Contending for the Faith

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 

 Jude 1:3 (NIV) 

Jude, like every Christian, expresses his desire to speak with the friends of Christ, the brethren, about the amazing salvation that we all share. But, despite his desire, he recognizes a present priority that he must address. He is compelled to urge his Christian friends to contend for the faith, our precious faith. But what does it mean to contend for the faith?

In Jude’s day, the issue the church faced was that ungodly men had slipped into the fellowship of the brethren, secretly undermining the Holy Word of God by turning the grace of God into a license for immorality, thereby influencing others to do same. Our generation is also experiencing an undermining of the truth of the Word of God and a subtle erosion of morality and godly character under the guise of God’s amazing grace and tolerant mercy. Are we also in a day where we must awaken from our slumber and contend for the faith of this generation? Will we sit by and allow so many to live immoral lives, support ungodly policies and subscribe to distorted doctrines and false teachings, all the while professing to have faith in Christ? Is standing by, idly and silently, the sign of our own personal compromise?

Contending for the faith is not only for the “Jude’s” of our world, for he was writing to the brethren, the church, “those who have been called.” We must grasp hold of the fact that the faith has been “once for all entrusted to the saints.” The faith has been given to us, every saint, in trust. God’s most precious possession, His truth, the essence and revelation of His person and character, the knowledge of the Holy One and the way to salvation, has been entrusted to us! It is our responsibility, as servants and children of our Father, to engage in the battle for truth. We must take a stand and further the cause of righteousness and truth. We must hold each other, as brethren, to a high standard of morality and accountability. We must speak the truth in love, being wise as serpents and harmless as doves. We must be those who are wise fishers of men, the wise men who win souls. We must not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation! We must believe in the power of truth and earnestly contend for the faith that God Himself has once for all entrusted to the saints.

Are you contending for the faith? Let us pledge our lives, as the beloved children of our Father and good soldiers of Jesus Christ, in engaging our culture in the battle for truth. After all, as it has been said, unless you have something to die for, you really have nothing to live for. 

Let us live for the faith!