“Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.” (Jude 1:1-2 KJV)
Much ado about something truly important. Sanctified — preserved — called, these three go together like hips and knees and feet. To be set apart for his service by our Father and God is truly something we both need and appreciate. His sanctification gives us pause to seriously consider the service we have been sanctified to perform; preserved to perform; called to perform.
God had a reason for specifically calling you and me as individual servants. There is a reason we are preserved in Jesus Christ. This reason is so important that God set us apart to achieve it. If we do not think it through carefully, we will theologize the ideas of sanctification, preservation and calling to the point of intellectual distraction and they will lose their biblical impact.
Jude reveals a shocking reality. Despite sanctification by our Father God, we can still be deceived by false teachers. One would naturally think that called, sanctified and preserved Christians would not be subject to deception. Yet, Jude warns “that (we) should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (v. 3). In addition, he cautioned us to be aware of ungodly persons who secretly enter the Church and deceive by “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 4).
How important is my sanctification? Important enough to resist any and all deception. How important is my preservation? Important enough to be aware of deceivers and their false teachings. How important is my calling? Important enough to “give diligence to make (my) calling and election sure: for if (I) do these things,(I) shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto (me) abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2Peter 1:10-11 KJV).
“Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.”
Dear Father, thank you for calling us and sanctifying us and preserving us in Jesus Christ. Grant that we may faithfully and diligently keep ourselves safe in him. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be courageous today in the important issues,