Well, we were looking for a few
weeks at Elijah, and Elijah stood seemingly alone, and he contended
earnestly for the true faith of God's Israel in the face of
wholesale religious falsehood and idolatry. Think of that. He contended earnestly. To him
he was alone. I even I only am left. And he
contended earnestly. Didn't he? Mount Carmel. He contended
earnestly for the true faith. In verse 3 of Jude's little epistle,
that you should earnestly contend for the faith. which was once
delivered to the saints. Elijah did that. He contended
for that faith. He contended for the true religion,
the true faith of God's Israel in the face of what? Wholesale
religious falsehood and idolatry. Is it any different today? It's
exactly the same. You know, there really is. If
you read Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanity, all things, there's
nothing new under the sun. It's just different technology.
But there's nothing new. The hearts of men and women are
exactly as they have always been in sin. The state of man is unchanged. but also are the needs of man. What are the needs of our day?
What do you and I need? Apart from the obvious physical
needs of food, of shelter, of clothing, of safety from the
threat of harm. Yes, we need those things. God
knows we need. Give us this day our daily bread. He knows we
need those things. But what are the true needs of our souls in
this day? What are the needs of your soul
and mine? Number one I would say is this,
it's to know the truth of eternal life, isn't it? To know the truth
of eternal life. Do you know, when you are nearing
the end of your life, and who knows when that will be? Oh I'm
young, you don't know when that will be, none of us do. But when
you're nearing the end of your life, nothing will be more relevant
than what is beyond that door of death. As you approach that
door, what is beyond it? And it's not just religious folks
who think like that. The unbeliever, the so-called
atheist, is hoping that it's just annihilation, that it's
just the lights get switched off and it's just no more consciousness
of anything. And the religious folks are hoping,
thinking, I've done all the right things, surely God's going to
be fine with me, I'm going to get into heaven. What's beyond
that door? Surely that is the most important
need that we have, to know the truth of eternal life. And then,
if you have a hope of eternal life, secondly, that it's anchored
on a solid rock. You know, there's people who
say, oh, we're hoping for this, and they're hanging in an unsafe
place. And the holes that they have
are just all going to come loose and fall to the ground. There's
going to be nothing solid there. You need your hope to be anchored
on a solid rock, to be certain, to be assured about eternity
based on solid truth. You know, are you assured about
eternity? Do you know, as that hymn says,
it is well, it is well with my soul? If you do, how do you know?
Is it based on solid truth? Or is it based on what the superstitious
do? They touch wood, they cross their
fingers, they do all of these things every moment of every
day. Oh, touch wood, this will be alright. Oh, cross fingers,
this will be alright. No. Is it based on solid truth? Solid truth to be certain, to
be anchored on a solid rock. And, As those who believe gospel
truth, this is what you need. You need, we need, don't we,
to be united with all true brethren on the basis of primary gospel
truth. There's nothing better than to
enjoy the fellowship of like-minded believers, as we did when the
conference got together, and all those people came from all
over the country, and there was one thing that united us, and
that was the primary truth of the gospel. Secondary matters
didn't affect us in any way. And that's another need. As believers, to avoid all division
over secondary matters. Just to avoid it. You know, people
will differ in the way they do things. But if it isn't primary
gospel truth, don't be divided about it. Don't make an issue
about it. Certainly don't judge one another
about it. Don't, because you know if we
do, we will always have a spirit that condemns. That's the nature
of the flesh. We judge and we condemn one another.
No, to avoid division over secondary matters. And as believers, this
is what we need. To be alert about, to be alert
about those who distort the primary truth of the gospel, to effectively
oppose all that distort and deny the primary truth of the gospel.
And what do we use for that? What weapons do we use for that?
We don't use the weapons of this world. Jesus said, my kingdom
is not of this world. If it were, my servants would
take up swords and fight, but they don't because it isn't.
What are the weapons of God's kingdom that we use? His word. His word, we saw it last week
when we looked at it. His word is not his word like
a fire and like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces. It's
not his word like a sharp, piercing, two-edged sword that cuts right
down to the heart. That's the weapon that we use,
not a real sword. not a samurai sword, not to try
and behead somebody in the street as some religions do, not to
do that, no, no, the weapons of God's word, the weapons of
God's grace, the gospel of his grace, the gospel of his grace,
the weapons of the wisdom of God, the weapons of the love
of God, these are the weapons that we should use, look at verse
23 of Jude's epistle, He's appealing to that. And others, save with
fear. Save them. Motivated by love,
pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted
by the flesh. And some have compassion, making
a difference. These are the weapons that we
use. So Jude's Epistle. Jude's Epistle. It's short, 25
verses. It's intense. And it's highly
relevant to today. It was written about 30 to 35
years after Christ's ascension. That's when it was written. And
why was it written? Because of the heresies that
had arisen, as had been prophesied, not that long before. Let me
give you some scriptures. Matthew 24, this is our Lord
Jesus Christ speaking, before he went to the cross, and he's
warning his people. Matthew 24, verses 11 to 13. He says this, he's telling them,
he's telling his disciples, he says, and many false prophets
shall arise, and deceive many. Oh, don't be swayed by the many.
The many is not at all a convincing reason to go after them. Many
false prophets shall arise, and deceive many. And because iniquity
shall abound, the love of many, those that appear to love Christ,
shall wax cold. But he that shall endure to the
end, the same shall be saved. The Apostle Paul, when he's speaking
to the Ephesian elders on the beach at, was it my latest, somewhere
like that, Acts 20, verses 29 and 30. For I know this, he says, that after my departing shall
grievous wolves enter in among you. He's not talking about furry
animals, he's talking about people who will distort the truth, who
will try and trick them into believing a lie. Grievous wolves
shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your
own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them. Second Peter, chapter 2, verses
1 to 3. Peter talks about false teachers. And many shall follow their pernicious
ways. Many in the Church of Christ,
looking like they're members of the Church of Christ, shall
follow the pernicious ways of these false teachers, by reason
of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. All this applies
today. It applied 30 to 35 years after
Christ had gone back to glory. after people like the Apostle
Paul and Peter had prophesied of the error that would come
in. It applies just the same today. We need to beware. We
need to be alert. We need to be on the lookout.
This epistle is about that. We need to beware that we're
not, as Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter 4 verse 14, he talks
about them, he encourages them, don't be like children. I mean,
children are very cute and very attractive in lots of ways, but
in terms of maturity and wisdom, they're children. He says, don't
be like children tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine by the slight of men, the cunning, the deception
of men. You know how you see something
like a piece of polystyrene packing foam, and if you see it out on
a sea or on a lake on a windy day when the waves are white,
and it doesn't know where it's going. A wind blows one way,
a gust, and it goes with it, and a wave comes another way,
and it goes with it. That's what some are like in
terms of their spiritual understanding. They're children, tossed to and
fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight
of men. We don't want to be like that.
We want to be alert, we want to be on our guard, we want to
use the weapons of God's kingdom, the word of God, his grace, his
mercy, his love. So I want to spend a few Sundays
looking with you at Jude's epistle. So first of all, a bit about
the writer. Who is this one? Jude. Judas,
his name, shortened to Jude. Who is this one? Not Judas Iscariot,
of course, not him, no. But there was another Jude, Judas,
in the number of the Lord's disciples. In Matthew chapter 13 and verse
55, our Lord Jesus Christ had gone back to Nazareth, where
he was brought up, in the carpenter's shop. And you know what the people,
you know he said a prophet's not accepted in his own country.
You know, they will scorn you. If you know somebody from when
he was growing up, it doesn't matter how highly elevated he
becomes, you will not have a great deal of respect for him, because
you will always remember that you knew his family ties. He
says this, the people said this about Jesus. Isn't this, you
know, his wise words had come across in the synagogue. They
say, is not this the carpenter's son? You know, he's not some
scholar from Jerusalem. Isn't this the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother called Mary? We know her. That's his mother,
Mary. And his brethren, James and Joseph
and Simon. and Judas. Simon and Judas. That's who he is. His brethren. Not his full brother. These ones,
James and Joseph and Simon and Judas, were some of the children
of Mary and Joseph. But Jesus was the human child
of Mary, not of Joseph. He was conceived of the Holy
Ghost. He was the half-brother. All
of these, all of the children of Mary and Joseph, as far as
the flesh is concerned, were the half-brothers and sisters.
of Jesus, of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is who he is. He calls himself
the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. There it
is, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas. In John chapter 14,
verse 22, we hear him asking a question of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot,
Lord, how is it? And then he asks him a question
about how the gospel's revealed only to his people and not to
the world in general. This is the one, the half-brother.
Amongst the twelve disciples, James and Judas, not Iscariot,
were the half-brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he wrote
this little epistle. So he was the half-brother of
Jesus, the brother of James, but you see what he preferred
to be called? The servant of Jesus Christ. The servant. Not family connections. You see,
if you're a servant of Jesus Christ, if you're a child of
God by His grace, If you're counted amongst the sons of God, John
1, 11-13 talks about becoming the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name. He gave them power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which
were born, not of blood, How do you become sons of God? By
birth, a new birth, not of blood, not by blood relations, not by
the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but of God.
Because you see, fleshly relations count for nothing in God's kingdom. He doesn't say, oh, I was the
half-brother, you know, I was one of the apostles, I was one
of the disciples, but I was one of the, I was with James, we
were the half-brothers of Jesus, therefore we were closer to,
no, no, he's just the servant of Jesus Christ. Fleshly relations
count for nothing in God's kingdom. There's no family favor here.
He just says this, he's a sinner, saved to serve Christ and the
cause of his kingdom. Just a sinner, saved to serve
Christ. He's one of the, what Peter calls,
2 Peter 1 and verse 21, he's one of those that wrote scripture,
because this little book is part of the scripture. Holy men of
God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. These words
that we have are the words of a man, in the style of a man,
written in the style of a man. The characteristics, if I write
something, I always like it with music, you can hear a piece of
music that you've never heard before, and if you know the music
of various composers, I can hear something and I can go, I'll
have a good guess, but I think that's Brahms, or I think that's
Beethoven, or I think that, because they just write in a particular,
their characteristics come through. So when he wrote his own characteristics
as Jude, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, they came
through. But while he was writing, while he was writing, as a set-apart
man, of God, he spoke because he was moved, he was carried
along, he was born, he was inspired, which means breathed into by
the Holy Ghost, so that the words we have, yes, they're the words
of Jude, But above all, they're the word of God. This is the
word of God to us. The word that we were considering
last week. He shows his word to Jacob. This
is part of that word. He shows his word to his people.
This is for us. This is for us to take notice
of. This is who was writing this
epistle. And to whom was it written? Look
in verse one. to them that are sanctified by
God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. It's to true believers. There
are all sorts of people who think that they're believers in the
Lord Jesus Christ, who think they're Christians, but there
are only certain ones who are true believers. Are you one of
these true believers to whom Jude was writing? They're God's
people. They're his Israel. What marks
them out? They're sanctified. by God the
Father. Sanctified. What does that mean?
Sanctified means made holy. Holy means separate, different
from everything else. They're made holy, they're made
separate, they're made different from everyone else around. How?
By the choice of God the Father. When? Before the beginning of
time. 2nd Timothy tells us, 2nd Timothy
1 verse 9, before the beginning of time. Before the world was
made. Ephesians 1 verse 4, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, just as he
chose us in him before the foundation of the world. When did he choose
his people before the foundation of the world? This is an eternal
thing. Before there was such a thing as time, in sovereign
grace, God the Father chose a people in Christ, a multitude that no
man can number. He chose them. Jesus said to
his disciples, I have chosen you, you haven't chosen me. He
makes his people willing in the day of his power. You think that
you're seeking him, you think you're seeking him and finding
him, but you know it's him that moved your soul to seek him.
By sovereign grace, not by free will. Loved, freely, unconditionally,
with an everlasting love. He says to his people, in Jeremiah,
I have loved you with an everlasting. When did God start to love his
people? God is angry with the wicked
every day, but he loved his people with an everlasting love. This
is what the scriptures say. And then, sanctified by God the
Father and preserved in Jesus Christ. They're preserved. His
people are preserved. Because how can God the Father
love that which is sinful, and vile, and corrupt, and contrary
to his law, and contrary to his... How can God the Father do that?
Only in this, that his people are preserved in Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means
they're put into Christ. They're united with him. they're
bound up with him, they're hidden within him. Just as God said
to Moses, stand here in the cleft of the rock, the crack in the
rock, the opening in the rock, that's our Lord Jesus Christ,
rock of ages, cleft for me. That's where God puts his people,
united with Christ. And in Christ, in Christ those
sinners The law of God, the justice of God, is perfectly satisfied
for every single one. Sanctified by God the Father
for preservation in the Lord Jesus Christ. He chose us in
Him before the foundation of the world. He chose us in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He put us in Christ. He united
us with Christ. Of which marriage is but a faint
picture, a faint simile. the union as it used to be where
the man and his wife were regarded in the law as a single unit. They were regarded, and so it
is, Christ and his church are regarded in the justice of God
as a single unit, preserved in Christ, counted as a component
part of him, united with him. This is the people to whom he's
writing. Do you know this? This is primary truth. Do you
know this? Sanctified, called out, elect
of God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ because God the
Father cannot, cannot, in and of himself, love and save anyone. In his essence, his spirit, God
cannot love and save any sinner from their sins. He had to become
man in the person of his son. And as a man, he had to pay and
answer everything that the law demanded for those people, specifically,
particularly. They're preserved in Christ Jesus.
And you say, well that's good. Chosen before the beginning of
time, sanctified in God the Father, preserved the law, satisfied
in God the Son, so they just carry on living their lives as
they are until they're taken to glory. No. He calls his people. How does he call them? And called. The last word of verse one, and
called. He calls them by his spirit. God the Holy Spirit,
the Comforter, whom Christ said would be sent from the Father
and the Son, He calls them by His Spirit. He gives them ears
to hear and eyes to see. The light switches on in that
darkness. The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light. Why? Because God's Spirit called
them effectually. He calls them irresistibly. They
cannot refuse it when they hear. And what does he call them to?
The experience of salvation. I know that it is well with my
soul. I know whom I have believed,
and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've
committed unto him against that day. That's the experience that
we're called into. So we're sanctified by God the
Father. We're preserved in Christ, and we're called, called by God's
Spirit into the experience of salvation. Do you know, this
same message is on every page of the scripture. I don't know
if some of you are like me, like Christine and myself, our first
experience was in Arminianism, in an Arminian gospel, in an
Arminian church setting. And, you know, I think now, how
could we ever have read the scripture and find satisfaction in Arminian
thinking? How could we ever have done it?
Because it's not there, because on every page is the sovereign
choice of God. This is the truth. This is the
message of scripture. Sovereignty. Particular redemption. This is the message of scripture.
No, there was no satisfaction in it. I was never satisfied
by it. I always used to think, well,
this is what everybody tells me I'm supposed to believe, but
quite honestly, I just don't see it. I just don't see how
me reciting a little prayer or inviting Jesus into my heart
suddenly fits me for heaven, as opposed to everybody else
who goes to hell that won't do that. I mean, it just didn't
seem right. It never, ever worked. And then
I started reading the scripture. Well, no, I didn't. No, I didn't. Do you know what happened? God
sent me a preacher. That's what he does. God sent
me a preacher. In the mid-1980s, I started to
get bags of tapes from some people that I know pretty well. And
I started to listen to Henry Mahan, and Don Faulkner, and
Maurice Montgomery, and Terry Wortham, and various others like
that. And the lights switched on. That's it. That's the true
God. That's eternal life. That is. Not the Arminianism of the free
willers, nor the legalistic Calvinism of those that think they're so
orthodox, but they're not. No, this is the gospel. This
is the good news. This is who Jude is writing to. People that have believed that
gospel by grace. By grace it is. By grace through
faith. Through faith is the instrument.
And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It's all
of sovereign grace. That's who he's talking to. Those
who have believed that gospel. Oh, you say, election is hard.
Will it keep you out of the kingdom of God? What if I'm not elect?
Will it keep you out of the kingdom of God? Don't ask that question.
Just listen to what Jesus says. He says, come unto me, all you
that labor under heavy laden, Whoever you are, if you're laboring
and heavy laden, conscious of your sin and of eternity that
you must face, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. That's the gospel. That's the
truth of it. Election never, never kept any
seeking sinner out of the kingdom of God. And then verse two. Verse two. Who is it two? Mercy
unto you and peace and love be multiplied. Mercy unto you. you who have experienced by faith
mercy." Where from? Not from Jude, it's not Jude
who's dispensing mercy. Jude's not saying, I give you
some mercy, he's not saying I send you some, no, he's saying the
mercy that God has shown unto you The peace that God has shown
unto you, the love with which God has blessed you, be multiplied
in your experience. You who have experienced by faith
mercy from God, not from Jude, as sinners justified. Have you
not experienced mercy? How can God be merciful? God
can only be merciful if his law is satisfied. As sinners justified,
you've experienced the mercy of God. You've experienced the
peace of God. What a blessing it is to know
peace with God. When you were enemies, we were
by nature, in our flesh, without the knowledge of God, children
of wrath, even as others. We were enemies of God. But He's
shown us peace. How has He shown us peace? Because
in Christ, He has reconciled us to God. Christ has reconciled
His people to God. How has He done that? He's made
peace. How has He made peace? Through
the blood of His cross. Because what was the price of
justice? What was the price that the law demanded? The soul that
sins, it shall die. Can you and I die? We can never.
God has no satisfaction in the death of the wicked. That doesn't
mean he doesn't like doing it. That means his law is not satisfied
by it. It doesn't go on long enough. Eternity is not long
enough to satisfy it. But in the Lord Jesus Christ,
he has found pleasure. He has found pleasure in him
who died. And because of that, The enmity
is taken away. And there's peace, because we're
reconciled to God. Peace be multiplied to you. Love,
love. Mercy unto you. Peace and love.
Because what is at the root of election? What is at the root
of salvation? It's the love of God. And God
commends his love to us, as Paul tells the Romans, in that while
we were yet sinners, while there was nothing, To the Holy God
there was nothing attractive or appealing about us at all.
But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So that Paul
says in Galatians 2 verse 20, the Son of God who loved me and
gave himself for me. That be multiplied in your experience. He's writing to true believers. May this salvation blessing be
multiplied to all God's people. Now what is it concerning? What
is it concerning? Beloved, when I gave all diligence
to write to you of the common salvation, it was needful for
me to write to you and exhort you that you should earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.
What is it concerning? The common salvation. This is
what I want to focus on. This is what I want to focus
your minds on. If you get nothing else, then focus on this, the
common salvation. This is what he's writing about.
What does it mean, the common salvation? You know, common means
not rare. You know, there's plenty of it.
In our everyday language, when you talk about a common bird,
you know, as common as sparrows or whatever, there's no shortage
of them. or another meaning of the word
common is rather vulgar. Does it mean either of those
things? I was thinking about this and the thought occurred
to me about those of you who can remember doing your fractions
at school. Can you remember? Going back
to doing your fractions and adding fractions and you know what you
have to look for when you're adding up different kinds of
fractions, you know, three quarters plus five sixths. Oh, what do
we need? We need to find a common denominator. We need to turn them into the
same thing, so that we're not adding quarters and sixths. So
that we're adding all the same thing. So, we look for the lowest
common denominator, because it makes the sums easier. Lowest
common denominator. And the idea of it being the
simplest. the essential, the sameness,
wherever it is found and by whomever it is believed, that's what I
believe he's talking about, the common salvation. Paul refers
to it in one of the Corinthian epistles, he talks about them,
he's worried about them that they're going to depart from
the simplicity that is in Christ, the simplicity that is in Christ. the common salvation, simplicity
that is in Christ, the essential core, that which cannot be reduced
further, that which is essential to its validity. You know, there's
certain things, it's essential to its validity. Many people
talk about salvation, but does any of what they say amount to
this common salvation of which Jude is speaking? Common means
the same for Jew or for Gentile, for rich or for poor. You know,
the rich are not saved differently from the poor, for black or for
white. There isn't a gospel for black
cultures and a gospel for white cultures, no. There are no cultural
allowances made in the gospel of God's grace. It's salvation
from condemnation is what we're talking about. That's the same
for all. There's no difference. There's no difference fundamentally
between the standing of a black person or a white person or an
old person or a young person or a male or a female before
God regarding sin and judgment. It's salvation from condemnation
that we're talking about. Absolutely, basically. This common
salvation. It's salvation from that which
the law demands and where we're found wanting. And where we're
found wanting, we're in debt to the law of God. And it's salvation
from that condemnation that comes from the law's demands not being
met. And it comes because Christ has satisfied justice for his
people. And how has he done it? Oh, lots
of people would say, yes, Christ has satisfied justice. I heard
an Anglican priest this morning on the morning service on the
radio talk about how Christ had made satisfaction for the sins
of the whole world. It's not what this book says.
absolutely fundamental. If you want to know the key element
of the common salvation, one of those key elements is this,
that Christ paid the penalty for the sins of his people. It
was not enough to save the whole world, should they choose to
believe, That is error. Listen out for it. Watch out
for it. Where you hear it, beware of it. Steer clear of it. Christ
has satisfied justice particularly for the people the Father gave
to Him. For those who were sanctified by God the Father before the
beginning of time. For those who were called by
the Holy Spirit in time. That's the people for whom He
satisfied justice. How? Sovereignly. Effectually. Effectually gets the job done.
Doesn't depend on you. Doesn't depend on me. Doesn't
depend on was my decision a good one that day and then it wanders
off somewhere else. No. Entirely based on the substitution
that is Christ. By union with him. By what he
has done. He's paid the payment for the
sin debt of his people in the only currency that works. What's
the only currency that works to pay sin debt? You know, there
are Greeks at the moment who are reeling under an economy
that is falling apart. They cannot get money out of
the machines. Their pensions are suddenly becoming
worthless. They're in a terrible, terrible condition because they
have such colossal debts as a country and they have to sign up to the
most rigorous demands of those countries that will lend them
money. Similar sort of thing. We have a sin debt which is enormous
to the justice of God. When you think, what is beyond
that door of death? It all depends on how should
a man be just with God. Can I be just? Read the article
on the back of the bulletin, article by Henry Mahan, excellent
article. I was thinking, we need something
like that, and I just opened up an email from somewhere and
there it was, that very article, perfect. It's by payment of that
sin debt in the only currency that works. What is the only
currency that can pay that sin debt? Not monopoly money, not
your good works, not your family connections, none of those things. The only currency that pays sin
debt is the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us from all sin. The blood of Jesus Christ. Why?
Because it's infinite, because he's God. Why? Because it's human,
because he became man. A body was prepared. A human
body. Human sin demands human death. The life is in the blood. He
died for his people, in the place of his people, so that the law
says, I'm satisfied. The law says be perfect or die. We couldn't be perfect. We weren't
perfect. We're sinners. So we had to die. How did we
die? We died in him. I am crucified with Christ. I
am crucified with Christ. That's it. I'm dead to the law. I'm dead to the demands of justice
because he has died and I died in him. He paid that sin debt
when he shed his precious blood. You are not redeemed with silver
and gold and precious stones, corruptible things, the currency
of man, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb,
without blemish and without spot. Christ our Passover. Every one
of those Passovers look forward to Calvary. Christ, our Passover,
is sacrificed for us. He, the Lamb of God, behold the
Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the whole world? No,
of a world full of sinners. Black, white, old, young, without
distinction of language or anything like that. And how is it done?
Why is it done like that? So that God can make his people
just with him. So that God remains a just God,
in that his law is not broken in any way, his law is upheld,
his justice is upheld, but so that he can be a just God and
yet save sinners who are put in Christ, for Christ bore the
penalty of the law, the burden of the law fell on him, Isaiah
45, 21. The same thing is echoed in Romans
3.26, so that he can be just. He's still a just God and justifier. A just God and a Savior. He's
just and the justifier of him whose faith is in Christ Jesus.
So his people are brought by the gift of faith to experience
it in the calling of the Holy Spirit, in the new birth. He
brings us to know these things. This is the lowest common denominator,
that it's complete. that the salvation that Christ
has wrought is complete. He has completely satisfied divine
justice for all his people. How far? To what extent? To the
uttermost. Hebrews 7.25. To the uttermost. He's able to save to the uttermost. He saved us completely There's
justice for all his people, justifying justice for all his people, but
for none other than the elect of God. That's who the atonement
was made for, in Christ's blood. And if your soul's trust and
confidence for eternity is hanging on that nail, You know, hang
a picture up on the wall, you bang a nail into the wall, it's
a firm place to hang it. Well, you know, the scriptures
in Isaiah, Christ is likened to a nail. Isaiah 22, verses
23 and 24, I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place. Christ and the salvation that
is in him for his people is like a rock-solid place from which
you can hang your soul, and he shall be for a glorious throne
to his Father's house, and they shall hang upon him all the glory
of his Father's house. If that's your experience, you
are saved. And we are brethren. And we are
fellow citizens of Zion. And we are serving the same master. And whatever secondary matters
of practice might cause us to differ, we're united in the common
salvation of which Jude is writing here. This is it. This is the
common salvation. All who believe this, all who
proclaim this, we're brethren with them. We're members of the
same church. There's nothing else. We'll have
different matters of local practice, but that doesn't matter. This
is the common salvation upon which we all rest our souls.
This is the nail in a sure place on which we hang our soul's hopes
for eternity. And it must be proclaimed. Look
at the end, towards the end of verse three, he says, well in
the middle, he says, I gave all diligence in line one, and then
it was needful for me to write unto you. It was, it must be
proclaimed. It must be preached. Needful. Diligence. First Corinthians
9, 16, Paul says this, for though I preach the gospel, he preaches
the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. Why? He's not proud
of himself. Why? Because it's something he's
compelled to do. For necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is me if I preach not
the gospel. It's a burden and he's just got
to preach it. And this is what we need. This
is what to pray for. Men to be raised up who are burdened
to preach the gospel, who can't do anything else. Oh, I'm thinking
what career I might go into and, you know, I'm finding it really
hard to work in a corporate situation and, oh, life's tough. I wonder
if I'd have an easier run if I became a pastor of a church.
I think I'll go to Bible college and I'll line all those things
up. You know, we've heard of it, haven't we, that sort of
thing. No, God's true servants are compelled. by the Spirit
of God. They can do nothing else. Woe
is unto me if I preach not the Gospel. But won't God save his
elect anyway? If it's all in the sovereignty
of God, won't he save his elect anyway? No. 1 Corinthians 1,
21, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those who
believe. No exceptions, no different ways. The preaching might be written
down in a book, it might be heard via an internet download, it
might be You might be there hearing it live with the preacher in
front of you, but God sends a preacher to his people. God's people don't
work it out for themselves. That's God's way. It pleased
God. It's his way of doing it. Whoever
calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And how are they
going to call on him of whom they've not heard? And how are
they going to hear without a preacher? You know, the preacher preaches,
and they come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they come
to call on him, and whoever calls, he shall be saved. Now Paul was
determined not to know anything, but Christ and him crucified.
This is the pearl of heavenly treasure in earthen vessels.
Just earthen vessels, but this is heavenly treasure. This is
the common salvation. And what is he writing to encourage
them to do? And we're not going to look at
this this week. He's writing to encourage them to earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.
To earnestly contend for it. Now listen, this is what God
is saying. This is God's Word. Holy men spoke as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit. He's saying earnestly contend
for the faith. once delivered to the Saints
for the common salvation, to oppose and confront error as
poison and defilement, whatever the cost. Oh, you'll be separated
from all sorts of people. It's poison. It's the one drop
of cyanide in the glass of pure water. When they start to move
away from that common salvation that we've thought about this
morning, there's There's a good friend on the internet, never
met face-to-face, but a very good friend on Facebook on the
internet, lives in Liverpool, and he was recounting his experience
the other day. There's a little pool of Sovereign
Grace Fellowship. he was saying about how he cannot
go to any church in Liverpool where he lives, because he just
cannot find one where the gospel is preached. So, he worships
at home, like so many do that listen to us this morning. Acquaintances
of him were writing comments on that and saying, oh but surely,
surely, you're missing out. I mean, how much do you have
to disagree before you're going to say I'm not going to meet
with them anymore? How much do you have to disagree with them?
Well, if you've moved away from the common salvation. If they've
moved away from the common salvation, If they've distorted and twisted
any part of that common salvation, you cannot have fellowship with
them. This person wrote and said, surely you can go along, even
if you don't agree with everything, and you can enjoy the Christian
experience. Without the common salvation,
there is no Christian experience at all. I don't care what it
sounds like, listen to it. Without the common salvation,
there is no Christian experience. You might as well go and join
any social club, for all the good it will do you spiritually.
So this man, this good friend, is absolutely right. And let's
pray that God will raise up preachers of the gospel, that that little
cloud, that little man's hand that the servant of Elijah saw,
which was such a portent of the rain coming, you know, like rain
like we had the other evening when I think about three inches
of rain fell in less than two hours. That was what Henry would
have called a dandy rain, that the other night. That's a dandy
rain. We want to see that as it was in the days of Elijah.
Showers of blessing coming down as God raises up preachers so
that people like this man, like the many other friends that we
have via the internet, have got people they can go and hear within
reasonable distance of where they're living. or make it possible
for them to move to where there's somebody proclaiming that gospel
of grace. So there we are then, the common
salvation. This is what Jude is writing
about. He's writing to God's people about the common salvation
and the need to earnestly contend for it. And next week, God willing,
we'll move on to look at that. Earnestly contending for the
faith once delivered to the saints.