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Ben Fetterolf
Follower of Jesus | Husband | Father | Pastor at Hampton Park Baptist Church of Greenville, SC
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The gospel is a comfort. But the gospel is also a call on our lives as believers. We need to hear both: the comfort AND call of the gospel.
Romans 8:1-9
How do you view God? Do you view him as angry at you? Or committed to you? This prophet helps us see how we *should* view God.
Obadiah 1-21
Livestream is a technological gift. But have we adequately thought through the potential downsides to this particular methodology?
Hebrews 10:24-25
I have died. The significance of that statement can't be overstated. I must believe it and live in light of it in order to truly live.
Romans 6:1-14
There are two realms (or kingdoms!) in which to live. The realm where death reigns and the realm where righteousness reigns.
Romans 5:12-21
Most conversations about biblical manhood/womanhood go to a few NT texts. But what God says in the very beginning sets a solid foundation.
Genesis 2:18-25
In what or whom do you find your joy? Does it last through the varying circumstances of life? Where can true, enduring joy be found?
Romans 5:1-11
"No list of sins I have not done; no list of virtues I pursue; no list of those I am not like can earn myself a place with you..."
Romans 4:1-12
What do your words say about your heart?
James 3:3-12
Trials bring dark days. But those times are most important to remember who God is and who we are.
Hebrews 10:32-39
What do you feel you are lacking today? Are things spinning out of control? Anchor yourself in God's character and promises.
Psalms 23:1-6
How do you respond to disappointments and discouragements? Do you run from them? Avoid them? Paul teaches us how God intends to use them.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Grace, gift, faith. These are the words that dominate this foremost text on how to be made right with God.
Romans 3:21-31
What is the role of the law in the life of a believer? And what does the law teach us about God?
Romans 3:1-20
How highly do you view your words? Are you more likely to encourage others to listen to you or to listen to God?
James 1:19-21
Why do you call yourself a Christian? Your answer to that question is significant and identifies where you rest your hope.
Romans 2:17-29
Have you ever thought about how many sermons you've heard in your lifetime? Knowing is useless apart from faith and repentance.
Romans 2:1-16
We often think of God's wrath on the last day. But how is his wrath manifest in the present day?
Romans 1:18-32
Why do you like spending time with other Christians? Because you have mutual interests? Or because you long to see God at work among them?
Romans 1:8-17
Why did Paul write Romans? What is Romans about? These important questions are answered from the very start of the letter.
Romans 1:1-7
What role, if any, do works play in being made right with God?
Romans 4:1-5
Does God keep you in His love? Or do we keep ourselves in His love? Jude answers this very specifically.
Jude 17-25
You're probably familiar with loving others on Sunday. But what does love look like on Monday through Friday?
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Has your evangelism been fueled by guilt? Why not fuel it with joy?
1 John 1:1-4
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Contend for the Faith - Guard Your Heart
Jude 8-16
Contending for the faith initially seems external. But the greatest battle for the faith may need to happen in my own heart.
#faith
#heart
#judgment
Published January 10th, 2020; Updated January 10th, 2020
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Main point summary
Bracket: 8-16
Meditations/Applications
Jude: Outline
notes
Main point summary
Beware the ungodly among you who indulge the flesh and reject God's authority. Woe to them, for they have made certain their own judgment.
Bracket: 8-16
editing
NT
Jude 8-16
esv
mine
Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams,
These people, similar to those of Sodom and Gomorrah, by relying on insubstantial things like dreams,
defile the flesh,
indulge their fleshly desires,
reject authority,
reject God's rightful authority,
and t blaspheme the glorious ones.
and (assuming their own authority,) blaspheme beings higher than themselves.
But when u the archangel v Michael,
But even when one of the highest angels, Michael,
contending with the devil,
contending with the devil himself,
was disputing w about the body of Moses,
was arguing
actionmanner
ideaexplanation
he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment,
but said,
x “The Lord rebuke you.”
negativepositive
temporal
progression
y But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand,
and they are destroyed
by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
Woe to them!
For they walked in z the way of Cain
and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain a to Balaam’s error
and b perished in Korah’s rebellion.
ground
inference
These are hidden reefs 1 c at your love feasts,
as they feast with you without fear,
d shepherds feeding themselves;
e waterless clouds, f swept along by winds;
fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, g uprooted;
h wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of i their own shame;
j wandering stars, k for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
series
It was also about these that Enoch, l the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying,
m “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,
n to execute judgment on all
and to convict all the ungodly
of all their deeds of ungodliness
that they have o committed in such an ungodly way,
and of all p the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
actionpurpose
These are grumblers, malcontents,
q following their own sinful desires;
r they are loud-mouthed boasters,
s showing favoritism to gain advantage.
discourse
Meditations/Applications
Observations/Meditations (Jude 8-16): Main Point : Like those of Sodom and Gomorrah, the ungodly among us indulge their flesh and reject God's authority, blaspheming him. Woe to them! For they are spiritually worthless and will be judged. These verses follow on the heels of v.7, which talks of the sexual immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. V.8 beginning with "Yet in like manner..." points back to that verse, giving a comparison between the sins of those in Sodom and Gomorrah and the sins of those Jude is addressing (v.8 - "defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones"). V.9 gives a distinction about the issue of blasphemy. Michael, an archangel (one of the highest and most powerful of all created beings!), did not even presume to have any authority of himself. Rather, even when speaking to Satan himself (the clearest enemy), did not blaspheme by rebuking Satan on his own authority. Rather, he said, "The Lord rebuke you." Pronouncing judgments on others based on my own presumed authority is blasphemous. It's a rejection of God's authority. All judgment begins and ends with the Word of God. The next several sections of verses give various looks at these ungodly people. Notice the similarity in the way these verses are introduced: "These are..." (v.12); "It was also about these..." (v.14); "These are..." (v.16). I've listed as a series telling more about "these people." Vv.12-13 give 6 pictures which show the deceptiveness and spiritual worthlessness of these people: (1) hidden reefs, (2) shepherds feeding themselves, (3) waterless clouds, (4) fruitless trees, (5) wild waves, (6) wandering stars. Vv.14-15 quote Enoch who pronounces judgment on these kind of ungodly people. Notice the emphasis: "the Lord comes...to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way." Our actions demonstrate who we are. The ungodly are those who do deeds of ungodliness in an ungodly way. V.16 gives two parallel statements about the character of these ungodly people: (1) they are grumblers/malcontents and (2) they are loud-mouthed boasters. These are almost a surprise at the end of this! We'd expect it to say: these are murderers and adulterers. The "big sins." But it says that people like this are grumblers, malcontents, and loud-mouthed boasters! Think about it. What are we saying when we grumble? We know better than God. What is a lack of contentment? It's trusting myself more than God. And what am I saying when I boast loudly? I'm trying to put myself in the place of God or give myself the glory that God deserves. Application/Prayer So, contending for the faith means (1) looking out for people like this in the church and (2) guarding my heart from these kinds of misplaced affections that would draw me away from Christ. This passage starts off with "in like manner..." And while at first glance this passage may seem to have nothing to do with "people like me," it ends further describing that like manner: grumblers, malcontents, and loud-mouthed boasters. Here's an important point for my own heart. Often the path that turns away from God begins with these kinds of "small" things: grumbling, discontentment, or self-exaltation. I grumble because I don't trust God. Then I begin to dislike God because he's not doing what I think he should be doing. My heart turns from him because I think I'd be a better God for myself. And then I begin to believe that lie: I'm a better god than God. The further I entrench myself in that lie, the further I move from God. And the more I begin to indulge myself in everything my flesh wants to do. And I end up in Sodom. The same thing happens with discontent. And the same thing can happen with self-exaltation. I begin to live for the glory that only belongs to God. This can even happen in ministering to others. I begin to live out my Christianity to be seen by others. I love it when I'm getting that positive feedback. But when I don't get the positive feedback, I get really discouraged. Why? Because I'm doing this for me. If I was doing it out of love for God, I wouldn't be focused on the positive feedback. But when I do it for my own self-exaltation, the lack of positive feedback leads me discouraged and depressed. And likely angry at God for the ministry he's given me. I think things like, "Is this what you led me here for? To be discouraged and rejected? How could you treat me like this? I don't deserve this." And I begin to hate the ministry and the God of the ministry. My loud-mouthed boasting has led me to hate the God that I say I serve. And I slowly move further and further away from the God that I've come to view so wrongly.
Jude: Outline
I. Opening 1-2 A. Author 1a B. Recipients 1b C. Benediction 2 II. Main Body 3-23 A. Reason for Writing: Contend for the Faith 3-4 B. God Has Punished the Faithless in the Past 5-7 C. Guard Yourselves Against the Faithless Among You 8-13 D. God Will Judge the Faithless and Ungodly, As Promised 14-16 E. Some Will Try to Draw You Into Faithlessness 17-19 F. Keep Yourselves in the Love of God 20-23 1. By Encouragement/Exhortation 20a 2. By Prayer 20b III. Closing: Doxology 24-25
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Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.