The Word This Week
Jude 5...
Those who would come against God to oppose His kingdom on earth cannot and shall not ever succeed.
This is essentially the exhortation Jude provides the early-days Church now facing an intensity of opposition that was only intensifying as time went by. In his failure to snuff out the arising Church from the outside, Satan was now attacking from the inside. This has always been his pattern – and just as God thwarted the outside attacks, he will also thwart those from the inside as well.
Jude provides six examples of God coming against demonically inspired opposition from Biblical history. (Interestingly, they are all Old Testament examples.)
Each example of God’s protection proves to us God is watching and is alert to the threats we face today – and He will not allow them to stand and will even destroy them. Of those He knows will not repent of their divisive actions, God will simply wipe them out in judgment. He always has and He always will.
Therefore, we can be very confident any opposition we face from without or within will be dealt with, possibly very severely – which should also serve as a strong warning to those who may be fomenting any form of opposition to Jesus’ Church.
The part the faithful are to play in the midst of all this opposition is walk confidently, and to trust God’s Word to provide all the power rebuke requires and not to get in the flesh to combat a fleshly enemy – as Gabriel did contending with Satan.
We are also to build ourselves up in the faith, which means remaining a vital part of the Body of Christ and taking responsibility for our own growth in our personal relationship with Christ, not always having to be spoon-fed, but increasing in knowledge and seeking greater understanding of the fundamental truths found in God’s Word.
We have a great advantage over the Church Jude was addressing in his day. We have the completed canon of scripture, which now includes the New Testament. They may have been without excuse in their day – we more so.
Day by day, keep putting one foot in front of the other along the narrow path which leads to salvation. Satan will try to knock you off balance, and even off the narrow path – but God will never allow him to succeed against those who remain faithful. We will even have the power to restore those who have become unfaithful, and to gather them back in by our faithfulness.
Pastor Bill
Those who would come against God to oppose His kingdom on earth cannot and shall not ever succeed.
This is essentially the exhortation Jude provides the early-days Church now facing an intensity of opposition that was only intensifying as time went by. In his failure to snuff out the arising Church from the outside, Satan was now attacking from the inside. This has always been his pattern – and just as God thwarted the outside attacks, he will also thwart those from the inside as well.
Jude provides six examples of God coming against demonically inspired opposition from Biblical history. (Interestingly, they are all Old Testament examples.)
Each example of God’s protection proves to us God is watching and is alert to the threats we face today – and He will not allow them to stand and will even destroy them. Of those He knows will not repent of their divisive actions, God will simply wipe them out in judgment. He always has and He always will.
Therefore, we can be very confident any opposition we face from without or within will be dealt with, possibly very severely – which should also serve as a strong warning to those who may be fomenting any form of opposition to Jesus’ Church.
The part the faithful are to play in the midst of all this opposition is walk confidently, and to trust God’s Word to provide all the power rebuke requires and not to get in the flesh to combat a fleshly enemy – as Gabriel did contending with Satan.
We are also to build ourselves up in the faith, which means remaining a vital part of the Body of Christ and taking responsibility for our own growth in our personal relationship with Christ, not always having to be spoon-fed, but increasing in knowledge and seeking greater understanding of the fundamental truths found in God’s Word.
We have a great advantage over the Church Jude was addressing in his day. We have the completed canon of scripture, which now includes the New Testament. They may have been without excuse in their day – we more so.
Day by day, keep putting one foot in front of the other along the narrow path which leads to salvation. Satan will try to knock you off balance, and even off the narrow path – but God will never allow him to succeed against those who remain faithful. We will even have the power to restore those who have become unfaithful, and to gather them back in by our faithfulness.
Pastor Bill