The Christian Cooperation Desired in the Defense of the Gospel
J.S. Bright Jude 1:1-4 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ… The believers to whom Jude wrote were "called" by an external and spiritual power into the fellowship of the Church; had been "preserved" from the gross evils and corruptions which sprang up in those early days, and "sanctified by God the Father," and made partakers of his holiness. As he claims their service in the preservation of the faith he implores "mercy" that they may be enabled to help, "peace" of mind amid the earnestness of their contention for the truth, and "love" that the thought of the Divine love to them might influence them to speak the "truth in love" to others. I. THE SPIRITUAL ESTIMATE OF THE WORK OF SALVATION. Natural men pass it by with indifference; and, if they regard it, object to its claims, its doctrines, and its pursuits. Jude, James, and those who were "called," knew that it was the highest and most precious gift of God. It was his Divine idea; "for of him are all things." It was the result of a marvelous preparation, and was accomplished by the holy sacrifice of our Lord on "the accursed tree." It is applied by the eternal Spirit, and secures forgiveness, imparts power to appropriate good from all agencies, objects, and conditions; and prepares for eternal glory. It saves from the waste of our life, our labour, own influence, and property; and makes the future one of gracious recompense and unfailing reward. Many things in the world engage the affections and tax the energies of mankind, among which are to be found the allurements of pleasure, the attractions of power, and the possession of gold; but these, when viewed in the clear and heavenly light of Divine instruction, appear as the light dust of the balance, and unworthy of our highest love and our most ardent pursuit. Whatever difference may be found in place of abode, and diversity of forms of worship, an exalted estimate of the gospel is the broad and universal mark of the Church of Christ. As believers understand the worth of the "faith once delivered to the saints," they are required to watch over its purity, and by their steady profession of obedience to the Saviour, by the fervour of their prayers, and by their seasonable advocacy of the gospel, are to contend for its preservation from mutilation and injury. II. THE UNIVERSAL ASPECT AND FINAL CHARACTER OF THE GOSPEL JUSTIFY ENDEAVOUR TO PRESERVE IT UNIMPAIRED. This inspired writer was a Jew, and all the apostles of Christ were of the stock of Abraham, and had been trained up in a system of local sacrifice and national privilege. This state of things made many of their countrymen narrow and exclusive, and disposed to look upon other nations with the spirit of dislike and even of contempt. When our Lord came he foretold the extension of grace to the Gentiles, and said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." His followers received his Spirit, and found that, "where the Spirit of the Lord was there was liberty." "The middle wall of partition was thrown down," and now by one Spirit Jew and Gentile have "access to the Father." It was the "common salvation," and, with all its Divine blessings and extraordinary privileges, offered to men of every clime and tongue, that they might be fellow-heirs with believers who, according to the flesh, descended from Abraham, the father of the faithful It was a system of grace which was the last and abiding revelation of the will of God for the salvation of mankind. There had been vast and long-continued processes of gradual discovery to patriarchs, prophets, and psalmists; foreshadowings in the ceremonial law, and typical service of the temple; continuous and far-reaching movements of providence; and all these were designed to prepare the way of the Lord, and herald his approach, who is "the End of the Law for righteousness." Previous institutions were to give way and be shaken, that those things which "cannot be shaken may remain." The kingdom of Christ cannot be moved; and the truths which concern it are given once for all. None can add to them or take from them without being guilty of presumption and unfaithfulness. They are committed to the saints, who are bound by loyalty to Christ their King; and by a desire to promote the good of others to guard the sacred and invaluable deposit. II. THE GRAVE AND URGENT REASONS FOR SPIRITUAL VIGILANCE AND COURAGE, Jude does not allude to any persecution outside the Church which demanded steadfastness and decision; but he points to those adversaries who with policy and cunning climbed up some other way, and were dangerous because their corruption of Christian doctrine and of personal conduct proved them to be enemies of the cross of Christ. They proved the truth of Cowper's lines - "Errors in life breed errors in the brain, And these reciprocally those again." These men entered into the Church, as the serpent into Paradise, to tempt and seduce believers from the truth. They were the apostles of Satan, and turned the glorious grace of the gospel, which was given to deliver from sin, into indulgence in sensual pleasure, and thereby turned the clemency of God into a motive to further and more frequent rebellion against him. It was a heavy charge against Israel that "she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal" (Hosea 2:8). If Jehovah was righteously angry at such perversion of temporal gifts, how much more must he be offended by the profanation of his gospel to purposes of selfish indulgence! By the ministry of Jude he calls them to share in his righteous displeasure against sin. To add to their transgressions and misbelief, these offenders denied the right of Jesus Christ to control and shape their life and conduct. He died that, "whether we live, we are to bye to the Lord; or whether we die, we are to die to the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." These views were not innocent as differences about meats; but they affected the very spirit and object of the gospel; and, therefore, required of believers their most zealous concern for those things which were the means of their salvation and the basis of their hopes of eternal life. Characters of the description here introduced were already condemned by the voice of God; and whatever their smooth and deceitful policy, whatever reluctance to censure these Christians might feel, they were, since such solemn interests were in jeopardy, to "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints." - J.S.B. Parallel Verses KJV: Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: WEB: Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: