the book of Jude. And as I've already intimated, our text is found in verses one to four of the book of Jude. And the first and, of course, the only chapter. If you've got more than one chapter, then you've got the wrong Bible. But the book of Jude has a very, don't you think, it has a very, very contemporary ring to it. you know, the ageless Word of God. It's amazing, you know? And there's something, you know, like you get the feeling that Jude's, you know, like in a hurry. You know, there's urgency about this. And that's because the situation that the people of God whom he is writing to, and of course that's us today, isn't it? You know, they're faced with a situation that's very, very dangerous. There's a danger to the gospel. And therefore, if there's a danger to the gospel, then there's also a danger to the church as well. I mean, the Gospel, you know, the bedrock of our salvation, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, scripture alone, you know, a Reformation war cry. False teaching has, you know, has crept into the church. And of course, false teaching and wrong living, they all always go together. But here's the thing, you see, as Jude tells us here, as he instructs us, that must always be exposed. It must always be challenged. It must, beloved, for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of the church, it must be dealt with. Jude, of course, as he intimates here in verse one, he's the brother of James, and so therefore also the brother of Jesus. But notice, if you will, if you turn back to James chapter one and verse one to his brother's letter, Neither of them are shy when it comes to testifying to the divinity of their brother. James, he starts his letter by saying, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in chapter two in verse one, he says, my brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. I mean, isn't that an amazing testimony? I mean, can you imagine, you know, you're sitting across the breakfast table, you know, eating your crunchy nut cornflakes, and your brother, you've got this brother, you know, and he's sitting across the table from you, and all of a sudden he says, you know, hey, you know, I'm not really who you think I am. And you say, oh yeah, yeah. And he says, yeah, I'm really the son of God. Mom, mom, my brother's finally flipped. But they have no problem testifying to the divinity of their brother, Jesus. Of course, there was a time when they didn't, in Matthew 12 and verse 46. While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brother stood outside. They actually thought that he was starting to lose the plot. And then John chapter 7 and verse 5, neither did his brothers believe in him, we're told. But there was a point, obviously, when Jude and James were both converted. In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 7, after that, he was seen of James, that's his brother, then of all the apostles. So at some point, we're not told when, but they were both converted. And now here Jude, he describes himself as a servant, as a bond slave to Jesus Christ. So, and then of course, Peter, well, in 2 Peter 2 and verse one, he prophesied concerning these things. 2 Peter 2 and verse 1, but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you. That was a prophecy, that was a prediction. Who shall privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And Jude tells us here in verse 4, that which the apostles, that which they prophesied, has actually come to pass. Verse 4, for certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who perverted the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as you go to verse 17, but you must remember, beloved, the predictions, the prophecies of the apostles, of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, they told you this would happen. In the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly desires. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people devoid of the Spirit. that which the apostles told you has actually come to pass. These people are amongst you. And so Jude, he wisely seeks to deal with this dangerous and demanding situation. But before he does so, he lays a very encouraging foundation regarding what it means in verses one and two, what it means to be a Christian. Those who are called, beloved in God, the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ. Called, sanctified, preserved, is how the old version puts it. Called, that is, to live in the love of God. This is what a Christian is, yeah? Called to live in the delight of the love of God and in the safety, the everlasting safety of the arms of Jesus, yeah? Now beloved, if all that's true and it is, if all this is true, then you and I, as Christians, we ought to be able to cope with anything and all that we are presented with in this world. There can be nothing that's too hard for us, nothing for us, nothing that's too extreme for us to contend with. See, the Word of God, what James lays before us here is very inspiring. And of course, that's what the Word of God is given to us for, to inspire us, to encourage us, to build us up in our most holy faith as Jude terms it. Called, you see, we're called of God. That's what a Christian is. It's a man or woman who has been called of God. You know, you ask somebody if they're a Christian and they tell you, well, I've been baptized, there have been this, there have been the other, you know, forget all that, brush that all aside. Have you been called of God? That's the question. This is more, you see, than being invited to respond to some message. This is more than just, you know, being asked to sign a card or to raise your hand at a meeting or even to say, as they call it, the sinner's prayer. Now, don't misunderstand me, what I'm saying here. Back in the day, in my own church that sent me into the ministry, my own pastor was making this very point. And there was a lady, a Christian lady amongst us, a lovely Christian, Gladys. And at the end of the meeting, Gladys is at the back of the room, the back of the church. And she's running around in circles like a headless chicken. And I'm thinking, Gladys, there's something wrong. What's the matter? And she comes over and she grabs him by the lapel. She says, is he trying to tell me I'm not saved? Because she'd been at a meeting. She raised her hand, you see. And in her thinking, she'd become a Christian. But the point that the minister, the pastor, was trying to make was it wasn't her raising her hand that saved her. It wasn't you signing a card. It wasn't somebody saying the sinner's prayer that saved them. It was God who called them. It was God who saved them. You understand me? So that's what a Christian is, somebody who God has called. Now this signifies, you see, that God has broken into this person, this Christian person, God has broken into their hearts and lives with His intervening grace. You see, the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation is more than just Him suggesting. It would be a nice thing if you became a Christian, you know what I mean? We were dead. We weren't just a little bit dead. We were totally dead. It's his enabling. The answer to the 31st question of the Shorter Catechism puts it like this. The effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. He brings us to life. He breathes life into our souls. He enables us, compels us to believe. He takes away the blindness. Once I was blind, but now I see. I remember a minister telling the story of a man in his congregation, an elderly man. He said, for years and years and years, this man, he said, he said, I'll preach the gospel, he said, we'll get to the back of the church, and he's coming out the door, and he does some complaints, some argument against something I said. Then he said, the day came. He says, and he got saved. He was converted. He says, my very first pastoral visit to him in his home, he sat there in his living room chair. He says he's smiling from ear to ear. He's got his Bible in his hand. And he says to me, his first words out of his mouth, he says, Pastor, what's the matter with these people out there? Why can't they see? But that's the work of the Holy Spirit. He enables us. Salvation is the glorious, sovereign work of our God. And so therefore, you know, it's sure. It's absolutely sure because it's of God, it's in God. And we are absolutely secure in Him because He didn't save us to leave us. He didn't save us to dump us afterwards. So therefore, you see, whatever the circumstances surrounding us, whatever troubles that we have to contend with, therefore we can rest in Him. We can stand and ready to fight the good fight of faith for the truth. But of course, many are called. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 22 in verse 14, many are called, but few are chosen. You see, many, many hundreds of people heard the gospel yesterday in Carlisle. Were any of them chosen? Who knows? What does Jesus mean? Well, you see, hundreds and hundreds, thousands of people hear the gospel proclaimed. They hear with the outward hearing of the ear. But it's only the chosen who hear the inward call. of the Holy Spirit. There's a hymn, I can't remember which one it is, but the hymn writer speaks about God, crying out to God to speak inly to his soul. You see, that's the work of God's salvation. He speaks. We no longer just hear it with our ears. He speaks inly to our souls. So we're sanctified. To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. Well again, the old version uses the word sanctified, set apart from the world, but set apart to God. The Apostle Peter, in his first letter, chapter one and verse two, he says, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through scientification of the Spirit, that's God separating us. God, the Holy Spirit, separates us from the world, and he separates us for and to God. We no longer belong to the world. We've forsaken the world. Now we belong to God. And so by dint of that, we have already been made holy. We are holy because we are set apart for God. but it also begins a lifetime work of God making us holy, separating us continually from the filth and the power of sin. Justification, you see, is a work of Christ for us, but sanctification is a work of Christ in us. But we must make that distinction because, you see, one is passive. Christ does for us justification. The other, we are active in it. But of course, it's all from beginning to end. It's all of grace. But the distinction must be made because this is the error of the Roman Catholic Church. You see, they They get them wrong. This was the problem with John Wesley. This is where his holiness nonsense came from. He was a Christian, I believe, but he was totally and utterly confused concerning justification and sanctification. Justification is God's declaration that we are righteous in Christ. Sanctification is God's work in us, progressively, throughout the course of our lives, making us holy, making us fit for heaven. And we're preserved, we're preserved, we're kept for Jesus, yeah. Preserved in an unqualified, unconditional love. for the glorious destiny of God. That's our destiny, God, that's where we're going. Philippians chapter one and verse six, being confident. Confident comes from the Latin, confidee, with faith. Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 4, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. And so, verse 2, mercy. God the Holy Spirit speaking to you, this is His desire for you, this is what He wants for you this morning. Mercy, peace and love multiply to you. Mercy is more than just forgiveness, that's the loving kindness, that's the intensity of the loving kindness of the Triune God for you. Peace, love, multiplied, overflowing, and ever and ever increasing. Peace isn't just feeling nice and quiet and no trouble around you. It's Psalm 46 peace. Even though the universe is disintegrating and falling apart, there's you. In the middle of it all, there's nothing can touch you because you are preserved. Because you are preserved, kept for Jesus Christ. Nothing can touch you, safe in the arms of Jesus. Yeah? And love, well to the fullest measure. So that's what it means to be a Christian. Yeah? Secondly, verse three, the contending for the faith. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Our common salvation, of course, is the Bible. It's the Bible, it's the word of God. And this common salvation is being threatened. So Jude, he feels compelled. It's needful. It's necessary, he said, that I write to you about this. But wouldn't any Christian? I mean, here you are, an assembly of God's people. I mean, if the gospel was threatened amongst you in some way, wouldn't you, I mean, you know, keeping in mind what it means to be a Christian, what God has done to you and done for you and promised you and assured you, I mean, if the gospel, if the very means that saved you and would save others, if it would be threatened, you know, of destruction, I mean, you would find that you would be compelled, wouldn't you? It would be necessary that you do something, say something, wouldn't you? So he's urging them, you know, to take action. In Philippians chapter one verse seven, the Apostle Paul, he talks to the Philippians about being in one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Faith, doctrine, truth, the gospel, all one. It's been delivered to us. It's been delivered to us in this our day and generation. We're stewards. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 1, that a man so account of us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. This is us. We are stewards of this truth of this common salvation that God has delivered to us. And we've got a responsibility to guard it. We've got a responsibility to contend for it. Every one of us, not just the minister's job, not just the elders, the deacons, all of us, beloved, we have a responsibility to contend for this common salvation that's been delivered to us. The baton has been passed on to us from previous generations. We have the Bible today because men and women in this country of ours have bled and died for the truth. We've got these Bibles in our hands today because others have gone before us and fought for the truth, contended for the truth, and now it's our turn to contend for it. But there is no other faith than this, this common salvation of which Jude speaks about. There is no other faith than the Bible. Everything else outside of the Bible is false. In all of your world religions, Buddhism, Confucianism, Roman Catholicism, Islam, and any others that you care to name, in every single one of them, there is not one iota of salvation, there is nothing but damnation. outside of the gospel, outside of our common salvation. But there's a cost, isn't there? There's a cost in standing for the truth. There's a cost in contending for our common salvation. For some of us, it will cost us family members. For some of us, maybe there'll be family members who will never ever speak to us again. For some of us will lose friends, some already in recent days have lost jobs and businesses. Some, I dare say, in days to come will lose their freedom. But here's the thing, depart from the Bible. Depart from our common salvation, to depart from it I mean. is not as some of these progressives, as they call themselves. It's not freedom at all, but leads to nothing but utter confusion, to bondage and uncertainty, because here's the thing, beloved, you depart from the Bible, you depart from the truth that has been delivered to us, you can go anywhere, you can start to believe in fairies at the bottom of your garden and Santa Claus. It leads to nothing, nothing but utter confusion. So there's a position to be held, you see. 1 Timothy 6, 20. O Timothy, keep that which is committed to your trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science, falsely so called, which some professing have erred concerning the faith. 2 Timothy 1, verse 13. Hold fast the form of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. That's the common salvation of which Jude speaks of. We're to hold fast to it, commit ourselves to it, and to the defense of it. But even, you see, to stand on the truth, beloved, to stand on and in the truth is to contend for it. But of course, we're talking about the truth. We're talking about the gospel. We're not talking about the defense of our own shibboleths, but the gospel, the truth that brings eternal life, that brings love, that brings liberty, that brings salvation to the souls of men and women. But of course, in order to contend for the faith, you need to know the faith. We need to learn the faith. And so that's why we need the means of grace. That's why we need to be here this morning. That's why we need to be here every Lord's Day morning. Learning, being built up in our faith. And here's another thing. We need to, I firmly believe we need to uphold biblical terminology. I don't know if you've heard these people, they say, well, you know, this language that we use, you know, justification, sanctification, these people out there, they can't understand these words, you know? And we should stop using these words and simplify it and make it plainer for them. That's utter rubbish and nonsense. If somebody is really interested in getting into it and using a computer, yeah? One of the first things they have to do is they have to learn the language in order to use the thing. And if you are really and seriously interested in learning about God's salvation, then you'll begin to learn the terminology. But even all that aside, even if that weren't so, carelessness of language confuses the truth. It empties preaching, you see, of its content. It nullifies the cross of its power to save. So Peter, he tells us in 1 Peter 3 and verse 15, He says that we're to be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks of you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. You go into a lot of churches in Cumbria today, well, not just Cumbria, throughout the entirety of the country, Scotland, Wales, England, the whole caboodle. You go into many, if not most, churches, and you sit down beside somebody, and you ask them, you turn to them, end of the service, and say, can you tell me, excuse me, can you tell me, please, what the man meant by the word gospel? What does that mean? You know? They either wouldn't be able to tell you, or you'd get the wrong answer. What is the Gospel? Christ died for sinners, was dead and buried, and after the third day was raised again from the dead for sinners. That's the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 3. So this has been delivered to us, you and I. So there's no place for weakness. We must not do anything, beloved, we must not do anything unworthy of the gospel. You know, that would bring, you know, that would bring shame on our Savior's name. Stand in the truth and by the truth and for the truth. Once and for all, Once and for all, he says, delivered to the saints, delivered to the church, and by once and for all, he means to the end of the world. This is the truth. We have it. This is our common salvation in the Bible. It's a closed canon. There's nothing to be added to it. There are no further revelations to be had from God. This is it. This is the finished article. God has spoken finally and fully and there is nothing, nothing, nothing to be added to His Word. The Bible. And then thirdly, and finally, we have the explanation as to why Jude is writing, why he finds it necessary to write this letter. 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. These people have warmed their way into the church, he says. And maybe some of them have obtained positions of influence. Maybe some of them are in pulpits. That's not unheard of today. and they're insidiously in the background, they're working against the Gospel. They still call themselves evangelical, oh yes, but they've got these offbeat notions with regards to the inspiration and final authority of the Word of God. They're insidiously chipping away at it all the time, and removing from the minds of God's people their confidence in the Word of God. They're subtle, you know? They conceal themselves. They're never up front. They would never stand up publicly and declare exactly what's in their minds. But they're intellectually hostile to the gospel. They're what Paul in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 18 terms enemies of the cross of Christ. They were designated, says Jude, they were designated, they were predestined. You see, there's even comfort in this. They were predestined to this. This is comfort, you see, because God is aware. God's never taken by surprise. He knows. He knows who these men are. He knows what they are. He's totally aware. But beloved, doesn't the entirety of redemptive history testify to this? The intrusion of false prophets, we see it all the way through the Old Testament and into the New. men inspired by the devil to come amongst the people of God and to corrupt the people of God. But that's another reason why you and I need to know what we believe so that when we're listening to the lights of these people, the red lights are flashing. No, no, no. Spiritual warfare, beloved. The fight to the end is the fight of faith. Truth and error cannot live together. And can I assure you it's not religious bigotry and nor is it sub-Christian to stand upon the truth and to say to somebody point blank, I disagree with you. That's not what the Bible teaches. Okay, you say it graciously, you maybe say it kindly, politely, but I'd rather you said it rudely than not say it at all. Because error is pernicious and spiritual spies are despicable. The description that Jude gives of these people, ungodly people, a young lady some while ago back down in Staffordshire asked me the question. She said, tell me, she said, what does it mean to be ungodly? I said, it means to be contrary to God in your nature and in your practice. Contrary to God, totally. Well, she said, and off she went. Jude is saying, these people are not saved. To be contrary to God in your nature and your practice is to be unsaved. These people are not saved, says Jude. And there is a place, there is a time and place for saying this also. That is not unloving. It may be in telling somebody that they're not saved, who thinks that they are saved, that you might be leading them to salvation. What Jude means is, they are not with God, and God is not with them. Or they may be clever, they may be very intelligent, they may be very eloquent, they may be very gifted, but they're not saved. Lasciviousness, the old version uses the word. Sensuality, Jude uses here in the ESV. They live in unrestrained vice and immorality. Sexual immorality. Sensuality is an identifying mark of false teachers. They live lives of unrestrained vice and immorality. They haven't grasped that pardon and holiness are yoked together. The Jesus who refused to condemn the woman caught in adultery also said to her, go and sin no more. But these people with their attitudes and with their actions, they deny, Jude tells us, they deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, in the same way, denying the gospel. As Jude's saying, do they hold secret views concerning the nature of God's son? Is this what they really believe? Although they're not saying it outwardly. Well, he's just a man, he's not really God. If Jesus is not God, then there is no salvation. The nature that sinned, he had to be man, he had to be truly man. The nature that sinned had to be punished, but he had to be divine in order to bear the divine wrath, the sins of the world that were heaped upon Calvary. Human nature could never have borne such. And so it's for this reason that these ungodly who have crept in amongst the church back in Jude's day, and yes, in our day too, there is nothing but condemnation for them. They're designated for this condemnation, ungodly people. So we say, well, this is difficult. Contending for the faith, it always is difficult. It never was easy. But beloved, if we consider the foundation that God has laid for us, what it means to be a Christian, what God has done for us and in us, and has assured us of, and what He has delivered to us and trusted to us, This treasure in earthen vessels, as Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians, you know, God, the almighty triune, you know, has said to you personally, I've given you my truth and I trust you with it. Are you to be trusted? Am I to be trusted? Will we contend for it? the unmitigated love that God has bestowed upon us and added to that the promise of preservation kept for Jesus. What more could God do for us? What more could God give us? Surely to stand and to fight for his cause, surely that's a privilege beyond degree, is it not? But in the end, when it's all done and dusted, the hymn writer, he says in verse one, he says, I'm not ashamed to own my Lord. or to defend his cause, maintain the honor of his word, the glory of his cross. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Why? Because it's God's power for salvation for all who believe. Then the hymn writer says at the end of the last verse, then will he own my worthless name. before His Father's face, and in the new Jerusalem appoint my soul a place. O Beloved, fight the good fight, contend for the faith. Amen. Let's sing that hymn together, shall we? Number 800.