Mike Sirignano: Well, good evening, brothers and sisters.
Mike Sirignano: This is such a beautiful sight.
Mike Sirignano: Honestly.
Mike Sirignano: Thank you.
Mike Sirignano: It is an honor and a privilege to stand before you tonight and present God's word.
Mike Sirignano: Tonight is book 65 in our root 66 series.
Mike Sirignano: It's the book of Jude.
Mike Sirignano: And you can find it on page 1087 in the Pew Bible.
Mike Sirignano: So beware of deceit and contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: We have a warning and we have a command.
Mike Sirignano: This is the plea that Jude makes to the early church and to us as well.
Mike Sirignano: Now there are many scriptures that warn us about false teachers, just as there are many that tell us to contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: So what makes Jude different?
Mike Sirignano: Why is this short book, tucked in right before Revelation, so important that Jude had to write about it, even changing the original topic of his letter?
Mike Sirignano: In tonight's talk, we will look at Jude's unique response to the chaos in the early church and the hope he gave to those early believers.
Mike Sirignano: Although only 25 verses, this letter serves as a vital resource for understanding the struggles in the early Christian church.
Mike Sirignano: And unfortunately, these struggles continue in the modern church to this present day.
Mike Sirignano: And I'll argue that the lessons from this book are just as important, if not more important, for us in the 21st century.
Mike Sirignano: So before we get started, let's pray.
Mike Sirignano: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your inspired word, which leads us and guides us in our walk with you.
Mike Sirignano: We ask you to give us clear understanding as we explore this short but powerful message and to see how we as a church might apply it to our lives.
Mike Sirignano: And we pray this in Jesus' name.
Mike Sirignano: Amen.
Mike Sirignano: So Jude is the last of 21 epistles written to various churches and individuals.
Mike Sirignano: Evidence shows it was written between 68 and 70 AD, and it is likely the last book written to the prior, the last book written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.
Mike Sirignano: The book is named after its author, one of the half-brothers of Jesus Christ.
Mike Sirignano: And you might think that Jude would use that family connection to lend authority to his letter, but he does not.
Mike Sirignano: Verse 1 marks a humble beginning to the book.
Mike Sirignano: It says, Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.
Mike Sirignano: So Jude identifies himself as a servant.
Mike Sirignano: During the earthly ministry of Jesus, he was a non-believing family member.
Mike Sirignano: But after the death and resurrection of Christ, he was converted and the connection turned into a servant master relationship.
Mike Sirignano: He mentions that he is the brother of James, also a half-brother to Christ, who likewise in his letter introduces himself as a servant.
Mike Sirignano: Jude is writing to the first century Christian church.
Mike Sirignano: And at this time in history, false teachers were overtaking the churches, and many believers were being deceived.
Mike Sirignano: Jude uses several references to Old Testament history that would have been understood by a Jewish culture that grew up hearing these scriptures.
Mike Sirignano: And because of this, his audience were probably Jewish converts rather than Greeks.
Mike Sirignano: But nevertheless, Jude was writing to true believers.
Mike Sirignano: Verse 1 continues into verse 2.
Mike Sirignano: To those who are the called, loved by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ, may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Mike Sirignano: So the calling he speaks of is not a general call to salvation, but the effectual call that God gives to a chosen person.
Mike Sirignano: It is not a general love, but an unconditional, unending love from God to the believer who will be kept secure for eternal life.
Mike Sirignano: What an encouraging statement to those faithful brethren.
Mike Sirignano: The mercy of being chosen, God's unending love, and the peace of knowing our salvation is secure, multiplied.
Mike Sirignano: And that statement sums up Jude's original intent, which we see in verse 3.
Mike Sirignano: It says, Dear friends, although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once and for all.
Mike Sirignano: So Jews' intent was to bask in the glow of God's gift of salvation, which we as believers all share.
Mike Sirignano: But something was nagging at him, enough for him to change directions.
Mike Sirignano: Now, this is a key point in the letter, and it ought to make us all sit up and take notice.
Mike Sirignano: So instead of writing about the joy of our salvation, he urged them to contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: What was it that was troubling him to make that command?
Mike Sirignano: We see the warning in verse 4.
Mike Sirignano: For some people who were designated for this judgment long ago have come in by stealth.
Mike Sirignano: They are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
Mike Sirignano: So two questions arise out of verses three and four.
Mike Sirignano: The first question is, who are the some people Jude was talking about?
Mike Sirignano: Well, they were false teachers, they were apostates.
Mike Sirignano: And the second question is, why the need to contend for the faith?
Mike Sirignano: The answer is because the truth of God's word was at stake.
Mike Sirignano: And a third question arises out of one of the answers.
Mike Sirignano: What is apostasy, and who are apostates?
Mike Sirignano: Apostasy is the rejection or abandonment of one's Christian faith, a falling away from God and the truth after having previously professed belief.
Mike Sirignano: It is a conscious and intentional rejection and usually involves a complete breakdown of morals and spirituality.
Mike Sirignano: Apostates are often identified by their lack of fruit and may fall away due to persecution, deception, or a rejection of sound doctrine.
Mike Sirignano: So why was Jude so adamant about this?
Mike Sirignano: Because these people were in the church.
Mike Sirignano: It says they have come in by stealth.
Mike Sirignano: Other translations say they have crept in unnoticed or slipped in among you.
Mike Sirignano: So when the enemy is out in the open, it's much easier to fight.
Mike Sirignano: But when the enemy is camouflaged, we may not notice them.
Mike Sirignano: They infiltrate and live among us, free to enact their ungodly behavior.
Mike Sirignano: It says they were designated for judgment.
Mike Sirignano: Now make no mistake, these false teachers and apostates will be judged by God.
Mike Sirignano: And the Bible has historical evidence of this.
Mike Sirignano: Let's look at verses 5 to 7 and see three examples of God's judgment for ungodly behavior.
Mike Sirignano: Verse 5.
Mike Sirignano: Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved the people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe.
Mike Sirignano: So in our first example, we have the Jews, who certainly knew the truth.
Mike Sirignano: It was given to them by Moses in the book of Exodus.
Mike Sirignano: Yet they rejected that truth and were denied entry into the promised land, their corpses scattered across the desert in a fury of God's wrath.
Mike Sirignano: The second example is in verse 6.
Mike Sirignano: And the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.
Mike Sirignano: Now I want to pause here for a minute because there are different interpretations of this verse, and I feel like it needs to be addressed.
Mike Sirignano: So a popular interpretation held by some well-known preachers comes from Genesis chapter 6 and verses 1 to 4.
Mike Sirignano: So I'm going to read verses 1 and 2 and part of verse 4.
Mike Sirignano: In these verses, it uses the term sons of God, which in some cases can refer to angelic beings.
Mike Sirignano: So let's read verses 1 and 2.
Mike Sirignano: And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Mike Sirignano: And then verse 4 When the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.
Mike Sirignano: So if we interpret sons of God as angels, I can see where there might be a connection.
Mike Sirignano: But the text makes no mention of angels.
Mike Sirignano: It reads more like a description of human sin and compromise.
Mike Sirignano: Look again at the language that Jude uses.
Mike Sirignano: He says, The angels who did not keep their own position but abandon their proper dwelling.
Mike Sirignano: So Jude is very specific here.
Mike Sirignano: A better interpretation of verse 6 may refer to when Satan and a group of angels turned against God and were cast out of heaven.
Mike Sirignano: Jude continues verse 6 by saying, They are kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.
Mike Sirignano: Now this mirrors 2 Peter 2 in verse 4.
Mike Sirignano: It says, For God didn't spare the angels who sinned, but cast them into hell.
Mike Sirignano: And he delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment.
Mike Sirignano: Now the fact of the matter is that the fall of Satan and his angels was a major rebellion against God.
Mike Sirignano: And the example of Israel in the wilderness, along with Jude's overall theme of apostasy, also reflect major rebellion.
Mike Sirignano: And we see the same in verse 7.
Mike Sirignano: It says, likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Mike Sirignano: So this story is from Genesis chapter 19.
Mike Sirignano: Here we find Lot, Abraham's nephew, as a judge and a witness to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Mike Sirignano: But the city's gross sin of immorality and homosexuality were so widespread, and Lot's moral pronouncements so ineffective that God rained down burning sulfur, destroying everything in the cities.
Mike Sirignano: Jews, angels, and gentiles, major rebellion.
Mike Sirignano: God's judgment does not discriminate.
Mike Sirignano: So Jude warns us to beware of deceit.
Mike Sirignano: So who are these apostates that Jude is warning us about?
Mike Sirignano: Verse 8 gives us a look.
Mike Sirignano: It says, In the same way, these people, relying on their dreams, defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones.
Mike Sirignano: So it starts out by saying, in the same way, these people.
Mike Sirignano: Now earlier in verse 4, Jude calls the false teachers some people.
Mike Sirignano: But here he is getting more specific and calls them these people.
Mike Sirignano: He uses the phrase in the same way to compare their ungodly behavior in his day to the history of behavior mentioned in verses 5 to 7.
Mike Sirignano: And in the same way, we can look at the Christian church of today and see the same type of ungodly behavior.
Mike Sirignano: We see false teachers who proclaim revelation from God.
Mike Sirignano: They are steeped in sin, rejecting the authority of Scripture and slandering the holy name of Jesus Christ.
Mike Sirignano: And how are we to deal with them?
Mike Sirignano: Let's look at verse 9.
Mike Sirignano: Yet when Michael the Archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses' body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him, but said, The Lord rebuke you.
Mike Sirignano: Now Michael the Archangel was probably the highest ranking angel, yet he did not dare usurp the authority of God by taking matters into his own hands.
Mike Sirignano: He leaves the rebuking of the devil to God.
Mike Sirignano: And let us all take heed of that.
Mike Sirignano: I hear a lot of Christians throwing around that devil, I rebuke you stuff.
Mike Sirignano: Who do we think we are to be rebuking the devil?
Mike Sirignano: He is called the God of this world for a reason and can easily bring us to our knees.
Mike Sirignano: The lesson here is that we need to let God handle Satan.
Mike Sirignano: As true believers, it can be hard to sit back and watch these false teachers get away with what they do.
Mike Sirignano: But let's remember verse 4 where it says, they were designated for this judgment long ago.
Mike Sirignano: So we need not worry about justice being served.
Mike Sirignano: And just a quick side note on verse 9 that story is not in the Bible.
Mike Sirignano: It is actually drawn from a first century AD book called The Assumption of Moses, a historical book written by an anonymous Jewish author.
Mike Sirignano: It is not part of the biblical canon, but it is found in several ancient Jewish traditions.
Mike Sirignano: Yet Jude, inspired by the Holy Spirit, uses this story to make his point.
Mike Sirignano: Verses 10 and 11 continue with Jude's condemnation of the apostate false teachers.
Mike Sirignano: But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand.
Mike Sirignano: And what they do understand by instinct, like irrational animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Mike Sirignano: Now once again, Jude uses the term these people to describe them.
Mike Sirignano: He continues, Woe to them, for they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam's error for profit, and have perished in Korah's rebellion.
Mike Sirignano: So these false teachers criticize and speak against the very scripture that they have no understanding of.
Mike Sirignano: He says, their actions mirror Cain's jealousy and murder of his brother Abel, representing a hatred for true believers.
Mike Sirignano: He says they have plunged into Balaam's error, referring to Balaam's willingness to lead people astray for personal profit, a greedy and deceptive action.
Mike Sirignano: And they have perished in Korah's rebellion, referencing Korah's challenge to the divinely appointed authority of Moses and Aaron, representing a similar spirit of rebellion against God's chosen leaders.
Mike Sirignano: But God has it under control.
Mike Sirignano: Deuteronomy 32, 35 states, Vengeance and retribution belong to me.
Mike Sirignano: In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.
Mike Sirignano: Brothers and sisters, as we can see, our God will handle apostates and modern-day false teachers just as he has handled them throughout history.
Mike Sirignano: Jude continues to warn us, beware of deceit.
Mike Sirignano: So what are the characteristics of these false teachers?
Mike Sirignano: In verses 12 and 13, Jude again refers to them as these people, and he uses metaphors to give us several clues so that we may identify them.
Mike Sirignano: Let's read the text and then we'll go through them.
Mike Sirignano: These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence.
Mike Sirignano: They are shepherds who only look after themselves.
Mike Sirignano: They are waterless clouds carried along by winds, trees in late autumn, fruitless, twice dead, and uprooted.
Mike Sirignano: They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up in their shameful deeds, wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
Mike Sirignano: So number one, they are dangerous reefs.
Mike Sirignano: Now hidden reefs are a danger to boats because they can't be seen.
Mike Sirignano: Remember in verse 4, Jude told us they come in by stealth, ready to shipwreck the church with their deceit.
Mike Sirignano: Number two, they are shepherds who look only after themselves.
Mike Sirignano: This tells us that they are selfish.
Mike Sirignano: Instead of caring for God's people, they exploit them for personal gain, ignoring the needs of others.
Mike Sirignano: Number three, they are waterless clouds.
Mike Sirignano: False teachers promise spiritual knowledge but deliver nothing of substance.
Mike Sirignano: In other words, their teaching is empty and void of the Holy Spirit.
Mike Sirignano: A tree in autumn is expected to have fruit, but these people are barren of good works.
Mike Sirignano: They become completely disconnected from the source of life, like a tree uprooted from the ground, fit only for judgment and burning.
Mike Sirignano: Number five, they are like wild waves of the sea.
Mike Sirignano: Apostates are spiritually restless and turbulent, producing nothing but the foam of their shameful deeds and empty, boastful words.
Mike Sirignano: And finally, number six, they are wandering stars.
Mike Sirignano: In the days of the Bible, people used the stars for navigation.
Mike Sirignano: False teachers are like celestial objects that stray from their course and offer no reliable guidance.
Mike Sirignano: Their ultimate destiny is a severe and eternal judgment in the blackest darkness of hell, emphasizing the finality of their condemnation.
Mike Sirignano: Brothers and sisters, this should serve as a strong warning to the church to be vigilant and discerning, as these false teachers are inwardly corrupt, morally bankrupt, and under God's certain judgment.
Mike Sirignano: As we move on, we see another example of inspired scripture where the content is not in the Bible.
Mike Sirignano: Let's look at verses 14 and 15.
Mike Sirignano: It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: Look, the Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly, concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.
Mike Sirignano: Now I'll admit when I read this, I immediately started searching Genesis 5 because I wanted to see this prophecy.
Mike Sirignano: But as you might guess, it was not there.
Mike Sirignano: It comes from 1 Enoch, an apocryphal book written by multiple authors over several centuries.
Mike Sirignano: This passage serves as a solemn warning of the final universal judgment by God.
Mike Sirignano: It uses the word ungodly four times, describing the false teachers, their sinful behavior, and their sinful words.
Mike Sirignano: But it also points to the Lord's return.
Mike Sirignano: The imagery of the Lord with tens of thousands of his holy ones points to the second coming of Christ, where he will be accompanied by a heavenly host to establish his kingdom and execute final judgment.
Mike Sirignano: And that return can come at any time, and we have to be ready.
Mike Sirignano: So if you are here tonight and don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to open your heart and invite him into your life.
Mike Sirignano: This is not something that can wait until you have time to think about it.
Mike Sirignano: We are not even promised to walk out of these doors tonight.
Mike Sirignano: The time is at hand, it is that urgent.
Mike Sirignano: Now back to Jude.
Mike Sirignano: So did Enoch really prophesy this?
Mike Sirignano: The Bible doesn't say so.
Mike Sirignano: But nevertheless, Jude spoke the truth, and the Bible does have precedence in quoting non-scriptural sources.
Mike Sirignano: And if the Holy Spirit inspired it, we must consider it authentic.
Mike Sirignano: Jude continues this section with verse 16.
Mike Sirignano: Now, we spent a lot of time talking about false teachers, and this book rightly focuses on the pulpit.
Mike Sirignano: But in this particular verse, it can also focus on the pew.
Mike Sirignano: So as you read verse 16, consider that Jude here has a message for all the congregations, both in his time and today.
Mike Sirignano: And once again, it starts with the verse with these people.
Mike Sirignano: It says, These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires.
Mike Sirignano: Their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
Mike Sirignano: Discontented grumblers.
Mike Sirignano: These are people who constantly complain and find fault, similar to the Israelites who grumbled against God in the wilderness.
Mike Sirignano: And what happened to those grumblers in the wilderness?
Mike Sirignano: We saw the result back in verse 5.
Mike Sirignano: God judged them all, and they never saw the promised land.
Mike Sirignano: So fast forward to today.
Mike Sirignano: Do you know people who constantly complain and find fault with the things around the church?
Mike Sirignano: Could that be any of us?
Mike Sirignano: Let's look at their characteristics.
Mike Sirignano: Complainers and fault finders are motivated by their own selfish desires and appetites, not by God's will.
Mike Sirignano: They speak with arrogance and pride, often in a way that is meant to impress or manipulate others.
Mike Sirignano: They use flattery and favoritism to influence others, particularly those who are wealthy or influential.
Mike Sirignano: The actions of these people are meant to cause division and strife in the church and take advantage of the congregation.
Mike Sirignano: These people are in every church and they are right here in the pews with us.
Mike Sirignano: It requires spiritual discernment and a knowledge of God's word to recognize the deception that they bring.
Mike Sirignano: Brothers and sisters, our promised land is heaven.
Mike Sirignano: These discontented grumblers are marked out for judgment just like those we read about earlier.
Mike Sirignano: They will never see the promised land.
Mike Sirignano: So why is all this happening?
Mike Sirignano: Why would God not do something about this?
Mike Sirignano: Is he asleep at the wheel?
Mike Sirignano: Verses 17 to 19 answer these questions.
Mike Sirignano: But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mike Sirignano: They told you, in the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.
Mike Sirignano: These people create divisions and are worldly not having the Spirit.
Mike Sirignano: Jude reminds his audience of a specific warning which appears several times in the New Testament.
Mike Sirignano: It says, In the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions.
Mike Sirignano: This indicates that the presence of these scoffers and false teachers was not a surprise, but an expected sign of the times, which began during the early days of the church.
Mike Sirignano: These people are characterized by their ungodly desires and their mockery of spiritual truth.
Mike Sirignano: They create splits and dissensions within the Christian community, often by promoting doctrine contrary to the scriptures.
Mike Sirignano: They are driven by their natural instincts and carnal desires focused on the physical world rather than spiritual matters.
Mike Sirignano: But the ultimate sign is that they lack the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, meaning they are not true regenerate believers, despite their claims to the contrary.
Mike Sirignano: So God is not asleep.
Mike Sirignano: This was all part of His plan.
Mike Sirignano: So we spent the bulk of our time on beware of deceit.
Mike Sirignano: But the second part of the message is contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: So how do we contend for the faith?
Mike Sirignano: Again, God's word provides the answer to the question.
Mike Sirignano: Now verses 20 to 23 are broken into two parts.
Mike Sirignano: In part one, Jude gives us four simple points on how we can contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: Let's look at verses 20 to 21.
Mike Sirignano: But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.
Mike Sirignano: So the first way we do that is to build ourselves up.
Mike Sirignano: As believers, we continually, we need to continually grow in our understanding and application of our faith, which is founded on Jesus Christ.
Mike Sirignano: The best way for us to do this is to read and study our Bible on a daily basis.
Mike Sirignano: And when we are done, be obedient to it.
Mike Sirignano: There is no substitute for this.
Mike Sirignano: The second way we can contend for the faith is by praying in the Spirit.
Mike Sirignano: Our prayer must always be guided by the Holy Spirit, which helps us to stand firm and grow spiritually.
Mike Sirignano: Prayer is always the most we can do.
Mike Sirignano: It is essential that we learn to pray according to God's will.
Mike Sirignano: And we will not know God's will unless we read and study our Bible.
Mike Sirignano: The third way a believer can contend for the faith is to keep ourselves in God's love.
Mike Sirignano: So we must remain in God's love by continually trusting in Him and responding to His grace.
Mike Sirignano: This is a call to an ongoing intentional effort to remain in a close relationship with God by living in accordance with His will.
Mike Sirignano: And once again, we will not know His will unless we read and study our Bible.
Mike Sirignano: And the fourth way we contend for the faith is by waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mike Sirignano: We must maintain hope and perspective by looking forward to the future mercy and internal life that Jesus provides.
Mike Sirignano: It is a promise of a future reward that provides motivation for present faith and endurance.
Mike Sirignano: In part two, Jude also gives us four simple points to help others contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: Verses 22 and 23.
Mike Sirignano: Have mercy on those who waver, save others by snatching them from the fire, have mercy on others, but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Mike Sirignano: So the first way we can help others is to have mercy on those who waver.
Mike Sirignano: We must show compassion to those who are struggling with their faith.
Mike Sirignano: We have all been there.
Mike Sirignano: And just as we are to build ourselves up, we are to build others up by using God's word.
Mike Sirignano: The second way we can help is by saving others by snatching them from the fire.
Mike Sirignano: We must actively intervene to rescue those who are in danger of falling into sin, like pulling someone from a burning building.
Mike Sirignano: When you see something, say something.
Mike Sirignano: The fire that we rescue them from could be the fire of hell.
Mike Sirignano: The third way is to have mer is to have mercy on others, but with fear.
Mike Sirignano: We must approach those who are actively sinning with a sense of caution and humility, mindful of our own potential for sin and temptation.
Mike Sirignano: The sin of pride is always crouching at our door.
Mike Sirignano: Resist thinking that we are better than those we are approaching, lest we be approached ourselves.
Mike Sirignano: And the fourth way we can help others to contend for the faith is by hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Mike Sirignano: We must maintain a holy hatred for sin itself while still showing mercy to the person.
Mike Sirignano: This means confronting the sin of others with love, not condoning it, but also not becoming spiritually defiled by the encounter.
Mike Sirignano: So we improve ourselves and come alongside others.
Mike Sirignano: That is how we contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: And as the letter comes to a close, we have a powerful doxology that serves as the conclusion to the book.
Mike Sirignano: Let's read it.
Mike Sirignano: Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever.
Mike Sirignano: Amen.
Mike Sirignano: This passage serves as an assurance that God, and not our own strength, is the ultimate source of our perseverance and salvation.
Mike Sirignano: We can have confidence in God's power to preserve us amidst false teaching and moral dangers, and to ultimately bring us into his presence, blameless and with great joy.
Mike Sirignano: Jude is reminding us that while the world is full of moral pitfalls and false doctrines, that God is infinitely greater, fully capable, and completely committed to preserving those who trust in him until the end, all for his glory.
Mike Sirignano: Beware of deceit and contend for the faith.
Mike Sirignano: That was Jude's message to the believers in the early church, and it is his message to us in the church today.
Mike Sirignano: Heavenly Father, thank you for the truth of your word, which guides us in all righteousness.
Mike Sirignano: Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, our only Savior and Lord, so that we will not be swayed by any wind of false doctrine.
Mike Sirignano: We pray for wisdom and discernment to recognize and resist false teachings that have entered the church.
Mike Sirignano: Please empower us by your Holy Spirit to contend earnestly for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints, doing so with gentleness, wisdom, and love.
Mike Sirignano: Father, have mercy on those who doubt and struggle with their faith, and use us to guide them back to your truth and love.
Mike Sirignano: O Lord, we place our trust in your promise that you are able to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before the presence of your glory.
Mike Sirignano: In the name of your Son Jesus, we pray.
Mike Sirignano: Amen.