Women of Firm Faith

Although Jude was a half brother to Jesus, he refers to himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. He is writing to those who are called, set apart, and preserved by God...the true believers. Verses 3-4,  “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”   Jude wanted to write about the salvation that they shared in common; however, a more pressing issue took over and turned this letter into a warning. Ungodly men were within the church and persuading people to depart from sound doctrine. These men were changing the very meaning of grace in order to fulfill the desires of their flesh, while sinning openly witho...

Verses 2-4,  “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”   Notice here that there is a distinction made between physical health and spiritual health. It is not a bad thing for you to prosper in a physical sense, but it cannot be at the expense of your spiritual health. Many believers become so wrapped up in seeking the things of this world that their fruitfulness gets choked out and they become spiritually unhealthy.  Matthew 13:22, “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”   The typical cares of this life cannot become our priority. We need to remember that man (or woman) does not live by bread alone, bu...

Verses 1-3,  “The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”   The author of this book referring to himself as the "elder" is presumed to be John in his later years of life. He is writing to what seems to be a specific church and its members, as it is unlikely that he would be writing to one woman in the literal sense. These people are unique in that they know and love the truth. Knowing the truth of God is what binds believers together, not social networking or political activism, or any other church sponsored activities. When you know and love the truth, you will love others who know and love the truth. Therefore, if someone calls themselves a believer, but does not love his brother or s...

Verse 1,  “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.”   Because Jesus is God, you cannot love the Father without loving the Son and truly be saved. Many seemingly nice people will say they love God, but that is not what unites us. You need to ask them who Jesus is, in order determine if they even serve the same God, but then you have to take it even further and look for fruit. Just because they can speak correctly about who Jesus is, doesn't mean they are trusting in His sacrifice and have truly been born again. There still must be evidence of their faith in order for it to be deemed as genuine. The two obvious distinctions given us in this book are that we love God's people, and that we keep His word. If both of these are not present, they do not know the same God. Verses 2-3,  “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments....

Verses 1-2,  “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.”   Every spiritual "experience" is not necessarily of God, which is why they each must be tested. True prophesy will point to the Jesus of the Bible. Any deviation on this would be a new Jesus; a false Jesus. Satan will not care if you worship a false Jesus either, because you are still rendered ineffective for the kingdom and will end up in hell; which is probably why there are so many fake gods being preached today. How about modern Jesus who has changed with the times to accept female pastors, drinking, fornication, homosexuality, etc? Then there's lenient Jesus who lets you live however you please (contrary to the commandments), and covers it all for you with grace. There is no regeneration...you just...

Verses 1-3,  “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”   How amazing and undeserved it is that we can actually be called children of God! Being a child of God comes with blessings now, an eternal inheritance, but also responsibilities. One of which is to bear fruit of righteousness.  John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”   Those who do this are children of God, but those who do not are children of the devil. There is no other choic...

Verses 1-2,  “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”   John makes it clear that we do not  have  to sin...it is our choice. In fact, we are supposed to lay aside all filthiness and wickedness. God does not make us sin either, but actually gives us the strength to resist temptation.  James 1:13-15, “Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”   When we do sin, we have a covering in Jesus, if we are humble enough to repent (not just confess). The one who sins willful...

Verses 1-4,  “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”  John starts at the beginning, when only God existed in three distinct persons--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This holy trinity is mentioned throughout the scriptures, even all the way back in the first verse in Genesis,  “In the beginning God...”  The Hebrew word used for God,  elohiym , indicates a plurality of God. If that is not enough to convince you, look at Genesis 1:26,  “Then God s...

As Christians we need to be mindful of the truths that we have learned, lest temptors come along and deceive us into thinking that we can act like the rest of the world while the Lord tarries and still be saved. We should expect that scoffers will mock the truth about what we believe, but we need to stand firm. Verses 3-7,  “...knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.' For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”   It is shocking how blatant the mocking has become....

False teachers seem to be more common today than true Godly ones. What we need to understand is that they do not announce themselves as being false teachers, but rather sneak into your head with their heresy and get you to join in with their destructive ways. Verses 1-3,  “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.”  Their words are deceptive because they cleverly use some truth in order to make their lies sounds believable...blaspheming the way of truth. They want you to think there is another way to be received by God, but there simply is not. W...

God gives to those who believe precious gifts including grace and peace. Verses 2-4,  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”   Knowing that Jesus IS the key to all things that pertain to life and godliness, it is hard to imagine why we would allow ourselves to be polluted by the world and driven by lusts, as though we can find fulfillment in them. We should rather be partakers of His divine nature and no longer need to be led away by various sin. Romans 6:7-14, “For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing ...

Elders or leaders in the church are appointed to help oversee or shepherd the flock. There is an expectation of spiritual maturity, which is not age related, and evidence of a proven walk of faith that has been tested and found to be genuine. Peter exhorts the elders in Verses 2-4 to,  “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”   I think these verses just excluded many of today's church leaders. Lording authority over the flock, and gaining in money, influence, or worldly standing seem to be more the norm. A shepherd's heart is not something you can create in the flesh. It requires a supernatural gifting from God and comes with a huge responsibility of accountability to Him who calls. Too many men are ...