Gospel Bible Baptist Church

Jude 1

Introduction

Jude is called “a difficult and neglected letter in the NT”. Very few preach on the Book of Jude. If they preach about it, it’s only on verses 3, 24 & 25. The name Jude is “Judah” in Hebrew, and “Judas” in Greek. It’s a popular name in the NT times, but considered as one of the most detestable names at present. It was the name of the man who betrayed the Lord. In many churches now, there’s a lot of Judas.

I. Who he is:
A. Servant of Jesus Christ.
B. Brother of James.
C. Jesus Christ has 4 half-brothers (Mat. 13:55, Mk. 6:3).
Matt. 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mk. 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
D. It was written by one of the four half-brothers of Christ (Mat. 13:55, Mk.6:3). Just like his brother James the author of the Epistle of James, at the start, they rejected Christ, (Jn. 7:3-8), they became a believer later after the resurrection (Acts 1:14).
Jn. 7:5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
E. Jude never identifies himself as an apostle. He never boasted being a half-brother of Jesus. A clear mark of humility.

II. Recipients of the Letter
A. No specific church or individual was named. For this reason, this epistle was called General Epistle. The Epistle of James, 1, 2, and 3 John, as well as 1 and 2 Peter are also classified on this category.
B. There were 3 specific words I want to share to you. The word called, sanctified, and preserved, in Jesus Christ. He simply wrote “to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

III. Called
A. We have been called with “a holy calling” – 2 Tim. 1:9
2 Tim. 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
B. We became God’s chosen and called through by means of the gospel – 2 Th. 2:13-14.
2 Thess. 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. By having the gospel preached to “every creature”, the call is made available to all. Mark 16:15-16 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

a. God’s desires that “all men be saved” – 1 Tim. 2:3-4
1 Tim. 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
b. This is consistent with God’s offer of His Son as “a ransom for all” – 1 Tim. 2:5-6. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
c. The Lord is not willing that “any should perish”, but that “all should come to repentance”. 2 Pet. 3:9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

C. If you are a visitor today in this church, God is calling you to come to Christ and be saved. You did not come here by accident.
D. You have a responsibility to respond to this call.
E. Your response to this call will determine your final destination, Heaven or hell.
F. If you repent from your sins and receive Christ as your personal Saviour, you will become son of God (Jn. 1:12) and surely go to heaven when you die.
G. If you reject Christ, hell will surely be your place when your life here ends.
H. Don’t delay. 2 Cor. 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
I. We are not called to be pastors only. Some of you are called to be mothers, engineers, lawyers, nurses, doctors, farmers, politicians, soldiers, etc. Our duty is to be obedient to our calling. Be the best of what you are now.

Illustration:
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery.
“Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.”
“I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”
“Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.”
When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
When we tire of our roles and responsibilities, it helps to remember God has planted us in a certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher or mother or father. Christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us, and when he returns, we’ll rule together with him.

IV. Sanctified by God the Father
A. “Sanctify,” “holy,” and “saint” are translated from the same Greek words. They mean to be set apart for special service.
B. Because of this, Christians are called saints. (saints is mentioned 61 x in the NT). Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 1:1)
C. To be sanctified is to make Holy. Who makes us Holy?

1. Work of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
2. Sanctified by the Spirit of God. 1 Cor. 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
3. Work of the Word of God.
   a. John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
   b. Eph. 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
   c. Since the Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word is evidently the instrument used by the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 6:17)
   D. God has set apart those who have been called – Jude 1
   A. God has set us apart for the purpose of sanctification not impurity (1 Thess. 4:7) and being such we are called to do good works (Eph. 2:10).
   1 Thess. 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
   Eph. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
   B. Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire. True sanctification is impossible apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross because only after our sins are forgiven can we begin to lead a holy life.
   Illustration:
   The process of developing holiness. God said to Israel, “Be holy, because I am holy” (Lev. 11:44-45). Because God wants us to become like him, it is necessary that his people be a special kind of people, holy men and women. The basic idea in sanctification is “being set apart for God”; those thus set apart live in a way that is pleasing to God. They have no power of their own to do that, but God enables them. Sanctification is not an option. God requires it of all his people (1 Thess. 4:3).

V. Preserved in Jesus Christ
A. The word “Preserve” comes from the Greek word “tereo” which means “to guard (from loss or injury , properly, by keeping the eye upon)”
B. We are being carefully “guarded” in Christ
C. 1 Pet. 1:5 says …kept by the power of God. The word kept here expresses the idea that we are closely guarded, kept secured as if we are inside a military garrison.
D. If we are carefully guarded in Christ, can we be harmed? Absolutely not.
E. Jesus reassured his disciples that no one could “pluck ” them out of His hand.
Jn. 10:27-29.
F. Christ promised that His sheep shall never perish (Jn. 10:27-28).
G. Those who believed on Him shall never die (Jn. 11:26).
H. This is a clear teaching that “Once saved you are saved forever”, preserved in Jesus Christ.

Illustration:
Harry Ironside stated that salvation was like Noah inviting a pagan in his day to place his trust in God’s Word and come in to the ark. Some view salvation like Noah offering to put a peg on the outside of the ark. “If you just hang on through the storm, you’ll be saved.” Salvation is not dependent on our holding on to God, but on our being securely held by and in Christ. (So Great Salvation, Charles Ryrie, Victor Books, 1989, pp. 137ff.)

VI. Conclusion:
We are living in a world where people are departing from the faith. False teachers are everywhere yet the Lord has “called” us, “sanctified” us and “preserved us in Jesus Christ. Are you one of the called, sanctified, and preserved? If you are not sure, repent from your sins and receive Christ as your personal Saviour.