Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20080420.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Jude: God's Call To Contend Earnestly For The Christian Faith
Part III: Contending FOR The Faith By Upholding Original Bible Doctrines BY Faith
(Jude 3b-4, 20-23)
  1. Introduction
    1. Scripture repeatedly predicts the coming apostasy, the departure of many in Christendom from the truth of God, cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 2:18-19.
    2. However, Jude 3b-4 calls us "earnestly" to "contend for the faith", and viewing that passage in relationship to more expansive comments from other Scriptures, we understand how we are to do this (as follows):
  2. Contending FOR The Faith By Upholding Original Bible Doctrines BY Faith, Jude 3b-4, 20-23.
    1. Jude urged believers to "contend earnestly" for the faith by way of the spiritual conflict, Jude 3b,a, 20-21:
      1. The verb rendered "contend earnestly" is epagonizesthai, meaning "to carry on a conflict, contest, debate or legal suit," U. B. S. Greek N. T., 1966 ed., p. 832; Theol. Dict. of the N. T. , vol. I, p. 135.
      2. In this Jude 3 context where the faith has previously been delivered to the saints, Jude promotes a defensive posture in his readers for what has already been "won," Ibid., T. D. N. T., p. 138.
      3. Since the foes are false teachers who turn the grace of God into license (Jude 4), and 1 John 4:1 reveals such parties operate by evil spirits, believers must assume a posture of defensiveness in terms of the spiritual conflict in holding to the truths of the faith! (cf. Jude 20-23 with Ephesians 6:10-17, 18)
      4. This includes causing Satan to flee when we apply these truths by faith, cf. James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9a.
    2. Jude urged that what believers were to believe should be the original written Scripture doctrines versus ensuing efforts by others to modify or to change them into what is false and evil, Jude 3b-4:
      1. The term rendered "the faith" in Jude 3 for which believers were to contend refers to "the body of truth", or those doctrines that were believed, cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Jude 3.
      2. This body of truth was delivered "once" to the saints, a term that means "once-for-all" as follows:
        1. The term rendered "once" is from the Greek word, hapax, and, in this context, as it does in Hebrews 6:4 [or 9:26], it means "what is so done as to be of perpetual validity and never need repetition," Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1963, p. 54 (brackets ours).
        2. Hence, Jude meant the body of truth delivered to the saints was given only once by God with the intent that it last without being modified or changed in any way!
      3. Hence, viewing other Scriptures, we see this commitment meant firmly believing the original teachings of the Apostles and the Old Testament Scriptures (as follows):
        1. Jesus both fulfilled and announced He fulfilled the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures as the Son of God and Hebrew Messiah, Matthew 11:2-6 with Isaiah 35:5; 61:1; Luke 24:25-27; John 5:39; 8:56.
        2. Christ in turn certified the words of His apostles as being true and authoritative for us, Jn. 17:6, 20.
        3. Thus, the New Testament writings became viewed by the Apostles as being equal in authority to the Old Testament, a fact we can show: (1) in 1 Timothy 5:18, Paul cited Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7, calling them both "scripture"; (2) in 2 Peter 3:15-16, Peter mentioned Paul's epistles, calling them Scripture on par the Old Testament by his word that unstable men wrest "his epistles . . . as they do also the other scriptures" ["other" is from loip as, meaning "remaining" Scriptures, writings of the same kind (Ibid., U. B. S. Greek N. T., p. 812; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to 2 Peter 3:16).
        4. Thus, we must hold firmly in faith to the truths of the apostles, truths we were taught and became convinced were true, recalling the credibility of the apostles, 2 Timothy 3:14, 10; 2 Peter 1:16-21.
        5. This cleaving to the truths of the original Old and New Testament writings are to be contrasted with the teachings and views of teachers that try to modify or change them to mean something else: the false teachers Jude countered changed the grace of God into a license for sin, and countered the Incarnation and deity of Christ, beliefs the apostolic writings, Christ and the Old Testament never did, cf. 1 John 4:1-4; 1 Cor. 12:3; hence, these false teachings were not to be heeded, cf. Jude 3-4.
Lesson Application: In reliance upon the Holy Spirit's power in view of the angelic conflict that is involved, we Christians must earnestly believe and apply the Christian truths to our lives by faith, truths that are given in the original Old and New Testament Scriptures!