Title [Text: Jude 1:3-4] Fight hard
The story of fighting would be considered a voice that exists outside the church. But in the text, Judas urges us to “fight hard.” Not only Judas, but the Apostle Paul also urged us to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12), and he himself said, “I have fought the good fight… I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). ). Christianity is a religion of love and a religion of peace. However, the Bible teaches that the fight against untruth or heresy should be more active. I hope that today will be a blessed time to receive grace and spiritual rearm by introducing the text of the text under the title of “Strive to fight”.
1. You must fight hard to keep the way of faith (3).
Judas first explains the change in the subject of the letter. The subject of the letter that Judas was trying to convey first was “Salvation obtained in general”, and it seems that the saints who receive this letter have already known about the subject and have been waiting for it. In fact, the issue of salvation, especially the subject of salvation, was a matter of considerable controversy between Jews and Gentiles. In other words, there was a lot of controversy as to whether salvation was obtained only by Jews or whether it is for all people, including Gentiles. Judas intended to give a lengthy explanation on this matter, but a much more urgent matter arose, so he changed the subject, but briefly explained what he was going to send first. Salvation is the fact that God's grace is impartial to all people equally. It is making it clear that there is no discrimination based on ethnicity or race in salvation. It also explains the way of faith for salvation.
① The way of faith is the content of salvation obtained through faith, that is, the gospel. It is the truth that salvation comes when we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross and accept Him as our Savior. We call this the gospel.
② This way of faith was given at once. It is a grace that lasts forever once given. It is not an imperfection that can be changed or lost, but a perfect blessing with eternal benefits. Saints are already enjoying this benefit.
③ This way of faith is a blessing given to the saints. Saints refer to those who are consecrated. Gender refers to those who have received the Gospel and become Christians. We must not forget that we are already saints and those who have received the Gospel.
④ You must fight hard to keep this way of faith, that is, salvation. To protect means that there is someone who wants to take it. They are none other than Satan's group. In order to devour us (1 Peter 5:8), we must be armed and fight hard in order to be able to resist the schemes of the devil who try to test, deceive, and overthrow us (Ephesians 6:11).
2. Since heretics are servants of the devil, we must strive to defeat them (4).
We often emphasize our vigilance against heresy. You will also receive reports of any damage caused by them. I've heard stories of property damage, sexual abuse, family breakdown, and even lives being threatened. But what is more terrifying than these external things is that the soul will get sick and die. Therefore, we must fight hard to defeat it. There are several lessons about heresy in this text.
① I am talking about the nature of heresy. It is characterized by an ungodly life. They do it without fear of God. It is characterized by all kinds of immoral life. Not only that, they can't act proudly and come in quietly. It points to sneaking in through the side door. As a result, it is often not obvious at first. We must remain vigilant against cults approaching secretly, cults disguised and approaching.