#172: Contending for the Faith in Today's Culture

 

Beloved...I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3

Calvary greetings beloved. If there is a theme for believers in this generation it will be the importance of maintaining our salvation status to ensure that in the end, we make it to heaven. And if there is any book in the bible that talks elaborately about this topic, it is Jude. His epistle is a 1 chapter epistle. But as it was relevant to the believers that he was writing to through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is more relevant to us living today. I invite you to take the time to read the book by yourself. This is just a summary of the epistle. We will just take a brief study on the book of Jude today. May God grant us insight as we dive in.

From vs 3, which is our anchor text, Jude makes it clear the reason for this epistle. He initially wanted to write about the glory of our salvation - this should have been a happy text, but he felt the urgency to change the script and instead write a more sobering text. So why is the issue of contending for the faith something that should be considered?

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and LORD, Jesus Christ. Jude 4

What Jude is trying to say here is that the enemy that came in unnoticed had sowed tares among the elect of God thereby bringing a lot of falsehood and deception to the body of Christ. If we read the parable of the tares (Matt 13:24-43), we understand that it is the will of God to allow this to happen. But due to the hostility that the tares are bringing, there must be contention. The tares are there to suffocate our faith, just as tares naturally compete for nutrients, water and other basic growth elements with the crops in order to suffocate them. The admonishing in the epistle of Jude is to contend for the faith - ensure that the presence of falsehood in the body of Christ does not choke away your stand in Christ.

So how do we contend for the faith? Are we ensured victory or is it a trial and error battle? What hope does the gospel give us? The book of Jude tells us that our victory is in Christ. And so when we are contending for the faith, we are more or less leaning on Christ.

Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. Jude 8

Jude had listed a lot of people who were facing God's judgement - and the reason is that they relied on themselves and rejected the authority of God.

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgement, but said, "The LORD rebuke you" Jude 9

We see the classic example of how to contend with the enemy. Even angels do not contend with the devil with their strength. they do not rely on their experience. They come against the enemy in the name of the LORD (I Sam 17:45&47). James gives a condensed description of how to be battle-ready for the enemy:

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt, save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Jude 20-23

If you scan through the list in verses 20-23, you realise that none of them requires our intellect and willpower. They are only achievable by God Himself working through us - the only way to contend for the faith is by the grace of God. So he ends the epistle with this doxology similar the way he began the epistle:

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 (Jude 1)

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy (Jude 24)

How wonderful to know that as believers, we are preserved in Christ. In the midst of the contention for our faith, may this glorious truth re-echo forever and ever (I Pet 1:4-5). Because it is Him alone who is able to keep us from stumbling and not making a shipwreck of our faith. We cannot contend for the faith with the enemy in our strength. The book of Jude, therefore, invites us to embrace the providence of God in seeing us through to the end through His faithfulness (Rom 8:30).

Jude is not the only person who talks about contending for the faith in this way. In the famous Ephesians 6 (Eph 6:10-18) outlay of the armour of God, Paul reminds us that we are not fighting a physical battle and so cannot fight it in our might (II Cor 10:4). He says: "be strong IN THE LORD and in THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT. Put on THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD". It is not the armour of the flesh. It is not the armour of self-determination. The battle has never been fought in the absence of God. and when you look at all the elements of the armour of God, you realise that from the belt of truth to the helmet of salvation, to the breastplate of righteousness, to the shoe of readiness for the gospel of peace, to the shield of faith, to the sword of the Spirit to prayer, these are all expressions of God working in you (Phil 2:12-13).

So when Paul was at the end of his life on death row, he could boldly say: I have fought the good fight...I have kept the faith (II Tim 4:7) but only because all through his life, it was not him, but Christ (Gal 2:20).

May God grant us grace to hold to Him for victory.

In conclusion, be aware that the Christian life is a lifelong battle. We live every day contending for the faith. But it is not a hopeless battle. We have confidence in Christ because God has preserved us in Him. We fight therefore as victors and not as victims.