Either Christ on Calvary covered
it all, or we have no hope at all. It's that simple. One or
the other. Open your Bibles, please, to
the little book of Jude, the last book before you get to the
Revelation. The little book of Jude. This
book is written to keep men from being guilty
of apostasy, warning men not to turn away from the faith. Jude, verse 1. Jude, the servant
of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified
or set apart by God the Father, and preserved in Christ Jesus,
or Jesus Christ, and called by the grace of the Spirit, the
grace of God. Mercy unto you in peace, and love be multiplied. Beloved,
now this is the main verse right here. When I gave all diligence
to write unto you of the common salvation, Evidently, he'd intended
to just write them about the gospel, about the grace of God,
the God of all grace. Something happened. And he said,
it was needful for me. He felt compelled by the Holy
Spirit. It was needful for me to write
into you and exhort you to earnestly contend for the faith. That was
once delivered unto the saints. Earnestly contend for the faith. That was once delivered to the
saints. And that's such strong language
in the Greek. It's like that old game the kids
used to play at school years ago. King of the hill, you get
on top of a hill and plant your feet and there ain't no one to
try to drag you down from that spot. That's what it means here.
It means you plant both feet. You set your mind, you set your
heart, you set your whole being, you won't be moved away from
this gospel of the grace of God. I earnestly contend for that
faith which was once delivered unto the saints. And the reason
you have to do this is because certain men, the cryptian unawares,
who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, Ungodly
man. Notice this little word here,
our. The grace of our God. That makes
it personal, doesn't it? Turning the grace of our God
into lasciviousness. Using the grace of God, the gospel
of the grace of God, as a reason, excuse to sin. denying the only Lord God and,
how's that, our again, our Lord Jesus Christ. John Calvin wrote
one time, said, even a dog will bark if his own master's vineyard
is being overrun. And that's what I see here. It's
our Lord. Our Master. Our Savior. Earnestly contend for His truth. If you lose the truth, you lose
the Savior. And then he puts and gives them
several examples here of different parties that have known the truth,
been identified with the truth, and departed from the truth.
They lost their souls. They perished in their sins.
I want to talk to you a little bit about apostasy. Apostasy. Daniel Webster Webster's Dictionary
says it's the desertion of one's faith, religion, party, or principles. Desertion of one's faith, religion,
party, or principles. International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia says this. It's a standing away from, no
longer identified with. It's a falling away. The Bible
uses that term, falling away. And it's a withdrawal from the
truth, faith. It is quite simply a defection. They defected. They turned away
from God's truth. It seems to me, and I don't know much about it, but
it seems to me that it must be the worst sin in all the world to apostatize. An apostate is one who has heard
the truth of God, turned away from it, in his heart. He has professed
to believe, love the truth of God, turned away from it. He heard the truth. He was identified for some time,
for some while, he was identified with the truth, the church, the
pillar and ground of the truth, holding the faith of God's elect. And he has withdrawn or turned
away. But we don't want to ever think
of apostasy. Sometimes this comes to mind
and sometimes it's true. But apostasy is not necessarily
giving up or departing from religion. It is most often a perversion
of religion. It's departing from the truth,
the faith of God's elect. Still in religion. Knee deep. Waist deep in religion. up to
their eyeballs in religion. But they're still apostates.
The actual Greek word is only used twice in the New Testament,
and in neither case does it mean departure from religion. It means
a perversion of religion. They said Paul was leading men
into apostasy, the Jews. And their way of thinking he
was, because he was leading them away the truth as they knew it,
but it was false. He was leading them to worship
God according to the way their fathers worshipped God. To the Jews, it simply meant
that he was trying to convince folks to apostatize. And he told them on one occasion
publicly, He said, in the manner that they call heresy, so worship
I the God of my fathers. As far as they were concerned,
he was leading the Jewish people in the heresy. But he was doing what Peter commanded
of the people on the day of Pentecost. He cried out above that big crowd. He never said, save this religious
world. He never said, try to change
this religious world. He said, save yourselves from
this perverted, backward, upside-down religious world. That's what Paul was trying to
do all the days of his life. That's what he did in Acts chapter
17. You've got all these inscriptions
here to all these gods. Let me tell you about the one
you don't know. The unknown God. You've got a
plaque there. Let me tell you about it. The
real God. The true God. The only God. You
don't even know Him. Look at 2 Thessalonians, just
a moment. 2 Thessalonians 2. Verse 3. Let no man deceive you by any
means. For that day shall not come except
there come a falling away, falling away defection first. And the man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition. who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is worshipped, so that he asketh God, sitteth
in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was
with you I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth. that he might be revealed in
his time, the Holy Ghost is withholding this man of sin, this great apostasy. It's not any worse than it is
because the Holy Ghost is restraining. For the mystery of iniquity does
already work, only he who now restrains or hinders will do
so until he's taken out of the way and just God stands back
and says, let him go, leave him alone. And then shall that wicked one
be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose
working is after the working of Satan, with all power and
signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness and unrighteousness
in them that perish, because they received not the love of
the truth, that they might be saved. apostasy, turning away from the
truth. They heard the truth. They were
with those who preached the truth and loved the truth, but they
didn't love it. And for this cause, God shall
send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie. You
ever hear anybody on TV say, God, try and save everybody?
It says, you've got to send these folks strong delusions. Those
who don't love his truth, send them strong delusions. Let them
really believe it, and believe it all the way to hell. Justice. Judgment. Horrible. That they might be damned who
believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.
My boy, we're bound to give thanks unto God always for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord. Because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation. You'd be right there amongst
them. You'd be right there with them.
You wouldn't have loved the truth either. You'd be apostates too. Thanks be unto God, He chose
you and called you and snatched you out of the flames of hell
and brought you into the kingdom of His dear Son. This falling away here is not
out of religion, but it's falling away from the love of the truth.
They didn't love the truth. Standing before the light and
truth of God, they gave their hearts to signs and wonders All
of these say rather than the truth. Men must be very careful if they
move on their feelings rather than the truth. This book is
able to make one wise unto salvation. Not my feelings. Feelings come
and feelings go. They're always changing. The
only thing worth believing is this book. That's a solid foundation. If we can come to love the truth
of this book, standing before God, before the light, before
the truth, giving their hearts to the signs and wonders and
all these deceiving things. And they were deceived. And God
sent them strong delusions. Let them alone. I'm reminded
again of the things spoken in Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
You turned your back on me, and I'm going to show you nothing
but my back. Jeremiah, don't pray for them
anymore. They've sinned so much, so long,
so grievously that there is no longer any remedy. They're on
their way to hell. Just one heartbeat away. And I read two or three times
in the Old Testament, more than that, where people, they didn't
want to believe the truth, they didn't want to hear God's truth,
they wanted to hear lies, smooth things. God sent a blind spirit. Boy, it's a serious thing. Serious
thing. Worship God. Look at 1 Timothy 4. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter days some
shall depart from the faith. That's apostasy. But they never
departed from religion. They just added to it their own
works and gave up the works of Christ. giving heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared
with a hot iron. and just kept lying to themselves
until they were not only deceiving but being deceived. How awful. Look at these things. Forbidding
to marry. That used to be a cardinal doctrine
of Catholicism, Roman Catholicism. We say, well, it's just the way
they believe. God said, it's the doctrine of devils. The doctrine
of devils! Don't you call it any less? Telling people what to eat on
what day? Doctrine of devils. Apostasy. Some shall depart from the faith
giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils that
God sent them because they received not the love of the truth. But in the context in these places
where I've looked, this is an increase in religion, not departing
from religion, adding to it their own works, giving up faith in
Christ alone, by the grace of God alone. This is what I'm trying to say. You can't depart from Madisonville
unless you've been here. But you can depart from Madisonville
in your heart and still be here. It can become to you a place
you don't like. You talk about it. You talk it down. You run
it down. Everything about it. You don't love Madisonville.
That's what I'm trying to say. One of the sad, sad things about
this is when you think about apostasy, apostate churches and
people and nations, one of the sad things about it is that a
man may, sweet little boys and girls, grow up in an apostate
church and never know it, and never know it until it's too
late. If God saved you from an apostate
church, be thankful. Men may grow up, men and women,
boys and girls may grow up in an apostate church, never heard
the true gospel one time in their lives, never known that faith
which was once delivered unto the saints of God. They speak of this faith and
that faith, and it's only one faith. Paul said, if any man, even an
angel from heaven, come preaching any other gospel unto you than
that which I preach to you, he's under the curse of God. He's
lying. Galatians 1, 6-9. This is pitiful. But it's inexcusable. Because everybody in America
has got one or two or three or four of these. And that's a book of truth. Light
in a dark place. Tells the truth about God. Tells
the truth about me. Tells the truth about Christ
and salvation. The great things God has done
for sinners in the Lord Jesus. Pitiful, but inexcusable. Look how Jude opens and closes
this little epistle. It's amazing. He brings together
in this epistle in the strongest way divine sovereignty and human
responsibility. He lets us know in the strongest
terms that if you've ever been saved by the grace of God, God
will keep you, take you home. He'll preserve you, and he'll
glorify you in his own time. It says in verse 1, it's set
apart, chosen in Christ by the Father before the foundation
of the world. Jude chapter 1, verse 1. And then it says they're preserved in
Christ Jesus. Preserved. Preserved. Boy, that sounds good. Gives me a feeling of security.
I can't keep myself, but if Christ Jesus, if I'm preserved in Him,
everything's alright. And then it said called. I know
something about that. What it is to be called by the
Spirit of God, convinced and convicted of sin and guilt and
hell. Afraid to live and afraid to
die. The Holy Spirit showed you who you are and what you are. And then seeing the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Holy Spirit taking the things
of Christ and showed them to me. I remember the passage of scripture
that I was thinking about. That brought me the first peace
I'd ever had as far as peace with God is concerned. Jesus
Christ over our sins, my sins, in his own body on that tree. That's it. That's it. That's it. An old sinner ought
to find peace there. A boy sins in his own body on
a tree. God's people are saved. They
are going to continue to be saved. John chapter 17, verse 11, Holy
Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given
me. And his prayers were always answered.
They are kept. They are kept. John chapter 17, verse 17, Father
sanctify them through thy truth. Your word is truth. They're in the world but not
of the world. Sanctify and keep them through your truth. And
your word is truth. So on 1724, I will that they
also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. And I repeat his prayers were
always heard and always answered. And those standing there beside
him that dark night, they must have rejoiced in those words. Here we see the precious safety
and security of the elect of God. not based upon our faithfulness,
not based upon our power to keep ourselves or preserve ourselves.
But we're set apart in Christ before the foundations of the
world, preserved in Christ and called by the Spirit of God to
Christ. And now we're in Christ. And based upon the faithfulness
and the power of God, they shall never perish. Never perish. And yet it said, earnestly, contend
for that faith which was once delivered to the saints of God.
If you don't, you'll be like these examples here, who started
out well and ended up bad. This is the Father's will which
hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose
nothing but raise him up at the last day. Our security is in
Christ, the will of the Father and the will of the Son, the
power of God. Thou art the triune God, and
ye are earnest to contend for that faith which was once delivered
to the saints of God. And if you are a child of God,
you will. You will. I had an interesting article
a week or two ago in a bulletin with Brother Don Fortner. And
in this one chapter, the Old Testament, the book of Isaiah,
God had sworn that He shall save His people. Then it goes on down to the other
end and it says, and you're going to give me no rest until I do
it. Divine sovereignty. Human responsibility. Same thing in Ezekiel 37. I called
Don and talked to him about that. Same thing in Ezekiel 37. God
goes through that new covenant and says, this is a new covenant.
This is a covenant I'll make with the children of Israel after
those days. I will, they shall. I will, they
shall. Down through there several times.
And then it says in the last verse down there near the end
of the chapter, everything that I've said I'm going to do, you're
going to ask me for it. And they will. They're going to ask Him for
it. The Bible says here in this book, He's able to keep them
from falling and to present them, where is that now? Verse 24,
unto Him who's able to keep you from falling, to present you
faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Who's able to keep us from falling?
Christ. Who's going to keep us from falling? Christ. with all
the power of the thrice-holy God, the omnipotence of God,
He'll keep us from falling. The Bible says, kept by the power
of God through faith under salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
day. We have an inheritance, incorruptible,
undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who
are kept by the power of God through faith. God's parable,
boy, is my faith. It's my faith. And we must be
like the Apostle Paul and say, I've kept the faith. I fought
a good fight. Therefore there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, and not for me only, but all
those who love his appearing. Yet the faith must not only have
faith to be justified before God, to stand before God, But
we must walk before God in faith, and we must die believing God. Die in faith. Earnestly contend for this faith
here. This is the body of truth, the
gospel. With our faith God has given
us, we earnestly contend for that faith which was once delivered
unto the saints of God, that gospel of the grace and glory
of God. He is able to keep us. It is
the Father's will that He raise us up. Every true believer shall
be saved with an everlasting salvation, preserved in Christ
Jesus, or better, for Christ Jesus. Verse 3 here in this little chapter
of Jude. But if a man gives up the truth, turns away from the truth, stands
away from the truth, no longer identifies with the truth, no
love for the truth. He cannot be saved. Jude said,
I had intended to write you about the sovereign grace of God in
Christ. Just rejoice your hearts. But
he said, I was compelled by the Holy Ghost. write and exhort
you that you should earnestly contend for that faith which
was once delivered to the saints of God. Warn them to earnestly contend
for the faith. No man can be saved apart from
this faith, whatever it is, this truth, whatever it is, this
body of truth. Earnestly contend means, as I
said before, to plant your feet solidly upon a parcel of ground
and let no one take it from you. Let no one move you from it.
Stand there. Stand your ground. Earnestly
contend. And verse 4, the danger is due
to wolves who come to you in sheep's clothing. They come in
unawares. You didn't notice them when they
came in. They're so sweet. They got everything figured out.
Pretty soon they start telling you about what they know. They creep in with bad doctrines. Pretty soon you find out they
have a bad attitude. Pretty soon you find out that
leads to bad practices. It all goes together. You got a bad doctrine, you're
gone. They creep in with their bad
doctrines. They pervert God's grace and
deny God's Son. Virtually deny God's Son. Talking
about Him all the time, but denying Him in the power and the glory
of who He is. What is this all my time? What is this faith which exalts
God's Son and magnifies His grace? What is it that we must earnestly
contend for? Well, I'll tell you this, and
I'll make no hesitation about it. If you don't believe in the
total depravity of man, you don't know it. Man's either dead or he's not,
and God said he is. Man's either totally disabled
and without strength in spiritual things, or he's not. And God
said he is. And I found by experience that
he is. And so part of this faith, the very foundation of this faith,
is understanding, coming to understand that we're in debt up to our
ears and have nothing to pay. God requires so much and we have
nothing to give. God requires absolute perfection,
perfect obedience to His law, not only on the outside, but
from the heart. And the only one who ever did
it was our substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why all
my trust is in Him. And I'll tell you this too, and
I have no reluctance about this. If a man hadn't come to understand
the disability, his own disability, inability, damages to spiritual
things, then he's an apostate, or perhaps never heard the truth,
perhaps just in an apostate church. But the second thing is God's
election of grace. There is in this Bible over,
I think, 51 times in the New Testament a word, and that word
is elect or election. And it's put there for some reason.
Everybody claims to believe there's a new birth, and it's only in
that one time you must be born again. Talks about it in other
places too, but you must be born again, it's only in the Bible
one time. And yet it talks about election 51 times. And it says
in Matthew 24, 24, the powers of Satan and lies of Antichrist
and deception be so great that if it were possible to see the
very elect of God. Very elect of God. And that election we believe
in must be unconditional. If it's not, then we believe
there's something good in us, something good about us. We're
not dead after all. And then to follow this on out,
the sufficient and effectual atonement of Jesus Christ. He gave his life a ransom for
many, and of those many, The Bible says He obtained for them
eternal redemption. They're redeemed. Now, it doesn't
seem right that they would go to hell if they're already redeemed.
Christ paid the ransom. Christ paid the price. Christ
suffered their hell. And you're right, it's not right.
They won't. God is just. He cannot forgive the guilty,
and He cannot punish the innocent. And we're made innocent in Christ,
by Christ, and for Christ. all his work, all his plan, invincible saving grace. Everybody should believe that.
It shouldn't be hard. You know, in my experience growing
up, going to church, hearing preachers, and my response, the
desires of my heart was to stay away from them, not to hear them. I felt kind of condemned, convicted,
being in their presence. I'd just stay away from them
if I could. But God overcame all that, and then I started
looking for them. Seeking them out. Hearing them
on purpose. Asking them questions. And pouring
out my heart unto God, Lord, open my eyes. Give me eyes to
see. and the perseverance of the saints
of God. We've seen that. 1 Corinthians 1.18, those who have
been saved are being saved and they won't be plumb saved till
it's over. And time shall be no more. In verses 20 and 21,
I want to make a few comments on this, just a few. Building up yourselves. When
Bruce Kibbenow was here, he used to mention this a lot of times
in his prayers. Lord, build us up in the most
holy faith. But we build up ourselves also
in the most holy faith. Building up yourselves. Praying
in the Holy Ghost. Keep yourselves in the love of
God. Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life. We do those things, and it's
not optional. We do them, but we want to do
them. God works in us both the will and to do of his good pleasure. Building up yourselves in your
most holy faith. And all of these things mentioned
here, building up, praying, keeping, looking, all of this has to do
with the Word of God. There's no building up your faith
apart from this book. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God. There's no praying under God
acceptably, except according to the words of this book, the
will of God, the Word of God, and God as He is. Faith can only be strengthened
and increased through the truth. And we can't do it for ourselves,
but we must. And the way we do it is to say,
Lord, increase our faith and read this book and hear this
book. And all our trust is in Him. All our trust is in Him. Keep yourselves in the love of
God is impossible apart from obedience to the Word of God
and the will of God. Impossible. But we must do it. 1 John 2, 5, 5, 3. Impossible
apart from obedience. Looking unto Christ according
to His promise. Keeping our eyes upon Him. Trusting
in Him. And if we've ever seen ourselves,
we will. We will. We might stray off a
gaze and a glance someplace, but we'll be right back to Christ.
God will see to it. God will see to it. We need to
remember these three things, I'll say in closing. Number one,
God's judgments against unbelief and rebellion and perversion
of the truth. It shall come. And that there are certain men
crept in on the world whose business is to pervert the truth. And
God will take care of them, too, in His own time. He will judge
them when He comes, and He will save His people. Down to Him that is able to keep you from
falling. to present you faultless before His presence and before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. The only wise
God, our Savior, be glory and majesty and dominion and power
now and forevermore. Amen. May God bless these words
to our hearts. Be His glory and our good.