CONTEND FOR THE FAITH – May 2018
REFERENCE: Jude 1:1-4; 20-25
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: 2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. ….
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Jude refers to himself as a bondservant of Jesus. This means he voluntarily dedicated himself to a life-long commitment to being available to Christ. He, therefore summons believers to be proactive in alerting a world that has succumbed to moral decay. Christ’s ambassadors are called, beloved, sanctified, and preserved in Jesus. Since we have a common Father, we are being beckoned to divine duty as watchmen on the wall. Jude communicates via a letter, but social media facilitates world-wide communication. Therefore, we cannot contrive excuses.
Just in case his intent is misunderstood, Jude greets us with abundant peace, mercy and love. These are to be expressed in deeds as we contend for The Faith. Contend, the root word of contention does not have a negative connotation here, but rather an emphasis on pursuing what will result in the good of society. We may use synonyms like: strive, fight, pursue, grapple. These are all laced with the possibility of resistance, hence we work earnestly. The faith: belief in Jesus as the way to God not a way, is the ideology that must be emphasized.
As Jude exposes the immorality of the day, he calls believers to stand up and be counted. Now is the time to relentlessly help someone get on the path to eternal life. For too long have we been silent, minding our own business, while people are dying without hope. Can we hear the cry of even one? Are we aware of the violence that has trickled down to teenagers and even to middle schoolers?
Immorality warped the culture so, Jude compared his society to Sodom and Gomorrah. If it feels good, do it. Don’t judge me. I can do what I want with my own body. These words permeate our atmosphere and reverberate far and wide. Then like a boomerang the products of fear, despair and hopelessness become evident in our very existence. Is there a new norm? Ambassadors sound the alarm! The Coming of the Lord is near!
Sin results in the devaluation of human life. Shall we allow complacency to bombard our efforts to evangelize? Hear the silent pleas that plunge in a constant bloodstream and empties in the sea of despair. We dare not deny that there is a decline in moral values. If we view the depreciation as a personal problem, we have missed the mark and are existing in passivity.
As we read this scripture, it almost appears as if Jude looked through the annals of time and has sounded the clarion call for today. This urgency of command is stated so that believers can share the Good News that Jesus saves. Make this The Believer’s Status Quo. As laborers, we must live as though we believe that there is just one way to populate heaven. Evangelize! Tell someone that time on Earth will change to Eternity. Since we do not know when, we now make an appeal in this time of preparation.
Currently, the stench of sin is as high as the heavens. God speaks to us through Jude. He admonishes us to vigilance. Share the cause of Christ: Jesus suffered, died, arose, ascended, intercedes and will return for a redeemed people. Will we contend for The Faith? An excellent place to start is with our family members. Expect resistance, but earnestly contend. We may not be directly involved in unlawful acts, however, if we fail to alert others, we walk in disobedience and are guilty of other men’s blood. (Ezekiel 3:18-19). How much urgency do we place on The Faith? We all have some faith. Many times, we sit on a chair without first inspecting it. That is confidence that the chair will not fall apart. However, The Faith takes on a different tone: denotes the believer’s walk and is the believer’s Creed.
Be diligent about our God-given task, although the urge to back off and do nothing constantly negotiates with us. Daily, we prioritize activities that are deemed important to our well-being, while, in the spiritual realm, it is almost midnight and a war rages for souls. The foundation on which we base our expectations in Christ, is at risk. When students are deemed “at risk” several intervention plans are activated to address, minimize and/or correct the deficiencies. As a culture our motto is “No Child Left Behind”. As ambassadors of Christ the cry of our heart should be: “No one left behind.”
Visionaries of the cross have addressed that cry by way of movies, books, sermons and social media. May our actions also demonstrate our proactivity to reach someone with the Gospel. To contend for The Faith, we must first be in The Faith. According to II Corinthians 13: 5-7, 8, 11, we practice the following: honesty, truth, perfection, unity, compassion, consolation and peace if we are in The Faith. Then we will valiantly pursue others to become of The Faith.
Many factors create the need for this urgent pursuit. Listen to the bubbling of the underlying caldron of crime and snatch someone from impending doom. It is noteworthy that we are neither being directed to contend for a denomination nor for a religion, but for a personal relationship with Jesus. Encourage this, otherwise we labor in vain.
A relationship with the Lord is like a one-lane street in which on-coming traffic anticipate the intended path and make necessary adjustments. There is a meeting of minds. Signals are exchanged and understood and in a perfect driving experience, drivers take turns. Meet with the Lord, intentionally. Listen and respond as the Holy Spirit gives signals via the Word. Let’s make this contending be the life-giving flow in our veins. Live and let live! Contend for The Faith.
Dr. O. A, James