Continually Be Vigilant

Today’s message is a reminder to the church to be vigilant, to keep strong in the faith, and to oppose heresy.  Let’s go ahead and dive into our Word, we start off in Jude 1:5-7:

^5” So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful. ⁶ And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. ⁷ And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.”

Some in the church believe that once you’re a Christian, you can live as you please and these people have led many astray in their deception.  People think that God is so loving and that makes Him overly lenient with sin. God is not messing around.  When He says He wants us to accept His son for our sins and follow Him, He is serious, no exceptions for sin or lack of obedience.  That is why He says in His Word, “Many are called, but only a few are chosen.”  He wants those who are willing to love and obey Him only.

In Jude verse 5 we are given 3 examples of what God does to disobedience.  Can you imagine that there are angels who disobeyed and went outside their authority and for that they are chained in prison of darkness and what about Sodom and Gomorrah?  The whole city was destroyed because it was filled with all sorts of sexual immorality and sexual perversion.  Well, 2019 has become a time of complete disobedience, sexual immorality, and sexual perversion through Hollywood, TV, Internet, Apps, smartphones, political agendas, and false teachers.  Our world is plagued with deceit from the devil.  You can completely see it in the mindless humans running about.  Jude goes on to say this, “Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.”  What she is saying is that without God, people are like animals because an animal lives off instinct, it does what it thinks it should do instinctively and so a person without God in their lives will have no real meaning or purpose let alone any sure path to follow.  This is the way the world would like us to go, everyone is doing it, and everyone is going this way.  I mean come on do you really want to stand alone?  It says in Matthew 7:13-14:

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Jude is pleading with us, showing us that nothing is different under the sun.  In the past, present, or future it all will be the same our salvation, God’s expectations for His children, as well as the wrath He will hand out for our disobedience and apostasy.  This world has become a place where God is not welcome, where cults and false religions get more exposure than Christianity, where the murder of babies and changing your gender is normal.  This nation is sliding down a slope headed for Hell.  So yes Christians govern yourself, read your Word, do what you can for the Lord, surround yourselves with like-minded, ministry-minded Christians otherwise you will soon find yourself sliding down that same slope without even knowing until one day it’s too late. 

If we look in Romans 12:2 2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

We are Christians, God’s chosen people, and we have a duty to fight for God’s truth and stand up for righteousness.  We are called to remain faithful and speak the truth.  Now especially in these last days, there are millions upon millions of people without the spirit of God that are just doing and surviving on their own instincts.  Meaning if they don’t have the Spirit of God, they are doing what they want unaware of any evil or wrongdoing.  In God’s eyes, these people are dangerous to be around, especially if you are not rooted in your faith because their sin can contaminate you and pull you down.  Too many people let their pride stand in the way, thinking they can actually battle the evil and by befriending the world that they will be okay. 

This is how it happens as Jude warns, he says to not get involved with these people because they will start to rub off on you and you will become complacent to the apostasies and heresies that will be standing before you and before you know it, you will be walking in the lukewarm waters of this carnal worldly Christianity that is only here to water down the truth and eventually separate us from God.  God does not tolerate disobedience, sin, apostasy, or any form of heresy.  We must remember that the world is driven by the evils of the devil, so if you are in the world or are enjoying its sinfulness, you are not a Christian.  If you don’t believe me then it’s clear you don’t read your Bible because God and Jesus have plenty to say about the world and who loves it.  I’ll give you a place to start 1 John 3:4-10:

4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. 7 “Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.”

These are not my words, they are our heavenly Fathers and if we look at 1 John 2:15-17:

15 “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

So from the thoughts of Jude to the writings of John, we see that sin, apostasy, and heresy all have grave consequences.  We need to heed the warning now for this is no joking matter, Jesus loves us all and is giving ample time for us to turn from our wicked ways and repent, believe, and obey Him before your time is up.  I can assure you of this; one day the door to our lives will close and will not open up again and we will be kneeling before our God who will rightly judge us and I am here to tell you, you will want Jesus to stand on your side because if He is not, it’s eternal damnation and that is not something you want.  So please take the warnings seriously and start to prepare yourself by reading God’s Word and understanding what it is that He wants you to do, deny your flesh, and live a righteous meaningful life for this will bring joy to our wonderful and mighty God.