In the 1st century AD, Jude (a follower of Christ) wrote a letter encouraging fellow believers to “contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3, NIV). Why? Men who had joined their fellowship were using God's grace as an excuse for sin. They wanted to use people's hunger for God as a means of gaining money and prestige for themselves, and to indulge every fleshly impulse/desire they had (Jude 1:1–12).
We see the same thing today. People who claim the name of Christ run after money, fame, and power. Others excuse and even promote actions, lifestyles, and beliefs that are clearly contrary to Scripture. How are these things justified? By claiming that God loves everyone, and therefore anything we desire he must also desire for us, and any type of belief, lifestyle, or choice is acceptable to him.
It’s true (thankfully!) that God loves every person he created. But there's a reason why Christ had to die on the cross. There's a reason we've all been called “enemies of God” who need reconciliation with him (Romans 5:10). Not every belief we hold or choice we make is good, acceptable, or right to God. When we fail to believe him and act contrary to what he says is right, we sin. Literally, we miss the mark he’s set for us.
But God is just that . . . God. He is Truth. He knows everything. What he says is right, is right. What he says is wrong, is wrong. What he says is reality, is. What he says is not, is not. It's important to distinguish between God's love for us as individuals and his joy or sorrow over the choices we make and the beliefs we hold. If every path we take and decision we make is acceptable to him, then Christ didn’t need to pay a death penalty for our sins. Sin wouldn’t exist! In his Word, he shows us a better way.
Let's take him at his word, then. A life lived for God constitutes service to him, not self-promotion. Jesus said, “if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:23–25).
The pretenders in Jude's day wanted to suck as much out of life/others for themselves as they could. They weren't interested in truly loving God or living for him. We can fall into a similar yet subtler trap as we jockey for position, popularity, or power in our church, career, and social circles. Our goal in life should not be self-gain. It should be loving God with all that we are: believing and doing what is good according to his standards, giving ourselves away for him and others, and sharing his one and only means of reconciliation and salvation—Jesus.
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