"Here I Stand" 9-3-23

Overview

Peace If Possible, Truth at All Costs

We naturally prefer peace. We don't like to rock the boat, disrupt the quiet, or cause friction—either in the world around us or in our own hearts. Yet Scripture insists that there are moments when keeping the peace would mean betraying the truth, and in those moments, faithfulness requires us to speak.

This is the burden of Jude's brief letter. Writing as the half-brother of Jesus and a leader in the early church, Jude originally intended to write to believers about "the salvation we share." But the need shifted. In Jude 1:3, he urges the saints to "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." The word contend carries the sense of standing ready to defend, to fight for what has been placed in our care. The faith has been entrusted—handed over in full confidence by God himself—to be guarded, protected, and nurtured by his people.

The threat Jude names in Jude 1:4 is intruders who "pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness" and deny Christ. This perversion is enticing. We are tempted to use grace as a license for the flesh ("I'm forgiven, so it's all okay"), or to soften God's truth to keep peace with those we love. But there is only one God, whole and complete—a God of law and order, justice and righteousness—and any "grace" reshaped around our sin is no grace at all. When we dampen the gospel to make it palatable, we treat it like a mint covering morning breath: the stench remains underneath.

The truth is that nothing can hide our sin from God. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us that "before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare." Psalm 32 confesses that silence about sin makes the body waste away. Confession may rock our immediate peace, but unconfessed sin destroys our eternal peace. And when we do confess, 1 John 1:9 promises that God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us. Christ himself contended for the faith at the highest possible cost—enduring no peace in the mocking, the cross, the wrath, or the tomb—so that we, ransomed not with silver or gold but with his precious blood 1 Peter 1:18-19, might have eternal peace through his resurrection.

This same conviction stood Martin Luther before the authorities at Worms in 1521, when recanting would have purchased peace and confession would likely cost him his life. His answer—"my conscience is captive to the Word of God…here I stand"—was not stubbornness but faithfulness to what had been entrusted to the church. Peace is possible for us, but only because we have been given the full truth: we are born sinners, Christ has died and risen for sinners, and you who hear the gospel are called and forgiven in him alone. Upon this truth we stand.

Transcript

If you wouldn't please open your Bibles to the letter of Jude, that's on page 216 in the New Testament, 3s

if you're using a Pew edition of the Bible, we're in the letter that Jude wrote page 216 in the New Testament. 12s

Okay, picture it. There is a newlywed couple. 23s

Husband and bride so eager to go out for a date night and they are getting ready and preparing for this romantic evening. 29s

And the young bride comes out and says, does this dress make me look fat? 41s

Now this groom has some options to weigh here. 48s

He sees her. The truth is not the greatest dress. 56s

But he wants to keep the piece. What does he say? How does he respond? 64s

This, this piece versus the truth, which is going to rain supreme. 72s

Today we wrap up our summer summer sermon series with our bumper sticker. 84s

Peace if possible, truth at all costs. Peace if possible, truth at all costs. 89s

Let's be honest, no one likes disrupting the piece. 103s

No one likes to rock the boat to cause friction to cause a problem. 108s

It's more comfortable in life when we have a peaceful existence. 115s

And if we're being fully honest, we like to keep our own piece. 120s

We don't like it when other people rock our boat of peace or interrupt our time of peace and quiet. 125s

And perhaps peace and quiet and contemplation. 135s

We don't like to disrupt the peace. 139s

But sometimes, sometimes we need to speak up. 145s

This is exactly what Jude in his letter is coming across. 153s

He is the half brother of Jesus and the full brother of James. 159s

And remember James and Jude, the brothers of Jesus, they did not accept the messianic title that he had. 164s

They did not accept the truth of Christ being God's own son while he walked the earth. 172s

But when Christ died and was resurrected, they quickly were converted. 180s

And they knew that Christ or that Jesus indeed was the Christ. 185s

And they became leaders within the church leaders of the early church and the early believers. 189s

And so Jude is writing this letter to the early church. 198s

He's writing it to a group of believers. 202s

And we're going to look first at verse 1. 207s

And in verse 1 it says, he's writing to them. 210s

He says to those who are called who are beloved in God, 213s

the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ. 217s

This is how we know that he's writing to believers because he's writing to those who are called. 220s

We continue jumping down to verse 3. 229s

Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write you about the salvation we share, 232s

I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted 238s

to the saints. 247s

Jude begins here by saying exactly why he wanted to write. 249s

While eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, 255s

he wanted to write to the believers about the salvation that they share, 259s

the common salvation, the salvation that no longer separated the Jewish people from the Gentiles, 265s

but the salvation that was for all in Jesus Christ. 272s

This was what he was eagerly preparing to write to the church about. 277s

We don't know what exactly he wanted to write to the believers about regarding salvation. 283s

Because as we see, the need shifted the purpose of the letter was changed. 291s

It was changed because he saw that he needed to write about a danger. 298s

He needed to write about a danger that was encroaching upon the people of God. 307s

The shift that we find isn't appeal. 315s

It's an appeal for the believers to contend for the faith. 318s

Here again, in verse 3, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 322s

The word contend, it implies a defense as standing ready to fight to defend the faith. 337s

The believers are called to defend the faith to fight for the faith that has been entrusted to them. 348s

I found this word entrusted to be very interesting. 360s

Interested means that the faith that we have been given has been given over to us in full confidence by God himself. 364s

To guard, to protect, to nurture, to grow, and we as believers have a responsibility to be the safe keepers of the faith that he gave us. 378s

That it will be used properly. 394s

Coming back to the middle of verse 3, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 398s

For certain intruders have stolen in among you. 409s

People who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness. 413s

And deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. 422s

There are within the church that Jude writes to invaders, intruders, intruders that have come in with stealth moves who have gone unnoticed, 429s

or who those who have been around them have pretended to not notice. 447s

What did these intruders do? 455s

What were these certain invaders intent upon? 457s

Well, we read in verse 4 that they were perverting the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 463s

They were perverting Christ's grace for you, for me, for the church. 469s

They were perverting it into licentiousness. 475s

They were misusing the grace of God to give three license to give permission, no hold bar to the flesh. 478s

It's really enticing. 491s

For those of us who are in the church to say, well, I'm forgiven so and give it as an excuse to run wild to do whatever we may please to indulge every desire, whim of the flesh. 496s

Perverting the truth of God's word, however, perverting His truth leads to the denial of God himself, the denial of the very God that He is. 522s

And we've studied before and we hear it often, the God I worship, well, my Jesus, my Christ, my faith, 537s

and we try to make a distinction between the Christ or the gods of this world and Scripture. 549s

But the truth is that God is God is. 564s

God is. There is no other Jesus. 571s

There is no other God. 576s

The God that we worship is whole and complete. The God that we worship is a God, the God of law and order justice and righteousness. 579s

And we pervert the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ by shaping it around our sin by trying to mold it into allowing. 593s

The desires of our flesh to reign supreme because we're forgiven so it's all okay. 606s

Or we pervert the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ by shaping it around the sins of those we love, those we care for because we want to keep the peace. 619s

Jude, when he wrote this letter, was compelled to speak the truth. 638s

Would it have been easier for him to continue on as he intended and eagerly right about the salvation that we have in Christ? 648s

Yes, it would have been easier. Would it have been meaningful? Yes. 658s

Would the invaders who perverted the truth and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ remained unchecked, unnoticed? Yes. 665s

And so without regard for the pushback, the feedback that he would get from the church, he wrote, he wrote, of the full truth, warning of those who are trying to pervert the gospel, pervert the law. 682s

In our day and age, we are also tempted. We are tempted to keep the peace. How often have we been prompted knowing that we should open our lips, but knowing that we'll get pushed back, knowing that we'll get a poor reaction and so we shut our lips. 706s

Fight our tongues and hold back because we just want to keep the peace. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. 728s

We don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. We don't want for anyone to know that they have sinned outright. 744s

And so we may share the Lord, we may share the gospel, but we dampen it. And we try to make it more palatable so that we can keep the peace by doing so we're treating it as a go to to cover the stench of our sin to cover the stench. 757s

Of the sin of those around us like a mint might possibly cover the stench of morning breath. 786s

But it's just a cover up. It doesn't take care of the sin that dwells within. 797s

By not speaking the truth, by not speaking the truth in the fullness of the law and the gospel. 807s

We allow the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to remain perverted. 817s

But the truth has been entrusted to you. The truth has been entrusted to all believers. 825s

And the truth, the truth is that nothing can cover up our sin. Nothing can hide our sin before the Lord. 832s

In Hebrews 4th chapter, it says, before Him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render and account. 846s

When we face our own sin, the peace of our lives is rocked. 860s

Our boats are rocked. When we face the full truth of our sin and I contend that in his mercy, our Lord doesn't even let us see the full weight and full truth and full breadth and full depth of our sin. 868s

In his mercy, in his mercy, he allows us to confess upon our lips the sins that we don't even know we've committed. 888s

And we know that they are forgiven. 902s

But if we don't face our own sin in the fullness of its truth, we have no peace. 905s

Admitting our sin rocks are immediate peace, but when we don't confess our sin when we pretend we have no sin, our eternal peace is not. 916s

Psalm 32 says, while I kept in silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 931s

We are tempted, we are tempted to keep the peace within ourselves, but we are fooling ourselves if we think we can hide our sin from the Lord. 939s

We are fooling ourselves if we think that we can run away if we just push it out of our lives. 951s

Because at the root of who we are when we are brought into this world, at the root is the sinful nature into which we are born. 964s

The sinful nature that we are born as enemies of God, the sinful nature that in thought, word and deed, we will sin against God and against our neighbor. 977s

But when we confess our sin, God who is faithful and just has promised to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 993s

We are all laid bare before the Lord in our sin, and by His grace and by His mercy while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for us. 1009s

God knowing our sin fully, God never pretending anything different. 1023s

Entured into humanity so that He could take the weight of our sin upon Himself. 1035s

There was no peace, no peace in His death, no peace in the mocking. 1045s

There was no peace as He was hung upon the cross, no peace as those around Him mocked Him. 1052s

Tempting Him to be saved to call upon the Lord to save Him. 1064s

There was no peace as He felt the full wrath, the punishment of our sin laid upon Him in the cross. 1073s

There was no peace as He was laid in the tomb to lie for three days. 1084s

But Christ contended for the faith. 1097s

He defended ready to fight for the faith that He Himself would grant to us. 1101s

Christ Himself died the coast of all costs for your sin. 1112s

As Peter writes in his first letter, you know that you were ransomed from the feudal ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 1120s

The very cross of Christ rocked the peace of the church. 1139s

As scripture writes, it was a stumbling block, pounded as foolish to those who are wise in the world. 1151s

But we know that Christ defending the faith, contending for the faith, giving His own life defending the truth at His own cost. 1163s

Through His death and resurrection through His triumph from the grave over our sin, this is where we find peace. 1180s

This is where we find eternal peace. 1193s

In 1517, there was a man by the name of Martin Luther, who wanting to keep peace, yet knowing that he must stand for truth for the trunks of God's Word, the law and the gospel. 1203s

He posted a notice. He posted a notice of 95 D.C. saying, there are some things, some issues that we as the church as believers need to discuss. 1227s

He was contending for the faith that was entrusted to the church by Christ Himself, not intending to disrupt the peace. 1243s

He disrupted the peace. He disrupted the priest so greatly that the church began to tear apart. 1258s

In April of 1521, as Martin Luther stood before the Roman inquisitor, Johann Eck, and he was asked demanded to recant these disruptions of peace. 1269s

Martin Luther had to weigh his options. Peace by recantation or truths very likely at the cost of his own life. 1289s

And so Martin Luther spoke. He spoke with certain death looming before him, and he took his stand. 1313s

And he said, unless I am convinced by the testimony of the scriptures, or by clear reason, for I do not trust either in the Pope or in Council's alone, since it is well known that they have often aired and contradicted themselves. 1329s

I am bound by the scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the word of God. 1347s

I cannot, and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. 1356s

Now it is debated whether he actually said, here I stand. We're going to say he did. 1367s

Here I stand, may God help me, amen. 1378s

Luther could have kept the peace within the world, his immediate world within the church. 1386s

But it would not have been in the fullness of God's word. It would not have been in the truth of God's law, God's gospel for us. 1400s

And so he spoke the truth by God's grace he did not lose his life that day, and he did not burn as a heretic at any point in his life. 1416s

But he did, he did stand under the authority of God's word, because it is God's word alone. 1431s

That is truth. This is what we have been entrusted with. This is what we have been given. 1440s

The full truth that we are indeed born as sinners, and also the full truth that Jesus Christ indeed died for our sin, rising victorious. 1451s

The full truth that you hearing this word are called through the good news, the good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that your sins are forgiven in and through him alone. 1464s

Peace. Peace is possible. 1485s

Because we have the full truth of God's word entrusted to us secured at the cross of Christ, the cost of his life for you alone. 1490s

It is upon this truth that we stand. Amen. 1511s