Introduction: Epistle Of Jude

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Overview
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I have been wanting to do an exposition on a book in the Bible. I've had this desire within me for the past few weeks. There are a lot of things happening in my life, and a lot of things could pull their influence on me and distract me. I thought it would be appropriate, in this day and age, for me to do an exposition on the letter of Jude because of all the false teachings that are present in this world. There is a movement very prevalent in this age called the "Hyper-Grace" movement. This "hyper-grace" movement is led by people like Paul Ellis, Joseph Prince, and the like. It is appropriately seen in the light of the teaching that Jude says in verse 4, "ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality". King James would use the word, "lasciviousness", instead of sensuality. 

Hyper-Grace teaches that once we are saved by Jesus, we are no longer bound to law and we no longer need to obey  because we are holy and righteous, since Jesus, as a holy and righteous man, lives in us. Hyper-Grace teaches that we no longer need to confess our sins because our sins have been forgiven from the past, the present to the future. 

Not every point of teaching from hyper-grace is false, for, indeed, they have some teaching correct. Overall, however, it is teaching that disregards Progressive Sanctification (I'm not talking about justification); it disregards the importance of keeping God's commandments and it brings back an extremely controversial topic in the 17th century called antinomianism. 

I sincerely believe that the hyper-grace movement is associated with antinomianism. I honestly believe that antinomianism is not only bad teaching or bad theology, but a false teaching that "perverts the grace of our God" and misinterprets the meaning of God's grace. I am not merely picking on the hyper-grace movement, but every kind of false teachings, such as the prosperity gospel, modalism, pelagianism and etc.
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Introduction
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Therefore, the theme of Jude is that "the church must contend for the one true faith once for all delivered to the saints and people of faith must persevere to the end by resisting the false teachers and following the truth." (ESV Study Bible, Introduction to Jude)

It is one of the shortest letters in the New Testament. Jude and 2 Peter were probably written around the same time because their content is very similar to each other. 

Because of false teachers who are sneaking into the church, Jude warns against being led away by their teachings. Paul testifies about the need for such warnings to the church of Ephesus in Acts 20:29-30, "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." False teachers generally will rise up and expose themselves from within the church - sometimes we think it is backward. Jesus also spoke about this warning in Matthew 7:15, "“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
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Conclusion
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I look forward to writing about and explaining the Epistle of Jude. It is an important letter that has unfortunately been devalued in the church. May we heed the gospel's warning and stand edified in the upcoming weeks.

Learn Christian Truth; Resist False Teaching

What a timely season to be blogging this entry. From May to July, I will again be teaching Sunday school. The last time I taught Sunday school was last summer. There were few Sundays where I was a substitute teacher while I was not teaching due to my business with school.

Spiritual Warfare is the topic that I have chosen to teach. The selected passage would be the Armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-20. It does not matter what age group you are in, what gender you are, what race you are, what language you speak, or what education level you have, you will encounter spiritual attack from the enemy such as Satan and his demonic host.

As Christians, we need to be discerning and mindful of our surroundings lest we be deceived due to our naivety and ignorance. I am currently reading my textbook and I reached to an amazing point made by J. C. Ryle that I thought I would like to share with you. It does not focus on spiritual attack completely, but it does talk about false teaching (which may lead to spiritual attack...you can read Revelation 13 to see how Satan, False Teachers and the Anti-Christ work together):

You live in a world where your soul is in constant danger. Enemies are around you on every side. Your own heart is deceitful. Bad examples are numerous. Satan is always labouring to lead you astray. Above all false doctrine and false teacher of every kind abound. This is your great danger. 

To be safe you must be well armed. You must provide yourself with the weapons which God has given you for your help. You must store your mind with Holy Scripture. This is to be well armed.  

Armed yourself with a thorough knowledge of the written word of God....Neglect your Bible and nothing that I know of can prevent you from error if a plausible advocate of false teaching shall happen to meet you....You are the man that is unlikely to become established in the truth. I shall not be surprised to hear that you are troubled with doubts and questions about assurance, grace, faith, perseverance, etc....I shall not wonder if I am told that you have problems in your marriage, problems with your children, problems about the conduct of your family and about the company you keep. The world you steer through is full of rocks, shoals and sandbanks. You are not sufficiently familiar either with lighthouses or charts....You are the man who is likely to be carried away by some false teacher for a time. It will not surprise me if I hear that one of these clever eloquent men who can make a convincing presentation is leading you into error. You are in need of ballast (truth); no wonder if you are tossed to and fro like a cork on the waves.

In the future, I hope to complete an entry called "Ways To Shipwreck Your Faith". And I think by not consistently being in God's Word and cultivating our relationship with Him, we will run into a lot of trouble.