The following sermon was preached at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Jessup, Georgia. Visit our website at www.ebcjessup.net Living the Christian faith is compared to waging a war. In the Apostle Paul's famous address to the Ephesian Christians, he wrote this in Ephesians 6, verses 10 and following. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. I can assure you on our own strength and wisdom, we could never stand against the schemes of the devil. He goes on to say, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil, in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, in all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer, and supplication. The warfare that we are engaged in is much like a guerrilla warfare. It is not a warfare of armies neatly arrayed on a field of battle, with one army wearing this color uniform and the other opposing army wearing another distinctive uniform. Rather, the warfare that we are engaged in and the battle battles that we are engaged in, comes from an enemy that wages relentless war against us. And it comes from many fronts. Sometimes it comes from those areas that we expect. And sometimes it comes from areas that we do not expect, or at least we are disappointed when it comes. Often the attack comes from those who look like we do, who sound like we do, who use words like we do, like Christ and faith and sin. It's what Christ referred to as wolves, ravenous wolves, dressed or camouflaged in sheep's clothing. This past week, Green Street United Methodist Church in North Carolina announced support for same-sex marriage, homosexual marriage. They stated that there will be no more traditional weddings performed in the church until the state of North Carolina legalizes homosexual marriages or same-sex marriages. Listen as I read a portion of the declaration that they wrote. The marriage covenant between two people is a ministry of the church. Couples making a commitment to one another need a supportive community of faith to sustain and uphold them so as to grow in faith and love. Weddings are the occasion for the covenant making, a time to seek God's blessings on their commitment to one another. When a couple chooses to be married in the church, they should also be conscious that they are making a declaration of their relationship as a new ministry for the congregation in the world. I couldn't agree more with what they've set up at this point. Absolutely fantastic statement. That's what I say sometimes to people when they come from outside the church and talk to me about they want a church wedding. Why? Are you a Christian? Why would you want a church wedding? Well, I've always wanted one since... What does it mean? You can be married by a justice of the peace. A Christian wedding says something different. It says that this is a covenant relation. It says that this is a witness to the world of Christ's love for His bride. This is a declaration of commitment. asking and seeking the blessings of Almighty God on the union. But then they had this last sentence. At Green Street Church, we claim the committed same-sex relationships as no less sacred in their ministry to us and the community. You read the statement and you read words like covenant, ministry, church, faith, blessing, sacred. And they all are words that are good words. They're words that we use. You look at the slogan of the church, it says, the slogan is, we're the kingdom of God is breaking through. What a great slogan. What a wonderful declaration. You go to the website and you look at a picture of the congregation as they stand on the steps of the church. A beautiful looking congregation composed of young and old and various races. And here they all are. A wonderful picture. And yet we would contend that this declaration is an attack against the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Neil Nilsen in an article for Ligonier Ministries writes, in pulpits across the land, ordained ministers, and he has that in quote, who are practicing homosexuals, teach boldly what they claim are the truths of God. In other places, elders and teachers look the other way when the strongest supporters are known to be living in sin. Gifted pastors seduce other men's wives with little fear of reprisal. Regrettably, such statements do not cause much surprise for many Christians today. Some of the events described are common, not only in newspaper headlines covering liberal denominations, but also in the evangelical world. The sexual immorality prevalent in our culture is increasingly infecting the church. However, such things are not only true of the church in our day. They were also threats faced by the earliest Christians 2,000 years ago. The church of Jesus Christ found itself infiltrated by false teachers who used the grace of God as an excuse for wanton immorality. The task of warning the church about such individuals and calling Christians to persevere in the grace of God fell to Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ. and brother of James. Please open your Bibles to the book of Jude. And we'll notice in verses 3 and 4 what Jude declares about this book. The book of Jude is that little book, that one chapter book, right before the book of Revelation. You'll notice in verses 3 and 4 that Jude writes, Although I was 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. 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. Jude, it would seem, wanted to write a letter of encouragement. He wanted to write a letter of instruction and comfort to the believers. And yet, as he sat down to write, moved by the Holy Spirit, he felt compelled, I can't write what I want to write, but I must write to exhort you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. And that clear call and commitment to the truth of God's Word has never been more needed than it is in our day and our generation. The idea of density deals with the compactness of a substance. You can have the same quantity of a substance, but its weight and value will differ based upon density. For example, platinum weighs more than twice as much as copper. An ounce of platinum is valued at something over $1,500. An ounce of copper is valued at something less than a quarter. We believe, as a church, in what is defined as the plenary verbal inspiration of Scripture. That's a lot of words, but the attack of inspiration and fallibility, the attack keeps mounting that you have to keep adding words to knock away the assault. And when we say we believe in the plenary verbal inspiration, we mean that we believe that the words of God in the original manuscripts are inspired. Every word. That every record is accurate. It is God's Word. It's not that the record of creation is somehow less inspired or fallible than the record of redemption. We believe that it's all the Word of God, and every word matters. Now, we also recognize and believe that some sections of Scripture just seem to us extremely dense, packed, just stomp down what's contained in it. Some are just packed with theology and history and practical implications. There are some books of the Bible, some chapters, some verses we could spend a lifetime and not exhaust. I've been telling you, I've been wanting to sort of move into Romans, and I've been holding back, holding back, just thinking, I don't know if I can do that with all the other balls I have in the air I'm trying to juggle right now. I just don't know. Because it will be a demanding study. And it's not going to just be something you can walk through like tiptoeing to the flowers, so to speak. Well, maybe just as foolish on my part, but the book of Jude. It's a little book. It's only one of four books in the Bible that has only one chapter. But it's packed. It's dense. in theology and practical implications. Ligon Duncan writes of Jude, it is a unique book in many ways. It was written by a man who was a half-brother of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Jesus the Messiah. It contains the only greeting in the New Testament that does not mention grace. But it also contains the only greeting in the New Testament that includes love. The purpose of the book seems to be to expose false teachers who were perverting God's grace into lasciviousness and had infiltrated the Christian community, and at the same time to encourage the believers to stand firm for the faith that had once for all been delivered to the saints. I want to focus with you this morning on the salutation, verses 1 and 2. Notice in your Bibles, Jude 1 and 2, we have In the first part of this, the author identified. We have in the second part of verse 1, the audience identified. We have in verse 2, an invocation of a threefold blessing. I don't think I can do justice nor cover all of it. It is dense, but I will mention that and call your attention to it. Notice Jude 1. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. To those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and I will talk, I'll just say it now, I realize there's a textual difference and some translations say sanctified, some beloved. Beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Now, in this first part of the first verse, the author identifies himself as Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. Now, Jude, and that is a variation of the word Judas, and actually there are at least eight people in the New Testament that are referred to that have this name. Two are apostles. There is, of course, the infamous Judas Iscariot. And there is another Judas who also, I think it's Matthew and Mark, do not use the name Judas, they use Thaddeus. It's like the name Judas has had such scorn and such a blight that people just didn't use it anymore. And there's also a difference between Hebrew and Greek, and it's involved in there as well. So, Jude is a variation of Judas, and there were two apostles that bore this name. And another one of the Judes, or Judases, was a half-brother of Jesus. Look at Matthew chapter 13 and verse 55. When Jesus is rejected at Nazareth, part of the reason they reject Him is because they say, we know this man. We know he's just a common laborer. We know his father. We know his family. And they say in verse 55, is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Again, Judas or Jude, depending on whether it's Hebrew or Greek or how it's rendered. Both Jude, the author of Jude and the author of James, identify themselves as a servant of Jesus Christ. We're studying James, Wednesday nights, and we looked at how that James is the half-brother of Jesus, the author. And yet he uses the title servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word, the Greek word there is doulos, and it means a slave or a bondman. Now listen to this. One who gives himself up to another's will, devoted to another, to the disregard of one's own interest. And so when he uses the term duos, a servant of Jesus Christ, he is saying my will has been given up and is submissive to the will of Jesus Christ. My preferences have been submitted and suppressed to those of Jesus Christ. Jude identifies himself as a brother of James. There are several Jameses in the Bible, but as we have looked at, usually where it just says James, we're given to understand it's the oldest brother of Christ. He needed no other further identification. That's who it's speaking about most of the time. And we know that Jesus had four half-brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, or Judas. And we remember that his brothers did not believe on Him while He walked on the earth. Before His crucifixion, they didn't believe in Him. They had no faith in Him. In John 7, verse 5, we read, For not even his brothers believed in Him. And then again, in Mark 3, verse 21, when Jesus is in a place preaching, we're told that when His family heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they were saying, He's out of His mind. His brothers came to take hold of him physically and take him home because they said he's lost it. These are his brothers. But later on, as you read through the Scripture, you find out that his brothers have come to saving faith. They have come to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. And they actually become missionaries. Notice in Acts 1, verse 14, it says, All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Here we go. That's his half-brothers, his family. They're there. They have come to faith in Christ. And then we read in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 5, the apostle says, do we not have the right to take along a believing wife as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord? Paul is saying, I can be married. I can take a believing wife with me on the mission trips. Peter does. The other apostles do. The brothers of Jesus do. In other words, they're missionaries. They're going out in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, preaching the gospel. Scholars identify this Jude who wrote this book as the half-brother of Jesus. They do so for various reasons. One is, he doesn't identify himself as the Apostle. In fact, he distinguishes himself from the Apostle in verse number 17, where he says, But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the Apostles of our Lord. He didn't say of us the Apostles, of the Apostles. Distinguishing himself from them. He does identify with James, the brother of James. And there are the similarities of the salutations. They call themselves servants. Robert Rayburn has written, from the earliest times, it was understood why neither James nor Jude identified themselves as the Lord's brothers in their writings. They preferred to think of themselves as His servants. Now, I stress these points of identity for a couple of reasons. One, I want to talk about the proper emphasis of the virgin birth. And secondly, I want to speak about the proper view of Christ's Lordship. That's why I'm stressing this today. Mary, in the Scripture, is to be esteemed. She is called blessed among women. have that high esteem for Mary. But by some, too much is made of Mary, and too many myths are taught. Among them, some believe that she was born without original sin, and that she was kept by God's preserving grace from ever sinning. Some believe that she is a mediator. that we go to God, even her Son, through her. And some believe in her perpetual virginity. Now, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible does not teach that she was sinless. In fact, in the Magnificat of Mary in Luke 1, verse 47, she refers to God as, My Savior. There you go. She need a Savior. It does not teach that she is a mediator. In fact, the Bible says, for there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. That's it. There is no other mediator. And it does not teach that she remained a virgin. But you know, I was a grown man, I think, before I realized Christ Jesus had family. I just remember, I didn't know it. I was raised in church. I'm sure someone said it, but it just didn't click. Oh, he had brothers and sisters. Matthew 1.25 says of Joseph that he knew her not, speaking of marital knowledge, intimacy, until she had given birth to the son. implying until the time of the birth of Christ, Joseph and Mary did not know each other in a miracle way, but after Christ is born, they have a full marriage and that she bears children. Four sons and daughters. Why am I stressing that is just simply to point out that the intent of the virgin birth is not to idolize Mary. But rather it is to teach the origin of Christ. His divinity. That He is the last Adam. We have the first Adam made by God. We have the last Adam. The first Adam, the federal head of His family. All His posterity cursed in sin. The last Adam. The head of His family. Those that He redeems by His blood on the cross. But why I really make this point even more than that, and it's kind of a side point, but it needs saying at times, but a side point is Christ's Lordship. Jude or James doesn't say, hey, guys, I'm half-brother. They say, I am a doulos. I have given up my will for the will of the Lord. for the Christ. I've submitted myself unto Him. You know, often we get that thing flipped, don't we? We often get that flipped, really, in modern Christianity. We pray unto the Father. And if you're not careful and listen to some, you would think, well, God's just kind of like an anxious puppy, just tripping over Himself, can't hardly wait to get to you to answer your prayer request. He's my servant. I call, He jumps. And the Son, He came to die on the cross, and He came to die just so I could be happy and have stuff. He's my servant. He's come to serve me. And the Holy Spirit, well, now, He's just my helper. Man, when I'm down, he just comes up here and he's just right beside me. But you see, all of those things turn upside down what the Bible teaches about the believer's relationship with God. We come to church expecting God's going to do something for me. Well, I'm not going to say He's not, but that's not the primary reason we come, is it? Is the primary reason I come is I'm expecting God's going to do something for me? Or is my primary reason in coming is that I'm going to give Him worship? Now, as a sidebar of that, surely God blesses us. He feeds us. He nurtures us. He cares for us. But it's not just simply, Lord, here I am. Bless me now. It's, Lord, I have come to worship the triune God of heaven and earth. God is gracious and He blesses us, but He is the Lord, and we are the servants. Notice in Luke 16, a difficult passage of Scripture. Luke 16, verses 7-10. I'm in the wrong spot and I can't find what I'm looking for. Luke 17, verse 7. Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, come at once and recline at a table? Will you not rather say to him, prepare supper for me and dress properly and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink? Does He thank the servant because He did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, we are unworthy servants. We have only done what was our duty. Now, in Galatians 6, we're told, remember, you are no longer slaves, your sons. In John 15, Jesus says, you are no longer servants, you are My friends. And yet here in Luke 16, we're defined as unworthy servants. Now, I think, again, we have to keep things in balance. We have to have the proper balance or we get killed here. I think Jesus would have us to understand here that obedience does not obligate God to me. We talked this morning in Sunday School about the means of grace. Obedience does not obligate God to me. I am obligated to God. Our relationship with God is not a quid pro quo. I'll scratch your back, you scratch my back. My relationship with God is He is Lord. I am servant. It is my duty. It is my calling to do, to serve, to be obedient, to submit my will to His will. Not because of what I can get out of it. because of who He is. I am a servant of Jesus Christ. Secondly, I think that we would learn from this that we are to serve with humility before God and each other. James, nor Jude, takes a place where they go, well, bring out the chief chairs and let me sit on the high point here because look at me who I am. They both take a position of humility. And that is how we are to serve one another, with humility, humbleness, esteeming others better than ourselves. And our relationship with God, last and most important, is based on grace. Based on grace, not, you know, again, obligation, but God simply loves me by His grace. Then in verse 1b, back in Jude, the believers are identified. He identifies them as called, beloved of God, or beloved in God, the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ. The gospel is an invitation. But you must know that the gospel is more than just a mere invitation. It's a summons. It is true that Jesus says, Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. But it is also true that the Lord says, These times of ignorance God winked at, and now he commands all men everywhere to repent. Sometimes, you know, it's simply viewed as an invitation, not as a summons. We are not merely invited. You are summoned to repent of your sins, turn to Christ, take up your cross, follow Him, believe in Him. That is a summons. You say, well, some people don't do it. I know they don't. That's the point of effectual calling when you move into Calvinism. God will bring those that are His. I recently got a notice from the Federal court in Brunswick, I had to fill out the papers and send it in and all that good stuff. I've done that before and been on the, you know, go down for jury duty for the federal court. This is just getting my information. I get my information and if I go out to my mailbox one day and I open a letter and it says you're summoned to appear at whatever district, federal court in Brunswick, it's in such time. It's not an invitation alone. If I don't go, I'm in trouble. The gospel is an invitation, but it's a summons. Come to Christ. We are called. We are called with the power of God from the dead to the living. We are called to something greater than we are. We are called to faith and obedience. So James identifies those he is writing to, to the called, and he identifies them as beloved in God the Father. Again, I know some texts say sanctified. But this is the only use of this phrase in the New Testament. And the point of it seems to be that the person, the one who rests and trusts in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, is beloved by God just as He loves His Son. Now that's a staggering thought. But look at what John says in John 17, 26. Again, we talked about that a little bit this morning in Sunday School, about the idea so often that what it means to be an heir and joint heir with Jesus Christ, about I'm not going to heaven to be an angel, or I don't want my set of wings. That's just nonsense. We're heirs and joint heirs. Look at what Christ said in John 17, verse 26, I made known to them your name, speaking to the Father, and I will continue to make it known, and get this close, that the love with which you have loved Me may be in them, and I in them. The love that the Father loved the Son may be in you. And so Jude starts this and says, you're called. And you're beloved in God. You're beloved in the same way that God the Father loves the Son. And then he says, you're kept. You're kept for Jesus Christ. We are the bride of Christ. We are His inheritance. And nothing can take or steal or erode the inheritance that Christ has secured. Notice what Jude says at the end there in Jude verse 24. Now to Him who was able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. And then in verse 2, he gives a triple blessing. Mentions a triple blessing. Invokes a triple blessing. He says, May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. I think these are the blessings that real Christians seek. Mercy. God's goodness and kindness to the needy. As we sit around and listen, as I sit around and we talk and I listen to your prayer requests and you talk about the issues in your life and the difficulties and heartbreaks that you're facing, what we're talking about is mercy. I need God's kindness to the needy. To me, I'm needy. I need it. And Jude is saying, may it be multiplied to you. And then he says, peace. What is it that we want? What is it that we long for? We long for peace. The peace of Christ within us. The peace that Christ says will steal troubled hearts. Let not your hearts be troubled. And what a wonderful thing for a Christian to be growing in. Knowing the mercies of God. Knowing the peace of God. And love. Not our love to one another. That's important. That's not what he's talking about here. He's talking about God's love to you. I said it a minute ago. I'm just trying to make a point here. I said a moment ago about this salutation where Jude addresses that we're beloved in God. That implies the same love that the Father has for the Son He has for you. Did you hear me say that a minute ago? Did you really? Because you kind of sat there and looked. Do you understand what that means? That deep love of the Father that loves you, you are object of His love, just as the Son of God, His only beloved Son. That's staggering. And you read this salutation, and you just want to praise God. And you just say, I'm like Jude. I'm just a doulos. A doulos of the Lord. As a Christian, a Christian is one who declares and believes Jesus is the Lord. The Lord. That believes that Jesus is the Lord. I am His. I belong to Him. I march to His orders. I follow His word, His commission, His ordinances, His doctrine. I am conformed to His image. I'm His. He has purchased me with His own blood. I am His. Do you live with a conscious awareness of that? Do you tell yourself as you plan your days and plan your life and go about your activities, I am His. He has purchased me. I am His. As a church, the church is only about us as we are in Him. It's not just merely our fellowship together. It's our fellowship together in Christ that matters. It's not our vision or our goals or our plans or our building. It's His. And it's not just my company or the fact that we gather together. It's His presence in our gathering that we seek. And a Christian is one who is greatly blessed called, beloved, kept. One who is knowing and growing in God's mercy, His peace, and His love. And so Jude says, I wanted to write to you about some things, but I found it necessary to write to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. And even as he comes out of the gate, Even as he opens his book and puts his pen to paper, one of the first things he says is, I'm not my own. I'm the Lord's. And the Lord calls us and preserves us and keeps us and loves us. This is the faith. May God bless us. And may we know increasingly His mercy, His peace and His love. Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for these words of Your servant, Jude. And we pray that they would resonate in our minds, in our hearts, our lives. Our church. That Lordship and the word Lord would be more than just a word that we use to exclaim something or a word that we cite in prayer. That it would be genuine in my life, in our life, all of our lives. that you truly would be the one that we seek to serve and submit to in all things. Bless your people, call to repentance, and may those that are here present that know not Christ, may they realize and recognize that they're being summoned, summoned by the living God, and that we all stand before the judgment seat and every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. So Lord, help us, we pray. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. We invite you to worship with us at Emmanuel Baptist Church, located at 1618 Waycross Highway, Jessup, Georgia. Visit our website at www.ebcjessup.net for information about the church, service times, and to listen to other sermons. Thank you.