The One True God has given us a convincing account through John's experience of the first Resurrection Sunday. Johns testimony is strikingly human, detailed, and based on the Scriptures. In reading and hearing John's account we may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and by believing have life in his name.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death (Prov. 14:12). Do we follow our own standard for living, or do we submit to the Word of the Master? Going your own way and getting others to go with you is a hallmark of those who lead the way down the path toward death. Jesus is the Master and we must submit to his authority.

We are called by Jude to contend for the faith. He provides us with three examples that give us a sense for the seriousness of the threats which creep into the church. False teachers are crafty, but Jude exposes their deeds for what they are. How will we respond?

We are called by Jude to be contenders for the faith. There are many threats to the faith that was passed down to us by the Apostles. Unsavory saboteurs sneak into the church and undercut the faith once for all delivered to the saints. The beloved of God have a duty to fight for the purity of the church in all places and all generations.

We begin our study of Jude looking at the who? what? when? where? and why? of this short letter. In this sermon, we examine who? when? and where? Jude describes himself as a slave of Jesus Christ. He addresses the called, beloved, and kept of God. We are challenged by the simple, yet rich introduction, to view our relationship to Christ as that of beloved slaves, serving by grace in the in the household of God.

The return of Christ brings great hope to the Christian. It is a hope which moves us to diligence in holiness and peace. This is a universal Scriptural truth, which the unholy twist for their own desires and to their own destruction. They are ignorant and unstable. But in knowledge of the truth Christians are called to stand guard against the undercurrents which can sweep our legs from under us. We are to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus, who is the all glorious one and always shall be.

The Day of God is at hand. As such, Peter probes us with a provoking question: what kind of people are we going to be? We are given three charges as saints awaiting the day of God. First, cultivate Christian character. Second, engage in patient action. Third, eagerly await the new heavens and the new earth. This passage serves as a summary of what Peter has been driving at in the book. It flies in the face of false teachers on a number of levels, promoting a proper Christian attitude toward holiness, judgment, and hope.

Sermons and audio recordings of Trinity Reformed Church in New Castle, Colorado.

Peter continues to shore up the saints against the false teachers. He positively presents his case for confidence in the coming of the Day of the Lord. First, he presents an argument from God’s nature. He is not bound by time. Second, he again returns to God, this time to his character. The Lord is patient. And third, he reasserts his position, that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, dramatically, and exposing sin.

God has revealed himself and his will to us in his word. We drift from it. We are attracted to the philosophies of the world. False teachers undermine God’s Word to advance their own desires. We must remember the importance of a sincere mind centered in the word. We must know that scoffers will come. We must observe how they do not live according to God’s Word. And we must remember God’s work in the past as we look to his work in the future.