Defending the Faith | David Guzik | Jude 1

They can't install heresy detectors at the entrance doors of the sanctuary. No, because you know what? If you're messed up in your beliefs, I'm glad you're here. I don't want you to spread your misunderstandings to anybody else, but I'm glad you're here to hear the truth from God's Word. I pray that your time here will be a work of God in you, to correct you, to guide you, to make you a person that stands in the faith, once for all, delivered to the saints, instead of someone who would fight against it in some way. No, friends, there are dangers to guard against, and false teaching is a problem, because the truth matters, the truth of God. All right. Well, good evening, Calvary Chapel. Would you stand to your feet? Put your hands together. The Bible says to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. We're going to make much of Jesus today, as we sing, if you don't, sing it out. Lift up the banner, oh, lift up His name. Jesus the Savior is here in this place. For all of eternity, praise will resound. I don't have to wait, no, I'll sing it right now. He shall be praised, He shall be praised, in heaven and earth the same. He shall be praised, He shall be praised, exalted for endless days. The Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain, forever and ever He reigns. He shall be praised, praised, He shall be praised. No trouble or trial, no trouble or trial will silence my song. My strength is in Jesus, the Rock I stand on. Yes, He is. Through mountains and valleys, my joy will remain. Yes. Cause I've got a hope, cause He's emptied the grain.

Yes, He is. He shall be praised, He shall be praised, in heaven and earth the same. He shall be praised, He shall be praised, exalted for endless days. The Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain, forever and ever He reigns. He shall be praised, praised, He shall be praised. He shall be praised, He shall be praised. Oh yeah, come on. This is my favorite part. Everybody clap your hands. Everybody move your feet. Isn't He worthy? Worthy of everything. Give it all, don't hold back. Praise Him with all you have. Isn't He worthy? Worthy of everything. Everybody clap your hands. Everybody move your feet. Isn't He worthy? Worthy of everything. Give it all, don't hold back. Praise Him with all you have. Isn't He worthy? Worthy of everything. Everybody clap your hands. Everybody move your feet. Isn't He worthy? Worthy of everything. Give it all, don't hold back. Praise Him with all you have.

Isn't He worthy? Worthy of everything. He shall be praised, He shall be praised. In heaven and earth the same. He shall be praised, He shall be praised. Exalted for endless days. The Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain. Forever and ever He reigns. He shall be praised. Praised. He shall be praised. He shall be praised. Let's raise it up. Woo! ♪ I could sing your name for all my life ♪ ♪ And still find more to love each time ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name ever on my lips ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time that I call on it ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus you're worthy ♪ ♪ You have been the friend who never left me ♪ ♪ I won't forget your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name ever on my lips ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time that I call on it ♪

♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus you're worthy ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, you're worthy ♪ Church, I wanna read Philippians 2, verses 9 through 11. It says, therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that on the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord for the glory of God our Father, amen. And we're here tonight to remind our hearts of that, that he is our savior, he is our king. We're here to exalt his name on high, the name that is above all names. And I don't know if you came in with something tonight that you need to lay at his feet today. And I just wanna encourage you to remind your heart,

remind yourself of the power that we have in the name of Jesus. So let's sing this together. ♪ Jesus, your name is like the morning light ♪ ♪ The one that darkness can't deny ♪ ♪ The resurrection and the life ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, your name can save, your name can heal ♪ ♪ Your name can make the world a better place ♪ ♪ Jesus, your name is like the morning light ♪ ♪ The one that darkness can't deny ♪ ♪ The resurrection and the life ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, your name can save, your name can heal ♪ ♪ Soon to come, Jesus, Jesus the King ♪ ♪ The one who will be great ♪ ♪ The Lord who will forever reign ♪ ♪ The name above all other names, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ Jesus be the name that gets all the glory! Jesus be the name! Jesus be the name! Jesus be the name That gets all the glory! Jesus be the name! Jesus be the name! Jesus be the name That gets all the glory! Jesus be the name! Jesus be the name! Jesus be the name That gets all the glory!

There was a moment when the lights went out When death had claimed its victory The king of love had given up his life The darkest day in history But there on a cross they made for sinners For every curse his blood atoned One final breath and it was finished But not the end we could have known For the earth began to shake and the veil was torn What sacrifice was made as the heavens roared All hail King Jesus All hail the Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus All hail the Saviour of the world There was a moment when the sky lit up A flash of light breaking through When all was lost he crossed eternity Yes he did Cause the king of life was on the moon For in a dark cold tomb Where our Lord was laid One miraculous breath And we're forever changed All hail King Jesus All hail the Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus All hail the Saviour of the world All hail King Jesus All hail the Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus

All hail the Saviour of the world The Saviour of the world Let every knee bow before the King of kings Let every tongue confess that he is Lord of all ♪ Lift up your shout, let us join with all of heaven ♪ ♪ We're singing holy, we're singing holy, we'll cry holy ♪ ♪ We're singing holy, we'll cry holy, holy ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus, all hail King Jesus, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth, all hail King Jesus ♪ Oh Lord, we magnify you tonight. Jesus, be the name that gets all the glory. Let your name be, let it get all the glory of our life today. You alone are deserving of worship and honor and praise. And God, we thank you that you are King of kings, that you are Lord of lords, you are reigning in heaven, but you are also so close and you are so personal and you are here with us tonight. And we thank you for your presence that is here with us, for your spirit that lives within us, that helps us see Jesus rightly. And so God, tonight, as we open your word, God, would you be made much of, Jesus, would you be made much of tonight? Spirit, open our eyes, open our ears to hear what you are trying to say to us.

And we will listen, because you are King, you are Lord, you are not only Savior, but you are Lord of our life. And we will go anywhere you want us to go, we will say anything you want us to say, we will follow you, because your way is so much better, so much higher, and we belong to you. And so we thank you, Jesus, for what you've done, for forgiveness that is found at the foot of the cross, for making us new, for giving us a new name. Thank you, Lord Jesus. There is no one like you. And so we love you, this is all for you, tonight is all about you, and it's in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Calvary Chapel, we said. Amen, can you celebrate Jesus Christ one more time today? Yeah, amen. And hey, while you're still standing, would you turn to somebody next to you and tell them, I'm so glad to see you in church with me today? Amen. And now it is my pleasure to introduce our special guest speaker. He's a familiar leader here at Calvary, comes by every year or two, Pastor David Guzik, he has a love for God's Word, he's been a Calvary pastor, and he's probably most well-known outside the Calvary movement as someone who's created this Enduring Word Study Bible. It just came out, but it's an amazing study Bible.

And if you're the type of person who studies God's Word, you're like, what's a good study Bible? What's a reliable place? Pastor David Guzik has this beautiful insight. I go to it more than any other study Bible I use, and so I wanna encourage you not just to enjoy and be challenged by the Word of God brought here today, but to begin to think, if I wanna dig deeper, maybe this is the study Bible I can dig deeper in. And so, will you please give a warm Calvary Chapel welcome to Pastor David Guzik, who's joining us today. Thank you, Pastor Doug, and good evening, everybody. It is such a pleasure for me, and I'm so happy that this time my wife, Inga, was able to accompany me. And so it's wonderful for us to be here. We thank you for your hospitality. And I wanna thank Pastor Doug for his warm words about the Enduring Word Study Bible. I think it's great, and I think it'll help you. I think it'll help somebody, you know, just to every day read the Bible or look up things. Listen, friends, I think it's a great tool for you to understand and apply the Scriptures. That's what it's all about. So I'll just. Without reservation, I say this is something that would be helpful for you or for somebody you know. Check it out how to buy. You know the normal places where you buy books. Just go ahead and get one.

All right, now, Pastor Doug mentioned that today we're going to get into the book of Jude. So I hope you've already turned there on your Bibles or flipped there on your phones or whatever it is. But we're gonna take a look at this postcard in the New Testament. It's a one-chapter book. And friends, this is gonna be something that's gonna impact your life, I think, in an important way today. So Father in heaven, we give attention now to your word. We pray that by the enabling of your spirit, you'd help us to put away distractions and put away things that would keep us away from the focus that we should have right now on your word and on this way your spirit can speak to us here today. We pray this, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Jude, verses one and two. Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ, mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. So this is the opening words of Jude's important letter. And just when we get into verse three, we're gonna talk a little bit more about why he wrote the letter and what's so special about this letter. But I think it's fascinating

the way this man introduces himself. Because as Pastor Doug mentioned in his brief words about this letter of Jude, Jude was the half-brother of Jesus. Jude was a man who had Mary for his mother, as Jesus did, but his father was Joseph. As the Bible tells us, Jesus had several brothers and sisters. Jude was one of them. And friends, I just want you to think about something. If you, or maybe I make it about me, if I was the half-brother of Jesus, you would never hear the end of it. Every time I would introduce myself to anybody, I'd say, hi, I'm David, the half-brother of Jesus. But you know, Jude didn't have that heart, did he? Do you see how Jude introduces himself? Notice, he says he's a bondservant of Jesus Christ. I'm just a servant of Jesus. We sang it in a song, in that beautiful set of worship before we got started here in our time in the Word. We sang these words, Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Isn't that the heart of Jude right here? He wants to put the focus on Jesus and not on himself. And so he introduces himself and he gives a blessing of mercy, peace, and love to those who read the letter. I know he had in mind those who would first receive the letter, but don't you think that God wants

those things for us as well? Mercy, peace, and love. And if you notice, I love the phrasing there, that they would be multiplied to you. Not just added. It's not enough to add those things. We need them multiplied in our life. Now, we come to verse three. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude reveals something very interesting in verse three, that what we have in front of us was not the letter that he originally intended to write. He originally intended to write a letter about our common salvation, but he said, no, I got to stop and write a different kind of letter. He needed to write a letter that would exhort us to contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude wanted to write a letter that was just full of encouragement and building people up a very positive letter, but there was something that he saw among believers that alarmed him. There was something alarming enough to him to make him say, I've got to write a letter

that will call Christians to action, that will call them to do something. Do you see what he calls Christians to do right here? In verse three, he says, to contend earnestly for the faith. Friends, you know what the idea there is? To contend, it means to struggle. It means to battle. That's a word that comes from the athletic world of ancient times. It's a word from the wrestling mat where people would extend themselves with all their strength to win the victory. Contend speaks of hard, diligent work. You got to call your attention and put your focus on accomplishing something. And what do we need to do? Notice here, to contend earnestly for what? Look at this phrase at the end of verse three. for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. And friends, it's a very interesting thing in the New Testament. That phrase, the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, that's not speaking primarily about your personal faith. Now, I hope that everybody in this room has a personal faith in Jesus Christ, but that's not really what it's talking about. When the New Testament uses that terminology of the faith once for all delivered to the saints,

it's talking about a body of belief. It's talking about a collection of truth, the faith. I could show you examples from throughout the New Testament. I could show the examples from the book of Romans, from the book of Colossians, from the book of 1 Timothy, from the book of Acts, where it speaks about this idea of the faith, that this is what we believe as Christians and what do we need to do? We need to know what it is we believe as Christians and we need to be willing to contend earnestly for it, to struggle for it when we need to. What is it that we believe in common as Christians? Well, friends, there is an enormous amount of truth given to us in the Bible. Truth about who God is, about what God has done in the world, about the condition of man, about man's need and God's supply, but I wanna focus on a core aspect of God's truth. I wanna focus on a core aspect of the faith once for all delivered to the saints and it is just simply this, what we would call the gospel. Do you know what the good news is? Here, let me summarize it. The good news is this. It's God's great message announcing something that in the person and in the work of Jesus,

and when I say person, work, I mean who he is. Who is Jesus? Well, he's the spotless son of God. He is truly man, he's truly God. When we talk about the person of Jesus, who he is, but not only who Jesus is, it's what he has done, what he did in his sinless life. You ever known anybody who's lived a sinless life? Nope, nobody except Jesus. It's what he did in his sinless life, it's what he did in his amazing teaching, it's what he did in his spectacular miracles, it's what he did especially in his sacrificial death. Do you understand that Jesus died on the cross, crucified, dying a cruel death, not because in a sense he had to, but because he chose to, to lay down his life for all those who would put their trust in him. That's the message of the gospel. We're talking about who Jesus is and what he did to rescue us, especially what he did in his sacrificial death and in his glorious resurrection. Those two things give us a wonderful encompassing of the saving work of Jesus Christ, and so here's our good news. There is a way that you can come into right relationship with God, and it's not about what you can do or what you can earn or how much you can get your act together with.

No, you're coming into a right relationship with God. It's based on who Jesus is and what Jesus did to bring you into right relationship with God, especially what he did, amen, in his sacrificial death and in his glorious resurrection. Friends, that is an essential aspect of the faith, once for all, delivered to the saints. Over a couple thousand years, that message has been faithfully transmitted generation to generation until it's come to us today here in the year 2026, but friends, if we fail, first of all, to hold on to that, and if we fail to pass it on, then at least in theory, it could pass away. Now, I don't think it will pass away. Jesus said that the gates of hell will never prevail against his church, but it's up to us in every generation to be those people through whom he works to make sure that happens. So friends, we begin just with this one essential point, this very important idea. You could say this big takeaway. It's simply this, that the faith is worth fighting for. It's worth preserving. It's worth holding on to. I know that we live in a culture that for many people today, what you believe about God, what you believe about Jesus, many people think that's the least important thing about you.

It doesn't matter. Who cares? I'm here to say that it's essential and that God wants us to hold on to, to contend for the faith. once for all delivered to the saints. Can I tell you, you can never hold on to it if you haven't grabbed hold of it to begin with. Before I'm done this evening, I'm gonna give an invitation to anybody here who has not yet put their faith in Jesus Christ, who has not yet appropriated to their life who he is and what he did to rescue them, especially what he did in his sacrificial death at the cross and in his glorious resurrection. Because friends, you need to make a start in the faith and then once having started, you need to hold on to the faith. We contend earnestly for the faith. And you know why we do that? We do it because it's valuable. Friends, valuable things are guarded. We protect the things that are important to us. We see it all the way, all the time in life. You know, if you were to walk into an art museum and there was zero security in there, I mean just nothing, you would have every reason to believe that the paintings or the sculptures in that art museum weren't worth very much. Why?

Because there's no security, there's no protection. We hang on to, we contend for, we guard the things that are valuable to us and there's nothing more valuable than the person and work of Jesus Christ. And so we do. We hold on, we contend, but let me say, we fight as followers of Jesus Christ. We fight as those people who do what the Bible tells us to do. We speak the truth in love, full of grace. We're not looking for fights, but we'll hold on to the truth and we'll refuse to give it up. We're gonna contend earnestly for that faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Okay, now let's go on here to verse four. For, now he's gonna tell us the reason why this is important. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, here in verse four, Jude explains to us the danger. Why was it important for him to say, I wanted to write one kind of letter, but now I'm gonna write a different kind of letter, why? Because notice those words in verse four, for certain men crept in unnoticed. Remember that phrase, certain men.

We don't have names, but God knew who they were and they crept in unnoticed among God's people and they tried to corrupt the truth. They tried to get people to move away from the truth of God. And friends, this is something sobering for us because these men were dangerous because they were unnoticed. Nobody noticed that they were dangerous. They didn't wear a name tag that said, danger, I'm a false teacher. By the way, false teachers never do, do they? Matter of fact, false teachers are usually more convinced than anybody that they're right. False teachers are often self-deceived and they may believe their false things with all earnestness, with a lot of passion, but it doesn't make it the truth. If it goes against what God says here in his word, then it doesn't belong to that faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. And so friends, we need to be very serious and sober about this. We don't wanna become cynical. We don't wanna become overly suspicious, but we just need to be aware that there's deception out there in the world. And if we don't cling to the truth, we're gonna get swept away by the currents of the times. And these kind of certain men

who were a danger in Jude's day, they can be a danger to us today. They're not gonna announce themselves. They may not be obvious. They may be earnest. They may sincerely believe what they're peddling. But if it goes against the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, then we should say, no, we're not gonna go after it. I don't know if you ever remember what Paul wrote to the Galatian believers. Paul wrote to the Galatians and he said, I don't, and I'm paraphrasing this thought here. He said, I don't care if an angel came down from heaven and started telling you things. If he tells you things that are different than what God tells us in his word, then you're to reject them. And that's really the attitude we need to have. Certain men have crept in unnoticed. But here's what James wants us to know. Look at it here in verse. Verse four, he says, they were long ago marked out for this condemnation. In other words, they may have been unnoticed among man, but they were not unnoticed among God. God saw them, God knew, and God long ago marked them out for condemnation. You know what that tells me? That tells me that ultimately the truth is gonna win.

Ultimately God's word is gonna prevail. Ultimately the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints is gonna be seen and honored and glorified among all. And this is the precious heritage that we have to pass on to others. Now there was another problem with these certain men. It's in the last line there of verse four. It says that they turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The idea behind that ancient word that we translate lewdness is basically sin that is practiced without shame. Now when we use that word lewd or lewdness, we're usually giving it some kind of sexual connotation, and it certainly can have that. People can be shameless about those kind of sins for sure, but that's not the only kind of sin that people practice without shame. And friends, he says, be careful of those people. Let your antenna go up in the midst of those folks. Friends, here's the big takeaway for us to focus on here. There are dangers to guard against. You need to be aware of that. That wolves come in sheep's clothing, and false teachers never announce themselves that way. And so we need to be aware without becoming paranoid, without becoming overly suspicious. They can't install heresy detectors at the entrance doors of the sanctuary. No, because you know what?

If you're messed up in your beliefs, I'm glad you're here. I don't want you to spread your misunderstandings to anybody else, but I'm glad you're here to hear the truth from God's word. I pray that your time here will be a work of God in you to correct you, to guide you, to make you a person that stands in the faith once for all delivered to the saints instead of someone who would fight against it in some way. No, friends, there are dangers to guard against, and false teaching is a problem because the truth matters, the truth of God. All right, now, starting at verse five, we have a section that's gonna go pretty much to the end of the verses I'm gonna examine with you here this evening. Starting at verse five, check this out. Jude is gonna start laying out the examples. To my count, and I suppose you could count these a little bit different if you please, but to my count, Jude gives 12 examples over nine verses. How about that? Example after example of how God knows how to deal with false teachers or with people who oppose the truth, with people who are off track. And so we're just gonna take a quick look at each one of these 12 examples, starting at verse five where we have the example of Israel coming out of Egypt. Here we go, verse five.

But I wanna remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. You know, there were many Israelites who came out of Egypt, and they made a good start. Man, they came out of Egypt, they were singing the songs, they crossed the Red Sea, they ate the manna, but they would not believe God, they would not trust him in the wilderness, and they never made it to Canaan. Friends, you see what the lesson is from this example? A good start is not enough. And one of the things I love about coming to Calvary Fort Lauderdale is not only the evangelistic passion that is here at this church, but also a genuine passion for discipleship. I see in this church a church that's doing everything they can to make sure that people who begin their Christian life get off to a great start, and that's important. So friends, a great start is just a start, and it doesn't guarantee it, and you gotta keep walking forward, step by step, day by day, faithful unto the Lord, and that's what we learn from the example of Israel coming out of Egypt. Now take a look at verse six. And the angels who do not keep their proper domain,

but left their own abode, he is reserved. an everlasting change under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Let's talk about having a good beginning. You're an angel. You're in some sense in the presence of God connected to his glory. You can see things, but we know that even angels have gone astray and their connection, their nearness to the glory of God wasn't enough. Friends, you can have an experience of glory, but you got to keep walking with the Lord. You got to hold on to the truth. You know, it's been said rightly so that it's not how high you bounce, it's how straight you walk. And if you have wonderful, glorious, transcendent experiences that fill your soul, praise the Lord. I'm not going to speak against it, but I will want to know how you walking forward, dear brother or sister. It's important not just to have those experiences, but to keep walking forward. And if angels who have had undoubtedly great experiences with God, if they eventually ended up under judgment, that's a warning to all of us. That's example number two.

Here's example number three. The example of Sodom and Gomorrah. It says here, as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Our third example is the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And what do we learn from them? Well, listen, one of the things that people often forget about Sodom and Gomorrah, as they're presented to us in the book of Genesis, is that these were areas, these were cities, these were locations that were extremely blessed. Let me tell you what it says in Genesis 13, verse 10. It says that this area where Sodom and Gomorrah was, well-watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord. It was fruitful, it was prosperous, it was a great place to live. But friends, blessings like that don't ensure that you're gonna continue on and keep walking with the Lord. Now, I'm not a native of Florida. I'm a visitor to your fair state. I come from the state of California. A lot of craziness out in California. But let me tell you the particular city where I live in California, it's Santa Barbara, California. And people love Santa Barbara.

People come as tourists. It's like you get a lot of tourists in Florida, you get a lot of tourists, come to Santa Barbara. People love Santa Barbara. But here's a problem with people who live in Santa Barbara. Let's call them Santa Barbarians. It's possible for them to have a real pride connected to where they live. They think like this. I live in an awesome place, I must be an awesome person. And friends, you know it doesn't work like that at all. Not one bit. In the sense of material prosperity and fruitfulness, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were wonderfully blessed, materially blessed, but that wasn't enough to keep them on track or right with God, not at all. We need to learn from that example. All right, example number four, verses eight, nine, and 10. The angel Michael is an example to us. Now, here's what I love sharing. The first three examples and most of Jude's examples are bad examples. Here is a good example. Starting out verse eight. I'm gonna read verses eight, nine, and 10. Likewise, also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation,

but said, the Lord rebuke you. But these speak evil of whatever they do not know, and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Well, here, Michael is a good example. And what was he a good example of? That he dared not bring a reviling accusation against the devil. Michael did not mock the devil. He didn't accuse the devil. He wasn't called to judge the devil or condemn the devil. But rather, what he did was he battled against him, note, in the name of the Lord. Michael didn't battle in his own authority, but trusting in the authority of the Lord God. And that's gonna be how we hold on to the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Now, I just read over some verses there. And if you're noticing the words as I read them, I wouldn't be surprised if some of you had some big questions. Questions. that I will not answer on a Saturday evening at Calvary Fort Lauderdale. You might be asking, what is this business about disputing over the body of Moses? What is that about? May I recommend to you a Bible resource known as the Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Now in addition to our study Bible,

there's an online commentary and an app that'll answer these kind of questions and many more for you in greater depth. Right now we're looking at all of these things as examples and Michael the archangel shows us the very great importance of trusting in God's authority because your authority isn't enough. If you trust in yourself, you're sure to fall and stumble along the way. But friends, trusting in the Lord and his authority like Michael did, that's where you're gonna see real victory. Right now, we're gonna have in verse 11, three examples in one verse. You ready for this? We're gonna rattle them off fast here. Verse 11, number five, "'Woe to them for they've gone in the way of Cain.'" That's number five. "'They've run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit.'" That's number six. And number seven, "'They've perished in the rebellion of Korah.'" What Jude does here is he's alluding to three events in the Old Testament, each of which show us something about the danger of falling away. There's the way of Cain. You know, the way of Cain was the way of empty religion. He offered sacrifice before the Lord,

but his heart wasn't in it. His faith wasn't in it. It was just an outward show. And friends, it can be the same way with us. Empty religion is not strong enough to keep you walking with the Lord. You need a real relationship with Jesus Christ. You're gonna let go of the faith. That's what we learn from the way of Cain. Then there's the error of Balaam for profit. Balaam is an example of destructive greed. The greedy error of Balaam was that he was willing to compromise everything for money. And the certain men that Jude warned us about, they had the same heart. Don't let greed corrupt your heart. And then third, the rebellion of Korah. Well, that's just flat out an example of rebellion. Korah's story is found in Numbers chapter 16. He was a prominent man in Israel, and Korah and his followers resented the authority that God gave to Moses and Aaron, and they stand out of his examples of this arrogant rejection of the Lord and his ways. Now, that brings us to the next examples in verses 12 and 13. 12 and 13, if you thought it was impressive to have three examples in one verse, now we're gonna have five examples in two verses, and these examples are all drawn from the realm of nature. He's given us examples from the realm of persons,

including angelic beings, but now we're gonna have examples from the realm of nature. Look at verses 12 and 13. These are spots in your love feasts while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water carried about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead pulled up by the roots, raging waves of the sea foaming up to their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. They're like spots or stains, verse 12 says. They're like clouds without waters, clouds that don't have any good found within them. They're like late autumn trees without fruit. By late autumn, the trees should have fruit, but they're like fruitless, unproductive trees. They're like the raging waves of the sea. You know, for modern man, we look at the sea and we love it. We're out at the beach as much as we can be. The sea, isn't it wonderful? Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it refreshing? I want you to know that in the world of the ancient Near East, that's another way of saying the biblical world, they didn't look at the beach as a place for relaxation and holiday. They looked at the beach,

they looked at the sea as a place of constantly churning tumult, a place of uncertainty and unsettledness, a place of continual activity, but nothing gets accomplished. Friends, that's a powerful picture to us. You can be busy, but going nowhere. You can be like the waves of the sea, continually plowing, continually pounding the sand. It goes back and forth again and again, but what does it really accomplish? Not much. Friends, don't be like it. that in your life, in your pursuit of Jesus Christ, being busy, but unproductive for the Lord. And then finally, he says, they're like wandering stars. They're like comets streaking through the sky. These certain men, they astonish the world for a time, but then they vanish into the darkness. Even so, these deceivers were untrustworthy and useless. My friends, about as fast as I possibly could, I ran through 12 different examples that Jude gives to us. But can I give you the big takeaway from this? It is important and wise for us to learn from the examples of other people. I don't know how to put it any more directly than this. And when I say this, I want you to know I'm speaking to myself, not just to you. But I want to earnestly tell you, don't be a fool. You know what a foolish attitude is? A foolish attitude says that if I don't experience it myself, I can't

believe it. If I don't know what it's like to come to a certain kind of ruin all by myself, I'll never believe it's bad. No, wisdom looks at the bad examples and the good examples of other people and learns from them. That's wisdom in life. And friends, that's what God wants for you. If you'll take a look at the lives around you that have ended in ruin, that have ended in despair, that have ended in just unproductive, unholy lives, you'll see, no, I don't want to go in that direction. I want to learn from their mistakes. This can be a life-changing window of wisdom for you. In the 12 examples that Jude uses in these nine verses, all tell us that if you'll only learn from your own experiences, there's going to be a lot of pain and a lot of trouble. We need to have the wisdom to learn from the failures, from the pain, and from the blessings of other people. So friends, let's gain it. Let's learn it. Now in the last few verses that we're going to look at here, after Jude gives his introduction, after he gives all the examples, I want you to notice what he says here in verses 14 and 15. This is a real beacon of hope for us. Look at this. He says, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Here, Jude quoted from Enoch, a man who's described in Genesis chapter

five and mentioned later on in Hebrews chapter 11. The ancient book of Enoch was not received as scripture among early Christians and even the ancient Jews, but it was respected among the Jews and among Christians. And Jude didn't quote Enoch to tell us anything new, but to give us a vivid description of something that the Bible already teaches. And here's what he's teaching, the certainty of God's judgment against those who oppose the truth and let go of the truth. And it is going to be certain. That's why he emphasizes the words to convict all who are ungodly. Those who have abandoned the truth or try to persuade others to, friends, there will be certain judgment upon those people. This is sobering, is it not? Now, let me just say quickly about the book of Enoch because for some reason I'm hearing more people talk about it, wondering, does the book of Enoch belong in the Bible? I mean, after all, Jude quoted it. Maybe the book of Enoch should be in our Bibles. Well, no, not everything that a biblical writer quotes belongs in the scriptures. Paul, on at least two occasions, quoted pagan prophets himself. That didn't mean that those pagan prophets and their writings belong in the Bible. So Enoch was a godly man. In whatever book, and we're not certain the exact connection that the book of Enoch has with the actual Enoch. It was respected among early Christians and Jews, but they never regarded it as scripture on par with the other books of the Bible. So respected book, yes. If you want to read the book of Enoch, read it.

Just realize that it might be an interesting writing, but it's not on the same level as scripture. But what it teaches us here is something that the Bible teaches us in other place, and that is the certainty of accountability. for those who let go of the truth or oppose the truth. Now, we need to keep that in mind. We often are self-conscious about talking about it, but it needs to be said. What Jude quoted from Enoch speaks of the certain judgment of those who oppose the truth or let go of it. Do you see now why it's important for every one of us to contend earnestly for the faith once for all committed to the saints? Because we're not just talking about having an opinion about what's your favorite flavor of ice cream or what sports team do you like to get behind and promote. We're talking about things that matter in this life and in eternity. It's real. And Jude wants to warn us about that. We're fools if we don't take that warning seriously. You know, he speaks about this day that we'll all be held for for account. Now, I want you to think of somebody who is arrested for a crime. They have a date to appear in court, and they make absolutely no preparation for their appearance before that judge. Wouldn't you think that person was foolish? Friends, we are going to be held for account. God invites us now to put our trust in Jesus Christ. Now, let's take a look at this last verse, and then we'll wrap up. Verse 16. He says of these certain men, These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts, and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. Friends, that is the condition, the state of heart of these certain men who troubled the church that Jude wanted to write against. But I want to exhort you right now to say you're not going to follow after those false teachers. You're going to cling to what God gives to us in his word. For the grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God stands forever, and we can take that seriously and trust in his word.

So let's remind ourselves of these three big takeaways, folks. Number one. The faith is worth fighting for. That's what Jude told us in verse 3. Then in verse 4, he emphasized that there are dangers for us to guard against. But then throughout all those sections of examples, he told us that it's important for us to learn from the examples of others. I think of a person, I just imagine them in my mind, who keeps a Christian life, who keeps following after Jesus Christ at arm's length, because they've seen a lot of hypocrites in the church. Friends, I suppose there's probably nobody who's seen more hypocrites in the church than a pastor. We're familiar with them. We know they exist. But friends, here's the thing. You can take a look at the examples of those hypocrites and say, I'm going to learn from them and not be like them. Do you understand how foolish it would be to allow the corruption of hypocrites to keep you from the kingdom of God? No, God says, here, come. Understand, you're going to see weak and failing people around you from time to time. That's absolutely true. But there is a faith once for all delivered to the saints, a faith that God wants you to cling on to. And I just want to speak very pointedly right now to anyone here this evening, you have not yet truly put your faith in Jesus Christ. Do you remember what I talked before about the gospel, that great message? It's the message about what God has done to bring rescue to humanity, to bring us into right relationship with him based on the person and work of Jesus Christ, who Jesus is, and what he did to rescue us, especially what he did at the cross with the sacrificial death when he was nailed to the cross. It wasn't nails that held him on that wood. It was love for all those who would put their trust in him. And his glorious resurrection where he triumphed over sin and death and he says, I'll live out that triumph in you if you'll put your trust in me. And what does he call us to do? Simply to put our faith in him. But let me explain what that idea is of faith.

I once read a man named William Wiest. He was a popular Greek scholar who put things down to a level that I could understand things. And he described the New Testament word that's often translated faith or belief like this. He said it means to trust in, to rely on, and to cling to something. That's what I'm calling you to do today. To trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus Christ. And I'm gonna give an invitation in just a moment for anybody who wants to declare that right here, right now for you to come forward, and I wanna pray with you, and we're gonna talk to you about this beginning of the Christian life that you can have. But this is what we're calling you to do. To trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus Christ. Now, I'm gonna ask you to come forward if that's you who are doing that. If that's you for right here, right now. But let me tell you why I'm gonna ask you to come forward. It's not because the physical act of walking an aisle earns your salvation, no. It's because anybody that Jesus called, he called publicly. Jesus wanted people to follow him openly. And if you're gonna follow Jesus, you need to do it in a public way that says, hey, I want the world to know I'm putting my trust in Jesus Christ, in who he is, and what he did to rescue me. Folks, I'm gonna pray, and then simply ask you

to come forward right now if that's you. Father in heaven, I pray that you would move all across this room. I thank you for these blessed saints who hear your word, who receive your word. And I pray now, Lord, that you would move among any here this evening who have not yet truly put their trust in you, and you'd prompt them to respond right now to come forward and to receive what you have to give to them in Jesus Christ. Do it, Lord, we pray in Jesus' name. So please, if that's you, stand up, come forward. You know this is a custom in this church that we often do, that we ask people to come forward so that we can pray with them and pray for them and give them a proper beginning in the Christian life. So, today is your day. Today is your time to come forward. God bless you. ♪ For that cross entirely acres ♪ Please, come on forward. ♪ Now and here I find my rest ♪ God bless you. ♪ Without you I fall apart ♪ ♪ You're the one that guides my heart ♪ ♪ Lord I need you more than anyone else ♪ God bless you. ♪ Every hour I need you ♪ ♪ You're my one defense, you're my righteousness ♪

God bless you. ♪ Oh God how I need you more than anyone else ♪ We'll give just a few moments more. I wanna lead you, come forward in a prayer. This isn't a magical prayer, but the words reflect a heart. And if with your heart you put your trust in Jesus Christ, he will come and meet you. Receive it that way. You can pray after me. I'll say a phrase and you can say it and believe it with your heart. Lord Jesus, I come and I put my trust in you. I believe you to be who the Bible says you are. And I believe you did for me what the Bible said you did. I wanna leave the past behind and I wanna walk forward with you. And I want this to be the first step of something that lasts for eternity. Forgive my sin. Heal my brokenness. Bring new life to that which is dead within me. And I receive your spirit right now. I put my trust in you. In Jesus' name, amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you. Hey, we are celebrating this most important decision you could ever make in your life, and we want to spend a moment with you.

So, Pastor David and I, we're going to meet you over in this room. In a moment, as you walk this way, we're going to give you a Bible and a Bible study guide. We're going to celebrate this newness of life. So, church, can we give them a hand as they go this way? Can we thank Pastor David Guzik for coming to bring God's Word to us? And can we stand together and respond in worship to all that he has done? He is worthy of our praise. Let's lift up our voices in worship. ♪ Everybody clap your hands ♪ ♪ Everybody move your feet ♪ ♪ Isn't he worthy, worthy of everything? ♪ ♪ Give it all, don't hold back ♪ ♪ Praise him with all you have ♪ ♪ Isn't he worthy, worthy of everything? ♪ ♪ Everybody clap your hands ♪ ♪ Everybody move your feet ♪ ♪ Isn't he worthy, worthy of everything? ♪ ♪ Give it all, don't hold back ♪ ♪ Praise him with all you have ♪ ♪ Isn't he worthy, worthy of everything? ♪ ♪ Everybody clap your hands ♪ ♪ Everybody move your feet ♪ ♪ Isn't he worthy, worthy of everything? ♪ ♪ Give it all, don't hold back ♪ ♪ Praise him with all you have ♪ ♪ Isn't he worthy, worthy of everything? ♪

♪ He shall be praised, he shall be praised ♪ ♪ In heaven and earth the same ♪ ♪ He shall be praised, he shall be praised ♪ ♪ Exalted for endless days ♪ ♪ The Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain ♪ ♪ Forever and ever he reigns ♪ ♪ He shall be praised, yeah, praised ♪ ♪ He shall be praised, he shall be praised, yeah ♪ Come on, can we give Jesus a shout of praise in this place tonight? Church, so good to see you tonight. If you need prayer for anything at all, our prayer team will be here at the front, ready to pray with you. But if not, have a great rest of your Saturday night, and we'll see you again next week. See ya.