Love that Confronts
Though it is easier and more enjoyable
to give positive feedback
to our fellow Christians,
there are times when we must address
difficult and painful situations very directly.
Here’s Gene:
This little epistle was written by
Jude--or Judas.
And if we use the word Judas,
it’s more easy to identify
who he actually was.
Now we’re not sure of the recipients.
Personally I think it was probably
Jewish believers.
And there’s a reason for that,
because you see, Jude was a brother of James.
And who was James?
Well notice in this introduction:
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ
and a brother of James: …
And here, this is not James, the brother of John.
This is James
who was the half-brother of Jesus.
And who was a lead elder
in the church in Jerusalem.
And he was—Jude was [Jesus's] half-brother.
So that gives us a clue
as to who Jude actually is.
But let me just finish his greeting:
…To those who are the called, loved by God
the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.
May mercy, peace, and love
be multiplied to you.
Now I’d like to pursue the fact that
Jude is a [brother] of James--
or also a half-brother of Jesus Christ.
You see, we learn about
the brothers of Jesus and the sisters.
They were half-bothers, half-sisters.
Matthew 13:
Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? …
You see, Jesus had come back to
Nazareth where he had grown up
as a carpenter with his dad, Joseph.
And so they said:
Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? ...
He’s now grown.
And he’s already in ministry.
So he’s in his 30s:
…Isn’t his mother called Mary,
and his brothers James…
There’s the one who became eventually
the lead elder in Jerusalem.
…Joseph, Simon, and Judas? …
Or Jude. That’s Jude who is the half-brother
obviously of Jesus.
And then it says:
…[And] his sisters,
aren’t they all with us?
So where does he get all these things?
In other words, his claims to be
the Son of God.
Now the reason I point this out is that
there are those who claim that
these individuals who are mentioned
here are cousins.
They’re not brothers and sisters.
And there’s really no evidence
that they’re cousins.
The way they’re discussed in context.
These are brothers.
These are sisters.
In other words, Mary had a normal
relationship with her husband
after Jesus was born.
She no longer was a virgin.
In fact, she was fulfilling
the responsibility that God gave her
when God says:
For this reason a man leaves
father and mother, is joined to his wife
and the two become one flesh.
In other words Mary, if she had not been
a wife in a relationship with her husband,
would have been in violation
of the will of God.
You see, there were brothers and sisters
that were born to Jesus.
And Jude was one of them--and James.
And he identifies himself as a brother of James.
And one of the reasons, by the way,
he identified himself as a brother of James,
was that would give him some credibility.
And that’s important.
He wanted people to know that
his brother was James,
the lead elder there in Jerusalem.
Now here’s another reference to his brothers.
And this is interesting.
In John chapter 7:
The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near.
So his brothers said to him…
Now what they say here
is not a compliment.
And the reason is they’re not believers.
They don’t believe it--their brother
is the Messiah.
They’re offended by that:
...So his brothers said to him,
“Leave here and go to Judea
so your disciples can see your works
that you are doing.
For no one does anything in secret
while he’s seeking public recognition. …
And that’s an underhanded statement.
They’re accusing their brother Jesus of
seeking public recognition for his own gain:
...If you do these things,
show yourself to the world.” …
And then John explains
in a parenthesis. He says:
…(For not even his brothers
believed in him.)
Jesus grew up
with brothers and sisters that
didn’t really believe in him.
Now the story unfolds.
And I want us to see that
because the next event is in the upper room.
And this is after Jesus has returned to heaven.
And we have another reference
to Jesus’s brothers particularly.
And here we have
Luke recording this in the book of Acts:
Then they [(that is) the apostles]
returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives…
And Jesus of course has just ascended:
…which is near Jerusalem—
a Sabbath day’s journey away.
[And:] When they arrived,
they went to the room upstairs
where they were staying: …
Which by the way, may have been the upper room
in Mary’s home.
And Mary of course was John Mark’s mother.
We don’t know anything about
his dad or her husband. He may have been killed
in the Roman wars. But
he evidently left her in a
very well-to-do manner
because she had a large home.
And they may have been meeting in that upper room.
Who was in that upper room?
…Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip,
Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. …
There’s another James, by the way:
…They all were continually united in prayer,
along with the women…
Who were these women?
These were women that had followed
Jesus and supported Jesus
during his travels for three and a half years.
Mary Magdalene was one of them.
Another Mary was there:
…along with the women, including
Mary the mother of Jesus,
and his brothers.
Different story now.
They know that their brother
Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God.
And so they are worshiping him
and following him.
Now I wanted to give you
this background because
it gives us a larger setting
in relationship to who Jude actually is,
as he writes this little epistle.
He has a very close relationship
with the Son of God.
Not only his personal Lord and Savior,
but as a blood half-brother,
Jesus Christ.
Now notice Jude’s focus.
I want to move into that
because he says this:
Dear friends,
although I was eager to write [to] you
about the salvation we share…
When I picked up my pen
and I began to record this letter,
I just wanted to write to you and
talk about how wonderful it is to be a believer.
But the Holy Spirit led me in a different way.
Because he said:
…I found it necessary to write,
appealing to you to contend
for the faith that was delivered
to the saints once for all. …
In other words, he’s changing
his focus under the leadership
obviously of the Holy Spirit.
And he goes on to explain:
…For some people, who were
designated for this judgment long ago,
have come in by stealth;
[and] they are ungodly…
Now let me just comment by saying
when he says “designated for this
judgment long ago,”
I don’t believe he’s talking about the individuals.
But he’s talking about the fact
that God predestined that those
who are evil and who
are teaching false doctrine
and who are purposely trying to lead
people astray, will be judged.
And so he continues by saying:
…they are ungodly,
turning the grace of our God
into sensuality…
Do you remember what Paul wrote to
the Romans in chapter 6?
When he’s been talking about the
grace of God and our salvation.
And he comes to chapter 6, verse 1, and
he said: Now, should we continue in sin,
that grace may abound?
Well here’s an illustration.
And what was happening?
...[they were] turning the grace of our God
into sensuality…
In other words, they were saying:
Yes, God has saved us by his grace,
but we can live any way we want,
including immorality:
...[they’re] turning the grace of our God
into sensuality, and...
Not only that, but:
…denying Jesus Christ,
our only Master and Lord.
And so Jude is saying:
I had something in mind when I
picked up my quill and rolled out my scroll.
But the Holy Spirit led me to say some
very, very specific things
that I’ve got to deal with here
that relate to sin.
Now we’re going to see what that is
as we look at the next principle.
But here’s the question
for Reflection and Response:
What are some situations today
where we are called upon to
demonstrate tough love?
And you’re going to see that
Jude is going to have to deal
with some situations with tough love.
Well I would say that I’ve never
really had to confront
false teachers.
Oh mildly so, but nothing like Jude
had to deal with.
Like Peter had to deal with.
Or like Paul had to deal with.
And [frankly] I’m thankful because
that’s not a pleasant task.
However, there’s a more subtle problem
in our culture. And that’s called enablement.
When people are walking out of the will of God.
When Christians are walking out of the will of God.
And rather than confronting wrong doing or
irresponsibility or a sin,
we simply enable people
to continue in their sin.
And we don’t confront them in love.
Now I’ve had my share of situations where
I’ve had to confront
people who are walking out of the will of God.
Not false teachers per se, but
they’re walking out of the will of God.
And these people need tough love.
If we really care about them, if we really love them,
we’re to do something about it.
And it’s not easy.
I’ve often said to people like that:
You know, I’d rather be a thousand miles
from here than being in this room with you.
Because I don’t want to tell you
what I’m going to tell you.
In fact I’m afraid you’re going to reject me.
But because I love you,
I’m going to tell you anyway.
And I’ve seen that, by the way,
cause a person to
back off of defensiveness and at least
be a bit open. And I’ve had people say to me:
Gene I appreciate your love.
But thanks and no thanks.
You don’t have to bother with me anymore
and I’m out of here.
You know, I won’t even be back to the church.
And I’ve said: Well I’m very sorry about that.
But I love you and I’d love to see you
walk in the will of God.
And they've walked away and said:
Well thanks. I know you love me, but...
And that at least gives me a sense of comfort.
But there are other situations where
I’ve seen people respond.
And that’s always a great blessing.
But it’s also uncomforting—discomforting--
when people walk away.
I remember in one situation I
met with a man along with one of our elders
because he’d walked away from his wife.
He’d walked away from his family.
And he was living in a little trailer house.
And I remember when we got there
he had a song playing.
And I found out later that he
played that song again and again all day long.
And you may remember this song.
You may have heard it and you may not
have heard it.
But it was entitled, “I’ve Got to Be Me.”
And the words simply read:
Whether I’m right or whether I’m wrong.
Whether I find a place
in this world or never belong.
I’ve got to be me.
What else can I be
but what I am?
And I remember confronting that man
along with my fellow elder.
And he said: Thanks. But no thanks.
And he walked away from our hearts.
But at least we reached out.
And hopefully someday
God used that experience in his life
to bring him back into the will of God.
So let’s remember this Principle to Live By:
Though it is easier and more enjoyable
to give positive feedback
to our fellow Christians,
there are times when we must
address difficult
and painful situations
very directly.