Daily Devotionals with Pastor Rod: Jude 4

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Pushing the Limits! (Jude 4 Part 3)

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.

THE STUDY:

Yesterday we looked at the first two descriptions of these “certain people” Jude spoke about at the begging of verse 4. Today we are going to look at the remaining two descriptions:

Third, Jude describes these undefined people as godless men who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality. Grace describes God’s free gift through Jesus Christ as the forgiveness and liberation of believers from the power of sin and the condemnation of the Law. Claiming liberty in Christ, they interpreted His grace as license to do what their flesh desired with no inhibitions. Their libertinism turned grace into cruel recklessness. These “certain people” declared that since the flesh was not created by God, it was proper to give in to its desires.^{^[1]}

Fourth, Jude depicts certain people as those who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. They may have denied certain doctrinal teachings about Christ. But the reference to Jesus as our only Sovereign and Lord calls attention to Jesus’ right to demand obedience from his followers. Jude probably referred to the teachers’ ethical denial of the moral teachings of Christ, implicit in their shameful behavior.^{^[2]}

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

We walk away with the understanding that these certain people pushed the limits of sexuality by distorting God’s grace to the point of unrestricted consequences. Not surprisingly, this perversion in practice was accompanied by a perversion in doctrine—a denial of the person and authority of Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION:

I have preached, many times, the understanding of “Pushing the Limits!” We should allow the Holy Spirit to set boundaries for our lives. An example of this would be if someone is a recovering alcoholic. One of their boundaries should be to stay away from bars! What tends to happen though is we allow our boundaries to be pushed to the limit. By doing this it allows a person to easily push through that boundary and find themselves in a position that is outside of God’s will.

By trying to justify or even deny these actions we can find ourselves in situations that we never thought possible. Today don’t push the boundaries! Stay a safe distance from those limits so that those who come after us may find us faithful.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

^{^[1]} Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Jud 3). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^{^[2]} Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2 Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (268–269). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Intolerable! (Jude 4)

THE STUDY:

We, as believers, want to think that everyone in our church has the same thoughts, belief’s and attitudes. But the truth is they don’t! Let me give you an example: I think if you cuss in a ballgame you should be kicked out! Some don’t! I believe in capital punishment. Some don’t! My attitude is that of optimism. Some are not! Not everyone shares these same perspectives. The perspective we need to be in unity with is that of Christ.

In this verse Jude shares that believers must contend for the faith because certain people have crept in unnoticed. “Certain people” has a “contemptuous ring” to it. Jude assumes his readers know who they are, so he does not bother to name them.

Jude’s dislike for these anonymous troublemakers was heightened by their method of operation. They did not openly identify themselves and their errant teaching. Instead, they secretly slipped in (means - infiltrated) among Jude’s friends. The verb (Crept), found only here in the NT, “tends to carry the connotation of secrecy or stealth.” The word was used of the clever pleading of a lawyer, gradually insinuating his version of the evidence into the minds of judge and jury. It describes the action of a spy stealthily getting into the country, or of someone sneaking in by a side door.^{^[1]}

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

We walk away this morning understanding that the church is made up of many different types of people: white, black, young, old, rich, poor, etc. The one thing we cannot be different on is Jesus Christ! The words, teachings, and character of Christ need be the central blood line that runs throughout the church.

CONCLUSION:

After preaching a sermon at a funeral Service for a person from the community I stood beside the casket as people gave their last respects. Many extended a hand and said kind words to me concerning the message. I had one young lady express her disappointment with the message. She had a different belief when it came to the teachings of Jesus.

Too many times we, as believers, try to fit everyone in to the family of God and initially overlook those individuals who don't believe the same when it comes to Jesus. Later on is when we find the church in trouble.

Church, love is not being tolerable of everything when it comes to the world. It is being intolerable of everything that’s not “truth” concerning Jesus Christ! Let today be a day that we find unity in Christ: His truth! You know what they say, “The truth will set you free.”

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

^{^[1]} Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2 Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (267–268). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.