A study in Jude (Introduction)

                  An Overview



Today I'd like to begin a new series of weekly expositions.  This new series of messages will focus on the little letter written by Jude.  This letter only contains 25 verses in the English, but power packed, I may be here for awhile.  Through my reading and interactions with a couple of men over the last few weeks, I have been reminded of the absolute importance of Scripture. To be more specific, I have been reminded of the importance of understanding and affirming the Scripture's sufficiency, reliability and authority.  I don't know if you have seen the cover of this week’s Time magazine.  In large red letters it states, "What if there is no Hell".  This cover story was sparked by a recent book written by a Michigan Pastor named, Rob Bell, his book is entitled, "Love wins".  Bell's book is a straight on attack against the Bible's sufficiency, reliability and authority.  Pastor Bell, "what do you mean there is no Hell?  "Of course there is a Hell, because the Scripture says there is a hell". Some of you may have seen my Facebook post concerning the Ordination of Omarosa. Her so-called Ordination is a blatant attack against the Sufficiency, reliability and authority of Scripture.

Therefore in light of such attacks, I feel compelled to remind us of Jude's central theme in his letter, we must, "...contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints" (vs. 3).  I hope my feeble attempt at exposition will be a blessing and encouragement in your daily walk with the King.

When I begin a study of any book of the Bible, I always begin my study by trying to get a big picture overview.  In other words you must first ascertain the Historical context before you do anything else.  The way you nail down the historical context is by answering several important questions:

Question number one:  By whom was Jude written?

     Open up your Bibles to Jude, right before the book of Revelation.  Look at verse one, it states the letter was written by Jude himself.  Well, who is Jude?  There are several Judes mentioned in the New Testament:

            1.  Judas Iscariot - The betrayer of our Lord (Luke 22:47)

               2.  Judas Barsabbas - A man appointed to travel with Paul and Silas (Acts 15:22-29)

               3.  Judas of Damascus - A man who housed the newly converted Apostle Paul (Acts 9:11)

               4.  Judas of Galilee - A rebel who opposed Roman taxation and who was killed in an insurrection (Acts 5:37)

               5.  Judas the Apostle (Aka Thaddeaus) - He was one of the twelve (Luke 6:16; Matt 10:3)

    Unfortunately, none of the Judes mentioned above are the author of this epistle.  Verse one though, gives us another clue as to the identity of the author.  The writer states that he is the, "...brother of James....".  The James referred to here is none other than the Lord's half brother who was head of the Jerusalem church (cf. Act 12:17; 15:13)). Therefore Jude the writer of this epistle was also one of the brothers of our Lord (cf. Matt 13:55; Mark 6:3).

Question number two:  To whom was Jude written?

     It seems that Jude had a specific audience in mind evidenced by use of the personal pronoun, "you" (cf., vs. 3, 5, 17 etc.,) but we don't know who they are.  Therefore Jude's epistle is considered a "general" epistle written to all believers without distinction (vs. 1).

Question number three:  What was the purpose of the writing of Jude's epistle?

     Kenneth Boa, writes, "...this letter is concerned with the threat of heretical teachers in the church and the believers proper response to that threat. The contents of this letter reveal two major purposes:

(1). to condemn the practices of ungodly libertines who were infesting the churches and corrupting believers.

(2).  To counsel the readers to stand firm, grow in their faith and contend for the truth as well as reach out to those who are misled by error" (211).

                             Question number four:  The Time of Jude's writing?

     Jude’s epistle was probably written very shortly after 2 Peter was written.  This would put the writing of the letter in the late 60's early 70's.  Harrison writes, "If Jude made use of 2 Peter, due time must be allowed for that epistle to have reached Jude.  This interval need not have been great.  A date between 66 and 70 is feasible..."(436). Another reason for this early date is because no mention is made in Jude's letter of the Fall of Jerusalem (c. A.D. 70).

Question number five:  From where was Jude's epistle written?

     To be perfectly honest, no mention is made within Jude's letter as to location, therefore the location of writing is unknown.

     There you have it, a general overview of this power packed epistle.  I can't think of a timelier letter in days like these.  I hope these expositions over the upcoming weeks will be a blessing to you, my dear brothers and sisters.

For His Glory,

Todd

A study in 1 John (1 John 2:15-17)

          Stop loving the world (part 2)


C. H. Spurgeon wrote,"If I had a brother who had been murdered, what would you think of me if I ...daily consorted with the assassin who drove the dagger into my brother’s heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the crime. Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; can you love it?"

      Today I continue my discussion of first John chapter 2, verses fifteen through seventeen. If you rea d part one of, "Stop loving this world" I stated that John the Apostle who wrote first John has issued an urgent command to his believing readers (cf., vs 12) to STOP!! an awful action that had been going on. It appears that some professing Christians within this more than likely Ephesian congregation, had forsaken their first love (i.e., committment, priority) namely Christ, for another love, namely this anti-god, anti-Christ system and the stuff associated with this system.

     The Apostle John in verse sixteen gives three (3) reasons why Christians should not love (i.e., be committed to, prioritze, cherish or high prize) this anti-God, anti-Christ system and it's stuff. In other words, John gives three reasons why those of us who profess Christ as Lord and Saviour - when it comes to the world system and it's stuff - should be different, distinct, separate.

     The first reason is because of the content of this system (vs 16), "For everything in the world (system) - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world (system). Christians, of all people SHOULD NOT cherish, prioritze or be committed to this anti-God, anti-Christ system because of what's in it. John say's that there are three (3) components that make-up this evil, depraved, Satan inspired system: The first is the, "...the cravings of sinful man...." These are the insatiable yearnings or desires of our fallen human nature. This evil, anti-God, anti-Christ system promotes (i.e., encourages) fleshly lusts through things like the visual media, radio, music and the printed page. Satan has a corner office on Madison Avenue. The second thing that comprises this evil, depraved system is the, "....Lust of his eyes....." Scripturally, the eyes are the avenue of temptation. For instance according to Genesis 3:6, when Satan wanted to decieve Eve, he appealed to her sight. According to Josh 17:21, Achan the fellow who brought shame on Isreal by taking what was forbidden by Joshua did so because he was tempted by what he saw. Remember the song you learned in Sunday school, "Be careful little eyes what you see". Brothers and Sisters, we must STOP allowing this anti-God, anti-Christ system - which controls the culture in which we live, move and have our being - to seduce us through our eyes. TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF!!! The third thing that comprises this evil, depraved system is, "...the boasting of what he has and does...." The New American Standard Bible translates this as, "The pride of life". One writer by the name of Vaughan decribes this kind of pride as, "...an arrogant spirit of self-sufficiency and a vain sense of security, both of which are based upon a false estimate of the stability and Value of worldly things". Ouch! read that again, I'll wait. Don't you love it when people post pictures of their stuff on Facebook or Twitter? Why?

     May I add a word of clarity here? When John say's do not love the things of this world, I don't believe he is talking about physical things per se. He's not talking about cars, clothes, cribs and all that stuff. He is talking about the attitudes and motivations of the fallen system that we Christian if we're not careful can buy into. This is what he has just described in verse sixteen. Christians of all people, those who have been reedemed from the curse of the Law, those who have been regenerated by Grace through faith. should NOT be committed to the same attitudes that exist among unregenerate, fallen humanity. We as Christians should not be Driven by the insatiable cravings of our flesh, we as Christians should not be controlled by the lust of our eyes. We as God's people should not be motivated by pride, in other words, boastiing about what we have and do. These are the things of the world system that John is talking about.

     The Second reason why Christians should NOT love this anti-God, anti-Christ world system nor the things associated with this evil system is because of who the creator of this system is. "...for everything in the world (system)......comes not from the Father but from the world..." What John is saying is that all the ugly, competitive attitudes that exist in this evil, anti-God, anti-Christ system does not originate in God the Creator. In other words, this anti-God, anti-Christ system shows absolutely no likeness at all to his character and is contrary to the life which he wills for His people. Listen!! because we are Children of God, we have NO BUSINESS, "....courting the world's favor, following it's customs, advice, principles, adopting it's values, coveting it's prizes or seeking it's fellowship" (i.e., partnership). Why? Because this evil system is not from God, but from it's father Satan.
  
      The Third reason why Christians should NOT love this anti-God, anti-Christ system is because of the destiny of this fallen, bankrupt system. " The world (i.e., system) and it's desires pass away..." Folks as I type this words, this evil, fallen, depraved, Satan inspired system is dissolving and fading away. This is very important, please GET THIS!!! As Christians, we are to be concerned withd the ETERNAL verses the TEMPORAL. If you conform yourself to this evil system, you have conformed yourself to a sinking ship.

     In closing John gives for his readers two (2) results or consequences if you will, that will occur based on how one responds to John's command. First, there is the negative result in verse fifteen (15). "....If anyone loves the world (i.e., system) the love of the Father is not in him". If you claim to be a follower of Christ and you have forsaken your First love, namely Christ, YET, you hear the call of God to Repent and turn back to Jesus AND you do so, you demonstrate that you are truly a child of God. Why? Because God's children always hear the voice of Christ and respond (John 10). Only God's children have ears to hear the voice of the master (Rev 2). But on the other hand, if you profess to be a Christian and your life is controlled by a committment to this world system and it's desires, motivations and attitudes and you remain in this state even after hearing the call of God to repent, then you demonstrate that you are not a child of God. In fact, you demonstrate that you were never a child of God (i.e., the love of God was NEVER in you). You can say all day that you love God, but love for God isn't measured by what you say, but by what you do (James 2). Second, there is the positive result (1 John 2:17b). For those of us who abide by John's command to not love the system nor adopt it's attitudes and motivations, John promises, "...the man who does the will of God, lives forever". Warren Wiersbe writes appropriately, "Long after this world system with it's vaunted culture, it's proud philosophies, it's egocentric intellectualism, and it's godless materialism has been forgotten, and long after this planet has been replaced by the new heavens and earth, God's faithful servants will remain - sharing the glory of God for all Eternity".

Amen!

For His Glory
Todd

A study in 1 John (1 John 2:15-17)

           Stop loving this world (part one)


The Story is told of Handley Page, a pioneer in aviation, who once landed in an isolated area during his travels. Unknow to him, a rat got aboard the plane there. On the next leg of the flight, Page heard the sickening sound of gnawing. Suspecting it was a rodent, his heart began to pound as he visualized the serious damage that could be done to the fragile mechanisms that controlled his plane and the difficulty of repairs because of the lack of skilled labor and materials in the area. What could he do? He remembered hearing that a rat cannot survive at high altitudes, so he pulled back on the stick. The airplane climbed higher and higher until Page found it difficult to breathe. He listened intently and finally sighed with relief. The gnawing had stopped. When he arrived at his destination, he found the rat lying dead behind the cockpit.
     Oftentimes we, God's children, are plagued by sin that gnaws at our life simply because we are living at too low a spiritual level. To see sin defeated in our lives requires that we move up - away from the world - to a higher level where the things of this world cannot survive".
     Over the next several weeks I'd like to examine a passage of Scripture that encourages believers to, "move up to a higher level". In your Bible's turn to First John chapter 2, look with me at verses 15-17. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and it's desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (NIV).
     In verse 15 the Apostle issues a urgent command to his readers, "Do not love the world...." . You see the phrase, "Do not love"? According to New Testament Greek, this phrase is identified as a negative imperative. In other words, John is issuing an urgent command to his readers to STOP loving something. The word stop means to cease or discontinue something. The word for love here is the Greek word Agape (pron: aah-gah-pay) and means to cherish, to highly esteem, to put first, to greatly value, to be committed to. Therefore John's command to his readers is for them to cease, to discontinue, cherishing, highly esteeming, greatly valuing and being committed to something. That something John identifies as, "the World and the things in the world". When John speaks of the world here in this verse let me clarify that he's not referring to this celestial ball we call planet earth, nor is he referring to the world of people on the planet. Rather, he is speaking about an ordered system. Bible Teacher Kenneth Wuest describes this system in the following way, "...Satan is it's head, his fallen angels and demons are his emmissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects, together with those purposes, pursuits, pleasures, practices and places where God is not wanted". In other words, the world that John refers to here is an anti-God, anti-Christ system that is absolutely at odds and hostile to God. This is what Paul meant when he said that, "Satan is the god of this world"(2 Cor 4:4). Satan is the architect and builder of this anti-God, anti-Christ system.
     Therefore John issues an urgent command to his readers to cease, to discontinue cherishing, highly esteeming and putting first this anti-God, anti-Christ system. With this understanding in mind, let me now rewrite verses 15-17. Notice the impact of what John is telling his readers. "Cease and desist cherishing, prioritizing and committing to this anti-God, anti-Christ system and all the stuff in this system. If anyone highly esteems, prioritizes or commits to this system, they reveal that they are not believers at all. For everything in this anti-God, anti-Christ system - the cravings of sinful man and the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from God the Father, but from Satan. This anti-God, anti-Christ system and it's lusts will pass away, but the person who does God the Father's will last forever".
     Now here is where it gets interesting. Who is John the Apostle issuing this urgent command to? Who are the recipients of John's command? Let me help you by telling you that he is not addressing unbelievers. First John is not an evangelistic letter. John is not calling unbelievers to repentance. So, if he's not addressing unbelievers, that then means he must be who? That's right, he's addressing Christians, followers of Christ, Born again ones, the Redeemed, the Elect. Check out chapter two, verse twelve: "I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name". The phrase, "dear children" refers to all believers. Wiersbe writes, "All Christians have been born into God's family through faith in Jesus Christ, and theeir sins have been forgiven". The Apostle John lovingly, yet urgently reminds us, believers that we have no business cherishing, highly esteeming, prioritizing, greatly valuing and committing to this evil, Satan inspired, anti-God, anti-Christ system. Yet the sad reality is that if we're honest, many professing Christians do indeed love this system and the things of this system. I'll speak more about this system in my next note.
     Turn to Revelation, chapter 2. The same Apostle John who wrote First John, is the same one who wrote the book of Revelation. According to Revelation chapter two, verse one, John addresses the church at Ephesus, the same audience I believe he addresses in First John. In verses two and three, he commends some of the Ephesian believers, but in verse four he condemns some as well. John say's, "...I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love...". I've heard various arguments about whom this first love is, some have said that this first love is the people of God, fellow Christians. I'm not convinced at all that fellow Christians are in view. I believe that the identity of the forsaken first love is clear. Some professing believers in the Ephesian church had turned their backs on their true first love, namely Christ, they had stopped highly esteeming Christ, they had stopped greatly valuing Christ, they had stopped cherishing Christ, they had stopped putting Christ first, they had forsaken their committment to Christ in order to cherish, prioritize and esteem and be committed to another love, namely the fallen world system and John is calling them to Repentance (Rev 2:5).
     In closing, here is a point that clearly jumps out at me. If you claim to be a Christian, it matters not whether you be a preacher or a parishoner, If you continue to cherish, esteem, prioritze, greatly value and committed to this Satan inspired, anti-God, anti-Christ system and the stuff it pushes, you demonstrate that you are not a Christian at all. Jesus said it well, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other....." (Matt 6:24).

For His Glory

Todd

The Purpose of Theology

O.K. I'm driving to work, it takes me approximately 35 minutes one way, 30 minutes if I catch all the lights just right. One of the things I like to do on the drive is either listen to a downloaded sermon on my Ipod or talk on the phone, Jesus did say, "redeem the time" right? Well this time I'm listening to my favorite preacher, John MacArthur - who else- He is expounding 1 John 2:2. This is that great text which talks about Jesus being both our Advocate (i.e., defense attorney) and Propitiation (i.e., satisfaction). This was such excellent Bible teaching, unlike much of today's pulpiterring which is about motivation and entertainment, John's teaching resulted in my being convicted and encouraged at the same time which is what great preaching should do. Throughout this hour long sermon, I was reminded of the great doctrines of Christ's Advocacy and Propitiation. People!! When was the last time you heard a sermon on the PROPITIATION of Christ. Can you even say, Propitiation. My point is, we as God's people in this 21st century have been severely deprived when it comes to our Theology. You know what? When the average Christian hears the word, Theology, it's like hearing the word Castor Oil, we have an immediate gag reflex. Folks, I'm impressed to write to let us know that Theology is not a bad thing., it's not the enemy, it's our very life blood. God's gave us Theology (i.e., truth about God) not to make us smarter, not to give us careers (e.g. professional theologians), not to make us best selling authors. RATHER, God gave us Theology to make us Holier. The Apostle Paul makes it clear, God gave us Theology to:
1. Teach us
2. Reprove us
3. Correct us
4. Train us in righteousness
5. Equip us for every good work
Without  sound  Biblical Theology, we are like a body without a skeletal system, a plane without wings, a train without tracks. We must return to the old paths. I remember a time when I could sit in church and expect to hear a good sermon on something like the sufficiency of Scripture or the infallibity/inerrancy of Scripture. I also remember great sermons on the substitutionary atonement of Christ or how about the Rapture of the Church. Check this out, I remember being a part of an early morning Bible study led by the pastor at the church building on the significance and meaning of the Old Testament Tabernacle. Today you're lucky if the preacher mentions Jesus.

Thanks Dr. John for reminding me of the vast importance of theology.

For His Glory,
Todd