What a mess!
What a mess!
Why is this? It is because people are following their own ungodly desires. They cause division. In some instances, if you go to the Bible school of one Pentecostal denomination you are not permitted to preach in the churches of another Pentecostal denomination. This attitude is coming from Jesus Christ?
Those who walk in the soul, according to their self-will, shall bring confusion and division wherever they go.
Such ministers may talk in tongues but they do not have the Spirit of God. They follow their own soulish instincts. We do not see in them the fruit of Christ's image. Sooner or later they shall be cut from the Vine even though they have wrought miracles in the name of Christ.
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. (Verse 20)
Praying in the Holy Spirit may include speaking in tongues, but this is not the key issue. The issue is living and praying in the Spirit such that we are flowing with the Spirit of God. It is a way of life. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God, and they are regarded by the Lord as having the righteousness of Him who kept the Law of Moses perfectly.
Of all the needs in the American Christian churches, the greatest (after changing our doctrine to conform to the New Testament) may be for the believers to spend time each day praying in the Spirit. In fact, if we do spend time each day praying in the Spirit, our doctrine may change if it is not in line with what the Spirit is saying.
We talk about the merits of prayer. We all nod agreeably when the prayer closet is mentioned.
However, the American culture is so rich in monetary, educational, and scientific opportunities that the days are not long enough to take advantage of all that is being offered.
The result is that we talk about the importance of prayer but do not pray.
We do not build up ourselves in the most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit.
We work or study until we are exhausted, and then come home and flop in front of the television and let Satan do our thinking for us.
It is absolutely impossible to stand before God in these days in America unless we are praying in the Spirit each day. Praying in the Spirit means we stay in prayer until our prayer begins to merge with the prayer of Christ. We can tell when this happens, usually.
At the very least, one-half hour is to be spent each day in a place set aside for prayer. I do not mean thinking good thoughts, I mean getting down and praying. The best time is when we first wake up (although I understand this is not always possible). This means we have to go to bed earlier so we can get up in the morning.
Prayer is a delight. We rob ourselves when we become too busy to pray.
There is this about it: if you do not have time to pray one-half hour a day (at the very least) you do not have time to watch television.
We must turn aside each day from the demon-inspired. culture of the United States and pray until we come into the Presence of God. If not, the newspaper and television will conform us to the world, whether or not we claim to be a Christian. We will grow old until we are confined in a nursing home, never having found the will of God for our life.
If you don't have time to pray, ask God for time to pray.
Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (Verse 21)
We keep ourselves in God's love by keeping the commandments of Christ and His Apostles.
We think of eternal life as something we have now. To a certain extent this is true. But there are passages of Scripture, such as the above, reminding us that eternal life is a goal we are to pursue each day of our discipleship. It is entirely possible to be given an initial portion of life and then to allow the distractions of life to remove that beginning life from us.
Jesus Christ Himself is eternal Life and is the path to that Life. We have to lay aside everything, as the Apostle Paul did, in order to gain Christ, to gain eternal life.
If we sow each day to the Spirit of God we shall reap eternal life in the Day of the Lord. But if we as a Christian sow instead to our flesh and soul, we shall reap destruction in the Day of the Lord.
The expression "eternal life" is not referring to eternal existence. It is a kind of life, a quality of life. It is the Life of God given to us through Christ. We choose each day to pursue the Life of God, or we choose each day to pursue our fleshly, soulish desires. If we choose the latter we are facing destruction in the Day of the Lord.
We must keep ourselves in God's love by praying in the Spirit and making the seeking of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness the highest priority of every day of our pilgrimage.
Be merciful to those who doubt; (Verse 22)
Many believers are weak in faith. We are to receive them and not argue with them. The Bible says the Lord will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick. This means He will deal gently with those who are beset with doubts and fears.
We need to make a difference between those who are arrogant, who defy God's laws of righteousness, and those who are weak in faith toward God. The former have no place in the Kingdom of God. The Lord holds them at a distance from Himself. He is not impressed with their religious boasting. But God will work with the weak until they are strong enough to stand.
We are especially kind to our handicapped children. So is God. But the proud and self-assured will be sent away empty.
Snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (Verse 23)
The above verse tells us we must have the mind of the Lord when we are dealing with weak Christians, for some are to be treated differently from others. It reveals also that the current teaching of a sovereignly instituted grace that ignores our behavior has no place in the Bible. The Bible deals with the conduct of people, with their growth in righteousness.
Some are snatched from the burning when we warn them of the consequences of their behavior.
Others are to be treated more gently. Yet we must be cautious, for the immorality and idolatry that are binding them have permeated even their clothing and are contagious.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Verses 24,25)
It unquestionably is true that Christ is able to keep us from falling and to present us before His glorious Presence without fault and with great joy.
The only problem is our unbelief and disobedience. Such verses as the above have been used to prove that once we "accept" Christ we cannot fall away. If this were the case, then what Jude said earlier in his epistle about leaving Egypt and then dying in the wilderness would be meaningless.
Of course Christ has the power to keep us from falling. Of course Christ is willing and desires to keep us from falling.
But we are warned, warned, and warned in the New Testament about not inheriting the Kingdom, about losing our crown, about being ushered into the outer darkness because we did not use our talent, about reaping destruction.
These warnings are not often preached today. Instead, the verses such as the above that are "positive" are employed over and over again to comfort lukewarm American believers who have no intention of taking up their cross and following Jesus.
It surely is time for a reformation of Christian thinking, especially in America; for God wants a pure Word of the Kingdom to be coming forth from our country instead of the immorality and violence produced in Hollywood.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord we ascribe to God Almighty, glory, majesty, power, and authority. Such incomprehensible glory was true of God before time existed, is true now, and shall be true forever.
We need to understand fully that when we are serving Christ as we should there is no power in Heaven above, on the earth beneath, or in the dark regions below the earth's surface, that can possibly harm us.
During the coming age of moral horrors, Satan and his demons shall become increasingly manifest in the earth. The Christians will be tempted to spend their time and energy "rebuking Satan." We are not to do this.
We will stand even in the darkness if we will press into Jesus each day and follow the Holy Spirit in righteous, holy, sternly obedient behavior. If the Spirit leads us to pray and bind evil spirits, then we should do this. But ordinarily we shall conquer, not by confronting Satan but by learning the difference between good and evil, and rejecting the evil and embracing the good.
The power of Jesus Christ is so massive, so total, that the spiritual struggle is not one of power against power but of truth against error; righteousness against wickedness. If we will keep our eyes on Jesus, doing His will each day, Satan will flee from us. He has no power whatever over those who are part of Christ and do Christ's will.
Remember, all glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to God Almighty and He has entrusted the fullness of His Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. As long as we follow the Lord, practicing righteousness, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God, Satan has no power to harm us.
Christ may permit Satan to pierce us with a thorn in the flesh, or to place us in prison. Such afflictions will serve to press us more fully into the Life and power of Christ.
In the Day of Resurrection all that is of eternal worth shall be restored to us. Let us put all of our treasures in Heaven and serve the Lord with gladness.
We understand, therefore, that the Book of Jude is very current. It describes the situation in the Christian churches in America as we endeavor to obey God in the twenty-first century.
Our churches are not pure. They are filled with the works of the flesh of every sort. Also, in our midst are prominent "shepherds" who are not men of God at all. They do not know the Lord. They "serve" only to their own advantage. Yet we have not been careful to "try the apostles."
We of the Pentecostal persuasion are the most vulnerable to these wolves in sheep's clothing because we are not Bible oriented but experience oriented. If this were not the case we would not for one moment have accepted those who are telling us we ought to be rich in this world—in clear defiance of the writings of the Apostle Paul.
Jude tells us of the arrogance that was present in his day and remains to the present. There is a willingness on the part of many to run about rebuking the devil and attempting to bind the angels who govern nations. It is true that we cannot enter the strong man's house until we bind the strong man. But we must make sure we are obeying Christ and He is directing us, that we are not acting in our own spiritual pride and self-assurance.
Perhaps the message that is the most significant for us concerns the return of the Lord. We are putting forth a false vision today, picturing the return of Christ as a giant celebration in which all who have made a profession of Christ will be caught up to the great Sunday-school picnic in the sky, even though we have never denied ourselves, have never taken up our cross and set out after Jesus.
Jude tells us that the Lord Jesus will return with His holy ones to judge the sinners in the churches—quite a different vision!
The Christian churches are sick unto death, and the Book of Jude is the cure if we will read it and apply the text to our lives.