Contending for the Faith in the Last Times

We continue on in Jude this morning. This is our second to last Sunday in Jude.

There's something really remarkable, remarkably powerful about a hard deadline.

For those of us who are, I mean, type A people, for lack of a better term,

they thrive with planning and organization and creating systems.

So deadlines can be as exciting as Christmas Eve.

I'm not one of those people, by the way. I find that very bizarre.

My wonderful wife, Christine, she loves deadlines and planning and all of that stuff.

For those of us who do not thrive with planning in such a way,

we may struggle to perform tasks unless there's a deadline.

So we need the pressure that deadlines bring.

And we find deadlines, on one hand, very stressful, but highly motivating.

We need to feel the pressure for that motivation to kick into overdrive our ability to get tasks finished.

But for most of us, we're a combination of somewhere in the middle.

We're a combination of type A, type B.

The reality is that in all such cases,

knowing the end has a way of bringing the whole picture into focus

and helping us feel the urgency of the task at hand.

Whether you love to plan or whether you need that pressure to help you,

there's something remarkable about knowing the end from the beginning.

As we enter into the second half of Jude,

our attention is drawn to a key question.

And this is the question,

how are we to live and contend for the faith in the last times or in the last days?

So you'll remember that Jude is very concerned with us contending for the faith.

It is a key part of his letter.

And here he's going to talk about the last times or the last days.

So as with working with deadlines,

knowing that we are living in the last times

helps us as God's people to be clear about who we are

and to be urgent about what we are to do.

We know that the end is on its way.

It helps us to focus in the here and the now, in the present.

But first, you must understand what the last times mean,

at least in Jude's letter here.

I would wonder, many of us come from different Christian traditions.

For many of us, we might have a well-formed and coherent eschatology.

That is the doctrine of the end times.

We might be sure that this is exactly how it's going down.

For some of us, we haven't really thought about it.

For some of us, you don't want to think about it

because of whatever church background you've had.

So whether this is an exciting doctrine or topic for you or not,

Jude here, as well as elsewhere in the New Testament,

we'll talk about the end times referring to the period of time

between the first and the second coming of Jesus.

So whatever else the book of Revelation says

or the book of Daniel says

or other parts of what Jesus says in the Gospels,

for us this morning, the end times refers to this period of time

after Jesus dies on the cross, is buried, rises again,

and then ascends to when he will come again in glory

to take his own and judge the world.

So this is where it's a bit difficult

because when we talk about the last times or the last days,

this is like a 2,000 year plus an ongoing period of time.

It's like this is the last days, but like it's the last days.

Throw a few more A's in there.

Like you don't talk about the last days being the last millennia,

but nevertheless, this is what every Christian has experienced

since the church was born.

That we are all living, every generation of believers,

we are living in the last days.

All Christians at all times are living in the last days

until the Messiah, Jesus, returns

and are therefore called to faithful and obedient waiting.

We do not know if our Lord and Savior will come back

today, tonight, tomorrow, next week.

We don't know.

I think that's the point.

And the Holy Spirit, through the gospel writers,

is communicating to us this morning

that we ought to live as people in the last days.

And when we know the end,

it helps us to know who we are and what we are to do.

So with that in mind, let me ask the question once again.

How are we to live and contend for the faith

as God's people in the last times?

Four ways in verses 17 to 23 that Jude will help us to understand

how to live and contend for the faith in the last days.

The first is that we ought to remember why we need to contend in the first place.

The second is that we ought to strive for personal and communal growth in the gospel.

The third, that we, by faithfully waiting for the coming salvation of the Lord,

we are to live a life of obedience before the Lord.

And finally, and this is interesting, and we'll get to why it's interesting in a bit,

in light of Jude's letter,

we are called to help those who are falling into doubt and error

and are on the way not to glory,

but to hell.

So if you have a Bible, turn with me to verse 17.

We'll be in verses 17 and 19,

and we'll look at

how to contend for the faith

by remembering why we need to contend in the first place.

Look with me at verse 17 to 19.

But you must remember, beloved.

And I'll pause really quickly.

Jude opens his letter by calling the church God's beloved.

And here, as he gets to the tail end of the church,

he reaffirms that.

We are beloved of God.

And that means something.

That is a deep, wonderful truth.

And Jude is hammering that home

at the beginning and at the end.

But you must remember, beloved,

the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They said to you,

in the last time,

there it is,

there will be scoffers

following their own ungodly passions.

It is these who cause divisions,

worldly people,

devoid of the Spirit.

Once again, Jude tells the church to remember,

in this case,

to remember both what the apostles prophesied and taught.

He says here,

the predictions of the apostles and what they said.

To remember both what they prophesied and taught.

That the church would always,

God's people would always have to contend

for the faith against scoffers

who are slaves to their passions

and as a result,

divide the church.

It is important to understand

that the scoffers

aren't simply people who are sarcastic

or mean-spirited.

And that's a very important point.

They are people in the church.

They are people sitting beside us.

They could be yourself.

They are people who are overly skeptical of the faith

or aspects of the faith

that was given to us,

delivered to us, the saints,

once and for all.

Their minds are made up against God's Word

and they influence others to doubt.

By the way, this is different

than some of us

who are genuinely wrestling with God

over how to handle thorny issues with the faith.

How to reconcile miracle claims of the Bible

that can't be explained through natural means.

Some serious roadblocks to faith.

Or some of us who have friends or family

that identify as gay or lesbian or transgender

that we deeply love,

but at the same time are struggling with

how do I love them well

and yet not compromise on the biblical vision

of marriage and God creating male and female.

It's a struggle.

So, this is not what scoffers are referring to here,

just to be clear.

There are some serious, hard wrestlings

that need to happen

as we embrace our faith

and go deeper in the faith

and are confronted with very difficult things

that oppose the faith

or oppose our ability to trust in God's Word.

And oftentimes, that wrestling isn't an overnight thing.

Sometimes it takes months.

Sometimes it takes years.

But this isn't who Jude has in mind

when he refers to the scoffers.

No.

Scoffers are those who have abandoned the faith.

They've abandoned the authority of Scripture.

They've abandoned the lordship of Jesus Christ.

And they have come up with their own version of Christianity.

A pseudo-Christianity.

A pseudo-faith.

There is an irony here

because Jude has told us,

and we've looked at it in previous weeks,

that oftentimes the scoffers are the people

that are the real spiritual people in the church.

They're the ones that have the Spirit.

These are the ones that really know

what the Bible has to say

and they really know God's will and God's heart.

But Jude here, ironically, says,

actually, they don't have God's Spirit at all.

They're devoid of the Spirit.

They claim to be spiritual,

but they couldn't be any farther

from having the Holy Spirit reside in them.

An example, and it is an egregious example,

but so you kind of get the point.

I've mentioned this a number of times

that I and our church stands on the shoulders

of some brave men and women

who left the Anglican Church of Canada

for this very thing,

for leaving the faith once delivered to the saints,

the authority of the Scriptures,

the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And it wasn't just in Canada.

It was in the States as well.

And 10 years ago,

the now former head of the Episcopal Church,

that's the American version of the Anglican Church,

the head of the church,

not like a sub,

not like a vice president or something,

like the very top,

the primate, as they're called,

of the Episcopal Church,

preached a sermon on Acts 16

and claimed that the Apostle Paul

was extremely, extremely in the wrong

for robbing a woman

who had spiritual insight.

And now if you know Acts 16,

you'll know that what actually happened

was Paul the Apostle

casted out a demon of a fortune teller

and freed her from possession.

It is so interesting

that this woman who claims to,

this leader that claims to have the Spirit

couldn't be farther from the truth.

Now that is an egregious example,

but we know people,

we might even be very close to people,

we might even be people

in the past or right now

that will deny aspects of God's Word

and claim that we are the spiritual ones.

But there is nothing spiritual

about departing from God's Word.

God's Word, this is bread,

this is life,

this is real food for us.

Scoffers are people

that are not intellectually honest

and transparent.

They manipulate and they bend Christianity

to fit an existing worldview

rather than struggle

with the difficulties in the Bible

and in the faith.

But God welcomes that wrestling,

that struggle.

In fact, Israel, Jacob,

had his name changed.

He struggled with God.

It's a beautiful picture in Genesis

of Jacob wrestling with God.

The implications are that God

can be wrestled with.

You don't have to hide the struggles

that you may be going through,

the difficult questions you may be asking,

because if you voice them,

God will damn you.

No!

He will listen.

He welcomes it.

And as patient

as the most patient person is

that you've ever met,

God is far more patient.

And he has time for you

to struggle through some of this stuff.

Scoffers are not struggling.

They have the appearance, maybe,

of intellectual honesty and transparency,

but they're not honest.

They are not transparent.

The scoffers hold, ultimately,

God in contempt.

They are not honest to us

and even to themselves

about their struggle or lack thereof.

Jude reminds us that we must assume

such people will be in the church.

And he provides criteria for us

to discern and recognize them

so that we may contend for the faith.

And this will bring us

to our second point.

But to properly contend for the faith,

we must be people

who are secure in our identities

as believers,

as Christians,

as those that have submitted our lives

to the Lord Jesus Christ,

that are growing in our faith

and are growing in our faith

together with others.

We must not grow complacent,

especially in the last time.

So Jude tells us,

reminds us,

why we're contending for the faith.

And now he says,

hey, listen,

this is how you contend for the faith.

Get your own life right.

Take a look with me at verse 22

and the first part of verse 21.

But you, beloved,

again, there we have it,

but you, beloved,

building yourselves up

in your most holy faith

and praying in the Holy Spirit,

keep yourselves in the love of God.

building ourselves up

in the most holy faith.

That holy faith

is to say that

this faith is received,

not created,

by us.

We're not holy in and of ourselves.

We are made holy by God.

God is the only one who is holy.

He gives us faith.

He gives us his faith.

So Jude, by saying,

building yourself up

in the most holy faith,

we don't pretend

that we have the corner

on what biblical,

godly faith is.

We inherit it

from God himself.

And it is holy

because it is from God.

Building ourself up

in the most holy faith

means we are engaged

in the ongoing submission

of our lives

to the will of God

in conformity

to his word.

This is both

an individual

and communal endeavor.

It is not enough

to be concerned

only with our own spirituality.

I've said it in the past,

but I think it's always

a good reminder.

We come into

the Christian faith,

into faith in God

through Jesus Christ,

one by one.

It's a very personal faith,

but we walk it out together.

There is no such thing

as a lone ranger Christian,

as a Christian by themselves.

You can't live

as a Christian

the way God wants you

to live by yourself,

apart from other believers,

apart from going to church.

Many of us

have Christian friends

and families

that may go to

other churches,

and that's good,

and we fellowship with them.

But,

especially around

Holy Communion,

and just before

I pronounce the benediction,

take a minute

to look around you

when the kids

are back

from children's ministry,

when the helpers

are back.

Look around you

and take a look

at the people

and understand

that God has gathered

us together,

not to hang out

on Sunday mornings

and eat cupcakes

or muffins

or to see a baptism.

It's fantastic.

It's beautiful.

But to live out

this faith

with one another.

Now that takes time

because I'm not

letting anybody

into my life

just on a moment's notice.

It takes time

to gain trust

and to lower guards down

if you're more

of an introvert,

to feel more comfortable,

to come up to somebody

or whatever it may be,

to develop relationships,

to let somebody

into your life.

But that is

what we're called to.

This is how we live

out our faith together.

We come in one by one

but we live this thing

out together.

And this is what

we have been doing

for these past

two and a half years.

By God's grace,

unless he returns,

we will do it

until our youngest person

is our oldest person

in the congregation

and all of us

are gone.

Now,

we can do this

with God's help.

This is where praying

in the Holy Spirit

comes in.

It comes into play.

Which is to say

that we are to live

as God's children

with God's help.

And what does

the Holy Spirit do?

The Holy Spirit

convicts us of our sins.

The Holy Spirit

leads us

to have soft

and repentant hearts.

The Holy Spirit

helps us

to genuinely love others

by showing concern

and mercy.

and the Holy Spirit

helps us to pray.

Leads us

to Christ.

And as we grow

in our trust

and faith,

we enjoy Christ's love

all the more.

This is what it means

to remain in God's love.

I wish I could have

more time

to explore this

and maybe I'll put it

in the Wednesday

email that I send out.

But there's a bit

of a tension here

because on one hand,

it's very clear

in the opening verses

of Jude's letter

to those who are called

beloved in God the Father

and kept for Jesus Christ

that we have been called

by God.

We have this faith

as a gift.

It is grace

that we are called Christians,

that we can even know God.

And yet,

in our text here,

it says to remain

in God's love

as if we could fall out

of God's love.

There's a bit of a tension here.

And I'll double-click

on that,

I think,

later on.

But all that to say

is that what this means

is to abide

in the love of God.

That Jesus says,

if you love me,

you will keep my commands.

That is to say,

the heart

that is transformed

by the gospel,

that is saved

by Christ,

is the heart

that seeks

to obey him.

So continue

to obey the Lord.

This leads

to the third point.

It also means

keeping Christ's

return in view,

remembering that

we are people

deeply concerned

with the present,

but whose ultimate destiny

is the new heavens

and the new earth.

Excuse me.

Look at verse 21

and the second part

of verse 21

with me.

Well, actually,

I'll read the first.

The whole verse 21.

Keep yourselves

in the love of God,

and here it is,

waiting for the mercy

of our Lord Jesus Christ

that leads to eternal life.

It would seem

that the modern church

falls into two errors,

either talking too much

about the last times,

the end times,

eschatology,

deciphering

when Jesus will come back,

what will happen,

what this represents,

what that represents.

Oftentimes,

scripture is silent.

Or,

and this is probably

for a church like ours,

the error we fall into,

and it is an error.

We don't talk about it enough.

We don't have in view

the second coming

at all

about

in

any kind of

rhythm

of our

of our church life.

verse 21

helps us to see

that the second coming

of Jesus

is very important

and will inform

the way we live

in the present.

And that goes back

to what I opened with.

If you know the end,

it helps us

to live

in the present.

And how are we

to live in the present?

We are told here

that we

are to

patiently

obey,

to,

to,

to have a patient

faithfulness

in what Christians,

in,

in how we are

to live as Christians.

We are people

that lean on

a prayer book.

It's not much

different than

how

Christianity

and how the faith

of the Bible

has,

has operated

throughout the centuries

and millennia.

And we have

something called

Even,

Even Song

or Evening Prayer.

And Evening Prayer,

it's a beautiful service,

it's fairly short.

We have an adaptation

of it in our daily offices,

but if you have a book

of common prayer,

you can see it.

But Evening Prayer

ends

with the prayer

of Simeon

from Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

If you remember

Simeon from Luke chapter 2,

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Jesus is presented

at the temple

and this elderly man

who has been waiting

for the coming

of the Messiah

patiently,

faithfully,

day in,

day out,

month in,

month out,

decade in,

decade out,

finally,

gets to see Jesus,

the Messiah

in the flesh.

And this is what we pray

in Even Song

every evening.

It's beautiful.

It says,

Lord,

now you are letting

your servant

depart in peace

according to your word.

For my eyes

have seen

your salvation

that you have prepared

in the presence

of all peoples,

a light for revelation

to the Gentiles

and for glory

to your people Israel.

That is the posture

we ought to have.

Patiently waiting

and obeying,

looking to the coming

of our Lord

in the same way

that Simeon looked

for the first coming

of the Messiah.

The point is this.

As we wait

for the return of Christ,

we will begin

to long

for the return of Christ.

to see Him

and be with Him,

to touch Him

and to know His love

in greater and greater

measures

for all of eternity

so that we will never

come to the bottom

of the well

of God's love

sometime in

the 10,000th year

we are in the new heavens

and the new earth

because His love

is infinite.

So we can,

for eternity,

search for

and plumb the depths

of God's love.

And as we think

about that,

I think I do not

experience that love

in this life.

The love that I experience

is a wonderful love

with family

and friends

and church community

but it is not

a perfect love.

It is a shadow,

it is a picture

of what the love

of God looks like

but one day

when He comes

we will know

that perfect love

and it will be unending.

the point is this,

when we wait

for the return

of Christ

we begin to long

for the return

of Christ.

We long for it.

The things that we enjoy,

the good,

the true and the beautiful

of this life

will point us

to that life

to come

where we will

enjoy the glory

of God

forever and ever.

our priorities

will change.

Our thinking

will change.

Our obedience

will not necessarily

be any less costly

but there will be

a greater degree

of joy

as we obey.

And this will lead us

to our final point.

It will also help us

to be Christ-like

and show mercy

to those

who we would

otherwise despise

or cancel

or hope to God

that they would

be eliminated.

How are we

to live and contend

for the faith

in the last times?

We are also called

to help those

who are falling

into doubt

and error.

Look with me

at verses 22

to 23.

And have mercy

on those

who doubt

save others

by snatching them

out of the fire

to those

show mercy

with fear

hating even

the garments

stained by the flesh.

Very quickly

we are going to look

at the three

groups of people

in view here.

Each group

is a harder

case than the last.

So let's look

at the first group.

It says here

in verse 22

And have mercy

on those who doubt.

Now we have talked

about the doubters.

And these people

we are to show

mercy to.

They are the ones

that are struggling

and wrestling

with the difficult

aspects of the faith

and may have begun

to lose steam

in their wrestling.

Now I mentioned

wrestling with

some of these

hard doctrines

it's not an

overnight thing.

I'll share

a personal story.

I struggled

with the legitimacy

of especially

the Gospels

for eight years

after my undergrad.

I went to Carleton

thinking

puffed out chest

I'm 21

I know everything

there is to know

about the Bible.

Idiots

over there.

And then I get

to my third year

seminar

fourth year seminar

on the life

and teachings

of Jesus.

Breeze

no problem.

And all of a sudden

all of these

questions

about the

inconsistencies

between the

Gospels

start getting

exposed.

and my foundation

starts to crack.

Now

by God's

kindness

and grace

I didn't

abandon the faith

but it was an

eight year process.

It wasn't until

I was in seminary

which is crazy

to think

that I realized

through

other

materials

that I

encountered

that the

Gospels

are totally

trustworthy.

that was an

eight year process.

How about if

in year three

somebody was not

merciful to me?

Daniel

you have to

trust in this

or you're not

a Christian.

I'm sorry

but you need to

trust in the Bible

or else you

can't be around

us or

you know

you can't serve

in the church

or you can't

participate in the

life of the

covenant community.

Or maybe it's

on year seven

and ten months

I got two months

to go

I don't know

the future

so you know

eight months

eight and a half

months

you get the

point.

I'm on the

verge of

dealing with

my doubts

and mercy

was not

extended to

me.

Friends we

show mercy

to people

because we

are people

who receive

God's mercy.

Struggling

through difficult

things

they're real

and doubting

here

we go through

seasons of it.

If you know

somebody who is

doubting or if

you're doubting

yourself do not

be afraid to

share that

and then to

walk with

people.

Here Jude

says listen

have mercy

on those

people.

Does he give

does he give

does he give a

time frame?

Five years?

Six years?

Seven years?

No because we've

seen in previous

a previous part

of Jude when we

say that they're

hopeless

when we say

in a sense

pronouncing judgment

on somebody that

they're so far

gone

we sit in the

judgment seat

of God.

Jude calls

that blasphemy.

We continue

to show

mercy

to those

who are

struggling

through this.

The second

group

they're a bit

further down

the path

of doubt.

This is what

it says

save others

by snatching

them out of

the fire.

these people

are at risk

of apostasy.

They're playing

with fire

and it is not

it truly is

a hellfire.

They have been

courted by

false teachings

and have begun

to pervert

the gospel

of grace.

We saw that

in verse 3.

This is the

the MO

of false

teachers that

they pervert

the gospel

of grace.

They may be

our friends

or family

who have begun

to have

deconstructed

their faith.

They're on

their way

to apostasy

but they

again are

not too far

gone

for God

can use

us

his church

by his

Holy Spirit

to save

them

as their

lives

begin to

burn.

Again we

aren't the

people to

pronounce

judgment

we are just

called to

be faithful

in showing

mercy

understanding

that we

are living

in the

last days.

The third

and final

group

are those

immersed

in false

doctrines

and they

quite possibly

could be

the false

teachers

themselves.

Look at

what it

says here

in verse 23.

To others

show mercy

with fear

hating even

the garment

stained by

the flesh.

To these

Jude tells us

to have mercy

but be

resolute in

our commitment

to the faith.

There's great

danger

that when we

spend time

with people

that have

abandoned

the faith

but in

a very

real way

are still

one foot

into the

church.

They still

have influence.

They still

teach and

live in such

a way that

encourages

apostasy.

We need to

be careful

and honest

with ourselves

that we

could be

influenced

as well.

This is

a very

wise way

that Jude

is telling

us

to just

be on

guard.

To fear

God more

than you

fear man.

To trust

in God

more than

you trust

in man.

And this

bit here

that Jude

talks about

of hating

even the

garment

stained by

the flesh

is a way

to simply

say we

need to

hate sin.

It is to

have such

compassion

and love

extending

mercy to

somebody

that is

living a

sinful life

but to

not fall

into the

temptation

of justifying

what they

do.

Hate it.

Hate what

they do.

Love them.

And this

isn't just

a love

the sinner

or hate

the sin

because that

can lose

the gravity

of what we

are called

to do

here.

We are

to hate

sin.

God

hates

sin

but to

extend

mercy.

Why?

Because we

have been

extended

mercy.

The whole

picture of

filthy garments

we see it

in Amos

Amos 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and Zechariah

Zechariah 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

It is this

beautiful picture

of God

taking

this

dirty

person

dirty

representing

sin

and

stripping

them

of the

dirty

garments

and

instead

clothing

them

in

garments

of

white.

It is a

picture of

forgiveness

and only

God can

do such

things.

It also

once again

means that

nobody is

so far

gone.

We do

not get to

pronounce

judgment

do we?

Only to

extend

mercy.

So in

all three

cases we

are to

show

mercy

as those

who have

been

shown

mercy.

So what

does it

mean to

be Christ-like?

Well what

does our

Savior do?

He extends

mercy to

those that

don't deserve

it.

So what

do we

do?

We extend

mercy to

those who

don't deserve

it.

We are to

be Christ-like.

This is

really the

point of how

to contend

and live as

God's people

in the last

days.

To be

people marked

by the

grace of

God.

People who

cling to

the gospel

and grow

in our

love and

obedience

for Christ

as we

await his

ultimate

final salvation

when he will

come again

to judge

the living

and the

dead

where we

will spend

eternity

in glory

with him

in the

new heavens

and the

new earth.

We will

be marked

with a

Trinitarian

hope in

this life.

And we

see it

right here

as we

pray in

the Holy

Spirit,

keeping

ourselves

in the

love of

God the

Father,

and as we

await the

mercy of

Christ that

leads to

eternal life

as God's

beloved,

this is how

we contend

for the

faith,

faithfully,

obediently,

in the

last days.

friends.

This is the

antidote

for false

teaching.

And it is

also the

source for

spiritual strength

for us to

live faithfully

and patiently

with gospel

centered lives.

Let's pray.

Heavenly

Father,

thank you so

much for

these

reminders

from Jude.

Lord,

we need

reminding

because we

are people

who forget.

So help

us to be

people that

remember.

Help us to

be people that

come to your

word often

and always.

Help us to

never think we

are above

your word.

Help us to

never think

that your

word,

your gospel

is old

hat.

Instead,

help us to

live faithfully,

contending for

the faith in

these last

days.

Whether they

come in our

generation or

not,

Lord,

let us

live knowing

who we

are in

you and

living by

your strength

with urgency

in this

life.

We pray

this in

Christ's

name.

Amen.