Put Off, Put On...

Thanks to "Blue Letter Bible" for this:

"Put Off" Scriptural Insight "Put On"
1.	Lack of love	1Jo 4:7,8,20	Jhn 15:12	Love
2.	Judging	Mat 7:1,2	Jhn 8:9; Jhn 15:22	Let God search my heart
3.	Bitterness	Hbr 12:15	Eph 4:32	Tenderhearted and forgiving
4.	Unforgiving Sprit	Mar 11:26	Col 3:13	Forgiving spirit
5.	Selfishness	Phl 2:21	Jhn 12:24	Self denial
6.	Pride	Pro 16:5	Jam 4:6	Humility
7.	Boasting (Conceit)	1Cr 4:7	Phl 2:3	Esteeming others
8.	Stubbornness	1Sa 15:23	Rom 6:13	Brokenness
9.	Disrespect for authority	Act 23:5	Hbr 13:17	Honor authority
10.	Rebellion	1Sa 15:23	Hbr 13:17	Submission
11.	Disobedience	1Sa 12:15	Deu 11:27	Obedience
12.	Impatience	Jam 1:2-4	Hbr 10:36	Patience
13.	Ungratefulness	Rom 1:21	Eph 5:20	Gratefulness
14.	Covetousness	Luk 12:15	Hbr 13:5	Contentment
15.	Discontent	Hbr 13:5	1Ti 6:8	Contentment
16.	Murmuring/ Complaining	Phl 2:14	Hbr 13:15	Praise
17.	Irritation of others	Gal 5:26	Phl 2:3,4	Preferring in love
18.	Jealousy	Gal 5:26	1Cr 13:4	Trust
19.	Strife/Contention	Pro 13:10	Jam 3:17	Peace
20.	Retaliation (Getting even)	Pro 24:29	Rom 12:19,20	Return good for evil
21.	Losing temper	Pro 25:28	Pro 16:32	Self-control
22.	Anger	Pro 29:22	Gal 5:22,23	Self-control
23.	Wrath	Jam 1:19,20	Pro 15:1	Soft answer
24.	Easily irritated	1Cr 13:5	Pro 19:11	Not easily provoked
25.	Hatred	Mat 5:21,22	1Cr 13:3	Love
26.	Murder	Exd 20:13	Rom 13:10	Love
27.	Gossip	1Ti 5:13	Eph 4:29	Edifying speech
28.	Evil speaking	Jam 4:11	Pro 15:30	Good report
29.	Critical spirit	Gal 5:15	Col 3:12	Kindness
30.	Lying	Eph 4:25	Zec 8:16	Speak truth
31.	Profanity	Pro 4:24	Pro 15:4	Pure speech
32.	Idle words	Mat 12:36	Pro 21:23	Bridle tongue
33.	Wrong motives	1Sa 16:7	1Cr 10:31	Spiritual motives
34.	Evil thoughts	Mat 5:19,20	Phl 4:8	Pure thoughts
35.	Complacency	Rev 3:15	Rev 3:19	Zeal
36.	Laziness	Pro 20:4	Pro 6:6-11	Diligence
37.	Slothfulness (Not doing best)	Pro 18:9	Col 3:23	Wholeheartedness
38.	Hypocrisy	Job 8:13	1Th 2:3	Sincerity
39.	Idolatry	Deu 11:16	Col 1:18	Worship God only
40.	Left first love	Rev 2:4	Rev 2:5	Fervent devotion
41.	Lack of rejoicing always	Phl 4:4	1Th 5:18	Rejoice
42.	Worry/Fear	Mat 6:25-32	1Pe 5:7	Trust
43.	Unbelief	Hbr 3:12	Hbr 11:1,6	Faith
44.	Unfaithfulness	Pro 25:19	Luk 16:10-12	Faithfulness
45.	Neglect of Bible study	2Ti 3:14-17	Psa 1:2	Bible study/Meditation
46.	Prayerlessness	Luk 18:1	Mat 26:41	Praying
47.	No burden for the lost	Mat 9:36-38	Act 1:8	Compassion/Witnessing
48.	Burying talents	Luk 12:48	1Cr 4:2	Developing abilities
49.	Irresponsibility (Family/Work)	Luk 16:12	Luk 16:10	Responsibility
50.	Procrastination	Pro 10:5	Pro 27:1	Diligence
51.	Irreverence in church	Ecc 5:1	Psa 89:7	Reverence
52.	Inhospitable	1Pe 4:9	Rom 12:13	Hospitable
53.	Cheating	2Cr 4:2	2Cr 8:21	Honesty
54.	Stealing	Pro 29:24	Eph 4:28	Working/Giving
55.	Lack of moderation	Pro 11:1	1Cr 9:25	Temperance
56.	Gluttony	Pro 23:21	1Cr 9:27	Discipline
57.	Wrong friends	Psa 1:1	Pro 13:20	Godly friends
58.	Temporal values	Mat 6:19-21	2Cr 4:18	Eternal value
59.	Love of money/Greed	1Ti 6:9,10	Mat 6:33	Love God
60.	Stinginess	1Jo 3:17	Pro 11:24,25	Generosity
61.	Moral impurity	1Th 4:7	1Th 4:4	Moral purity
62.	Fornication	1Cr 6:18	1Th 4:3	Abstinence
63.	Lust	1Pe 2:11	Tts 2:12	Pure desires
64.	Adultery	Mat 5:27,28	Pro 5:14-19	Marital fidelity
65.	Homosexuality	Lev 18:22	1Th 4:4,5	Moral purity
66.	Incest	Lev 18:6	1Cr 7:2,5	Moral purity
67.	Pornography	Psa 101:3	Phl 4:8	Pure thoughts
68.	Immodest dress	Pro 7:10	1Ti 2:9	Modesty
69.	Flirtation	Pro 7:21	1Pe 3:4	Gentle, quiet spirit
70.	Worldly entertainment	Pro 21:17	Gal 5:16	Spiritual pursuits
71.	Fleshly music	Eph 4:29,30	Eph 5:19	Edifying music
72.	Bodily harm	1Cr 3:16,17	1Cr 6:19,20	Glorify God in body
73.	Alcoholism	Pro 20:1	Pro 23:30	Abstinence
74.	Following the crowd	Pro 1:10	Pro 3:7	God-fearing
75.	Witchcraft/ Astrology/ Horoscopes	Deu 18:10,11	Deu 6:5	Worship of God
76.	Gambling	Pro 28:20,22	Luk 16:11	Good stewardship
77.	Preferential treatment	Jam 2:1-9	Luk 6:31	Love neighbor as self
78.	Presumption on the future	Pro 27:1	Jam 4:14-16	Trust God's will

A Wake Up Call...

From Christian Worldview Network:

An Urgent Report:
Code Blue: Churched Students and Families
in Final Throes of Worldview Crisis

By Brannon S. Howse

"The church in America is in critical condition. Christian adults and young people alike embody worldviews that are no different from those outside the church. Jesus’ warning in Revelation 3:16 should be ringing in our collective ears: “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth” (HCSB). Separation from Christ means spiritual death follows quickly. For that reason, Worldview Weekend has declared CODE BLUE for America’s church. Urgent action is vital, or the vibrant Christian faith we all should be sharing will soon be dead. Studies Show the Real Us Researchers of the problem continue to come up with increasingly grave statistics that explain how serious the condition is. Among Christian adults:

• 64% believe moral truth depends on the situation;
• 60% believe male/female co-habitation outside of marriage is acceptable;
• 55% believe a good person can earn his or her salvation;
• 44% believe Jesus Christ committed sins while on earth.


And consider the peril of college students:

• 67% of college professors approve of homosexuality; • 84% of professors approve of abortion;
• 65% embrace socialist and communist ideals;
• 88% of students from “Christian” homes deny their faith before they graduate from college;
• 91% of students from evangelical churches do not believe in absolute moral truth.[3] Recognizing the life-and-death nature of the issue, the Southern Baptist Convention, to its credit, has even done a self-study and found that 88% of young people from SBC homes deny their faith before they graduate from college."

Read the rest of the article here.

The Identity of Jude

It's been a while, but I promised we'd start looking at the book of Jude. Having gotten a gentle nudge from a reader, I did a little reading this afternoon while tending my father while mom was at the store. Bear with me!

"1a Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,..."

The author of the book of Jude is none other than the half-brother of Jesus and the brother of James, also a half-brother of our Lord. That is his physical identity.

But in reading the text, did you notice we can see a bit into the identity of Jude through his character? Read the half-verse again. He refers to himself as a "bondservant". A "doulos" submitted to the Lordship of Christ. He was bound to do whatever His Lord and Master bid him to do. He had genuine faith -- the real thing -- a faith that shows itself in its works, for genuine faith shows itself in its obedience as Paul says twice in Romans, once in chapter one and once in chapter 16..."the obedience of faith" or "the obedience that comes from faith". So we see his Identity in Christ marked by genuine faith in the Living God.

We also see his character, which is part of his identity. How tempting would it have been to you or me to have reminded our readers that "I'm the half brother of Jesus!...You know, the God of the Universe! The one Who holds all things together!". How simple it would be to turn it to our own glory.

But he didn't do that. Instead of claiming his earthly, physical relationship with the Lord, he points to his spiritual relationship, reminding us only that he was an earthly brother to James. That is, humilty that results from death to "self" and is fruit that serves as evidence of his conversion. Mark 8:34-"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." This isn't a frill, it's just saving faith.

And how rare for our day. So many are boastful. Or, they drag the Lord down to their level, alluding to Jesus as a "homeboy" or "buddy" or some such nonsense. Yet Jude knows he has a bond servant relationship to a transcendent, holy God.

Although I can't recall who it was, I remember hearing someone saying that 'false religion breeds pride, the true breeds humility." Maybe it was Oswald Chambers. I don't remember. But compare this attitude with many of our day which is really not that different from Jude's era. False teachers abound, drawing people to themselves and boasting great things. Visions and such. Promising to solve the world's problems, without mention of the Lord they profess to know.

True faith breeds humility out of a denial of self and dependence on God.

So how do we measure up? Are we self reliant or do we realize our position in Christ as Lord and submit to Him, giving Him the glory?

More next time.

Blessings.

Some Basics about Jude

Just by way of introduction, I think it's very fitting that we take a look at this little epistle by a half-brother of Jesus. Jude's readers were living in times that were similar to ours. Although they were persecuted more than we are, they were being infiltrated by libertinism and what may have been early forms of Gnosticism.

It is a book of warning and encouragement. A book of defense and yet offense. And again that is similar to where we find ourselves in history. We must contend for the faith, and be wary of various heresies that have crept into the Church.

But it is the proclamation of the faith that is our offensive weapon. We don't fight against flesh and blood. We fight against principalities and powers. And Biblical Truth is the only weapon that we possess that can neutralize the effects of doctrinal and practical error that was common in Jude's day as well as ours.

We see it in the pragmatism of our day. The Church is being infiltrated by a postmodern culture. As a result, doctrine has taken a back seat to "what works" and "meeting felt needs". Indeed, true doctrine is viewed as "impractical", "divisive" or even "not knowable". To the contrary, as a computer operates on what it is fed, our thoughts must be guided by God's Truth so that we operate as our Lord commands us to. Therefore, we must "be transformed by the renewing of our mind" on the one hand and spread forth God's truth so that others can be encouraged in the truth and correct practice. And to say that doctrine isn't "knowable" is to say that either God has stuttered, mumbled or not given us the tools to know what He has said.

Can doctrine be devisive? Yes! It divides truth from falsehood, holiness from sin, righteousness from unrighteousness and light from darkness. Truth protects us from error but it is also a sword that we wield to defeat the enemy and advance the Kingdom.

So I look forward to the days ahead as we go through Jude.

Jude's Letter in These Last Days

Couldn't sleep, and thought it'd be interesting to go through Jude. With all the study I've been doing on Warrenism and its ilk, I thought it might be very relevant to daily life. Doubtless, as we stand firm for the faith and contend for it, we feel we are a minority; and we are. But then biblically, it's the remnant that is vindicated in the end. So I can take a little heat for whatever time is left.

Note that the text is taken from the NASB (at Gospelcom.com). Why? I prefer it.

So, here's the book of Jude. It is time (as John MacArthur once told me in a class) to read, reread and reread it. Then we'll go through it and make some comments. And yes, anyone can comment and make observations.
_________________

Jude 1

The Warnings of History to the Ungodly

1^(A)Jude, a ^(B)bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To ^(C)those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and ^(D)kept for Jesus Christ:

2^(E)May mercy and peace and love ^(F)be multiplied to you.

3^(G)Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our ^(H)common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you ^(I)contend earnestly for ^(J)the faith which was once for all ^(K)handed down to ^(L)the saints.

4For certain persons have ^(M)crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand ^(N)marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn ^(O)the grace of our God into ^(P)licentiousness and ^(Q)deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5Now I desire to ^(R)remind you, though ^(S)you know all things once for all, that ^[a]the Lord, ^(T)after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

6And ^(U)angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has ^(V)kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

7just as ^(W)Sodom and Gomorrah and the ^(X)cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and ^(Y)went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an ^(Z)example in undergoing the ^(AA)punishment of eternal fire.

8Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, ^(AB)defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.

9But ^(AC)Michael ^(AD)the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about ^(AE)the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "^(AF)The Lord rebuke you!"

10But ^(AG)these men revile the things which they do not understand; and ^(AH)the things which they know by instinct, ^(AI)like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.

11Woe to them! For they have gone ^(AJ)the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into ^(AK)the error of Balaam, and ^(AL)perished in the rebellion of Korah.

12These are the men who are hidden reefs ^(AM)in your love feasts when they feast with you ^(AN)without fear, caring for themselves; ^(AO)clouds without water, ^(AP)carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, ^(AQ)uprooted;

13^(AR)wild waves of the sea, casting up ^(AS)their own shame like foam; wandering stars, ^(AT)for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

14It was also about these men that ^(AU)Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "^(AV)Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,

15^(AW)to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ^(AX)ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

16These are ^(AY)grumblers, finding fault, ^(AZ)following after their own lusts; they speak ^(BA)arrogantly, flattering people ^(BB)for the sake of gaining an advantage.

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God

17But you, ^(BC)beloved, ^(BD)ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by ^(BE)the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

18that they were saying to you, "^(BF)In the last time there will be mockers, ^(BG)following after their own ungodly lusts."

19These are the ones who cause divisions, ^(BH)worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.

20But you, ^(BI)beloved, ^(BJ)building yourselves up on your most holy ^(BK)faith, ^(BL)praying in the Holy Spirit,

21keep yourselves in the love of God, ^(BM)waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

22And have mercy on some, who are doubting;

23save others, ^(BN)snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, ^(BO)hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

24^(BP)Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to ^(BQ)make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with ^(BR)great joy,

25to the ^(BS)only ^(BT)God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, ^(BU)be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, ^(BV)before all time and now and forever. Amen.