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God encourages the church and warns those trying to change the Gospel by speaking through Jude. The consequences of changing the Gospel and rebelling against God is eternal separation from God.
God says through Jude 5-7 "Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." Jude gives the example of three groups who have rebelled against God; The Rebellious Hebrews, the rebellious angels and the rebellious Gentiles from Sodom and Gomorrah. Jude briefly highlights these examples explaining that all of us who are followers of Christ know each of these three groups. But do we? The Rebellious Hebrews: You can read about this in Heb 3:7-19. The Rebellious Angels: Most Biblical scholars believe these fallen angels are the ones in Gen 6:1-2. The Rebellious Gentiles: You can read about this in Gen 19. God is The Builder of His church. He knows who are seeking to protect the Gospel by letting the Gospel change them and by sharing the Gospel. He also knows who is seeking to change or twist the Gospel. God clearly communicates there are eternal consequences for each; some life and others death. Jesus, keep building Your church. Keep growing us to be sharers of the Gospel and protectors of the Gospel. May You clearly bring to mind people we can share the Gospel with this week. In Jesus' name, Pastor Chris
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This summer in the Encourager, we have been letting one of Jesus' younger brothers, Jude, disciple us. God wanted to prepare the church to be aware that certain people will seek to infiltrate the leadership of the church to change the message of Jesus Christ. The big question is how do we know who these people are? How will we recognize them?
God gave Jude three descriptions to look for in the following passage. “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” Jude 1:3-4 1. "They are ungodly people." God is describing their Character. 2. "Who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality." God is describing their Conduct. 3. They "deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." God is describing their Creed. Three powerful descriptions for us to ponder and evaluate. Does anyone set out to fully adopt these three descriptions as their mission in life? Maybe some. Maybe there are others who slowly drift away from Jesus and slip into one of these. Maybe they let the busyness of life unknowingly draw them away from closeness with Jesus. Maybe some let cultural values slip in and change their thinking and slowly erode their Christian convictions and values. Maybe it's a good idea for all of us to evaluate our own lives and see if any of these descriptions have infiltrated our heart or mind. If so, Jesus loves for us to ask Him for help, for forgiveness, for changing our character, thinking and behavior. Ask Jesus to be our one and only Sovereign Lord. Seeking to always be like Jude, a bond servant of Jesus Christ, Pastor Chris |
AuthorPastor Chris Reinertson enjoys all sports, especially those involving a ball. He loves to hang out with people and challenge them to be Jesus REVolutionizers. Archives
April 2020
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