What an awesome privilege that it is to gather together with God's people and be able to lift up our hearts and minds, our voices in praise to the Lord together. The fellowship of the saints is a blessing that unfortunately to the hurt of God's people is sometimes neglected and oftentimes not valued with the worth that it is. There's nothing on earth that can replace the gathering together of God's people to praise, honor, and remember the Lord's death until He comes again. where two or three or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them. Now, that does not mean that because we say that we're coming together in the name of the Lord that it is so. But when God's people are brought together by the Spirit of God with a desire to worship him in spirit and truth as only he can bring to pass in God's people, then indeed he is in our midst. He does walk among us. The scripture says that he inhabiteth the praises of his people. He lives in the praises of his people. What a glorious thing, I can't even imagine how such can be so. But I do know the Lord said, as he told Nicodemus, the father seeks such to worship him as worship him in spirit and truth. Or not Nicodemus, but to the woman at the well. And surely he does. We're looking in the book of Jude. The book of Jude, we've looked at the first two verses in some depth. Now, I mean, we could go back over that and probably, as the old preacher said, dig out a few more taters, but we'll move along. We're looking in verse three. It says, beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, It was needful for me to write unto you and to exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before a vote ordained to this condemnation. ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now those are quite solemn words and certainly raise the hackles of some as they read them. But for us, as we look at them, and understand that this is the truth, this is the word of God given to us. And we are, we do receive it with thanksgiving. He said, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation. Now diligence is, that's a trait that is desirable among all men, but it's a trait that can't be brought past by the flesh. You can't be diligent because you want to be diligent. God must give you a spirit of diligence. Because in the flesh and by nature, we are not diligent. We go the easiest way. A diligent man doesn't care what the easy way is. but he moved forward in the thing that he knows to be right and good and true. And so Jude, as he's writing here, he says that he gave all diligence to right. In other words, he didn't just come with some lighthearted thing to try to make them feel good. You know, unfortunately, we live in an age when the primary thought that people have, by and large, of what it means to come and gather with God's people and to be, for someone to preach to them, is that they go away feeling uplifted and, you know, they're just happy and that's what the whole purpose, that's why we're supposed to, in the minds of many, to come together for that reason, that would be entertained. I mean, you know, that's a big part of what men call worship today. We've got worship leaders, people that specialize in, you know, getting songs and stuff that make people feel good and uplifted, and we got positive words of encouragement, and all of those things. And in one measure, there's nothing wrong with encouraging God's people. But that's not the primary reason why God's people come together. We come together to magnify the name of Christ and to be reminded who we are before him. The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence. before him. And that's a missing element. You know, men think, well, we gotta have some activity. I mean, activity is what God's pleased with. Seeing us do something, no. He said, thou shalt have no other gods before me. He says, I am the Lord. And so, As we come together, surely we come together rejoicing. But we come together rejoicing because we know who it is that rules and reigns in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And we know what he has done in our behalf. And we know what we are by nature. And that we could not in any wise lift ourselves up to him, but he has brought himself down to us. What a glorious thing. And so as Jude writes when he says, I gave all diligence to write to you, it was important to him. It was important to him because he couldn't do anything else. You see, the man who's not diligent, he can just take a subject and he can just talk to you about anything. A lot of people are able to do that. They can just talk to you about anything. What do you need us to emphasize today? Well, brethren, there's only one thing that I ever care to emphasize to you. Only one message I ever want to bring to you. It's the same one over and over. You might get tired of it. I don't think you will if the Spirit of God is in you, and that is to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. and remind us who we are by nature, that we might worship him aright. Because you can't worship the Lord Jesus Christ if you don't understand what you are by nature, that you don't really, you don't have the right to worship him. See, worshiping God's a privilege. I mean, that he would allow us into his presence is an amazing thing. that he would even listen to anything that we would say or give praise to him. See, some people think God's just kinda like hungry and thirsty and he's just wanting people to praise him. I remember when I was a child, they taught me that the reason the Lord created men was because he was lonely and he needed somebody to worship him. God doesn't need anybody to worship him. He allows men to worship him. Now he's worthy of all praise. And he has creatures who surround his throne night and day without ceasing, crying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. How could we add anything to that? And yet he's pleased. He's pleased when God's people worship him in spirit and truth. Oh, what a glorious thing. And that's part of what it is when Jude comes writing with all diligence to write to them. He wants them to know what the essence of the truth of the gospel is, not just something they can go and feel good about and about themselves. I don't care if you feel good about yourself. I don't want you to feel good about yourself. I want you to feel good about Christ. I want you to understand what you are by nature, and that it was our sin that put him on the cross. Because it's in that that brings men to the place that they desire to fall down and give him glory. As that thief on the cross, Lord, would thou remember me when you come into your kingdom? He knew he didn't have hope. I mean, he didn't have anything. He certainly couldn't say, Lord, you've seen my life and you know I've done well. No, he knew he hadn't done anything. He knew he'd done everything wrong. But oh, what a glorious thing the Lord said today, you will be with me in paradise. Why? Because he was brought to the place that he knew himself to be a sinner. And he knew Christ to be the king. You know, I believe this is true, if a man comes to those two understandings, that he cannot and will not be cast away from the Lord, because it's the Lord alone that can give him such a thing, and cause a man such as you to write with diligence, desiring that the people of God know what the truth of God is, not just some message. I mean, if you're just looking for a message, you can, don't, There's so many books that's been written, sermons and people preached and all kind of stuff, you just looking for something just to satisfy your mind for a little while, you can find something somewhere. But oh see, the Lord alone can bring you a word off of the altar of God and implant it in your mind and heart. Even as he took that coal off of the altar and he put it on Isaiah's lips. diligence to write unto you of the common salvation. Now that was the thought that was on my mind as I read through this. That is the prominent thing that he said, the common salvation. What is the common salvation? Well, I would say that the common salvation's uncommon. But yet it's the common salvation, because that's what he's writing to the people of God about. Because you see, to the people of God, the salvation that we speak of is common. It's the same one. There's one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And not a bunch of different ways, there's not a bunch of different flavors. There's one. And so it's a common salvation in that respect. Now amazingly, if you look at this word, this word is actually also translated unholy. It's translated as defiled. And so that seems strange, does it not? But what I believe that the essence of the word, what he's writing about is that he's saying the very thing that this common salvation, is not accepted by the world. It's a thing in their sight that is unholy. It's a thing that, you know, Christ was rejected when he walked among men. Now he was the common Savior, but that's what they said. Well, he's common. See, men want something that's uncommon. They want something that, you know, builds them up. They want something that makes them feel good. This is real common. This is just right down to the nitty gritty. There's nothing fancy in this salvation. Christ died on Calvary's cross. He didn't come in royal robes and sit on the throne so that men could see him, but he died as men looked at him as an outcast. as one who was cursed of God. Scripture says, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. And that's the means whereby he was pleased to lay down his life. This is a common salvation, dear brethren. You know, it's found wherever the Lord is pleased to walk among his people. I mean, it doesn't make a difference where you go in the world. Where the Lord has been and he has opened men's eyes to see the truth, they speak of this common salvation, which is Jesus Christ and him crucified. And not any other message that we have. We can't cause men to embrace it. Because to the world, to the wise, it seems foolish. It's common. It's unclean. It's unholy. You know, it's beneath us. A common salvation, but a glorious salvation. Because to us, it's that which is set apart. It's holy. To the world, it's unholy. To God's people, it's the only thing they desire. You know, the world will take a little bit of the gospel. They like the gospel as long as it's in the hands of men to determine who's gonna be saved and who isn't. And you know, it's amazing how men can speak about the salvation of Jesus Christ and then turn around and say, now it's up to you to get this. Brethren, that's not the common salvation of which I'm speaking. Because the common salvation of which I'm speaking is a salvation that's wrought by the hand of God from the first to the last. And he's the one that chooses men and not men that choose him. What a glorious savior he is. that he would love his people enough to single them out in the world and draw them unto himself. It's a common salvation in that he brings his people by a path that they knew not, but he brings them all the same way. He teaches them that they're sinners. And he teaches them that he's the savior. And that there's no in between. There's no partial. You know, it's not hope that his salvation's good enough. But we know that it is. See, the man who has been given faith, he's not saying, man, I sure hope this is the right way. He's saying, I don't have any other hope. See, he's not trying it out and hoping that everything's gonna be all right, but he's saying, oh God, have mercy. upon me a sinner, because if Christ be not the Savior, I have no salvation." That's the common salvation. Unholy in the eyes of the world, but holy and set apart to the people of God. He said it was needful, it's necessary, he said, for me to write to you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith. Some men think that this means we're to be contentious. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about running the race, contending for it. Paul said, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ. See, we don't count ourselves to have arrived at some place, but we cast all our care upon Him and we run to that prize. We desire the salvation of God. Oh, that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection. I'm not satisfied with what I know. I want to know Him. See, I'm not satisfied with learning a few things. I want to know Christ. And that's running to the prize. That's contending for the faith. We're running in a race. And we want to win. You know, it would make no sense to have a race and everybody just walk, run right beside one another and look over there and everybody's just the same. That's not what the scripture teaches that we're to do. We're to run to win. Now, praise God, every one of God's people is running the same race, and it's not that one outruns the other, but it's that we're all seeking the same prize, and we're running with determination to get there. How does that happen? Do we just, well, you need to really get you some determination. No, only God can cause that to happen. But when he does, see, a man must run. You remember in the book Pilgrim's Progress when Christian had been awakened to his sin, the burden on his back. And he was at his home, and his wife and his children was trying to comfort him, and they were trying to get him to come back. He said, no, I've got to go, I've got to find salvation. And they said, no, come back, stay with us. He said, no, I've got to go. And he ran screaming, eternal life, eternal life. And he ran from them. The Lord said that he came to sit, men at variance with one another. Now, that is confusing to some people, but yet the division that he causes is not a harmful division, but the division that he causes is caused by the desire for God's people to seek him at all costs. And if somebody tries to hold us back, we don't want that. You know, as much as I love my family, if my family tried to talk me out of seeking after Christ, I'd tell them to go jump in the lake. I got to go. It's the only way I want to go. You know, we're not going down this road because we're all hugging arms and singing kumbaya. We're going in a race to find Christ. Contending for the faith. Now in contending for the faith, We must stand for what we believe. And if somebody comes preaching something, teaching something, we don't just receive it because we don't want to hurt their feelings or we want to, you know, be nice. I want to be nice to people and I'm not going to go out of my way not to be nice to people. But when it comes to the gospel, I can't embrace that which is not true. If somebody comes preaching some other message than Jesus Christ and him crucified, I can't embrace it. I can't desire it. I can't say and pat them on the back and say, Godspeed, go ahead with it. You're doing a good job. No, because what does he say here? He said, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend to the faith which was once delivered to the saints. Why? Why are we to contend for the faith? Why are we to run this race? Why are we to stand for the things that we believe? He said, because there are certain men crept in unawares, that is stealthily among you. The tares have been sowed among the weak. Now he says here, to contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. See this, the message that we're preaching here is not a new message. It's not something that somebody came up with, it's the very message that Christ left us. It's the very message that the apostles taught us. That is that for which we are to contend, which is that which was once delivered to the saints. One time this message was brought. Now that doesn't mean one time in chronological terms, because the gospel's been preached millions of times, thank God that it has. But the message of the gospel has only ever been sent forth one time. When Jesus Christ hung on Calvary's cross, when he was dead and was buried and he rose again, that message was set forth before men. And now he ever lives to make intercession for us by his presence in the heavens. And that is that for which we contend. And it is the faith which was once delivered to the saints. There's not another one. For there are certain men crept in unawares, that is stealthily, they came in unnoticed. They crept in the back door. They came preaching part of the truth. See, deception's always partially true. Otherwise, you wouldn't fall for something that everything somebody come told you was absolutely wrong. They come telling you some things that sound reasonable. Yeah, sounds good. Makes you feel good in many cases. Well, yeah, I like that. You know, if you always like what somebody is preaching to you, then you probably need to find somebody else to listen to. Because there is a way which seemeth right unto man, and the end thereof are the ways of death. We always gravitate towards somebody that agrees with us, don't we? I mean, I like people that agree with me and pat me on the back and say, man, you're doing a good job. That's good, buddy. Oh, man. We want that. That's human nature. But that is exactly what the prince of darkness uses to deceive men, to pat them on the back, to bring them down the road to destruction. Certain men, he says, certain men, specific men. He said they were ordained, that word means predestined. Now you'll hear people say, well God never predestines anybody to damnation. Well, It's not for me to stand in judgment of what God does, but what he plainly says in his word is that these men were of old ordained to this condemnation. Now, are they worthy of condemnation? Oh, absolutely. You see, the whole message of the electing grace of God is not about the destruction of the wicked. It's about the fact that He saved His people. Because who would have ever been saved if He had not chosen to save some? We would all perish. But in the goodness of God, in the mercy of God, in the grace of God, He has ordained some unto eternal life. And if He ordained some to eternal life, it just It must be true that some are not, unless all are. And we've had no reason in the scripture to find that all are ordained to eternal life. And the scripture plainly says here that these men, certain men, are ordained unto this condemnation. What is the condemnation they're ordained to? To be deceivers. What he said. Now deceivers often don't know that they're deceivers because they're deceiving themselves. See, Satan is in his determination to deceive men. He doesn't care who he uses, he doesn't care who he destroys. See, he's just the destroyer. He's going out seeking, the scripture says, whom he may devour. Isn't that an amazing thing that the Lord said he's seeking whom he may devour? Because there's some that he can't devour. Those that belong to the Lord. He can't, but there's some that he can. And these are the ones whom Jews speaking of here, ungodly men, ordained to this condemnation. These are not men who are preaching the truth of Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the sole manner in which a man might enter into the kingdom of heaven. These are men, the scripture says here, who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. that is wickedness. They turn the grace of God into it. And there's a multitude of those that do preach a message which basically says, well, you know, salvation's by grace. Therefore, once you make your decision and you got salvation in your pocket, just go on out. I mean, it doesn't really matter. Now, we want you to do right, you know, especially if we want you to tithe and we want you to come to the meetings and stuff, but other than that, you can just kind of go on and do what you want to do. Just show up on Sunday and put on a good face and everything, and that's what we want. Turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. God's people are called to walk in a certain way. It's not a way that they designed. It's the way that God designed. And he gave us the example in Jesus Christ. And if there's any question in your mind as to whether or not something is acceptable in the sight of God as far as conduct is concerned, ask yourself, is it what Christ would do? The grace of God not meant, Paul said, shall we sin that grace may abound? Now that's the accusation that we're always given when we preach about the fact that salvation's totally by grace and not according to the works of men in any fashion. They say, well golly, you're saying that people can just go out here and sin, whatever. What they miss is the fact that the work of grace in the lives and hearts of God's people constrains them. I don't want to walk contrary to the way of Christ. Now, sadly, I find myself every day quite far from being what I should be. I know Paul said, the good that I would, I do not, and that which I would not, that I do. That's a true thing. But I'm not using that as an excuse. I'm not saying it's all right, because I hate it. And the only way that a man can hate sin is for the Spirit of God to give him such a hatred. I mean, if he can embrace sin and delight in it, and go on in the face of God and say, well, Lord, it's all right, I can do this. No, that's not what we're called to be. And there are certain men, he says, who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. But then here is an even greater condemnation, if there is one. And he doesn't put this as, what he's doing is he is describing what those do who preach the message that I was speaking about. That is, they deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now some people would look at that as though it's talking about two different persons. And they tell us here, well, they're denying the only Lord God and also the Lord Jesus Christ. Also is not in there. It's describing the same one. The only Lord God, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not two persons, but he is the one. And when men come denying the deity of Jesus Christ, they are those who are deceivers. doesn't matter what their credentials may be, or whatever, the Lord said, I and my Father are one. He is the true and living God. And I can't explain how all of that fits together, but I do know this, that when we speak of God, we speak of Jesus Christ, because there's no way that you could know God apart from knowing Jesus Christ. He's Alpha and Omega. He's the beginning and the end. He has a name which is above every name. He's the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And if anybody comes denying that, in whatever words they want to use, the scripture says that they're deceivers. Oh, that the Lord might deliver us from such. Now men are not brought into the kingdom of heaven because they have clear and unmistaked theology, doctrine. Doctrine will never get you into the kingdom of heaven, don't matter what it is. It don't matter what you know, what you've been taught, how many people you know of that you can point to that believe exactly what you say you believe. Salvation's not in a doctrine. It's in the one who teaches the doctrine, which is the common salvation, which is in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ and him crucified. And so, you know, we need not listen to those who come telling us things that are contrary to that. Because it's not true. And Jude was diligent. and I hope that I'm deviled. I want to tell you that. I don't want anybody to go out of here thinking that there's any other message that's taught in the scriptures concerning the common salvation than Jesus Christ and him crucified. May he give us a mind to flee unto him because he shows mercy. See, we were singing yesterday with some dear ladies up in Moultrie, where Sister... Mert, yeah. Harris, Sister Mert Harris. And we went up there and was visiting with her, and when we go up there, we usually sing, and we started off just singing in her room, And over time, some of the ladies heard us singing and so they joined in and now we can't meet in her room anymore because there's too many. But anyway, one of the songs that we sang, we usually sing out of the books that they have, and most of the songs are all right. And this song was a good song, but somebody had changed one of the words in this song. And it said, I'm only a sinner saved by grace. Let me think how the phrase, it says grace hath bestowed it. Now the hymn, the proper way that the hymn is written is grace hath bestowed it and I have believed. That is a true statement. But what they had changed this song to say in this book was grace hath bestowed it since I have believed. Now that's a small little change, is it not? And some people say, well, why even bring that up? Well, I bring it up because the whole change is the whole truth of what the song's talking about. God hadn't shown us grace since we believed. He has shown us grace and we have believed. because otherwise we never would have believed. He doesn't give us blessings because we believe. He blesses us and causes us to believe. That's the common salvation. That's the truth. That's the real thing. And whether we believe it or not. I heard somebody say one time, well God said it, Let's see, he says, God said it, I believe it, and that settles it. No, that's too much. Because it doesn't make any difference whether you believe it or not. If God said it, it's the truth. It is settled. I mean, it's not, there's nothing you can do to settle anything. But the Lord in mercy calls his children unto himself. What a glorious savior he is. And he presently works in his people, both willing to do of his good pleasure, and he's drawing them. And his word never returns to him void. It might not accomplish what we want it to do, but it accomplishes exactly what he would have it to do. And that's to draw his people unto himself. May the Lord give us a mind to contend earnestly for the common salvation, knowing that there are deceivers that have gone out into the world, and everything that glitters is not gold. It doesn't mean we go out and try to look at everything somebody's saying or doing and finding cracks and errors in them. But when we're confronted with these things, we must contend for that which is true. And we must stand for that which we believe to be found in the Bible as the truth as it is in Christ. May he give us such a mind.