Lesson 4
Jude
Maintaining
the Faith Entrusted to Us
1:3-4
Jude's purpose for writing
1:3 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 delivered to the saints.
His intention stated: - Beloved, while I was making
every effort to write you about our common salvation
Compelling obligation:
I felt the necessity to write
to you
His
strong appeal: appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once
for all delivered to the saints.
Purpose of his appeal: that you contend
earnestly for the faith
contend earnestly evpagwni,zomai - basic idea of the word is to
struggle for, to exert great effort and exertion for something.
Cause for our struggle the faith h` pi,stij
Word faith is used primarily 2 ways;
#1 of non-meritorious
thinking; putting ones trust, confidence in someone or something [act of believing]
#2 (with definite article)
of the body of truth, Christian doctrine; Revelation from God
Whole cannon of scripture; Gal. 1:23; 1 Tim.
4:1; Eph. 4:5
The content of what one
believes; that portion of the canon, the revealed body of truth that one
believes, that has become a part of one's F/O/R. Eph. 3:17; 2 Ths. 3:2; 1 Cor. 16:13
To whom "the
faith" is delivered: which was once for all delivered to the
saints.
once, a[pax adverb,
describes that fact that at a point of time this revelation from God was completed
and therefore unchangeable.
Summary Observations:
1. Because of the
urgency of the situation facing the churches, Jude gets right to the
point. Shifts gears
very quickly.
2. Warning: beware of those who would distort and misuse
the WOG, the faith. Need to be on guard constantly, often very subtle.
3. This demands of each of us, knowledge of truth, so
that we have the F/O/R to draw on as we evaluate what we see, hear. Discernment!
4. This is an ongoing struggle that we must vigorously
pursue in order to maintain the purity of the faith in us, and in our local
church. We have a deposit of truth and
it must be constantly guarded.
5. There must never be any compromise with false BD, if
there is, the foundation of truth, the faith in you, will be undermined, your
hold on truth will slip away and eventually the foundation will be
destroyed. [objective
of false teachers]
6. To the generation that Jude writes "the faith" was most often
orally communicated with an increasing amount becoming inscripturated.
7. For us today, "the faith" is the content of
the Canon of Scripture. We can know that
message of faith, ministry of the H/S, spiritual gifts; P/T, leadership for
properly functioning L/C; result sheep are protected, they have the DOA's including
discernment.
8. The "once for all" plus the use of Aorist
tense of delivered to the saints points to the completion of the Canon of
Scripture. Don't look for any further
revelation.
1:4 The Problem Described
"For certain
persons have crept in unnoticed"
Where was
discernment?
"those who were long beforehand marked out for this
condemnation,"
Basic Prin: These
false teachers, having rejected truth, having rejected Christ they were under
judgment, condemnation.
In context Jude is saying that they were written about
before, long before with reference to this judgement, should not be surprised.