Exposition on the Epistle of Jude Message delivered Sunday, June 21, 2009 Grace Gospel Chapel, Erie, PA Dr. Sam Kurien

1. Contend, Build, Pray, Abide, Look, Save, Worship Grace Gospel Chapel, Erie, PA June 21, 2009 Dr. Sam Kurien

2. Contend, Build, Pray, Abide, Look, Save, Worship Contend—we struggle and agonize for truth (the doctrines of the Scriptures) Build—we build (edify) ourselves in the doctrines of the Scriptures Pray—we pray as directed by the Holy Spirit Abide—we abide in the sunshine of God’s love Save—we save with compassion, and as the Lord’s instruments, those who have fallen astray Worship—we worship the only wise God our Savior, to whom be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever The Epistle of Jude

3. Jude 1-4 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, Peace and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

4. Jude 5-10 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know, and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day, As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

5. Jude 11-15 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead pulled up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

6. Jude 16-23 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: How they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

7. Jude 24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

8. Similarities between Jude and 2nd Peter Ungodly men who deny the Lord (Jude 4; 2 Peter 2: 1) Angels held in darkness (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2: 4) Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 7; 2 Peter 2: 6) Slanderers of angelic beings (Jude 8; 2 Peter 2: 10) Michael (Jude 9; 2 Peter 2: 11) Brute Beasts (Jude 10; 2 Peter 2: 12) Blasphemers (Jude 10; 2 Peter 2: 12) Ignorant (Jude 10; 2 Peter 2: 12) Followers of Balaam (Jude 11; 2 Peter 2: 15) Clouds without rain (Jude 12; 2 Peter 2: 17) Reserved Darkness (Jude 13; 2 Peter 2: 17) Boast, lust, flatter (Jude 16; 2 Peter 2: 18) Apostolic Prophecy (Jude 17; 2 Peter 3: 2) Last day mockers (Jude 18; 2 Peter 3: 3)

10. Steps we must take in our own protection

11. Steps we take to protect others

12. God’s protection of the believer

13. Praising the Powerful Presenter of the Preserved (DOXOLOGY)

14. The Power behind our preservation

15. The Presentation of the Preserved

17. Another way to Arrange: Defense of Doctrine Danger: The Apostates Deceptive entrance into the assembly Departure from truth Denial of Christ Description of their character Deeds of Immorality Division of the assembly Destruction by judgment Doxology

18. Jude 1-2 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, Peace and love be multiplied to you. All 3 actions are by God Here the preservation implies an eternal preservation

19. Jude 24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. We find the idea of God’s preservation of his children both in the beginning of the epistle and at the end Here the preservation implies a preservation from error and sin—both temporal and eternal. He is able to keep us from stumbling. Stumbling happens on earth—hence the preservation is temporal. But then He presents us faultless before the presence of His glory. This happens in eternity, hence the preservation is eternal as well.

21. From writing about shared salvation themes to writing about defending doctrine

22. From being a commentator of lofty eternal truths to a coach dealing with the everyday and base realities of living in a sinful world

23. From matters that have to do with peace to matters that have to do with war

24. From discussing things of a positive nature to discussing things of a negative nature

25. From the sweet strains of the violin to the blast of the trumpet

27. Comes from a Greek word which means struggle or agonize over

29. Note that it is delivered or handed down or entrusted

30. Therefore it had to come down from somewhere—it came from the Lord’s teachings and the instructions of the apostles

32. Comes from a Greek word which means struggle or agonize over

34. Note that it is delivered or handed down or entrusted

35. Therefore it had to come down from somewhere—it came from the Lord’s teachings and the instructions of the apostles

38. This happens when we are not alert and vigilant

39. In what would appear to be a severe infiltration, if such men have a blatant disregard for right doctrine, then it means that the assembly is compromised and there is widespread apostasy

40. In what would appear to be a minor infiltration to an outsider or a discerning brother or sister, then it is possible that there is at least some level of compromise, because of deception.

41. Today such infiltration occurs not necessarily by people physically walking into the assembly, but by the kind of programs we watch on TV or online, hear on the radio or online, read in magazines and online etc.

42. There is an enormous amount of material out there—the infiltration by the enemy, happens when Satan uses unwary instruments (people from within an assembly) who would rather read a book than read the Word, and get influenced by extraneous materials than the sacred Scriptures.

43. WE UNDERMINE OUR VULNERABILITY TO GET INFLUENCED BY THINGS WE READ OR HEAR OR SEEThe Perpetrators False Teachers

44. Jude 12-13 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead pulled up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

45. Jude 4 They are described as Ungodly (verse 4) They are present in love feasts [and appear to be the benefactors] while they serve their own stomachs and ends—thus they are in reality spots or blemishes rather than strengths (verse 12) They are clouds [appearing to carry the promise of rain] however they are weightless drifting waterless clouds (verse 12) They are autumn trees [with the appearance of freshness and life] but in reality they are fruitless, uprooted, doubly dead (verse 12) Raging waves of the sea [appearance of passion], but reality all they produce is substance-less foam (verse 13) They are stars [with the appearance of stability such that the cartographers can plot direction], yet in reality they are unstable, direction-less meteors that cannot be relied upon (verse 13) and they end up in the blackness of darkness. The Perpetrators Who are they?

46. Jude 8-10 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know, and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.

47. Jude 4 The Perpetrators What do they do? In practice, they turn the grace of God into lewdness (verse 4)—they turn liberty in Christ and twist it to their convenience into license for sin. They would say that where grace abounded, one may sin freely In doctrine, they deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 4) They are “filthy dreamers who defile the flesh” (verse 8)—they live in a fantasy world and their thoughts are polluted; subsequently they indulge in sexual immorality They reject authority and They speak evil of dignitaries (verse 8)—essentially they are lawless; they reject governments and institutions . They like to be a law unto themselves. According to Romans 13: 1, every person is asked to be subject to the higher powers because there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Even Michael the archangel had a dispute with Satan which was a judicial dispute, but he did not indict Satan or accuse him to his face but said, “the Lord rebuke you.” They run off their mouths and speak evil of those things that they are ignorant about. They chatter about everyone and everything—empty vessels that make a lot of noise.

48. Jude 11 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

50. The error of Balaam—The Religion of Prosperity in the service of God (Numbers 22-24)

51. Balaam professed to be a prophet of God, but he was covetous, and willing to prostitute his prophetic gift for money (Num. 22-24).

52. Five times Balak paid him to curse Israel, and he was more than willing to do it, but he was forcibly restrained by God.

54. Jude 16-19 They grumble & complain about everything—there is no manifestation of graciousness in their lives They walk according to their own lusts They mouth great swelling words, They flatter people to gain advantage. They are mockers These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. The Perpetrators What do they do?

55. Jude 5-7 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day, As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

56. Jude 16-19 Examples of judgment of such creatures in the Old Testament: The Israelites (people)—UNBELIEF—saved from Egypt but were destroyed and couldn’t enter the promised land The angels (celestial beings)—ABANDONED THEIR ABODE—from beings dependent on God and carrying out His commands, they became free spirits—they lost their freedom and are chained with everlasting chains under darkness awaiting judgment Sodom and Gomorrah (entire cities)—ITS PEOPLE COMMITTED SEXUAL IMMORALITY AND WENT AFTER STRANGE FLESH—suffered the vengeance of eternal fire The Perpetrators Their Judgment

57. Jude 14-15; 17 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” But you beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ How they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit

58. Jude 16-19 Predictions of apostasy and its consequences: Enoch, an OT prophet prophesied The certainty of the Lord’s return The certainty of His judgment on the ungodly for their deeds and words The apostles (authoritative figures in the NT) predicted The unfortunate certainty of these ungodly people in the churches Their behavior of deception The end result of DIVISION The Perpetrators Their Judgment

60. What we must do for others (vs. 22-23)

61. What God does for us (vs. 24)Abiding

62. Jude 24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

63. Jude 24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. Saints Preserved by God Saints Presented faultless by the Lord Saints Praise Our Majestic Savior