Leading The Way

Dr. Michael Youssef: In His sovereign wisdom, God calls us, compels us, and conscripts us. Only by His grace, only by His sovereign will, only by His mercy, makes us want to abandon ourselves to Him. Motivates us to contend for the faith.

Guest (Male): Just a glimpse into the privilege that Christians possess by responding to God's grace, by living a life of passionately contending for the faith. Thank you for joining listeners all around the world. In fact, across six entire continents for Leading the Way with author and international Bible teacher Dr. Michael Youssef.

Today marks the beginning of a powerful teaching series from Dr. Youssef. It's called Contend for the Faith, where Dr. Youssef guides you to the pages of Jude for a close-up look at the importance of contending for truth. In fact, truth should be what motivates and gives breath to every moment in life. So let's listen together. Follow Dr. Youssef right into the pages of Jude as he begins this teaching portion of today's Leading the Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Jude, half-brother of Jesus, begins this short epistle by assuring the true believers in Jesus of their eternal security. That's where he starts. He starts with assuring us of our eternal security, the true believers. And then he concludes the epistle by assuring those same believers that God is able to keep us all the way to eternity.

Now let's look at this comforting assurance for the true believers that we have only in Jesus. Verses one and two. That's all we're going to cover today, verses one and two. Jude, a servant of Jesus, actually a bondslave of Jesus, a brother of James. To those who have been called and beloved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ. Mercy, peace, and love in abundance.

The amazing thing to me is that Jude never claimed or introduced himself as the half-brother of Jesus, for he was. He used the word in Greek *doulos*. *Doulos* is the bondslave by choice. A bondslave who comes and says, 'I want to be your slave for life.' Jude was so overwhelmed by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of Jesus Christ that he was so humbled by that grace.

He was so humbled by that mercy. He was so humbled by that love that he was so in awe of the privilege to serve Jesus. And so he called himself the *doulos* of Jesus, not only just the brother of James. The Bible clearly tells us that after Jesus' miraculous, supernatural, absolute necessity of virgin birth—because if he was not virgin born, he could not save us from our sins—Mary and Joseph had sons and daughters in the natural way.

In Matthew 13:55, in Mark 6:3, and in Galatians 1:19. All of these passages indicate that there were four brothers and an unnumbered number of sisters. Four half-brothers. In fact, Matthew 13:55 gives us those four names of the half-brothers of Jesus: James, Joseph, Simeon, and Jude.

Now I have a hunch, and I can prove it from the Scripture, why Jude was so overwhelmed by the grace of Jesus that he felt unworthy to claim the natural relationship. Here's why I say this. In John chapter 7 verse 5, it says that his brothers did not believe in him. They did not believe in him. No doubt after the crucifixion, the horrendous watching the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus, all of that changed for his brothers.

James became the bishop, the head of the church in Jerusalem. Jude became a great evangelist and penned this magnificent and most important short epistle. Beloved, there can be no doubt that to Jude, being saved by grace and being forgiven by Jesus was far more significant than any earthly connection with Jesus. To call himself the *doulos* of Jesus is a far greater privilege than any family ties.

To submit to the authority of Jesus is a true mark of a true disciple. Now don't miss the great contrast here between true believers and those who claim to be believers or to be Christians, the professing. There is the possessing and the professing, and there is a world of difference. He is going to contrast them throughout this little epistle.

Look with me again at those two verses. Verse one and two, epistle of Jude. There are four incredible, overwhelming privileges that true believers have in these verses. Four. First, they are conscripted by God. Secondly, they are beloved. Not just loved, but beloved of God. Thirdly, they are kept safe by Jesus. Fourthly, they are truly blessed by the Holy Trinity.

Now let's look at these. Let's unfold them one by one. Those who are truly eternally saved, they are saved because they were conscripted by God. They are conscripted. And the reason I use the word conscripted instead of the word called is because the word called can mean different things on different occasions. I'm going to show you from the Scripture right now.

I need to explain it. God is constantly calling people to repent and turn from their sin and receive his salvation. He says, 'Come unto me all of you who are labor and heavy laden, come unto me.' He is constantly calling wicked and evil people to repent of their sin and to trust him for their salvation. That is not the call he is talking about. Please hear me.

This is not what Jude is talking about. They are conscripted. The true believers are compelled. That is the kind of call he is talking about. It's a unique call. What is that unique call? Let me explain it to you so every six-year-old can understand it. From the human point of view, from our human point of view, we were dead in our trespasses and sin.

We were in a coma, we were asleep, we were dead in our trespasses and sin. Then God breathed into our spirit and he quickened our spirit and he brought us to himself. And when we came to life, when we rose from our spiritual death, we realized we are sinners and we are heading for hell and we need a savior. But only after he opened our eyes.

At that moment, from our human point of view, we become so overwhelmed by his generosity, by breathing into our dead spirits. The God whom we have offended, the God whom we spurned, the God whom we rejected, the God whom we ignored, a God from whom we tried to live independently. But he now opened our blind spiritual eyes and gave us a gift of salvation. Give God praise.

And that is why we live the rest of our lives under his authority and submit to his lordship. That is the very essence of what it means to be a Christian believer. Can I make it any simpler? Oh, but from God's point of view, he compelled us. He conscripted us. Jesus describes this compelling or conscripting in John chapter 6 verse 44 this way. Listen carefully.

'For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him or her.' Conscript him or her. Please listen to me. In his sovereign wisdom, God calls us, compels us, and conscripts us. Only by his grace, only by his sovereign will, only by his good pleasure, only by his mercy, only by his graciousness.

Not to believe a miracle or two or reject some and accept some. No, no, no. My precious friends, this compelling, this conscripting, makes us want to abandon ourselves to him. Motivates us to contend for the faith. Empowers us to speak the truth in love. Compels us to live in the truth and to speak the truth and to abide by the truth.

So the first is he conscripts us. But not only conscripts us, but we are beloved by him. It is very important, that letter 'be' before 'loved'. It is very, very important. Why not just loved, but beloved? In fact, the accurate translation is beloved. Because this type of love is beyond human comprehension. It is beyond human understanding.

Why? Because way before the creation of the world, you were uniquely beloved by God. Way before the earth was formed, God uniquely beloved his true children. I need to explain it. I want everybody to get as much of this as humanly possible. When a man loves a woman and they become exclusive for each other in marriage, that man never looks at another woman in the same way he looks at his wife ever again.

Now I, for one, I love lots of people. I really do. I love my family. I love my children. I love my in-laws. I love my grandchildren. I love you, the family of God in this place. I love you. But I have an exclusive love for Elizabeth. I love lots of people, but only she is beloved. Did you get it?

That means I am set apart for her. That means I uniquely belong to her in a far greater way. There is a difference between God's love for the lost, God's love for the world, and his love for his own. It's a world of difference. And that is why the Apostle John, he gets so overwhelmed by that incredible love.

In 1 John 3:1, as they say in England, 1 John 3:1, he gets so overwhelmed and says, 'How great a love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.' You know, sometimes you get one of those misguided politicians who try to become inclusive and get everybody on board. 'We are all the children of God.' No, we are not.

No, we are not. We are all the creation of God. He created us in his own image, that's why we love everybody and call them to come to Christ. But only those who are conscripted, those who are called, those who are compelled, those who are beloved children of God are the children of God. When you comprehend this, when you internalize this, you would want to live for Christ alone all your days.

Not only that I am compelled and I am beloved, therefore in his power and through his power, I can defeat temptation. In his power and through his power, I can defeat worry, anxiety, fear, or whatever else that comes at me. In his power, I can live in peace in the midst of turmoil. In his power, I have the courage to contend for the faith.

The reason we are valuable to God is not because of who we are or what we have done. But because we are beloved of God. Oh my friends, that in itself will keep us from this foolishness that says what miracle to accept and what miracle to reject. What part of the Bible is right and what part of the Bible is not right. Instead, we are on our faces before God in humility, in brokenness, and in gratitude.

Not only that we are conscripted, not only we are beloved, thirdly, we are kept by Jesus. We are kept by Jesus. What does that mean? It means that you as a believer, a disciple of Jesus, are in a triple lock protection program. Not just one, triple. And since he has all of the power, since he has all of the authority, and there is no greater power ever that can take you out of his hand.

No one, no power, no force, no thing can ever pry you out of that triple lock program. Can I get an amen? That is why true believers cannot habitually and carelessly live in sin. They can't do it. It is an impossibility if they truly are called of God, if they are conscripted and beloved. And that is why true believers can never live in disobedience to the Word of God day in and day out and rationalize it.

And that is why true believers cannot rationalize their rebellion against the Word of God. And that is why when true believers—the moment we sin—and I am not saying we are perfect. God forbid, no. The moment we sin, we are stricken in our hearts and we don't rest until we confess and repent and turn to the Lord.

Oh, but those who have turned their backs on God's truth, those who have turned their backs on biblical authority, those who have turned their backs on the integrity of Jesus, they may look like sheep, but they are not. And that is why true believers must never let them get away with their falsehood. Why? Because our eternal keeper compels us.

Because our eternal keeper commissioned us. Because our eternal keeper commands us to speak the truth in love. Above all, he is interceding for us every single moment of every day in heaven. Therefore, we have the confidence because we are conscripted, we are beloved, and we are kept by Jesus. And fourthly, we are abundantly blessed by the Holy Trinity.

Question: what are the most important relationships in terms of priority? First, our relationship with God. That's number one. Then our relationship with ourselves. Yes, our relationship with ourselves. Then our relationship with others. When it comes to our relationship with God, Jude said we have been the recipients of an abundance of mercy.

His mercy means that he does not give us what we deserve. And he does this abundantly for the believer. Abundantly means limitless. And because we are the recipients of his mercy and we are so conscious of our unworthiness and the mercy and the grace of God, therefore, our relationship with ourselves is at peace. We are at peace within regardless of the circumstances.

The only reason we have peace within is because we received mercy. You see that every day, not just in the news but in real life. There are people who are at war in their minds. There is war going on in their conscience. There is war in their homes. Why? Because they do not comprehend or understand or are being recipients of the abundance of the mercy of God.

But because we know God's mercy, we are at peace with ourselves. We have peace in knowing that all our sins are forgiven, every one of them. Our guilt has been erased by the blood of Jesus. Our eternity is secure and that we are owned and operated by Jesus. Jesus said, 'My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you, not as the world gives.'

The peace the world gives is phony. It is phony peace. It is temporary at best. It is occasional. But our permanent peace comes from knowing and experiencing the mercy of God in abundance. That's what he's saying. He said he gave us all these blessings in abundance: his mercy, his peace, his love. And therefore, his love is multiplied to us.

The only reason we are able to love is because we are recipients of love. Amen. I'll say it again. The true believer, not only beloved, but the recipient of multiplied love every single minute of every day. Multiplied, multiplied, multiplied. And if you are not conscious of it, you are not spending time in the Word. And that is why we can dispense love to others.

And that is why apostates or those who have turned their back on the truth of the infallible Word of God—they have never been believers to begin with, but that is not my judgment—but they keep on shocking people in order to get attention. That is the only way they can do it. Not only that, but when we speak the truth in love, they accuse us of being unloving.

But they don't understand that because of the love of God and because we love sinners enough to tell them the truth, we will not pander to their sinful nature. God's love does not muddy the truth. God's love does not accept the wrong. God's love does not baptize sin into the church. God's love confronts the wrong. But you have to remember, with God's blessing comes responsibility.

But I can't end this message without speaking to that person who is yet to experience this incredible grace, this incredible mercy, this incredible love. Please respond to his call because only then will you discover the incredible love of God and the conscripting power of God and the love of God for all of eternity.

You will only know and experience all of this after the moment you come to him, confessing that you are a sinner and heading for hell and you want Jesus to come into your life as your only Savior and Lord. And by his blood, can change direction and take you to heaven.

Guest (Male): Thank you for making time in your day for a brand-new episode from Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading the Way. And if you would like to speak with someone about the incredible grace and mercy and love of God, or if you have questions about anything you're facing in life, consider a conversation with the Leading the Way pastor or counselor. The place to start is ltw.org/Jesus.

Dr. Michael Youssef: My beloved friends in Christ, our world is lost, confused, and in desperate need of Jesus. Through Leading the Way's June gift challenge, you can share the only thing that matters eternally. I have never seen a more urgent time for the preaching of the gospel, the proclamation of the gospel in our nation. Together, we can have an impact in these last days. God bless.

Guest (Male): Will you stand with Dr. Youssef and Leading the Way in reaching your community, reaching the Middle East, and reaching lost and dying people in remote villages with the freedom of the gospel? Your prayerful generosity fuels Leading the Way's passionate ministry teams and our cutting-edge technologies in proclaiming the truth.

Visit ltw.org to learn more about this month's special giving opportunity or give us a call at 866-626-4356. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.