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"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. They are ungodly men who turn the grace of
God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our
Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though you
once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people
out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed those who
did not believe." Jude 3-5.
Commentary: Yes; certain well known leaders of large
churches in the nations of the world have crept onto the
scene, and many gullible Christians are paying bucket
loads of money to support some of these leaders and do
not realize that they are supporting wolves who are
destroying the sheep including the wolves' followers.
Certain high profile leaders and certain traitors within
church fellowships are feeding congregations lies and
poisonous spiritual food. They are also twisting the
Scriptures and speaking perverse forms of teaching to
Christians. And many followers of these wolves do not
realize that Lord Jesus has clearly not sent these men
and women to lead churches. They are prophets and
prophetesses of the deceit of their own hearts.
"How long will this be in the heart of the prophets
who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the
deceit of their own hearts." Jeremiah 23:26.
"The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;
and he who has My word, let him speak My word
faithfully." Jeremiah 23:28.
Commentary: Contending earnestly for the faith is about
faithfully speaking Lord Jesus' words, and this includes
speaking out against all kinds of liars. Contending for
the faith involves convincing people about the truth of
Lord Jesus' words, and this involves being rejected and
afflicted by those who contradict. However, Lord Jesus
will show Himself strong on behalf of those who are
loyal to Him, as taught in the Holy Bible.
Jude was a loyal follower of Lord Jesus, who cared about
the well being of the saints of the day, and any true
saint today should also warn and exhort other saints in
this day so that the saints remain vigilant and on guard
against Satan's grand schemes. Satan schemes by sending
dishonest church leaders and dishonest churchgoers into
church fellowships and brings disunity into the church
and deceives Christians who become accustomed to hearing
false doctrine and who do not know the Scriptures,
though they read the Scriptures. People need to
understand the Scriptures, and Lord Jesus sends true
church leaders and true shepherds to feed the church
congregations with truthful and biblical knowledge and
understanding. Ref: Ephesians 4:11-16, 2 Corinthians
11:1-4, 11:12-15.
"Be sober and be vigilant because your adversary the
devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he
may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same sufferings are experienced by your
brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace,
who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after you suffered a while, perfect, establish,
strengthen and settle you. To Him be the glory and the
dominion forever and ever: Amen." 1 Peter 5:8-11.
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness but rather expose them. For it is shameful even
to speak of those things which are done by them in
secret. But all things that are exposed are made
manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is
light. Therefore He says, 'Awake, you who sleep. Arise
from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
Ephesians 5:11-14.
Commentary: Lord Jesus is the light of this world. He is from above and
not from this earth. He created this earth, as it is
taught in the Holy Bible. When the word of God exposes
dark works, it becomes evident that the works are not of
Lord Jesus and are not good. When people speak lies and
say that it is the Holy Spirit who said it, this makes
Lord Jesus very angry because people have perverted the
ways of the Lord and have said, "God told me this." And
they have caused people to believe that biblical truths
are lies and that lies are truth. They are following
another Jesus, and they think that they are
following Christ Jesus, creator of heaven and earth. The
devil has much more knowledge than the Christians of
this day, and he is deceiving multitudes day after day.
The devil previously served Lord Jesus a long time ago,
but he fell from Lord Jesus' grace because of his
conceit and rebellion against the Lord. The same falling
away from the faith is happening today to many
Christians who were bought by the precious blood of Lord
Jesus, but Lord Jesus will not accept into heaven those
who do not believe His word and who do not do what He
says. Ref: Jude 5, Hebrews 2:3, Hebrews 5:9.
Therefore, awaken to righteousness and make a commitment
to learn Lord Jesus' true word. Contend earnestly for
the true faith, the doctrine of Lord Jesus Christ and
stop contending against the people whom He has sent to
speak His words to you. Many Christians today have given
up speaking against liars and do not believe that Lord
Jesus is able to perfect them if they obey Him. They
say, "Nobody is perfect." They lie to their neighbour
and they fight against Lord Jesus' messengers who need
to rebuke them for their conceit and disobedience
against Lord Jesus. They need to stop kicking against
His messengers and start listening to His messengers.
And may Lord Jesus perfect His followers after we have
suffered a while on this earth. Ref: 1 Peter 5:10.
He perfects those who remain loyal to Him.
"All authority has been given to me in heaven and on
earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." Ref:
Matthew 28:18-20.
"And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let
him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come.
Whoever desires let Him take the water of life freely."
Revelation 22:17.
Commentary: Take note that anyone who desires to hear
Lord Jesus' word, the water of life is entitled to hear
this word freely and not pay course fees to listen and
learn. Lord Jesus said to make disciples of all the
nations and to teach them to observe all of His
commandments and to teach them freely. Making disciples
of people in all nations is much different to making
billions of dollars at the expense of Christians in the
nations.
Today, many so called, Bible Colleges or Bible Schools
and the professing Christian ministries controlling
these institutions are outright denying Lord Jesus and
denying their professed faith in Him because they are
selling words which they claim to be taught by God. They
are claiming to teach Lord Jesus' words, and they are
doing it for a monetary price, when people are actually
entitled to hear and learn His word freely.
"Come now, you rich; weep and howl for your miseries
that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and
your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are
corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against
you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped
up treasure in the last says." James 5:1-3.
Commentary: Miseries are coming upon those who charge a
monetary price for the word of God or charge a monetary
price for teaching which they claim that 'God told
them.' Their riches which are gained through fraudulent
dishonesty will be a witness against these religious
pirates. Times Square Church, New York City and
Christian Outreach Centre and many other Christendom
churches are among those who sell their ministerial
products and do not teach biblical truths. They add and
take away from Lord Jesus' words and then sell their
mixed wine (deceitful teaching). Woe to them. They have
run in the way of Balaam for profit. Ref: Jude 11.
However, if they persist in their greediness, they will
have no eternal profit in the end but only eternal
damnation.
"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of
heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely, you have
received; freely give." Matthew 10:7, 8.
Commentary: Even in the twenty first century. Lord
Jesus' messengers are able to receive His word freely,
and they are required to freely give His message to
others and not charge them a monetary price. Some
ministers might ask, "How do I make a living then?" The
answer is: 'A worker is worthy of his food.' Ref:
Matthew 10:9, 10.
"Even so, the Lord has commanded that those who
preach the gospel should live from the gospel." 1
Corinthians 9:14.
Yes; as it is written, Lord Jesus has commanded that
people who preach the gospel should live from the
gospel. He has also taught that a worker is worthy of
his food and has commanded that His word is to be given
to people freely, which means not for money. Lord Jesus
provides for His ministers through generous ministry
supporters, and they keep the ministry operating though
their gifts and through the voluntary labour of
Lord Jesus' messengers.
A worker is worthy of His food. This is true, but it is
equally important to understand that there are some
loyal messengers of Lord Jesus in this world, who are
church leaders but who are not making money from leading
churches or from teaching the word of God. Lord Jesus is
able to miraculously provide for them, as He provided
the prophet Elijah with meat delivered by birds, and He
presented food before His eyes in the wilderness.
Ref: 1 Kings 17:1-16, 1 Kings 19:5-9.
The early apostles including Paul, Peter, John and the
others were the educators of the early church and the
education which they gave to the early saints is also
for the saints of this day. Their writings are still in
the Holy Bible today. These early educators of the
church were volunteers and they were certainly not
making monetary fortunes from preaching and teaching the
gospel but they were making a living because of Lord Jesus providing them
with breath in their lungs and necessities for their
bodies.
Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but
what I do have I give you;: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Acts 3:6.
Commentary: The apostle Peter acknowledged that he had
the privilege of being able to walk. And in Lord Jesus'
name, he kindly healed a lame man, who was begging for
money. Peter accepted the reality that he had no money,
but he knew that he had faith in Lord Jesus and eternal
life, which is priceless.
"So now brethren, I commend you to God and to the
word of His grace, which is able to build you up and
give you an inheritance among all those who are
sanctified. I have coveted no one's silver, gold or
apparel. Yes; you yourselves know that these hands have
provided for my necessities and for those who were with
me. I have shown you in every way by labouring like
this, that you must support the weak. And remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more
blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:32-35.
Commentary: The Apostle Paul laboured night and day. He
taught the word of God continuously, and he made tents
at times. Paul the apostle worked, made a living and
provided even for the people who were with him and doing
the work of the ministry. Paul the apostle was not
charging people money for his gospel teaching. On the
contrary, he went without important necessities at
times, and he had enough at other times. He was a
selfless man who put others before himself. His priority
was to finish the work that Lord Jesus called him to do
and he endured long term hardship for the sake of the
elected saints. He cared very much about the wellbeing
of the entire church.
Today, there are numerous billionaire church leaders on
the earth, and their fortunes are gained through their
ministries. This is a great contrast to the apostles,
prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists of earlier
times who were poor in earthly material wealth and whose
ministry works were labours of love and not labours of
capitalism. Ref: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, Matthew 3:4,
Matthew 8:20.
Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Keith Moore, Carter
Conlon and many other deceitful professing Christian men
and women have made their fortunes through dishonest
teaching and covetousness. They are not poor in material
wealth, but they are poor in Lord Jesus' eyes, and their
souls will be judged in due time. Their treasures are on
earth and not in heaven. Lord Jesus taught us that where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the
coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it
until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be
patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the
Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another,
brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge is
standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets,
who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of
suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who
endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and
seen the end intended by the Lord - that the Lord is
very compassionate and merciful." James 5:7-11.
Concluding commentary: From now until our final days on this earth, we
need to be very patient. Take the example written by the
teacher James as concise words which all saints need to
now follow, as we are in some very evil days on the
earth. Just like how the prophets and apostles of
earlier times had to endure through hardship, saints in
this day must also endure hardship. Even so, continue
listening to Lord Jesus' word and let your heart be
established and let your mind be transformed through
applying the word of God to your daily life. Lord Jesus
will judge our hearts on the coming judgment day, which
draws nearer every day. Establish your hearts and
prepare to be judged by the Lord. Stop grumbling and
stop complaining in an unrighteous manner against the
church leaders or the messenger of Lord Jesus who is
teaching you and do not be jealous of your brethren. If
you are guilty of complaining in an unrighteous manner
or showing contempt toward the person teaching the truth
to you or if you have bitter envy and self seeking in
your hearts, confess this sin to Lord Jesus, repent and
stop doing that sin. You will receive a great eternal
reward if you are loyal to Lord Jesus and you endure
through the remaining days ahead, as one of His
followers. Amen. |
