Hallelujah! The Lord has been good to each and every one of us during the past week. It is not just during the past week He had been good to us but everyday in our life since our birth He has been good to us because from generation to generation He is God and from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children (Psalm 103:17). Prophet Jeremiah noted that Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). Prophet Jeremiah continued saying: The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord (Lamentations 3:24-26). The Gospel according to Luke states that His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation (Luke 1:50). We, as His dearly loved children, ought to share about God’s loving compassion and mercy that we have been experiencing in our life to our children and they in turn to their children from generation to generation, as prophet Joel prophesied: Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation (Joel 1:3; also refer to Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6-7; 11:18-20). King David praised God saying: Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works (Psalm 145:3-5; also refer to: Psalm 78:4-6; Deuteronomy 6:6-7). In the past, the Lord God instructed His righteous laws and decrees and commands to His people through His chosen saints but in these days He speak to us through His Son Jesus Christ, as it is written in the Scripture: In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe (Hebrews 1:1-2). Apostle Paul wrote:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good (Titus :11-14).

As we meditate upon His Word, let us continue to trust in the loving kindness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Lord has blessed us with a very promising Scripture passage for our meditation this week, which is taken from Jude’s Epistle 1:3. Jude, the author of this Epistle, testifies about himself as the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James (Jude 1:1a). The early church, including the ministers of the gospel, identified both James and Jude as the brothers of Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). In fact, Jesus’ brothers (James, Joseph/Joses, Simon, and Judas) and sisters did not believe that their brother Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah [the Anointed One – the promised deliverer of the people of Israel – the Savior of all mankind – the giver of eternal life] while Jesus was living with them for decades (Mark 3:21; Luke 2:51-52; John 1:11; 7:2-5). Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20), very specifically mentioned that … even his own brothers did not believe in him (John 7:2-5). However, in the course of time, they all believed in Him because Jesus’ brothers along with their mother Mary were present with the apostles and other disciples of Jesus Christ who were waiting in the upper room in Jerusalem as per the command Jesus gave them before His ascension (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:12-14; 12:17). The Scripture states that He appeared to some of them between His resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven (1 Corinthians 15:6-7; Galatians 1:19). Apostle Paul mentioned James (perhaps Paul knew Jude also) on several occasions and identified him as brother of Jesus (Acts 21:18; 1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19; James 1:1; Jude 1:1). Paul counted James the brother of Jesus also as one of the pillars in the church at Jerusalem along with Peter and John (Galatians 1:19; 2:9). From all these narrations, we can understand that both, James and Jude, became prominent ministers in the early church and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem and beyond. In a nutshell, although James and Jude, along with Jesus’ other brothers and sisters, were skeptical about His claims that He is the Son of God, they all believed in Him and placed their trust in Him. As James and Jude became the ministers in the early church that was being founded on Jesus Christ and built by the His apostles, they addressed themselves as the servants of Jesus Christ (James 1:1; Jude 1:1a) instead of introducing themselves as the brothers of Jesus Christ (John 7:2-5). When Jude grasped how wide and long and high and deep was the love of Christ for him [as Apostle Paul stated in Ephesians 3:18], he not only realized that he has been called by God, but also he knew that he was loved by God the Father and was kept for Jesus Christ (Jude 1:1b). It is not just Jesus’ brothers Jude or James or just for Jesus’ apostles or early Christians who were entitled for more of God’s loving compassion and mercy, more of God’s never-ending peace, more of God’s unconditional love, but it would be available for anyone who is called by God and loved by God and kept for Jesus, as Jude stated: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance (Jude 1:2).

Ever since Adam [and Eve] disobeyed God’s commands and sinned against Him, sin entered the world and began to rule over humankind in almost every area of our day-to-day life. Apostle Paul made it clear, saying:  just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned (Romans 5:12). Sin causes physical illness as well as spiritual illness (James 5:14-16a); and, ultimately, sin leads to physical death as well as spiritual death. It is sin that causes death because sin separates us from the holy God. Apostle Paul very specifically stated that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). God also offers us the gift of life through His Son Jesus Christ, as it is mentioned: the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). On account of God’s great love for us, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Thus, God sent His One and only Son, Christ Jesus, into this sinful world, so that He can reconcile humanity with the holy God by paying the debts that we owe to the holy God because of our willful sinful life-style (John 3:16; Colossians 2:13-14; 1 Peter 2:24). Jesus said: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). By sacrificing Himself on the cross, He bore the penalty for all of our sins, as it is stated: When you were dead in your sins … God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14). The Scripture states that redemption is costly, and redemption is possible only when the payment of the penalty is made in full for our sinful words and deeds, as it is mentioned in Psalms that No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them; the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough, so that they should live on forever and not see decay (Psalm 49:7-9; also refer to: Romans 5:7). Although the redemption cost is very high, God made it possible by laying down the life of His begotten Son on our behalf (Isaiah 53:10-12). Jesus died on the cross for our sake and redeemed our life from eternal death, as Apostle Paul stated: God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8 [& 8:32]). Paul continued saying: … God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4b-5). Apostle Paul stated again that when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (Titus 3:4-5a). Thus, salvation is the gift of God and by grace we have been saved, as Apostle Paul states: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8; also refer to: Romans 6:23b). Thus, Christ delivered us [sinful humanity] from the grip of sin and death in order to transform us back into our original state, as God created the first human beings in a perfect manner (Genesis 1:31); that is, the human beings were created in the likeness and image of the holy God (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7).

The key Scriptural factors that bounce back and forth in the Scripture passage we chose for our meditation (Jude 1:3) are Salvation and Faith, which are inseparably connected to each other because both ought to play key roles with one accord to accomplish spiritual deliverance in believers’ lives. Thus, salvation and faith are like the two sides of a single coin, which makes the coin complete and useful; otherwise it will be incomplete and useless. A Christian believer’s spiritual journey begins when they place their trust (faith) in Jesus Christ and accept Him as the Lord and savior of their life. Then they ought to keep growing in their faith-life until their souls are redeemed by Christ from eternal condemnation. What we need to understand here is that (i) Salvation is not possible without one’s faith in Jesus Christ, and (ii) faith will be ineffective/incomplete if one is not able to achieve salvation in one’s life. This means, one’s faith ought to emerge from his/her trust in Jesus Christ and their faith-life will be ineffective if it is emerges from any non-biblical source. In any given situation, it is impossible to achieve salvation without faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8; also refer to: Proverbs 3:5-6; James 1:6). It is not only impossible to attain salvation without faith, it is impossible even to please God without faith, as it is mentioned in the Epistle of Hebrews: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6; also refer to: Genesis 15:6; Romans 10:17).

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). Apostle John stated that If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God (1 John 4:15; also refer to John 20:31). God the Father sent His one and only Son Jesus to this world to save the world through Him, as it is mentioned in the gospel according to John: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). We have seen that Jesus accomplished all the procedures for our salvation on the cross where He laid down His very life on our behalf. Jesus’ death on the cross, offers salvation for anyone who believes in Him or place their trust in Him. Those who believe in Him and accept Him as the Lord and savior of their life will definitely be saved, as Apostle Paul stated: If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved … (Romans 10:9-11). Apostle John states that … God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:11-12). According to Ephesians 2:8, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). Although, we do not need to do any work to achieve our salvation as it is the gift of God for us, it is our responsibility to receive the gift of our salvation by placing our trust/faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 15:11; Romans 3:24; 6:23b; 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9). This is what Jude urges his readers to be contended for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 1:3b). It is true that we do not need to work hard towards achieving our salvation [for it is the gift of God for us], but we need to obey everything God commanded us and need to do what it says to us [for we are created and saved to do good works], as Apostle Paul stated: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10; also refer to: Deuteronomy 28:1; Joshua 1:8; Jeremiah 7:23; John 14:15; Romans 2:13; 1 Corinthians 3:9; James 1:25).

In a nutshell, we can understand that there is an urgency to hold fast the faith that has been once and for all entrusted to us because the end of everything is nearing faster than any of us may think and the day of our redemption is nearing as well. Let us try to experience the love and grace of Christ in our life in a personal way. There is no doubt that our days on earth are coming to an end – whether we die and join with Christ or He returns and transforms us into His likeness to be with Him forever. Yes, our days on this earth are drawing closer to an end than ever before. In such a situation, Jude urges his brothers and sisters in faith to prepare themselves and be ready …

• • to stand fast in their faith in Jesus Christ
  • to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people
  • to encourage and uplift one another in faith
  • to defend the truthfulness of the glorious gospel that had been passed on to the church
  • to oppose the false teachers, ungodly people, and mockers of the gospel
  • to live a life that is worthy of our calling
  • to disapprove the ministry of the false teachers and ungodly people
  • to strengthen the believers who are committed to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ
  • to persevere in the trials and temptations they go through
  • to strive to achieve the end-goal of the Christian life, which is eternal life
  • to honor the triune God* with a godly life [*God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit]
  • to keep believing in Jesus Christ who laid down His very life to save ours
  • to remain faithful to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
  • to show mercy to all those who doubt
  • to preach the gospel of Christ to the unsaved and snatch them from the eternal fire
  • to develop a Christ-like character as they grow in the Lord
  • to be ready for the redemption of their life

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, all the saints (both OT and NT) who lived before us handed down the criterion of their faith in the One who called them from darkness into the light of His love and grace. In God’s mercy, the gospel of grace had been delivered to the saints and everyday in their life they had to contend with the faith that was once for all entrusted to them. We, the believers, are the proof of their faithfulness in keeping their faith in the One who called them. They neither compromised their faith that was entrusted to them with anything they saw or heard nor failed to pass it on to those who came after them. Now, it is our responsibility to pass it on to the people who live around us as well as to those who are coming after us. We need to pray to God Almighty to help us to hold fast to the faith that has been delivered to us and to pass it on. Since our time on earth is running out, let us proclaim the truth of the gospel to everyone everywhere. In all means, our life of faith in Jesus Christ will end when our souls are redeemed by Him for Himself. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!