SERMON NOTES
Jude 1:1-25
Keep Yourself in the Love of God
Jude was written by the brother of James and Jesus. (Matt 13:55, mark 6:3)
It is not really known when the book of Jude was written, but some speculate in A.D. 60’s.
The main themes for Jude are One True Faith in Jesus, and Persevere Until the End.
As Christians today, what can we take from this book?
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Do not follow false teachers who are non-Biblical or extra-Biblical. They add or take away from the word of God.
Revelation 22:18-19 warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
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Do not allow false teachers to have influence over others in church. Observe church leaders to make sure OHBC teaching is sound, and do not let anyone teach anything that is Biblically inaccurate.
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Faith in Christ and the repentance of sins is the only way that someone can go to heaven after death and be with God for eternity.
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A good question to ask someone to see where they are at spiritually is:
If you died tonight, on a scale from 1 to 10, do you think you would be in heaven? Why?
If someone answers with any answer other than their faith in Christ as their Lord and repenting of their sins, they have either added or taken away from the way God says that we are saved in scripture.
Vs 1-2 You are loved by God. If you have repented and asked Jesus to take control of your life God not only loves you and is helping you now, but He will make a place for you in heaven.
John 14:1-3 I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you…..
Through faith in Jesus we are given mercy by Him, peace in this life and for eternity, and love for God and love for others.
Vs 3-4 The church must defend the Christian faith and be aware of false teachers.
God knew there would be people with bad intentions who would infiltrate the church. They would want to undermine true, Biblical, and godly teaching. We should watch for this in our church.
These people are not saved and will be punished by God.
Vs 5-7 God will judge false teachers.
This is a cool passage that gives us an understanding of how the OT people were saved. They were saved based on the promise of the Messiah, Jesus.
God's people were saved from the Egyptians. The Egyptians who rejected God were destroyed justly.
Some angels did not submit to God and His authority and they were judged justly and cast out of heaven.
This passage could refer to satan and demons being cast out of heaven, or it could refer to Gen 6:1-4.
Genesis 6:1-4 Increasing Corruption on Earth
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
Ezekiel 28:11-19 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”
Revelation 12:7-12 Satan Thrown Down to Earth
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers[a] has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Vs 8-13 False Bible teachers are blasphemers, they are motivated by greed, and they are depraved.
False teachers can try to corrupt by using their own reason instead of godly reasoning. Or, they can use emotion or false spirits to guide them.
When someone leads in a way that is against the Word of God, it drives people away from truth and away from God and His ways. God hates this because it is destructive. Someone like this cannot be saved because they want people to follow them and things that are not godly. A false teacher needs to fear God and hell because they are not saved.
Vs 14-16 God knows if someone is teaching falsely. God will temporarily discipline and eternally discipline them.
False teaching in the church takes people away from God instead of toward Him.
Vs 17-23 There is an apostolic warning that this would happen. It has happened and is happening in Christian denominations all over the word.
God tells us how to combat this false teaching.
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Build yourself up in the holy faith
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Pray in the Spirit of God.
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Keep yourself in the love of God
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Wait for the mercy of Jesus in heaven
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Have mercy on those who struggle and doubt
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Share Christ and rescue those who have wandered away
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Show mercy to others like Christ shows mercy to us.
Vs 24-25 May God help us with this. He saves us. He keeps us from stumbling. He rescues us into heaven. We can only be saved by Jesus. He is worthy of our worship! May He get the glory.
We are weak on our own. But, with God's help we are strong!
2 Corinthians 13:9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.
God is the one who saves us, and God is the one who keeps us from stumbling!
Through Jesus, God the Father sees us as blameless! NO SIN AND NO CONDEMNATION.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is the only way that anyone can get to heaven.
Christians need to know the Bible and they need to live by the Bible. God's Word helps us.
Christians need to be careful to not let false teachers into the church.
God will severely judge anyone who teaches false doctrine. ANYTHING OPPOSITE OF GOD'S WORD.
If a Christian is truly saved, they will repent of their sins, ask Christ to take control of their life, and they will live and grow in their faith for their whole life. We must persevere in our faith.
If God gives us mercy through Christ, we must seek to have mercy on others.
God saves us. God gives us His Word. God gives us His Spirit. God helps us persevere in our faith. God helps us to have mercy on others. PRAISE BE TO GOD!