October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a Licence to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians

Last Sunday we took a bit of a break from the book of Philippians. The reason is to offer some balance. Religion, as portrayed in Philippians 3:1-11, is an extortion of the gospel. But so is antinomianism. In the New Testament we see both extremes present and condemned by the apostles. Paul has to deal with the Judaizers in many of the earliest writings like Philippians and Galatians. The later writings, like Jude and 2 Peter, are having to deal with the opposite, libertarianism. Thus I thought it would be helpful to look at the latter following our discussion of religion.

¹ Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: ² May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.

³ Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. ⁴ For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵ Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

⁸ Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. ⁹ But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. ¹² These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; ¹³ wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴ It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” ¹⁶ These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

¹⁷ But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸ that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” ¹⁹ These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on some, who are doubting; ²³ save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.




Notes
Audio 


September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer 
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification 
October 21, 2012 | Philippians 3:1-11: The Joy of a Pure Gospel
October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a License to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians


For more:
Jude: Contend Earnestly for the Faith Once For All Delivered to the Saints

Jude: Contend Earnestly for the Faith Once For All Delivered to the Saints

We have finally finished our study of the Epistle of Jude. It is my favorite book in the Bible and its message is one that the Church needs to hear. I have made all of my notes from this series available online. I hope it will be helpful to you as you study this incredible book that is so necessary for today.

Let this be the generation that discovers the gospel and contends earnestly for it.

Notes

A Week of Links

I haven't been able to stay up on top of things lately, so here is a list of links that I recommend ya check out:

Vital Virginity - by Kevin Deyoung
This is a good article, written by an excellent pastor and author, on why the Virgin Birth is necessary.

Avatar: Ramboe in Reverse - by Dr. Russell Moore
Dr. Moore is a professor and administrator at SBTS and has written an excellent review regarding the new movie "Avatar." I encourage people to read it and think about what he says. I love the opening paragraph: "If you can get a theater full of people in Kentucky to stand and applaud the defeat of their country in war, then you’ve got some amazing special effects."

I Love the Gospel - by James MacDonald
I love Dr. James MacDonald. He is one of my favorite pastors in America. Here is a great video on how to share the gospel.

Luther's Simple Way to Pray - by Justin Taylor
This is an interesting insight into how the Great Reformer prayed.

NewsNote: The Death of Oral Roberts - by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Dr. Mohler is the President of SBTS. He has written an insightful article on the passing and legacy of Oral Roberts.

Mass. 2nd-grader sent home for crucifix drawing
This story was brought up one Wednesday night.

Unholy Trinity - by John MacArthur
Dr. MacArthur is no fan of TBN and he has good reason. In light of what we've been discussing on Wednesday nights, I found this to be a timely article. MacArthur is pretty straight forward and sounds harsh, but would Jude agree with him? I think so.

Is It Contextualization or Effective Communication? - Thabiti Anyabwile
Contextualization is big business today. Thabiti offers an important critique. The gospel is not subject to culture or opinion polls or dressing/music styles.

What have we done to the Gospel?!?! - Defending Contending Blog
Every Christian needs to know and take seriously Paul Washer. He says what we need to hear even if we don't want to hear it.

Oprah and Universalism

Here is the video we showed last week from Oprah's show several years ago. To many people, this is surprising to see, but she is very much into New Age theology.

Holy Ghost Machine Guns: From the Horses Mouth

Wednesday Night, I read some quotes from Charismatic leaders that fit well with Jude 11-13. Here are the videos of Benny Hinn and Paul Crouch on TBN on video saying the things I quoted.








H/T: Pure Truth

November 18, 2009 - Jude 9-10

Here are the notes for our study on Jude 9-10. I really enjoyed it and thought it was one of our better Bible Studies where we had an excellent conversation.

Notes.

Wednesday Night Bible Study - Jude 1-4: The Necessity of Contending

To download the notes, click here.

For more:
April 26, 2009 - Jude: Contend for the Faith
Wednesday Night Bible Study - "Introduction to Jude" - Part 1

Wednesday Night Bible Study - "Introduction to Jude" - Part 1

To download the notes, click here.

For more:
April 26, 2009 - Jude: Contend for the Faith

April 26, 2009 - Jude: Contend for the Faith

I was not able to record Sunday Night's message. But I encourage you to download these notes as everything is documented.