How do you know if someone loves you? I mean, sure, they can tell you over and over again, yes, I love you. But if they're never there for you when you need them, or if they never make the effort to prioritize you in your life, to care for the things you care about, do they truly love you? Now we would think, you know, much, we wouldn't think much if their words, if their actions spoke otherwise, you know, because it's important to declare something, but it's also, it's, the truth is proven by our actions. So in my last two sermons, It was all about a people that spoke good things with their mouths. They were convinced people, they told people who they were, but it was their wicked behavior that said otherwise. False teachers who claim to be Christians, but Jude exposes them for who they truly are. They were imposters. They are still imposters. Today we're going to look at a different group of people. we're going to look at Christians. And again, we will see that the identification of their status is seen not in what they say, no, it is seen in their actions, what they do. So I'm excited to get to this text after we spent so long talking about false teachers because basically from here to the very end of the book, it is just so encouraging just for the Christian. There's many good things that we're gonna see that are going to give us hope as we continue through life. But before we get into that, I think it's always good for us to review. And the text does great for us this morning. So let's begin by working at verses 17 through 19. As it says, But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. So just when you thought we were done talking about false teachers, no, we have one more reminder of them. Because this is not theoretical concepts we're talking about. No, we are in the last times church, that's what Jude tells us. These false teachers are here, they may even be among us today. We don't know. And like I said, we have touched on this already. I know my last two sermons was all about this stuff, all about the false teacher. So we'll just look at five things that the text says this morning to give us a quick refresher of that. So the first one is that they had ungodly passions. So we see this phrase ungodly again. You know, this is Jude's most common description of these people because they are the opposite of who God is, God who is the manifestation of everything, good, everything, holy, everything, wonderful, these people are ungodly. They do not look like God in this way. Their ungodliness defines their life. They seek what is pleasurable, their ungodly passions. That's their number one desire and goal thereafter. They don't go to the mercy found in Christ. No, they only care for themselves. The second one Jude says is that they are scoffers. You know, they are scoffers. Not only do they reject God, but they also mock Him. They don't give God the honor that He deserves. They scoff at anything that's related to God, not just Himself. They scoff even us because of our relationship to Him. They laugh at the holy faith that has been given to us. Three is that they cause divisions. They cause divisions. They turn believers against one another. They seek to destroy the church from the inside out. That's why they secretly come in. Instead of building up the church, They secretly break others down. They disrupt the unity within, while at the same time make the church look absurd to the outside watching world. I'm sure many of us have experienced this. We've seen people like this. Because the fourth one, they are worldly people. They love the things of the world more than anything else in life, more than the things of God. As it says in Colossians chapter three, verse two, God tells us to set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on this earth. These people set their minds on things of the earth. They want to be in the place where God is not. And then finally, number five, they are devoid of the spirit. If you asked them, they would certainly say, yes, I'm a Christian. I know the spiritual things. But as Jude tells us, no, they don't. Because only Christians have the Holy Spirit living in us. It is the gift of our salvation. Their wicked works prove that no, the Holy Spirit has not come into their lives. It has not changed them because they're still living in the same evil ways that they have been from the beginning. They never believed in God's promises or his commandments, or their lives would look differently. They can't truly understand and see the spiritual things like we can, church. So these five ideas, they're nothing new, right? And these things are not only found in Jude, but they are found in the entire Bible. The Bible has promised that those who pretend to be Christians, this is what they will look like. We have a measuring stick to see. And like last time, how we saw that all the Old Testament, you know, how it gave their descriptions of the false teachers, remember all the stories we talked about? Well, today in verse 17, what does it say? It says, not an Old Testament reference, but these are the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we kind of get the transition from Old Testament last time to now we have the apostles, the same ones who wrote our New Testament. So, I think Jude is trying to show us that the Apostles' teaching is both in harmony with the Old Testament Scriptures, and also should be treated as the same importance as the Old Testament. The whole Bible is Scripture, right church? Because the Bible is consistent with itself. We can trust scripture from Genesis all the way to Revelation to be completely true and completely reliable in our lives. This is what the apostles are telling us. That this same message, that don't listen to these false teachers, don't let them take you away from the promises that God has already given you. Because that is what leaders do. They warn us. They tell us what not to do because they've seen the mistakes before. They themselves may have stumbled down that path and they don't want us to follow suit. Because they want to protect us. They care for us. They want what's best for us. And they also do this because they want to encourage us. And this is what Jude does in this section. He encourages us. Look again at verse 17, the beginning. For Jude says, but you must remember, beloved. So after all the previous verses we've talked about in this book of Jude, basically from verse four up until now, you know, we have just seen examples and explanations of who these false teachers were. Examples of their sin, their wickedness, their corruption, the evil that lives inside of them. All the promises that we've been given of the judgment and the condemnation that these people face, I mean, It was, I'm sure you can agree, it was kind of hard to go through a little bit, but now we see that none of that, none of that is true for the believer. How wonderful is a transition like this? Jude says, but you, beloved, there's something different in store for us. You know, in the verses before, Jude talked about these people, these people. But now, from here on out, he uses the word you. You, church. This is us. Jude's most common description of the false teachers was, of course, that ungodliness. But for the Christian, the most common word used in this letter to describe us is loved. We are loved by God. We, church, are loved by Him. And to those whom God loves, He has a wonderful plan for us. We see a glimpse of this even at the end of verse 17. It says, our Lord Jesus Christ. Not just Jesus Christ, no, He's ours. He is close to us because we now belong together. It can't be separated. Believers are dear to Him. We are His and that will never change. He is not going anywhere because He loves us. Now, we know this church. I mean, every time we gathered, this message is constantly proclaimed. Is it not in the reading, in the songs, in the prayers? Why do we constantly do this? Why is this message that God loves us so commonly spoken? Well, it's because when you love someone, you can't help but proclaim it. That is why we continue to say, I love you to our spouses, to our families. Because when we truly love someone, we can't help but it overflow from our being. This is why God continues to remind us because of his great love for us. And it's at this point in the letter where the transition is made. We move from the ungodly false teachers to the Christians who are beloved. And these next few verses apply directly to us and show us how to live in light of a God who dearly loves us. So let that be on your mind as we look at these next few verses. Starting in verse 20, Jude says, but you, beloved, building yourself up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit. So we see two main things here in verse 20. And yes, for the Christian, sorry, I have nothing really new for you this morning. These are the old truths that we are again reminded of and again called to continue in. This idea of building yourselves up in your most holy faith. So I think first things first, this building that's being talked about, this is something that we have to do. God won't zap us into becoming better Christians. That's not how it works. We're not gonna wake up tomorrow and be like, whoa, I feel like a totally different person. No, that's not how it works. We need to do this work. We need to grow. Of course, in cooperation with God, but still, we are called to work. So what is this work of building yourselves up? Well, it's many different things, but primarily, it's the study of the word of God. You know, we see this in Acts chapter 20 verse 32. You don't need to turn there. I'll say it real quick. This is Paul speaking to the church. He tells them, now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. It is the Bible that helps us to be built up. If we are to grow, all of us, church, need to continue to consume and to live in this book. Now, granted, this looks different for everyone. We're not all at the same place, all have the same time, we're all very different people here in this room. But the point in making this is that we need to prioritize this. This needs to be of our most importance in our life, our growth in Christ, because If we are not building ourselves up, we don't stay in neutral. We will be inevitably tearing ourselves down. That's what this world loves to do to us. Also know too that, like I said before, this building up is not limited to just the Bible. Don't think, oh, I need to go home and I just have to, I gotta read this whole book this next week, I just gotta finish it. No, that's not how it works either. Everything that makes us more like Christ, that builds us up. That makes us more holy, more like him. And while we grow in building ourselves up, We will inevitably help each other to be built up because the stronger each one of you are, the stronger all of us will be collectively. So let's not be destructive like the false teachers who want to divide us, who want to separate us. No, let us build each other up as we first build ourselves up. So I ask again, what are you doing throughout the week? You know, here we are at church, we're listening to this sermon right now. You know, is that enough? Are we good? Well, no. I'm glad you're here, I'm glad you're listening, but the Christian walk is more about just simply going to church. You know, we will not be built up if we're just here for a few hours each and every week, and then in the world for the rest. That's not how it works. I know so many of you so well. I know you are striving in your faith. You want this. You are seeking this. I mean, that's one of the reasons why you're here. So let me tell you again, the more you know God's word, his revelation to us, the more you will grow. Now, I can be the first to tell you that there are going to be many days where it's going to be hard. You're not going to want to be built up. You're just going to want to sit back and do nothing. I mean, I have that all the time. The struggles in this world, it's not easy. But we need to continue on. It's worth it because of this great faith that has been given to us. You know, that's what the text says. You know, this most holy faith, there's nothing like it. Why leave it? Like the false teachers did who were in it, they've listened to the message of the gospel, but they left it for something else. The faith we possess, Calvary Community Church, is unique. in this world. It is set apart. It's not like the other many religions we see. No, it's given from God. It's He who makes it holy. It's He who makes us holy as we stay in it. There is no great faith like the Christian faith. So, with that, we're just getting started. That was the first point. Now, let's move to the second. Still in verse 20, Jude says we are to be praying in the Holy Spirit. For while we are studying, while we are building ourselves up, we are not to lose our dependence on God. We are to pray. Now, this prayer in the Holy Spirit, don't think it's some special prayer. No, Jude is not talking about that. He is just recognizing that the Holy Spirit's role in our life is to help us in our prayer life. I think of Romans 8.26 that says, likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought. but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. The Holy Spirit assists us as we pray. For he is the one who helps us when we are weak. When we realize, you know, we can't do what we are called to do in and of ourselves. We simply can't. We call on him. who is able to empower us. The Holy Spirit gives us the help we so desperately need. So both to pray and also to be consistent with God's will over our own will. How so often we want to just pray for the things that might benefit us in our life. That's great. but let us pray with what God wants for us, for His ways far surpass our ways. We need to continue to pray. And then following verse 20, leads us to verse 21. Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. If you look back all the way to verse 1, we see that we are kept for Jesus Christ. We are promised this. This is what God does when he saves us. He promises to stay with us until the end. But now, in this verse, in a sense, we look from our perspective. We continue to keep ourselves in the love of God. So how are we to do this? Well, for starters, we should do what verse 20 calls us to do. That's a good foundation to start on. Then we are to continue to do what pleases God, to be obedient to Him in everything, not just the things we like, not just the things we want to do, no, but in everything. To keep ourselves in the love of God, It means for us to love him and to obey him in return. So children, let me now talk to you. Do you love your parents? I see you shaking your heads. That's good. Now, since you love them, I assume, at least most of the time, you listen to them. Even if sometimes you really don't want to. You know you probably should, right? Because you know that they love you and they want the best for you. And they're also a lot smarter than you. They've just lived longer. That's just how it works. And since they want the best for you, you trust in them. And because you know this, you obey them. It's the same picture for us, children of our Heavenly Father. We love so we trust in him and so we obey him because we have seen his great love for us. This is what believers are to do. I mean, God even says himself, if you love me, what? You will obey my commandments. And in doing so, we will remain in God's good blessing and we will preserve ourselves to the end. This identifies us as true believers, that we love him and that we are willing to obey him. Because we can't live the Christian life on one hand and do whatever our wicked hearts desire on the other. This was the message of the false teachers. Do whatever you want. They followed their own selfish and sinful desires. And what did it do? It took them away from God. The more they did that, the more it took them away. That's not us. We follow our master. We follow Christ. And in keeping ourselves, we will endure. The second part of verse 21 says, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because at the end of the day, it is not us keeping ourselves that leads us to eternal life. It is not our good works that make us acceptable before God. No, it is the mercy of Jesus that grants and sustains us until the very end. By faith we hold true to this. This is our only plea. Our salvation is only found in Jesus. Now, all Christians are waiting for the day, not when they can achieve just their dreams and their goals here on earth. No, we are waiting for the day that we get to spend eternity with Jesus Christ. A life with no evil, no corruption, nothing that is bad. A life filled with only joy, only pleasure, forevermore. We look for things to come. What do you look for in your life? Are you like the false teachers who just secretly desire to follow maybe your ungodly passions that rise up within you? Are you simply living for the treasures of this world and think, once I get this or that, then I'll be happy, then I'll be fulfilled? Because there are many things that catch our eyes in this life that desire to pull us away from God. know that they will soon pass away. And also we will all soon pass away. Will our eternity be filled with darkness or with light? Will it be filled with the reality of judgment or will it be filled with a reality of mercy? Because no matter what you have done, what you haven't done, no mercy is available. Even now, no matter what you have done. Place your entire trust in this saving triune God. The God we just talked about. The God we can pray to in the Holy Spirit. Pray to Him. Ask Him. Ask for the love of the Father who richly desires to give it, and you will receive the mercy of Jesus, the Son of God. Our triune God is a saving and a sustaining God. Because in the end, we will be completely built up. If we fail, if we fail tomorrow, if we fail for this next year, as we continue to fall short, In the end, he perfectly builds us up and brings us into his presence, regardless of what we have done. This is the love of the Father. Christ will make us perfect and fully holy as we live with him forever. But as for now, we wait. We build ourselves up and we help build others up. As we preserve, we help others preserve. Which leads to the final two verses, verses 22 and 23. And have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others, show mercy with fear. Hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Since we have been given mercy, we in return give that mercy to others. We are to help three types of people in these final two verses. First, we are to have mercy on those who doubt. These people are doubting the truth of the gospel. Maybe they've been affected by false teachers in the past. Maybe they're simply just in a difficult season in their life. I'm sure all of us can agree that we've had seasons in our lives where we have doubted, where we maybe haven't been as strong as we should have been. This is a common reality. Don't think you're the only one who struggles with doubts in the Christian life. No, scripture is clear that doubt affects us all. There is great encouragement in that. So the point is, look for those who are struggling. Confront them. Comfort them like how Jesus always comforts us. Because people in the church will doubt. There's probably some of you sitting here today who are doubting. Seek them out, church. Help build them up. The second group of people, Jude says, save them by snatching them out of the fire. So we save them by telling them about our Savior. We do whatever it takes to warn them, to bring them to Christ. This may mean instructing them, rebuking them, warning them to stop going down the path that they're on. I mean, this applies differently to anybody. I mean, imagine this for a moment. You know, there's a blind child. They don't know where to go. They're simply out. You're the only one there, and they are just, they're walking towards a cliff. They have no idea, they're blind, right? And you're standing by. Would you simply ignore them? Would you simply say, hey, maybe you should stop walking, that's probably not a good idea. And then if they don't, like, oh, darn it, they didn't hear me. Now, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't do that. I mean, we might use calm words at first, but we would do whatever it took to stop them, would we not? Because we know the fate they are headed for. that they do not realize. So how much more are we to save someone who is heading towards a greater fate? You know, these people, they are at the edge of the flames of hell. And this fire only grows stronger without the hearing of the gospel in their life. And if you're the only Christian in their life, if you won't speak this truth to them, who will? Maybe no one. Then the third group of people is show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. So this is most likely talking to those individuals who are in open sin, maybe even the false teachers themselves. You know, there's no one whom we should not seek to rescue, no matter how far it seems they are from the truth. God is the one who works miracles. He can save anybody whom he desires to. So in this picture of sin, as it says, even the garment stained by the flesh, their sin is so widespread it seems to even permeate like their clothes. These are great sinners. Yet we are to show mercy even to these people, even our enemies. And we go anyway, even with fear, Of who these people are, we still go and seek their good. We hate the evil in their life, yet we seek the individual to save them from their sin. Because we need to help these people. These issues we deal with aren't just common day issues. These are issues of life and death. I think Jude wants to make that very clear. Help these people to grasp the gospel. so that they too will have a faith that endures all the way until the end. If we have seen God's love in our life, then this gospel that has saved us will prompt us to save others. So we have seen, I hope we have seen, that genuine Christian faith is proven not just by our confession, not just by what we say, but it is proven by our actions, by the life we then go on to live. I hope every one of you in this room would proclaim, I love God. I hope that's true for all of you, but know that that declaration, it's not enough. if your life speaks otherwise to what you say. Your words and your actions need to correlate. Keep yourself, keep yourself in the love of God. We saw the false teachers and now we saw the Christians. They both claim to love God, but Jude shows us that these two people are opposites. We build up, they divide. We have the Holy Spirit, they do not. We are kept for a life eternal, they are kept for destruction. We help others, what do they do? They only help themselves. Let us continue to bear the marks of true Christian believers.