What do you think is worth fighting for? Some religious people love to fight. There’s always a heretic or false doctrine to fight. People who believe in using the King James version only will fight about it. Be careful what you fight over, that it’s really worth it.
Other Christians today won’t fight over anything. They want to be agreeable. If you’re agreeable, you’re averse to conflict; you avoid it at all cost, so you won’t say “no” to someone; you won’t say something that others find harsh; disapprove of what they’re doing or saying. The agreeable always want to be like K-Love, positive and encouraging and that means they won’t be negative and discouraging to whatever needs to rejected and discouraged.
The agreeable will compromise their faith because they are less capable of resistance.
Many pastors today suffer from being too agreeable. They won’t speak up against sins or confront problems. Many churches chose only men who are agreeable to be their pastors. Many Christian publications won’t publish articles from men who are not always agreeable. People think to be Christian is to be agreeable and so they don’t oppose the problems that creep into the church. But there are somethings worth fighting over, particularly “the faith.”
To hear what we should be fighting, listen:
The Problem (3-4)
“The faith” that God once for all delivered to His people is worth fighting for. The problem is that the people in the church weren’t fighting against the “certain people” who have “crept in unnoticed.” If the church is lost, the faith is lost. So, if it’s worth fighting for the faith, it’s worth fighting for the church.
Agreeable people are incapable of opposing error. So they won’t confront sects or denounce homosexuality as a perversion or bowing to icons as idolatry or expose Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses as heretical cults. Then they won’t stand against the errors that come into the church, like liberalism or dispensationalism.
The people we need to fight have been “designated” for judgment. It means their destiny was “written about beforehand.” Long ago God pre-wrote their condemnation. This is the doctrine of predestination.
“who long ago were designated for this condemnation” (Jude 4)
They “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality.” They think grace means that they can be sexually immoral. They think they can have sex outside of marriage and still be acceptable to God.
To hear how we should fight those who use “grace” as an excuse to stay in sexual sin, click on the YouTube link above.
The Precedents (5-7)
Jesus saved a people out of the land of Egypt. Jesus said that the unbelieving Israelites will all die in the desert over 40 years.
Yes, Jude, the brother of Jesus, is saying his older brother was the I AM who called Moses to tell Pharaoh “Let My people go” and who afflicted Egypt and led them out. Jesus did that!
Jude clearly teaches that Jesus is God. Heretics, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons reject that. They should be denounced by true Christians. We should fight, rhetorically, with them. But too many weak Christians today are unwilling to “contend for the faith.”
Sodom and Gomorrah “pursued unnatural desire,” literally “different flesh”, referring to homosexuality. False teachers today claim that people can practice homosexuality and be Christians. We have to fight against that.
To hear how we should fight cults and sexual immorality, click on the YouTube link above.
The Portraits (8-13)
They’re like . . .
“unreasoning animals.” They’re not open to being persuaded with scripture or reason.
Cain. The trouble-makers will come into the church in order to destroy the people God accepts.
Balaam. Balaam thought he could serve God and mammon but Jesus told us that we have to choose. “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24.)
Korah. They’re rebellious. They promote themselves over Christ. Church covenants used to keep out Korahs. Now, we’re one of the unusual churches for still using ours. Rebellious people crept into the churches and questioned the use of covenants. That’s because we have a culture in which everyone is rebellious, like Korah
hidden reefs. The ship of the church thinks there’s smooth sailing but then it hits these “hidden reefs” and is sunk.
“shepherds feeding themselves.” They’re selfish pastors, in it for the career.
“waterless clouds.” They appear promising but provide nothing.
“fruitless trees.” They look like they’re going to bear fruit but nothing comes.
“wild waves of the sea.” They could capsize us if we’re not on the look out for them.
wandering stars (planets). They’re unpredictable and have a reservation in gloomy darkness. Once again Jude teaches the doctrine of predestination.
To hear more about the portraits of those we should fight, click on the YouTube link above.
The Prophesy (14-16)
The prophecy comes from Enoch. The Holy Spirit told Jude that that particular prophesy is true. Those who don’t love God and so don’t have God in the center of their lives are the ungodly who will be judged.
The Perseverance (17-23)
The apostles predicted that in these last days, there will be people like in the portraits. You’ve been warned.
God works through means. The means He uses to keep you is what you do to keep yourself. If you are kept by God, you will use the means to build yourself up, like studying scripture, going to church. If you are preserved by God, you will persevere.
To hear how Jude teaches predestination, click on the YouTube link above.
The Power (24-25)
If you’re going to fight for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, you need the power to fight. God has it. God has the power “to present us blameless” so that when we come “before the presence of His glory” there will be nothing about us to be blamed because all the blame was placed on Christ.
God was our Savior through becoming flesh. So, to Him “be glory, majesty, power, and authority.” He has the right to rule in our lives. He has all glory, majesty, power, and authority, “before all the ages and now and into all the ages,” for all time. Amen.
To hear how we should fight those who use “grace” as an excuse to stay in sexual sin, click on the YouTube link above.
Covenant Reformed Baptist Church is Danville’s/Caswell County’s Reformed church.