Contending for the Faith
Today’s Verse:
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. ~Jude 1:3
Jude was the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was a time during Jesus' ministry when His half-brothers and half-sisters were skeptical and doubtful about Him. They were not convinced in their hearts that He was truly the Son of God. That changed after Jesus' death and resurrection. Jude is a devoted disciple and servant of the Lord. He wrote one book that was meant to warn, encourage, and stir up the believers to not compromise with the world, throw in the towel, or let sin prevail. He writes this little book named after him about contending for the faith.
We see the dangers.
There are three dangers that faced believers in Jude’s day and that we face as well. The first is the danger of anarchy. There is a segment of our society that rejects all authority, is seeking the disruption of the family unit, and is promoting chaos. They are trying to promote their causes through riots, protests, and violence. There is the danger of apostasy. Apostasy is the falling away of things previously held to. It is a falling away of the Bible as God’s authoritative Word. It is also the falling away of the authority and purpose of the church. There is apathy, which is an indifference to things that a believer was once zealous about. Jude saw this shift and, with diligence, wrote to his fellow believers.
We see the directive.
He exhorts us to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Contend means we must confront these dangers head-on. It means we must expose these dangers among us. Contending is not easy. It means we must take a strong stand for the Lord, His Word, and His church. When we contend, we experience the heartache of friendships that we must part with due to differences in belief about the Bible, philosophy of ministry, or moral decisions that are contrary to God’s Word. As a church, we contend for the use of the King James Version of the Bible, salvation by grace through faith, separated living, and no compromise with the world or the flesh.
We see the defense.
Contending for the faith also means we must defend what we believe. We preach the whole counsel of God so that the people in our church know what we believe. We defend the right to life in a mother’s womb and oppose abortion. We defend abstinence from immoral relationships. We defend sobriety and that Christians should not drink alcohol or take substances that are controlling and addictive. We defend biblical marriage. Nehemiah told the men who were working with him to rebuild the wall, “Fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” Paul said that we should fight the good fight of faith. We must be truth defenders.
We see the disciplines.
In Jude 1:20-23, we are given several disciplines that are essential for our faith. We must keep building our spiritual lives through praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping ourselves in the love of God, looking for the coming of our Lord Jesus, and winning the unsaved to Christ. We are encouraged that God keeps us from falling so that we stand faultless before the glory of His presence. We must not allow what we believe to be compromised or perverted. Stand strong in your faith and in your Lord!
Have a steadfast God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Ezekiel 25-27