CONTEND FOR THE FAITH

Introduction

-{Jude…}

-A few weeks ago, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver opened the 117th U.S. House of Representatives with a prayer. And what seemed to have been a hot topic was how he closed the prayer, because he closed it saying AMEN and AWOMAN. Now, that in itself is silly because AMEN has nothing to do with gender but is the Hebrew/Aramaic word meaning “it is so,” “so be it,” “verily,” “truly.”

~But even more troublesome for me is what he said right before that. He ended his prayer: “We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahama, and the god known by many names and many different faiths. Amen and awoman.” ~He equated the God of Christianity with the god of Islam, as well as a major god of Hinduism (Brahama), and any other god you want to throw in there. He is saying that all gods are the same and all religions are the same.

~The scary part of it is that Emanuel Cleaver is a minister of the United Methodist Church. This stuff has penetrated Christianity. This false idea of God, this pluralism, is being purported to be a Christian idea.

-However, we know that this is not true because it goes against the body of faith that has been handed down to us by faithful teachers of the gospel for over 2000 years, and even more importantly it goes against Scripture itself.

-And not only do biblically faithful Christians have to deal with the enemy that is within, we also have to deal with the enemy that is without (that is, outside of the faith)

~Several years ago, famed Liberal Atheist Michael Weinstein was speaking out against military chaplains who dared to use the name of Jesus, and he said this about evangelical Christians. He said evangelical Christians are monsters, national security threats, spiritual-rapists, and traitors who should be court-martialed.

-The true, biblical Christian faith is under attack from so many different fronts. There is a fight for the faith going on. We are fighting against a hostile secular government and society. And there is a fight for the faith going on within the walls of the church building, as wolves in sheep’s clothing try to subtly (or not so subtly) change the gospel message and biblical doctrine.

-And so, we as Christians need to know what we believe and why we believe it so that we are able to contend for the true faith. Last week I spoke about forming a Biblical Christian Worldview within us, and that is not only so we can live a worthy life and have right attitudes and say the right things and make the right decisions. It is also so that we can contend for the one true faith against the hostile environment we find ourselves in.

-Contending for the faith is not just for pastors and theologians, all Christians are called to contend for the truth. This is important because the reputation of God is at stake, and a perverted faith does not save souls.

-And so, I, along with Jude, am challenging us to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

READ Jude 1-4

Jude 1–4 ESV

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 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 tells his readers that he wanted to write them a completely different letter—he says he wanted to write to them about the common salvation they all share—he wanted to write to them about the wonders of Jesus, the awesomeness of redemption, the hope that they all share in the Resurrected Christ

-but circumstances within the Christian community forced his hand—there were some who penetrated the Christian community that were doing damage to the faith once for all delivered to the saints==the total sum of doctrine and Christian belief given to God’s people through God’s Word----in Jude’s day they had the Torah and the tradition of the apostles, but now all of that has been preserved for us in Scripture====that faith is under attack

-so he tells his readers, who are normal everyday church-going folks like all of us…he tells them to contend earnestly for that faith==to struggle; refers to intense effort in a fight or wrestling match====so normal, everyday believers are called upon to put up a fight for the faith

So, a few lessons I want us to take away from this passage today:

1) Respond to the Urgency of Defending the Faith

-Jude tells his readers that he found a necessity in exhorting them to struggle for the faith because there is a great urgency in it—eternal truths are at stake, so every believer is called upon to contend for the faith—and I believe Jude gave some reasons for us to consider why we are to be a part of this struggle

-One reason is because this is our calling as believers. In v. 1 he describes believers as “those who are called”—all believers are called by God to Himself for a purpose—in other parts of the Bible we are told that we are called to holiness; we are called to good works; we are called to be made into the image of Christ

-God calls believers to fulfill a purpose for the sake of the kingdom of God—you are not saved primarily to get out of hell; rather, we are saved to be used of God according to His purpose, and part of that purpose is the defense of the faith, and as Peter says in his epistle, we do it with meekness and fear

-Another reason is because of our devotion. v. 1 says we are beloved of God and we are kept/preserved/guarded by Jesus—it is all describing our saving relationship to God in Christ

-God loved us enough to send His Son so that all who believe would not perish, but have everlasting life—those who believe are holy and consecrated to God, and are secure because all who are in Jesus Christ are God’s forever

-So those set free from the bondage of sin and are dedicated to the calling and purpose of God set their hearts to be devoted to God because of the great work He has done in their lives—God did all this wonderful work in your life, so your response to Him is devotion and loyalty

-And when someone to whom you are devoted is attacked, it should bring forth an urgent response from us:

If someone was out there spreading lies about your spouse, your children, your parents, you would do everything in your power to fight against that attack because you are devoted to that person.

~How much more the God of Glory Who reached down and saved us? And, how much more the gospel message that saved us and can save others

2) Recognize the Marks of those Perverting the Faith

-Since some who try to attack or pervert the faith put on the guise of Christianity, even using Scripture (although, taking it out of context), it’s important to know some characteristics of who it is we are contending with for the faith

-One thing to note is that their tactics are sneaky.

It says in v. 4 that these people crept in unnoticed. The word means they slipped in stealthily like a bad-theology Ninja or something. They didn’t just prance into a church and say, HEY, WE’RE GOING TO COMPLETELY TWIST SCRIPTURE and PERVERT THE TEACHINGS THAT WERE HANDED DOWN TO YOU AND COMPLETELY TURN YOUR THEOLOGY UPSIDE DOWN

-You wouldn’t be able to point out these false teachers by the way they dress or by their manner of speaking. No, the people Jude is talking about come into the Christian Community and at first seem like any other normal Christian—but then slowly and subtly they start chipping away at our beliefs.

~They begin to cast doubt that the Bible says and actually means what it says—they are just like their father the devil, like when he cast doubt to Eve about what God said when he asked: Did God really say that?

-That is why it is so important to be solid in what you believe yourself so that you are able to recognize and reject even the most subtle twisting of the Word.

-Big theological lies are easy to spot even with minimal understanding of the Bible. Someone could stand up here and say something like, THERE IS NO VIRGIN BIRTH, or CHRIST REALLY WASN’T GOD, and you’d hopefully recognize that as false teaching and throw them out—if you didn’t throw me out then we’d really have issues

-But now if someone were to stand up here and say that you 100% of the time can be physically healed because the Bible says “By His wounds we are healed (Isa. 53:5)”, would you be able to pick that out as false teaching?

-Those who attack the faith may actually verbally agree with many of the major tenants of orthodox Christianity, but what they twist can be so subtle at first, but eventually what they teach builds up until it is an overwhelming flood carrying believers away

-Their tactics are sneaky, but another other mark to consider is that their judgment is certain. It says v. 4 that long ago they were designated for this condemnation—through the OT prophets, God said that anyone who says they speak for God but speak falsehood are condemned to hell in His sight

-Jude says that these people have been divinely appointed to be judged and condemned, so their end is certain—"Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them.” (Jeremiah 23:32 ESV)

-Those attacking the faith may not get their due here on earth, but God sees them, marks them, and will deal with them—they will not at all get away with messing with the faith once for all delivered to the saints

3) Reject the Doctrines that Distort the Faith

-Jude gives some examples of what the people in his day were doing or teaching that twisted the faith, and things haven’t changed a whole lot since then.

-One things he mentions is that they were selling some cheap grace. In v. 4 it says they turned the grace of God into sensuality. They tried to turn God’s grace into godless paganism by twisting it to mean that because of God’s grace in Jesus Christ people can live without any moral restraint and still be right in God’s eyes.

-So, they pervert God’s moral compass—in fact, like Paul mentioned in the Bible, they go around happily in their sin, saying that you can continue in your sin so that grace may abound

-They say: YOU CAN BE A CHRISTIAN AND STILL HAPPILY LIVE A LIFESTYLE OF SIN

-but, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9 ESV)—we may struggle with sin, but we don’t live in sin as a lifestyle or habit—and we don’t justify our sin—we confess and repent of our sin

-Several years ago, there was a huge news story as a professional basketball player came out to the media that he was gay, but also emphasized that he was a Christian and it was all OK, his “FAITH” and lifestyle were compatible. And he even got a phone call from then President Obama congratulating him on his courage.

-So then there was a sports reporter, Chris Broussard, who said in response, “If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may {not just homosexuality, but fornication, etc.}…I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. So, I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don’t think the Bible would characterize him as a Christian.”

-Which one of those two understands and lives out the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and which one is distorting the faith? Well, the Bible says-- “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality…will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV)

-Chris Broussard has some solid Bible to back him up. But then there was a supposedly “Christian group” called Faithful America who called for Chris’ suspension for gay bashing, they believe the player should be accepted as Christian, even if his lifestyle, choices and actions are unbiblical

-That is just one example of the cheap grace that is out there. They are out there with their brand of Christianity, saying you can do whatever you want, even if it is unbiblical, even if it is called by God an abomination, or whatever, and still consider yourself Christian.==they are turning the grace of God into sensuality

-But then it also says that they deny biblical authority. It says in v. 4 that they deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ—how exactly, though, are they denying Jesus? They are denying Jesus by their actions

-Out of the one side of their mouth, they’re saying, OH YEAH, JESUS IS SAVIOR AND LORD; and yet they live and teach others to live as if He is not Lord

-Jesus clearly said If you love Me, keep My commandments. (Joh 14:15 NKJ)—Jesus is the ultimate authority, not man—so guess what that means=He makes the rules; He sets the standards—it is Jesus Who determines what is right and wrong, and not man

-Yet the people that Jude is speaking of, they set up their own version of morality, and in doing so show that they do not know Jesus as Lord

-What did Jesus Himself say about these people when it came to judgment day: (Al version of Matthew 7:22-23) There’s going to be a whole lot of people calling Him Lord, Lord, but Jesus will tell them to depart from His presence into everlasting fire because He never knew them because they were workers of lawlessness

Conclusion

-I hope you are not one of them—if you call Jesus your Lord, but you act as if He is not, are you sure of where you stand with God? If your lifestyle is not compatible with the Word of God, do you really have any business calling yourself a Christian? We are saved by grace through faith, but faith without resulting works is a dead faith.

-But the good news is that Jesus died for people just like you, and I know that from experience because He died for people just like me----Jesus saves and will change your life if you repent and believe—so I invite you to do that today

-Christian, maybe you want to come to the altar and ask God how you can answer the call to fight for the faith, because it is under attack from all different directions.

-Or maybe there are some here today looking for a church home, and you want a church home that stands on the faith once for all delivered to the saints—you found it—if you would like to join the church, come forward