Build Up Your Most Holy Faith, Part1
Central Thought: Believers should endeavor to pay attention to their faith as they live among ungodly men in these last days.
Text: Jude 17-25
The commitment of the believer to his walk with God comes under constant threat in several ways. Some of these ways include direct attacks from Satan; societal pressures from peers, colleagues, business partners; ungodly or unholy ambitions, etc. The enemy’s aim is to use any, some or all of these to corrupt, destroy or remove the believer from the path of faith. The Christian therefore must daily build himself up in matters of faith so as to stand fast in the Lord. Hence the focus of this lesson is to give the believer an understanding of his faith and how he can build up himself in the faith.
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What do you understand by the Christian faith? Acts 2:42, 20:27; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 3, 20
The Christian faith has to do with the redemption/salvation freely given to man by God through the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian is anyone who sincerely gives his/her life to Christ, accepting Him as his or her Lord and personal Savior and submitting to His authority.
The Christian faith is described as precious and holy, and can be entered into only through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 20. It is written in Hebrews 2:3-4, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?”
Thus the Christian faith,
-has God at the beginning revealing Himself as the Creator and entrusting His creation to man
-has God at the middle appearing as man to restore and reconcile the fallen man to Himself; and
-has God at the end appearing to take man to Himself to reign with Him in eternity.
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Who is the foundation of the Christian faith? 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 2:20-22
The Lord Jesus Christ is and remains the only foundation of our faith. It has become very necessary in our contemporary world to emphasize and keep re-emphasizing this obvious truth.
The Christian faith is not founded on any individual, no matter the title born by that individual. The Lord himself may use individuals to build on the foundation laid by Him and that is purely at His own discretion. Such individuals must however beware not to see themselves as becoming foundation of the Christian faith, be they “presidents”, “bishops”, “archbishops”, “pastors”, “overseers”, etc. Those they minister to must also beware not to turn these individuals into foundations of their faith.
It is expressly declared in scripture, “for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ”, 1 Corinthians 3:11.
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What are some of the characteristics of ungodly men in the last days? Jude 17-19
Some characteristics of ungodly men in the last days are revealed in the above scripture. These men are described as mockers who walk after their own lusts. There are many persons today who mock believers describing them as fools, ignorant, brainwashed people, etc., who do not want to enjoy the pleasures offered by the world. Such ungodly men are deceived by the enemy into thinking that the only way to “enjoy” this world is to focus on satisfying the lusts of the flesh: sexual immorality, drunkenness, debauchery, etc.
These men are said to separate themselves; constituting themselves into occult groups, secret societies, taking oaths of allegiance to satanic forces. They are sensual, ruled absolutely by their senses and appetites. They obviously do not possess the Spirit of God.
Considering the events being witnessed in contemporary society, it ought to be obvious to all that our generation appears typical of the last days described in scripture. Therefore the believer should be vigilant, watching and praying so that these ungodly men in our generation will not lure us away from the path of faith, truth and righteousness.
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How can believers overcome the attacks of these ungodly men? Jude 20-21
Some of the ways the attacks of ungodly men in these last days can be overcome include:
“Building up yourself on your most holy faith”, Jude 20; Colossians 2:6-10:
The believer should keep building himself/herself up in the things of God. This will involve praying, studying and believing God’s word constantly, witnessing, attending Christian meetings regularly, living in obedience to Christ daily, etc.
Praying in the Holy Ghost, Romans 8:26; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20:
Every believer must seek to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. His presence in our lives will enable us to pray always even when we are weak or when we go through trying moments. The Holy Spirit empowers the believer in every way, including, providing the strength to pray.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, Matthew 22:37-40; John 15:9-10:
As believers, we are to love God with the totality of our beings. We are to love God above anything and everything else and also above anyone and everyone else. When we love God with the totality of our being, we will have a desire to obey Him and do His will in every area of our lives. We are also commanded by God to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, we will not want to do them evil or hurt them.
Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus unto eternal life, John 14:2; 1 John 3:2-3:
Believers must keep in focus the coming of the Lord Jesus. The scriptures say that He has gone to prepare a place for us and that He will return to take us unto Himself and that anyone having this hope in Him must purify himself even as He is pure, John 14:1-4; 1 John 3:1-3. We are to live each day in this world in expectation of the Lord’s return. The only way we can live as pilgrims in this world is to be conscious of His return to take us to our eternal abode; a city whose builder and maker is God, Hebrews 11:10. When we have and maintain this hope we will walk in holiness and resist every onslaught of ungodly men in our generation.
Daily Living Application:
This is not the time to treat our faith with levity. We must pay attention, in fact detailed attention, to our faith. We are to place value on our walk with God. We must never yield to the demands of the ungodly society we find ourselves in; rather we should overcome the world and its demands by our stand in Christ.
Memory Verse:
Jude 20 – “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost”