NEVER LOSE SIGHT
I send you greetings in the name of Jesus:
One of my very favorite books in the New Testament is the book of Jude. It's probably one of the shortest of all books and yet it gives us a mandate in the church to never lose sight of our goal as Christians to earnestly contend for our faith in Christ. Each one of us in our own way has been involved in a battle and while most of us think of that battle is being one which reaches out to others with the good news, the truth really is that we find ourselves as sinners and in a personal battle to work out both our relationship with God and our salvation through the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.
Many people try to find a relevance in their life to the gospel that is presented to them through adopting different creeds and doctrines that only tend to trick them into going on the defensive instead of living out the truth of God that is been proven in their lives. The real truth is that if we are positively living the truth that God is given us been to many people we are seen as offensive. The truth is the offense that we bring with us is simply to point out the conviction that people already know are there concerning their lives. Our Lord himself has promised that the gates of hell shall not withstand the assault against his church, and what that means is that no matter how much screaming and yelling we may hear from those who feel they are offended by a Christian life truly being lived it does not change either the conviction or the fact that the truth exists.
Today we have many false converts in our churches; these are people who have crept into our worship circles and who said among God's people on the Sunday morning, but do not have any intention of coming to Christ or of changing their hearts from the message they here preached. In fact in the fourth verse of Jude it says "for there are certain men crept in unawares, were before of old ordained for this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." It is hard for me to realize that there are people who are today sitting in our worship services who have been preordained to be stumbling blocks for those weaker Christians around them. I can't help but go back to the Scripture I find in the book of Matthew 7: 21-23 in the words of our Lord himself saying "not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? And in your name have we not cast out devils? And in your name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess to them I never knew you; depart from me, you that work iniquity". It is actually the realization of what that passage of Scripture means that causes me to say that for the most part men and women make their own choices through the will of their actions and the intent of their heart to accept or reject Christ. While I believe that Jesus Christ offers all men salvation I do not believe that merely saying that we have faith in God, or saying that we have made Jesus the Lord of our lives is enough. We are hearing people say "God made me to be the way I am so he doesn't want me to change". In fact this is one of the latest homosexual arguments going around today that even though people are not making a conscious decision toward homosexuality that it must be natural. They must be born that way. What they don't consider is the fact that we are all born with a sin nature and with sinful desires. We don't like to experience the truth that is found in Ephesians 2:1-2 which says"and you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, or in time past you walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience." The book of Jude speaks very clearly about those who are planted right next to us in our churches who are quick to make judgments or to whisper their opinions in our ears when it comes to others. In verse 10-11 "but these speak evil of those things which they know not; but one they know naturally, as brute beasts, and those things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of bail him for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of core." I have often said that it is the Holy Spirit that draws men unto himself, and it is our job as God's children to minister to them once they get there. With the help of God, we are to convince the ungodly that their deeds and their speech are otherwise offensive to the creator and mold brings with judgment upon them. We have a big failure today in our churches to preach the commandments of God and it has left an entire generation of people without the fear of God. They have become markers of God in these last days, and the book of Jude points this out. The Scripture sheds light on these secret sins of lost and sensuality, but we to must take a stand to not only say that we believe in the words of Christ, but to live those words out. The world says that you cannot confront people with Jesus; you'll run them off. The question is where are you going to run them off to? May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
One of my very favorite books in the New Testament is the book of Jude. It's probably one of the shortest of all books and yet it gives us a mandate in the church to never lose sight of our goal as Christians to earnestly contend for our faith in Christ. Each one of us in our own way has been involved in a battle and while most of us think of that battle is being one which reaches out to others with the good news, the truth really is that we find ourselves as sinners and in a personal battle to work out both our relationship with God and our salvation through the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.
Many people try to find a relevance in their life to the gospel that is presented to them through adopting different creeds and doctrines that only tend to trick them into going on the defensive instead of living out the truth of God that is been proven in their lives. The real truth is that if we are positively living the truth that God is given us been to many people we are seen as offensive. The truth is the offense that we bring with us is simply to point out the conviction that people already know are there concerning their lives. Our Lord himself has promised that the gates of hell shall not withstand the assault against his church, and what that means is that no matter how much screaming and yelling we may hear from those who feel they are offended by a Christian life truly being lived it does not change either the conviction or the fact that the truth exists.
Today we have many false converts in our churches; these are people who have crept into our worship circles and who said among God's people on the Sunday morning, but do not have any intention of coming to Christ or of changing their hearts from the message they here preached. In fact in the fourth verse of Jude it says "for there are certain men crept in unawares, were before of old ordained for this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." It is hard for me to realize that there are people who are today sitting in our worship services who have been preordained to be stumbling blocks for those weaker Christians around them. I can't help but go back to the Scripture I find in the book of Matthew 7: 21-23 in the words of our Lord himself saying "not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? And in your name have we not cast out devils? And in your name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess to them I never knew you; depart from me, you that work iniquity". It is actually the realization of what that passage of Scripture means that causes me to say that for the most part men and women make their own choices through the will of their actions and the intent of their heart to accept or reject Christ. While I believe that Jesus Christ offers all men salvation I do not believe that merely saying that we have faith in God, or saying that we have made Jesus the Lord of our lives is enough. We are hearing people say "God made me to be the way I am so he doesn't want me to change". In fact this is one of the latest homosexual arguments going around today that even though people are not making a conscious decision toward homosexuality that it must be natural. They must be born that way. What they don't consider is the fact that we are all born with a sin nature and with sinful desires. We don't like to experience the truth that is found in Ephesians 2:1-2 which says"and you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, or in time past you walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience." The book of Jude speaks very clearly about those who are planted right next to us in our churches who are quick to make judgments or to whisper their opinions in our ears when it comes to others. In verse 10-11 "but these speak evil of those things which they know not; but one they know naturally, as brute beasts, and those things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of bail him for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of core." I have often said that it is the Holy Spirit that draws men unto himself, and it is our job as God's children to minister to them once they get there. With the help of God, we are to convince the ungodly that their deeds and their speech are otherwise offensive to the creator and mold brings with judgment upon them. We have a big failure today in our churches to preach the commandments of God and it has left an entire generation of people without the fear of God. They have become markers of God in these last days, and the book of Jude points this out. The Scripture sheds light on these secret sins of lost and sensuality, but we to must take a stand to not only say that we believe in the words of Christ, but to live those words out. The world says that you cannot confront people with Jesus; you'll run them off. The question is where are you going to run them off to? May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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