November 20, 2024
Passage Read: 3 John 1 - Jude 1
Meditation Verse: Jude 1:3-4
Thought
Jude urges the believers to fight diligently for the faith, the gospel that once for all was handed down to us by the Apostles. Why do we need to fight for it? Because there are certain men who have crept in unnoticed, who have been marked for destruction from the foundation of the world, just as we who believe were chosen for salvation from the beginning of the world. There is no hope for these men; God will not grant them repentance. There are several things that reveal these men: They turn God's grace into justification for sinful living, and they deny Jesus as Lord and Master. They apparently do not deny salvation and God's love, but they deny that God has called us to live orderly lives, submitted to the instruction of the Word of God. Later, Jude also tells us that they are grumblers and faultfinders and flatterers, who do so to gain a following. They do not crucify their flesh, but teach that we have freedom in Christ to do whatever we desire to do.
Application
As much as I hope for the repentance of all apparent believers, especially those who struggle with sin, it is not true that all will repent. There are some who have no intention of changing, and cannot because God has rejected them. Even though they seem to like God and the forgiveness part of the Gospel, they reject the repentance side of the Gospel. Instead, they are compelled to argue against repentance and conformity to God's ways. They must argue that grace allows us to live in whatever way we feel compelled to do. "If I'm a homosexual, God made me that way and wants me to live without guilt for being who God created me to be." "God made me to enjoy all the wonders of this life, so I should live to experience all I can of it in the few days that I have here." The Gospel is under attack, and in many circles, it has already been completely overthrown. But there are still wicked deceivers and people who creep into other fellowships; no church is safe. The grumblers, the faultfinders, those who flatter the vulnerable and look with contempt on the wise, those who make excuses for their sin; I need to watch for these people, correct and rebuke them. And if they will not repent, I can with a clear conscience drive them out of the fellowship. They are dangerous and likely without hope of repentance.