will divide

the community

by following

merely human instincts

and do not have the spirit

because they care

most about

getting what they want,

even if it means

stepping on others

to get it.

They are sometimes

very subtle

but other times

apparent

in how they gain

their influence

over other believers.

We live in a society

that demands

the church

to change

with the times

to take advantage

of most modern view

of what it means

to be a Christian.

And the demands

are even coming

from within

the community

of believers

who to redefine

the basic meanings

of even being

human

in terms of

gender

and marriage.

We're in our

current day and age

where personal

and individual freedom

has been elevated

so high

as a failure of life,

where self-indulgence

and self-persevation

is of high priority

of a lot of people,

especially Yarn Edo's.

The warning of Jews

against ungodliness

is very relevant

to Jesus' followers.

So how are we

going to content

for the faith

that was once for all

and trusted

to God's holy people?

How are we going

to stay faithful

to the gospel?

Before we think

about what we need

to do,

I must reassure you

again that

God is the one

who keeps us

from stumbling.

We are loved by God

and called

and kept saved

by Jesus.

God will present

his people

to himself

as perfect reflection

of his son Jesus

to display his glory

and share his eternal joy

with his people.

But you,

dear friends,

by building yourself up

in your most holy faith

and praying

in the Holy Spirit,

keep yourself

in God's love

as you wait

for the mercy

of our Lord Jesus Christ

to bring you

to eternal life.

Jew gives us

three specific instructions

to how to stay faithful

to the gospel,

content for our faith,

fight and struggle,

exert intense effort

like an athlete

or one in warfare.

But he again

assures us

in verse 24

that God,

the glorious,

majestic,

powerful,

authoritative,

only God,

our Savior,

is at work,

who is able

to keep you

from stumbling

and to present you

before his glorious presence

with a thought

and with great joy.

God's hope

and power

are sufficient

to sustain us

in the face

of what God brings

into our life.

Even a few ungodly people

or situations,

God is the one

who will work in you

as you joy

lean to him.

Interacting

with people

who doubt

and wonder

requires deep knowledge

of our weaknesses

and failure.

It requires maturity

of faith.

That is why

Jude's first

specific instruction

is to build

ourselves up

in faith.

Romans 10, 17

says,

faith comes from

hearing the message

and the message

is heard

through the word

about Christ.

Because we are prone

to forget

what God has done

for us,

we must constantly

expose ourselves

to God's word,

which is where

faith comes from.

Regularly reading

the Bible,

hearing preached

and taught,

memorizing scriptures

and discusses

with others

are ways

we build

ourselves up

in faith.

God has given us

patterns in the scripture

as a warning.

As we see

the numerous examples

of those who

turn away from the Lord

to fold their sinful ways,

we should pray

and ask God

to show us

an area of our life

where evil desire

may lurk.

And that's the second

specific instruction.

We pray for the Holy Spirit

to work in our life.

And by building

ourselves up

this way

and praying

in the Holy Spirit,

we keep ourselves

in God's love

as we await

his mercy

on the last day.

That's the third

instruction.

The way

we can keep ourselves

in God's love,

apart from reading

the Bible

and praying,

is to be merciful

to those who doubt.

Save others

by snatching them

from the fire.

To others show mercy,

mixed with fear,

hating even the clothing

stink

by corrupt flesh.

As believers,

our hope is set

on Christ's mercy

towards us.

So we are to show mercy

to those

caught in sin

and deception

while keeping ourselves

from that sin

that has trapped them.

all of this

require

intentional effort

and active

participation

in the body

of Christ.

We are vulnerable

in mistaking

our desires

for God's will.

The false teaching

of those ungodly

people may seem

good and reasonable

at first.

And a false teacher

may appear authentic.

It ends up

pointing away

from God

and towards destruction.

To avoid

being led astray,

we must rely

on the scriptures,

on the spirit's guidance

and invite other believers

to help

hold us accountable.

We should take advantage

of these safeguards,

stay on the gospel path

and assist those

who are wavering.

A sure sign

of ungodly people

is that they like

to fight

with others,

especially their leaders.

So let me introduce you

to this book

called Fight for

Your Pastor.

A pastor

is someone

that's leading your life.

Again,

this will help you

to come back

ungodliness.

I bought this book

last year

and gave out copies

to the church.

So please

dust them

off your shelf.

We'll read them

again this year.

And if you haven't

got a copy,

we've got copies

out there

as you go out.

Please consider

also donating

to the church

as we can

make more resources

available to you.

less content

together

for the faith

that was once

and for all

and trusted to you

and me,

God's holy people.

To him

who is able

to keep you

from stumbling

and to present you

before his glorious presence

without thought

and with great joy,

to the only God

our Savior

be glory,

majesty,

power,

and authority

through Jesus Christ

our Lord

before all ages

now and forever.

Amen.