Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20080413.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Jude: God's Call To Contend Earnestly For The Christian Faith
Part II: Valuing Right Doctrine To Contend Earnestly For It
(Jude 3a)
  1. Introduction
    1. Dr. Robert D. Culver, longtime teacher at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in his book, A Wakeup Call, 1993, p. 73, complained that a common view in Christian circles is that "'doctrine separates, love unites'", and pastors and seminary professors are "under constraints to . . . go easy on doctrinal precision."
    2. Yet, if doctrinal precision is trivial, truth is of little value, and the Church is left vulnerable to darkness!
    3. This concern was shared by the author of the Epistle of Jude in Jude 3a, a concern we do well to adopt:
  2. Valuing Right Doctrine To Contend Earnestly For It, Jude 3a.
    1. The Apostle Jude mentioned that he had been very motivated to write to his recipients about their common salvation, the salvation they had in the Lord Jesus Christ, Jude 3a, 4c:
      1. The word "diligence" (KJV) ["eager" NIV, ESV] translates the Greek New Testament word, spouday that literally means "haste, speed", but in this context implies "zeal, earnestness," U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1963 ed., p. 832; Moulton & Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, 1972, p. 585.
      2. Thus, having "all" or great earnestness to write to his readers, Jude had wanted to address the great doctrine of the common salvation in Christ he had with his readers, Jude 3a, 4c.
    2. Now, the value of having his readers understand Christ's salvation could never be understated:
      1. Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder of the Dallas Theological Seminary, in his, Systematic Theology: Volume III Soteriology, 1973, p. 9 noted that since "the gospel of salvation is the only word addressed to the unsaved," it i s imperative that the doctrine of salvation be a key part of the pulpit ministry.
      2. The Apostle Paul also wrote his Epistle to the Romans detailing the building blocks of Christ's salvation so that believers might understand that justification is by faith alone in Christ alone (Romans 3:23-31), and that practical sanctification and empowered living and effective Christian service comes by utilizing the blessings that God's salvation has wrought (Romans chapters 4-15).
      3. Besides, the believer's eternal security of his salvation is a belief he must understand to be settled that he might grow in Christ and not be stifled in living in constant, false fear about losing that status!
    3. Yet, regardless of the huge value in proclaiming the truth of the believer's salvation out to the lost and believer alike, Jude decided it was even more important for him to put that effort aside in the interest of urging his Christian readers to contend for the truth of the doctrines committed unto them, Jude 3a,b!
    4. Viewing Jude 4 with its historical context explains the practical value of this decision as follows:
      1. The Apostle Jude was concerned about certain men who had secretly infiltrated the Church with the pretense that they were doctrinally sound men, but who actually turned God's grace into license, 4a,b.
      2. Specifically, these were "incipient Gnostics" who believed "everything material as evil and everything spiritual as good" so that believers could practice all sorts of sinful acts that their bodies lusted since their bodies were evil anyway, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., p. 1782.
      3. Then, since the Gnostics taught the body was evil, they denied that Jesus was God in the flesh, and that left Christ not able to mediate between man and God on the cross! Were that so, Christ's atonement and hence salvation would be totally undermined! (Jude 4c)
      4. Accordingly, Jude realized that he needed to get believers to counter the way these incipient Gnostics shifted their hearers from the original teachings on living a godly life and on Christ's Incarnation as the God-man lest all belief about Christ's salvation on the cross be left appearing to be a false salvation!
    5. Thus, Jude set aside his important letter on the doctrine of salvation to urge an earnest contention for the truth, for that was the starting point of making the truths of salvation valuable for faith and practice, v. 3!
Lesson: Since the VALUE of all our beliefs are based on their innate TRUTHFULNESS, it is IMPERATIVE that we UNDERSTAND both HOW they are TRUE, and then EARNESTLY CONTEND for their TRUTHFULNESS before USING these doctrines in our lives and ministries!

Application: May an earnest contention for God's Biblical TRUTH undergird all our life and service!