Jude 3
“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.”
The urgency in the words of Jude is moving as he pens his only epistle attributed to the Holy Scriptures. After a simple greeting, he arrives swiftly and definitely at his objective. Jude explains that his earnest intent was to write to his congregation concerning their salvation. In doing so, he found one exhortation to be overwhelmingly necessary. Jude charged his readers to earnestly contend for the faith. It is the prayer of this writer that the following be written in that same urgency and to that same effect.
It is said that the book of Jude is to apostasy what the book of Acts is to the Apostles. It acts as a commentary to the teaching of error already infamous in the first century of the church’s existence. Jude warns of men who had crept in unawares, had done great damage to the church and had created potential for even more damage. These “ungodly men” were guilty of “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v. 4) Without detail given to specific actions or teachings, Jude succinctly states that these men had gone so far as to altogether deny God and the Lord Jesus. Jude reminds his readers of the fate of such men and those who followed them by using examples such as:
· The Children of Israel who complained soon after being delivered from captivity and perished because of their unbelief. (v. 5)
· The angels which followed Lucifer in rebellion against God and were cast from heaven. (v. 6)
· The people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities who gave themselves to fornication and suffered the vengeance of God. (v. 7)
Little to no time passed before the Apostles and other leaders of the church were forced to deal with all too similar situations. As Luke chronicles the earliest days of the church, men materialize, denying and perverting the gospel which had so recently been revealed to the early church. Every epistle written by the Apostle Paul, at some point in time, deals with false notions that were being taught in both the infant and the mature churches. Reading through New Testament as a narrative, one would be hard pressed to find the beginning of any church that is not soon followed by false teaching and corruption (Acts 20:29; II Corinthians 11:13-14).
In the third chapter of his letter to Timothy, Paul addresses false teaching and apostasy in the context of the last days. His conclusion about the men, with which those in Jude may be included, is that they “shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13) And so it has been. Any short look at Christianity (as loosely defined as possible) in the present day would provoke one to add to Paul’s conclusion, “and worse and worse and worse….” Any sensible Christian can find the men in Jude still creeping in greater numbers and more unawares than ever.
It is here that we find ourselves. Error is being taught to a far greater extent and being followed with ever greater dedication. Nevertheless, the problem is the same. “The grace of our God” is being turned “into lasciviousness, and” millions upon millions are “denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” However, Jude gave the solution, and just as the problem is the same, the solution is and, until the Lord Jesus returns, will be the same. The solution that Jude put forth is that those who possess that “common salvation”, the people of God, “should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” It is here that we find our call, the call to contend.
Defining the Call
The call to contend, as Jude exhorts, is a broad call to a wide spectrum of commitments in which every Christian is to engage. Though, perhaps not every point at which believers are to contend is explicitly stated in Jude’s epistle, similar directives to “earnestly contend for the faith” are found through out the New Testament. The remainder of this work is a look at several of those.
Contending for the faith must be defined in two points. It is more than obvious that this call is given to believers, answering the question of who is to contend. But, in a world of such a vague and undefined Christianity, the question may be asked, “in what do those believers believe?” or more specifically “what is the faith for which believers are to contend?” When those questions are answered, definition can be given to the second point, contending.
Defining the Faith
Faith is unmistakably presented throughout God’s Word. From the very moment of man’s separation from God, faith has been the only means of regaining communion with God. Nowhere does the Bible present reconciliation of man to God through anything more or less than faith. Whether from the Old Testament, the New Testament, or the present, God’s people are always those people who live a life characterized by faith (Romans 4:3; Hebrews 11:2).
As God’s revelation of Himself to men unfolds, as recorded in the Scriptures, the Biblical idea of faith extends as well.[i] Old Testament figures speak of faith in God as complete trust in God to carry out His promises of protecting and blessing His people. That belief and trust is demonstrated by total withdrawal of any reliance on anything or anyone other than God. (Isaiah 30:1-18) That faith culminates, as does all Christian faith, in their hope and expectancy of the Messiah.
One of the verses in the Bible most used to generally define faith is Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In this verse, the necessary elements of faith are given. However, this general definition specifies little about the particular faith of a Christian. More specific definition can be found in the remainder of the chapter culminating in the second verse of the next chapter which says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
All Christian faith, consistent with the Bible, is founded on and always resolves to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The common salvation, which brought Jude to the subject of contending for the faith, is what opens the subject of faith for every person. The person of the Lord Jesus and the work that was done in His death, burial and resurrection can simply be designated as the gospel (I Corinthians 15:1-3). The Apostle Paul tells us that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Later, we see that men are made wise unto salvation by the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15). The definition comes full circle in that faith comes by the truth found in God’s Word (Romans 10:7). From God’s Word comes knowledge of the truth. Then consent is given to that truth. Finally, trust is placed in that truth.[ii]
All Biblical doctrine converges in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as was already said, all Christian faith converges, and lays at rest, in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is both the abstract rule in which believers believe (i.e., the God’s Word) as well as the life in which they live in obedience to that standard. From that point, we may say that the faith for which Jude exhorts his readers to contend is that which is found in God’s Word, centered on the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is to be lived out in the life of every believer.
Defining Contending
In a familiar form of New Testament imagery, the word used by Jude in exhorting his readers to contend is a reference to athletes in the struggle of a contest.[iii] The idea of a striving for a specific purpose and with a specific goal in mind is used time and again in the Bible concerning the believer and his obligation to God and his faith. Whether in defense of the faith or offense for the faith, the Bible’s mandate for the Christian is to maintain a firm hold on the faith against all who oppose or seek to adulterate the faith.
Precedence for the Biblical directive of contending for the faith is given throughout the New Testament. The conflict of the Christian life is ascribed to many different sources but is never described as anything less than a battle. Often, in the epistles, the Christian is compared to and given instruction as a soldier (Ephesians 6:11-17; 2 Timothy 2:3-4). The life of the apostles and those faithful to Christ in the New Testament church was, without exception, characterized by contentions and persecutions (2 Corinthians 7:5). It is a fact of the Christian life that when lived according to God’s Word, reproach is inevitable (2 Timothy 3:10-12).
However, as if to answer the inevitability of reproach, God’s Word reminds us that any suffering that we as believers experience (which, by the way, is far short of that which the apostles faced) is but more reason for happiness and joy(James 1:2,3; 1 Peter 3:14). With that established, we are exhorted repeatedly to contend for the faith. We see that contending for the faith is an answer not only to apostasy but to suffering as well.
In 1 Peter chapter three and verse fourteen, the Apostle Peter writes, “But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;” In the very next verse Peter exhorts, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” So we see further that the Christian’s mandate to contend for the faith is the answer to the conflict that is inevitable in the Christian’s life.
With that said, it may here be established that contending for the faith is much more than a vocal defense of the Christian faith. There are several fronts on which the battle of the Christian life is to be fought. On each of those fronts, there are various enemies, but with each enemy God’s Word sets forth another aspect of contending for the faith.
As seen in God’s Word, it may be said that contending for the faith is done on three fronts, the first of which is the outer front. There is no better description of what we will here designate as the outer front of contending than Ephesians 6:12. There the Apostle Paul writes, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” The outer front is fought against adversaries outside of the body of Christ. On this front, the fight is fought against world religions and philosophies which generate worldviews that are contrary to the Scriptures and malicious toward the gospel of Christ.
The second front may be designated as the inner front. The conflict on this front is described in 1 Corinthians 5 as “a little leaven (which) leaveneth the whole lump” (v. 6). The solution for that leaven is given in verse 7 of that chapter which says, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump.…” The inner front is fought within the body of Christ. That is not to say that the adversaries fought are of the body of Christ, but, nevertheless, just as the men described by Jude, they are in the midst of the body of Christ. The adversaries on this front are those of apostasy and false teachings typified again by animosity to the Scriptures and more specifically the gospel.
The final front is the personal front. The personal front is best described in Philippians 2:12 which says, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” This front is fought within the heart and mind of the believer. It concerns the obligation of a believer to become the Christian God has saved them to be. As the Christian life is a personal endeavor, this front is a personal battle. The adversaries on the first two fronts converge on the personal front and find their most perilous ally, the flesh.
On each of these fronts, contending for the faith may be broken down into a number of aspects. Examination of these aspects, as found in God’s Word, will bring us to greater awareness of the necessity of contending as well as teach us the Biblical methods of contending. The following are three general aspects that may be applied to contending for the faith.
Protection of the Faith
The most obvious aspect of contending for the faith, and perhaps the most attractive, is the protection of the faith. This is probably because defending the faith is often the most vocal and most clearly defined. So much so, that contending, as Jude calls for, is often equated exclusively with defending Christian doctrine. This is a misconception. As was already said, contending for the Christian faith is more than an outspoken apology of Biblical doctrine. Nevertheless, protection of the faith is a major part of the call to contend. Therefore, it is a good place to begin defining the many aspects of contending for the faith.
The Outer Front
The Apostle Paul knew as well as anyone, if not more, the outer front of the protection of the faith. In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul describes himself as being “set for the defense of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:17) We see this stance in his daily disputations with the leaders of synagogues (Acts 9:20; 13:5), his debate with the philosophers on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-34), and his conversation with Agrippa (Acts 26:1-28). Paul’s disposition was his consistent testimony throughout his life, and it leaves no question as to what he meant when he said at the end of his life “I have fought a good fight….” (2 Timothy 4:7) Paul’s disposition toward the Christian faith stands as an example to all believers.
In describing his disposition, Paul states that he is “set”, that is to say, as Wesley points out, “Literally, I lie; yet still going forward in his work.” Paul continues to proclaim that this bearing was for the purpose of defending the faith. The word which has been translated as defense is the Greek word apologia, from which comes the word, as well as the concept of apologetics. The Apostle Paul’s endeavor to systematically defend the gospel and thus the Christian faith is implicit and explicit in his writings and the records of his ministry.
There is no doubt that, in a world ruled by reason, a systematic defense of the Christian faith is of great necessity. The world with its countless philosophies and worldviews revolves around questions to which the inherent curiosity of the human mind finds no answers. It is no wonder that God’s Word requires the believer to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” (1 Peter 3:15). This grave responsibility belongs to every person who names the name of Christ. That hope, the hope that can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only hope for man. Therefore, it is imperative for the children of God to obey the clear command of God’s Word: “be ready always to give an answer.”
Being ready with an answer for any who may ask of our faith is a vital part of contending for the faith on the outer front. However, the point must be made that the purpose of contending for the faith is not to impress people. The goal is not a flawless apologetic. The philosophies of the world are in a never-ending contest for the most logical conclusion. However, we do not defend our faith because people must to yield to the logic of it. We defend our faith because people must to yield to the Object of it. Supporting arguments do not determine the strength of the Christian faith. The object in which faith is placed determines the strength of our faith. Therefore, it must be said that protecting the Christian faith, specifically on the outer front, is simply allowing the God of the Christian faith to speak for Himself through His Word. After all, not even Michael the archangel went long before simply proclaiming what was already established by the Word of the Lord. (Jude 9)
The Inner Front
Within the body of Christ, the protection of the faith continues to be necessary. The Lord requires the purity of His bride, and although all who believe are washed white as snow in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14), God commands for His people to be “holy; for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16). The process by which that holiness is achieved and maintained is given through Biblical directives for separation. Through these, the church is able to protect the faith.
In 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul instructs Timothy through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in dealing with the last days. In verses 20 and 21 of the second chapter, Paul describes what the body of Christ had become, and definitely is today, by saying, “…in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
Together with the remainder of the chapter, this passage tells the believer and more generally the church that there is to be a cleansing from the evil in the lives of believers, and also separation from it in regards to associations. A number of passages elsewhere in the God’s Word requires a separation from evil in the believer’s life, and as a result of these commands it is explicit that the church as a group of believers are to do no less. Whether it be within the church or from outside of the church, every seed of evil is to be purged from the body of Christ (Matthew 5:23-24; 18:15-17; Romans 12:21; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 2:6-11; Galatians 6:1; 1 Timothy 5:20; Titus 3:10).
The Personal Front
In examining the obligation of the believer to protect the faith, the resolution is found on the personal front. All responsibility for the protection of the faith ultimately lies with the individual believer. John writes in 1 John 4:1 under the inspiration of God, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” That circumspectness is the disposition that every believer is obligated to have concerning his own faith.
Referring to the false teachings which were spoken of so early in history of the church, John exhorts his readers to beware of the personal effects of such doctrines. This is a recurring theme in the Lord’s teachings recorded in the gospels. Numerous times, the Lord Jesus warns His disciples to “…Take heed lest any man deceive you….” Christ was constantly warning His disciples of the great hazard of a lackadaisical spiritual demeanor. He taught the inevitability of being lead astray for a believer who acts in such a way. (Matthew 16:6, 24:4; Mark 13:9; Luke 11:35, 21:34)
The intense endeavor to protect the faith on the personal front is so necessary to the life of every believer. God’s Word exhorts every believer to be in a constant stance of trying of the spirits. The believer is given a response to every possible situation in God’s Word. After all, it is “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” When believers try every spirit and act as God’s Word has clearly commanded, according to each situation, then the faith is protected in hearts and minds of God’s children. The importance of personally protecting the faith is again described in 1 Peter 5:8. Here Peter writes, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” May God help us to maintain vigilance in protecting the faith once delivered to us.
Propagation of the Faith
The propagation of the Christian faith is possibly the clearest aspect of contending given in the God’s Word. This aspect of contending for the faith is encompassed by the command given by the Lord Jesus in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). This charge was given by the Lord Jesus at His ascension and was his final direct commandment. The Lord commands us to preach His gospel, baptize those that believe and disciple those believers. In doing so, those believers come together, ultimately establishing congregations, which in turn endeavor to fulfill the commission.
The Outer Front
The Apostle Mark records The Lord’s command: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) In this clear command, Christ commissions His church concerning their single greatest obligation in glorifying God. This direct command is the way in which Christ’s church is to ultimately bring glory to God. In this command, the Lord gives the activity to which the church is to give itself, that is, to “preach the gospel.” Christ tells to whom believers are to preach His gospel, that is, “to every creature.” Also, Christ tells where His church is to preach His gospel, that is, “into all the world.” Finally, the Lord attaches the command to “go”, making this commission a never ending pursuit to see God glorified through the preaching of His gospel.
The furthering of the gospel is the purpose around which all activity of the church is to hang. As was already said, the gospel is person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, his death, burial and resurrection. The gospel is the message of reconciliation between sinful man and their Holy Creator that has been provided through the work of the Mediator. That message is the only hope for man’s hell-deserving soul. The Word of God says truly, “For the wages of sin is death;” and, were that the end, all men are hopelessly lost “but [thank God] the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
It is the responsibility of every believer to give a clear presentation of the gospel to every person in the world. This is a daunting task and perhaps the most devastating realization that the church has largely failed in this responsibility. However, this commandment has yet to be withdrawn and the believers’ responsibility has yet to be released.
Matthew Henry wrote, “The conversion of the soul is the conquest of Satan….” This conquest is not possible until the gospel is presented to a lost soul, and that presentation is the responsibility of every Christian. It is the fault of the Christian that the question has been asked, “how can God send people to hell who have never heard the gospel?” When Christians obey the Lord’s command the question can no longer be asked.
The Inner Front
The battle is fought and won on the outer front when the souls of men are added to the body of Christ through placing their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. There the battle continues, but progresses to another front. On the inner front, we see in God’s Word that the propagation of the faith has as much to do with continuation as with instigation. The Great Commission does not end with the salvation of souls. The Lord requires discipleship. The Lord Jesus commands that after new believers are added to the church by their belief and baptism, that they are to immediately and continuously be discipled by being taught “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:” (Matthew 28:20) Discipleship, as commanded by the Lord Jesus, is the instruction from God’s Word taught by established believers to new believers.
Consistent with the analogy that the Lord used in His famous conversation with Nicodemus, the Bible often refers to new believers as new born babes. A spiritual new-born, just as a physical new-born, at first requires and even desires the spiritual milk found in God’s Word. However, this is not to be permanent. As a matter of fact the writer of the book of Hebrews reprimands his readers for not developing a desire for the “strong meat” found in God’s Word (Hebrews 5:12). That development in the life of believers, which can only be done through discipleship, is the propagation of the faith within the body of Christ.
Peter, Paul and the other leaders of the New Testament church exemplified obedience to Christ’s command of discipleship. Luke tells us that in the days following Pentecost, in which over 3,000 souls were added to the church, those new believers “were baptized…And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:41, 41) Acts 14:21 and 22 tells us that after preaching the gospel in the city of Derbe, Paul and Barnabas “returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith….”The writer of Hebrews exhorts his readers, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection….” (Hebrews 6:1)
Discipleship is the process by which new believers become established in the truth and in light of God’s Word. The process can only be done when believers who are already established in God’s Word instruct the new believers. Discipleship is one of the most neglected mandates of the local church. It turns one’s stomach to hear of a baby being born and abandoned in a trash can or a gutter. Is the world not much filthier spiritually than any trash can or gutter is physically? Yet, the body of Christ allows spiritual babies to be born and abandons them in the gutter of this world. While soul salvation cannot be lost, the potential fruit of the new believer dies just as a baby who is abandoned to fend for itself. God is always able to bring a faithful teacher into contact with the new believer, but what a shame it is when God loses His first choice for the job.
It is the responsibility of the local church to conduct discipleship as Christ commands. After all, it is the church which is “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15) Instructing him in being a pastor, Paul directs Timothy in one of his foremost responsibilities, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (1 Timothy 2:2) In light of this clear mandate, the reprimand in Hebrews comes to light, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” (Hebrews 5:12)
The Personal Front
As was already said, it is the obligation of established believers to teach new believers “to observe all things.” With Hebrews 5:12 still echoing we find that the propagation of the faith, and more specifically discipleship, hinges on the personal front. The directive for the final front of propagating the faith is given in Philippians 2:12 which says, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Once discipleship is accomplished, the established believer is to continue in God’s World being transformed into the image of Christ and coming into ever closer communion with Him. Just as Paul exhorts the believers in Philippi, he gives a personal exhortation to Timothy to “continue…in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” (2 Timothy 3:15)
Being as how the body of Christ is to be the salt and light in the earth and is to allow the light given to them to shine (Matthew 5:13-16), it is the responsibility of the church to propagate the faith. A general examination could show that the church has failed to contend on each front of propagation. It may be easy for us to say that the world is the way it is today because the church is not what it should be. However, we must remember that the church is simply the grouping of individual believers, so that we are forced to admit that the church is the way it is today because believers are not what they should be.
It is the conviction of this writer that believers in general are the way they are because discipleship is not what it should be and is commanded in God’s Word to be. May we as believers find and obey our commands to “work out [our] own salvation” and “go on unto perfection.” May we do this by continuing in God’s Word and the things which we have learned from it, “knowing of whom [we have] learned them.”
Practice of the Faith
To illustrate its importance in contending, practicing the Christian faith may be compared to a nutritionist or a dietary advisor who is dangerously overweight. Their advice is useless no matter how intelligent or constructive it may be. It could be said that their advice is only weighty if they are not. And so it is with Christianity when it is not lived out.
It was for this reason that the Apostle James declares the uselessness of inoperative faith (James 2:15-18). Being as how salvation is a spiritual matter, the only way others may be affected by it is if it is verified by works. The works of a Christian are a matter of evidence, not of subsistence. Nevertheless, it is a matter of the utmost importance.
The Outer Front
The best description of practicing the Christian faith on the outer front is given by the Lord Jesus Himself in His Sermon on the Mount. As recorded by Matthew, Christ tells His disciples what they are to be. The Lord describes the believer’s positions as the salt and light of the earth. These pictures expose Christ’s intentions for His church.
The Lord Jesus, in using the metaphor of salt, opens a panorama of analogous truth, yet, as always, that truth is centered on the gospel. The metaphor of salt is used throughout God’s Word as a type of the gospel such as in Old Testament covenants and sacrifices (Numbers 18:19; Leviticus 2:13; Ezekiel 43:24). As recorded in the gospels, however, Christ commands His disciples to not simply spread salt, but to be the salt of the earth. Paul urges Christians to have their entire demeanor, and specifically their speech, seasoned with the salt of the gospel “that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” (Colossians 4:6) The grand implication of Christ’s statement is that Christians are to be so saturated with the salt of the Gospel that they function as that salt in this world.
Likewise, using the metaphor of light, Christ lays profound implications. The Lord Jesus declares Himself to be the Light of the world, as do the gospels (John 8:12). Because it is Christ who “lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), believers are made “light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8) Therefore, when a Christian lives a life of obedience and is transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, they “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Just as a candle is lit for no purpose but shining, Christ lights the believer to shine. The same process of saturation takes place in that Christians are to be so conformed to the image of Christ that they shine as Christ did, becoming the light of the world.
As beautiful of pictures as these two examples may be, the foundational point must remain the focus. As said by the great Bible teacher, J. Vernon McGee, The Christian faith is to be “put in shoe leather and walked around.” The saturation of the gospel and the World of God in the hearts and minds of believers must result in a showcase to the world of the salvation and power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Inner Front
In Hebrews 10:23-25, believers are exhorted to corporate practice of the faith. Coming together as a congregation, Christians are to engage in a constant process of exhortation to good works. The old analogy holds true that a lone branch cannot stay ablaze for long unless grouped with other branches. It is hard for a Christian stay zealous when standing alone. On the other hand, the point must be made that it is just as hard for a Christian to keep that zeal if all the Christians that he is around are dead themselves.
In God’s Word, great importance is placed on the children of God maintaining a welcome atmosphere for the Spirit of God, who is the empowerment of the church. This is done through the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, through which the door of the church is protected and the spirit of the church is renewed. The spirit of continuous fervent prayer is also a prerequisite maintaining the presence of the Holy Spirit.
A number of specific things maybe added to the list of conditions for the presence and thus the power of the Holy Spirit upon a group of believers. In fact, if one were to make an exhaustive list of those conditions, the list might encompass the entire Bible. The point to be made is this: the power of the Holy Spirit is only accessible to believers, both individually and corporately, through immediate, direct, and complete obedience to the Word of God. Just as the Apostles were rewarded the Power of Pentecost only after they were obedient to the word they had received from the Lord (Acts 1:4-8), so Christians are only rewarded the power of the Holy Spirit in their exhaustive obedience to God’s Word.
The Personal Front
Any application to the body of Christ as a whole, or to assemblies of believers, is to be directly applied to the life of the individual believer. After all, the church is nothing more than the grouping of believing individuals. So, as with the previous two aspects of contending for the faith, the aspect of practicing the faith hinges upon the personal front.
By his life of faith in God and adherence to His Word, the Christian reflects the glory of God in a way that cannot be disputed. Therefore, the most compelling argument for the integrity of Biblical Christianity the believer can make is his godliness. In contending for the Christian faith, the holy life lived according to what God has commanded is the ultimate apologetic.
Conclusion
A few observations can be noted in closing. First, contending for the Christian faith is not an academic endeavor because the Christian faith is not an academic experience. The Christian faith is a spiritual experience and thus can only be contended for in a spiritual endeavor. Therefore, as Paul so effectively stated, “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” (2 Corinthians 10:4)
Second, the Christian battle is never fought against men. The Christian battle is fought for men. The Christian’s fight is against the captor of men’s souls. As Christian soldiers, we do not fight against the atheist; we fight against atheism. We do not fight against the liberal; we fight against liberalism. We do not fight against the Muslim; we fight against Islam. Doing otherwise is the equivalent of finding a captive and, instead of attacking the captor, attacking the captive. The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and save the souls of men, and with His commission we are to do no more or less.
Finally, we have seen that the personal front is the crux of each aspect of contending for the faith. The Christian life is a personal venture due to personal decision, therefore contending for the Christian faith is a personal enlistment. The New Testament church is often described as and otherwise exhorted to be of one mind, that is, the mind of God. The agreement which produced the oneness in the New Testament church, however, was not an agreement between persons, but rather the agreement of the individual believer with God. Jude’s exhortation to earnestly contend for the faith, though addressed collectively to a group, was ultimately a personal exhortation. So it is with every New Testament call to contend.
[i] Everett F. Harrison, Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, pg. 210
[ii] Robert Dalton, Speaking the Truth in Love: Basic Handbook of Theology, pg. 16
[iii] Cleon L. Rogers JR. & Cleon L. Rogers III, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, pg. 605
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