Let the Shepherd Lead

Originally Proclaimed: 04/26/20

Intro:

• One of the most interesting game shows that has appeared in the past few years takes the concept of a singing contest and breathes into it new life by simply putting a mask on the participants.
• By putting on a mask in the show, these famous people attempt to show their skill without the mask of their fame.
  • But do not mistake it, they all are really proud of their skills.
  • And sometimes they take offense when the judges don’t think their performance displayed those skills.
• A huge part of the fun is hearing the hosts guess who the singer actually is under the mask, and to guess ourselves as the audience.
• The performer with the least votes each week unmasks to the audiences’ delight.

Hook:

• But, Life is not a fun gameshow like The Masked Singer.
  • Right now, with COVID, many of us wear the masks over our face attempting to protect ourselves from germs.
  • But Spiritually, we put on masks to protect us from hard and difficult truths.
  • Sometimes we put on masks because we can’t believe that our Identity can be changed.
  • We wear masks called… (Drawn from Murray, Reset, 107-109)
    • Andrew the Adulterer constantly beating ourselves up after a moral failure like porn or worse.
    • Or we wear the mask of Fred the Failure never recovering after our business or church ministry failed.
    • We might wear the mask of Simon the Strong, driven and successful where illness is for weak people.
    • Or perhaps we wear Peter the perfectionist who cannot ever be satisfied with his or anyone else’s work.
    • Sometimes our mask is called Seth the Secure, because we have all the financial resources, supplies and firearms to make sure we will outlast any pandemic or apocalypse.
    • We might wear Sally the Sinner who cannot see grace but can always point out every sin and the worst case scenario.
    • We might wear the mask called George Good Works, who has more than enough good works for everyone to know he is a good person.
    • We even might put on the mask called Charlie Complacency who just can’t care less or the polite southern mask named Frances “I’m Fine, thank you”.
    • All our masks are a form of pride because they try to hide how needy we really are.
• But just as in the show when we take off our masks and express faith in Jesus Christ it delights our Audience of One.
  • Our faith unmasks us all, and Christ is never more happy that we come to him failures, frailties, and fault openly displayed.
  • We cannot pretend to do anything to earn our salvation or we will have no salvation in Christ.
  • But we are real, authentic, and genuine with our spiritual need; then we will not find real, genuine grace through faith.
• So today as we look at the next two verses in Jude’s epistle we will see two major encouragements to help us realize how we might mask ourselves and the masks we might tolerate in our church.

Message Points:

• As we pick up with Jude, remember he is writing to the church and he wants to make sure they know there are some problems, but that God’s mercy peace and love are available to them.
  • Also remember how much Jude loves to give us his ideas in threes.
  • SO for each encouragement he actually makes the point with three ideas to help us understand what he means.
• We begin in verse three with the introduction “Dear Friends” in the NIV, but a more literal translation of the original is the word Beloved.
  • Only here and in 3 John 2 do we see “beloved” as the introductory word for a letter’s body (Hiebert,216).
  • As confrontation as Jude’s message will be, he does not want his readers to mistake that the great love that he and the Lord have for this people.
  • In fact, the hard words he will speak are “grounded in the reality of God’s love and redemptive purpose for them (Hiebert, 216).
  • With Beloved being a principle form of address for the church, and with the commonplace usage of beloved in ancient Roman family correspondence, we cannot doubt that Jude had a personal compassion and care for his audience (Green, 52).
  • As a Christian people, we should always allow our love for others to motivate and precede any difficult counsel we share with others.
• This leads us to consider our first major encouragement. Jude writes to an unmasked, yet beloved people.
  • We see this encouragement in three of Jude’s further statements in verse 3.
  • Notice with me that he says he was “very eager to write about the salvation we share”.
    • Sometimes this is translated as “our common salvation”.
    • Commentator Green offers a unique perspective that this phrase should be understood as well-being, safety or security. (54)
      • Thus he translates it as “our common security”
      • He does not deny that it most certainly has in mind God’s gracious redemptive action and offer to humanity.
      • But Green makes the point that in the Roman world the phrase was one used by the government.
      • It would be similar to the way we refer to “national security”.
      • So for Jude he adapts the phrase to stand for “our common spiritual security” or the more common phrase assurance.
    • So, we should note that we are loved enough to be assured.
    • This is an important insight, because in an age like that of Jude; how important and critical must our assurance of the faith be?
      • How often do we have people seek to undermine our faith, with intellectual and innocuous seeming pronouncement?
      • During the Easter season Caroline and I watched a documentary about Jesus’ life.
      • Of course one of the scholars was the New Testament expert Bart Ehrman, professor at UNC.
      • Ehrman is one of the self professed “post -Christians” or the “deconverted”. https://ehrmanblog.org/tag/deconversion/
      • So when we listen to him speak, he can sound like a Christian, and he can even offer keen biblical insights.
      • But in the end, the majority of Ehrman’s work comes as a veiled attack on ordinary, believing Christianity.
    • As we face such attacks, we cannot wear a mask of biblical expertise because experts like Ehrman will out expert us.
      • But we do desperately need assurance.
      • Biblical leaders, following our Savior will seek to love us enough to offer us reasonable answer to our doubts and questions.
      • We might be unmasked, but  leaders who offer assurance teaches us that we are loved.
      • So Jude had intended on writing to us about that very thing, until something even more dangerous prevented him from doing that.
  • So we should notice next that Jude “feels compelled to write and urge”.
    • Remember, this people that Jude writes to likely was the audience of his late brother James.
      • After the persecution intensified, and they split into smaller congregations spread out, they would have likely lacked strong leaders.
      • In fact Jude’s desire to write in the first place to them may stem from his desire to help “fill in the gap” for them.
      • The word compelled is so strong that it ordinary refers to someone receiving orders from a superior which demands their own action (Green, 55).
      • From his own Master and Lord, Jude received the call to change the purpose of his writing and help this people face an even greater challenge.
    • But this is not like being forced to do something by a distant and removed leader.
      • It is not like the story of a principal who made a playground rule that children could not run on the playground.
      • As his teacher reminded him of this a little boy exclaimed,
      • “Our principal is so stupid!”
      • A girl from another class said: “Don’t you know who I am?”
      • Boy: “No?”
      • Girl: “I’m the principals daughter”.
      • To which the boy replied: “Do you know who I am?”
      • Girl: “No.”
      • Boy: “Good.” *walks away quickly*
    • This word, “compelled” is paired with the word “urge”.
      • Urge is a word in the original language that could be translated as comfort or encourage.
      • It is the word utilized to give us the New Testament name for the Holy Spirit the “comforter”.
      • In other words to urge literally means to come alongside and to work with the people to deal with a situation.
    • So we should note that we are loved enough for someone to come alongside.
      • That word tells us that while Jude felt a sense of duty, he did not offer ridiculous rules.
      • He explained himself, he persuaded, and he got into the trenches with these believers.
      • When someone is willing to suffer with us and to fight alongside of us, it is difficult to wear a mask with them and impossible not to know that we are loved.
  • So finally we should note what Jude encourages us to do. The last part of verse 3 says, “to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people”
    • That word contend is one that is used of ancient sporting events and refers to agonizing effort. It is used in connection to contests like wrestling matches (Hiebert,  218).
    • The same term could also be used in connection with warfare and in this situation it is war with those who have a far different Christianity that they practice (Green, 56).
    • Which lead us to consider the faith for which Jude asks us to contend.
      • It is “once for all” meaning that it is the final and supreme faith that this world has to offer.
        • Every other faith offers some sort of salvation if we work hard enough or believe enough.
        • But Christianity offers a faith where all we must do is receive in our hearts and lives the work Christ has done for us.
          • We simply trust and receive eternal life.
          • This trust will naturally involve works, but the works do not save us.
          • Jesus’ finished work is what saves us.
      • It is “entrusted to God’s holy people”.
      • The idea of entrusted does not refer to our acceptance of the faith, but the truths of the gospel that we have received (Hiebert , 221)
        • The truths of the faith are objective and declared to us by God.
        • In the ancient world traditions handed down would have been revered, while the new and the novel would have been seen with suspicion (Green, 57).
        • This faith tells us there is one way for us to be saved, sanctified, and glorified and this is through trusting Jesus Christ.
        • Any mask we wear that attempts to obscure that central truth, that we can live now and eternally only by trusting Jesus must be removed.
        • To be saved and transformed by Jesus
          • We are not too bad.
          • We have not failed too much.
          • We cannot be perfect enough, strong enough nor can we work enough.
          • It does not matter how pessimistic or optimistic we are.
          • It does not matter how complacent, critical , or polite we have been.
          • What does matter is that we personally receive the work of Jesus on our behalf and trust in it alone.
        • None of the masks we wear in life can keep us from Jesus so long as we are willing to take them off and receive Jesus.
        • This is real love that we have experienced, when our Savior is willing to love us in all our unmasked frailty.
        • That kind of love should motivate us to treasure the faith and to ensure that no one takes that faith away from us.
    • So we should note, we are loved enough receive an eternally secure Savior.
      • So before we move onto Jude’s next encouragement, let me ask us, what masks have we been wearing?
      • Have we been trying to mask our doubts or questions about our faith? Jesus has called our spiritual leaders to assure us.
      • Have we tried to mask our need for help or our mistrust of authority? Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and our spiritual leaders to come alongside of us.
      • Have we tried to mask our disbelief that Jesus’ work is enough to save us? Jesus himself delivered and entrusted to us a secure, eternal faith.
        • In him every promise made in Scripture was fulfilled.
        • And in him God accepted the payment for our sin debt signified when Jesus rose from the grave.
      • Friends, we contend for our faith when we take off our masks believing and trusting that we are a beloved people.
• Which leads us to verse four. Here Jude writes a warning about those who remain masked.
  • Note with me the phrase “have secretly slipped in among you” in verse four.
    • This reference is one that makes clear that these masks are not for fun and games.
    • These masks are “subtle and crafty intrusion into the churches by men who have no right to be there because they lack the characteristics of true believers” (Heibert, 222).
    • Jude uses this term in order to imply the need to unmask those who feign friendship and offer flatter while never genuinely sharing in the congregation’s faith (Green, 57).
    • By not offering names, but using the more general term “certain men” Jude makes it clear that this problem will be a perennial one for churches.
      • We have a spiritual responsibility as a church family to do all that we can to make it unthinkable to wear a mask.
      • With openness about our own struggles and confidence in Christ’s ability to transform and save us; church should be a safe place to unmask and be vulnerable.
      • Heaven forbid we become a place where we gossip, slander, ostracize, or hate people who have admitted their failings and need for a Savior.
      • As pastors and deacons, it is even more important for us to contend against people wearing masks in our congregation.
      • As people seek to join the church we should be willing to ask at least four simple questions about their decision, that will help them remove any mask they are wearing.
      • When someone seeks to join the church I ordinarily ask them four simple questions:
        • Why do seek to repent of your sinful ways?
        • Why do you seek to trust in Jesus alone for salvation?
        • Why do you want to serve Christ as a part of this family of faith?
        • Why do you share Christ with others?
      • We also can ask those we care for in our Sunday School classes and our pastoral care lists a few helpful questions that will help them remove any masks.
        • How can I help you take your next step to follow Christ?
        • What burden or struggle can I help you bear?
        • How can I pray for you today?
    • Whether it is due to pride, confusion, or due to some more sinister desire to pursue sin openly, publicly, and injuriously; those who wear masks in the congregation should be challenged to remove them.
  • Yet we may ask, how do we know someone is wearing a mask? Jude offers three hints.
    • First notice that Jude says in verse four that masks hide a dismissiveness or disregard for judgment.
      • He says that people who wear masks have been foretold or promised condemnation long ago.
      • From the very beginning of Scripture God has promised that those who disobey him will face an eternal Hell.
      • The Scriptures are like an official decree or boundary that makes plain when someone has transgressed God’s boundary.
      • At the beach there are signs posted that say do not swim near the pier.
        • Everyone can clearly see when someone has crossed too near the pier. They can see the large read or yellow signs.
        • There is a lifeguard on the beach watching and whistling when someone gets too close.
        • And yet still there are people who go to the beach and swim too close to the pier.
      • Jude warns us that when members aof our church totally dismiss or disregard judgement they are wearing a dangerous mask.
    • Next Jude tells us that masks hide twisted and selfish beliefs.
      • Notice that Jude uses the phrase “they are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.”
      • The word pervert is a word that indicates that even though these people sounded like believers,  “in daily conduct were altering the intended impact of that grace” (Heibert, 225).
      • These people would twist Scripture to say that it gave them license to sin.
      • In fact they were not ashamed of their conduct, and perhaps even amused by how their “freedom” shocking public decency.
      • Similarly the phrase “license for immorality” should be simply understood as freedom to pursue lust.
      • It did not matter what lust these people wanted to satisfy, since Jesus paid for all sin, they could as they pleased.
      • Friends when we hear people twist Scripture like the self-proclaimed Holy Ghost bartender, the pastor who was arrested in Florida for holding services during this crisis to lead people to experience uncontrollable laughter.
      • When members cannot be corrected, when they seek to argue about every point of Scripture so they will not have to change; we can be sure they are wearing a dangerous mask.
    • And finally, Jude warns us that masks hide a different Master and Lord.
      • This point follows directly from the last one, but is made in a very important fashion.
      • We see that Jude uses two distinct words for God.
        • One is Master
          • Master is a stronger, older term used in the Greek OT as God’s divine title over Israel.
          • It was most commonly used in reference to slavery as one who had both a legal right and control to command another person.
          • So Master emphasized the fact that once we become Christians we do not live to serve ourselves but Christ.
        • The other is Lord.
          • This term is one that was commonly used as Greek OT’s translation of God’s name Yahweh.
          • In Roman times it was understood as the most exalted title and claim for the Emperor, especially as he was worshipped as a deity.
          • This theological title Lord emphasizes the singular devotion and worship we offer to Christ.
      • Yet Jude says these people “deny Jesus Chrit our only Sovereign and Lord.”
      • Friends, any attempt to deemphasize Jesus, to try to shift our worship and devotion away from total commitment to him is a dangerous mask that some church members or potential members might wear.
  • So let me ask you church family, what masks are we willing to tolerate?
    • May it never be that we tolerate masks that…
      • Dismiss or deny God’s judgement
      • Twist beliefs for selfish pleasure
      • Or deny Jesus as our Master and Lord
    • We contend for the faith when we lovingly but firmly ask people to take off these masks.

Conclusion:

• Do we contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints?
  • We can do this when we ask ourselves what masks do we wear that keep us from Jesus.
  • And we also do this when we lovingly ask others to unmask so that they might follow Jesus.