“..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.” (Jude 1:3)
Each Book of the Bible was written in a different time to different people for different purposes. Jude says, “I have written this book to challenge you to contend for the faith.” And Jude doesn’t just challenge his readers to “contend for the faith” but to “earnestly contend for the faith.”
The word “contend” means to struggle as in combat. When a soldier is in combat, he gives everything he’s got. His very life, and the lives of others, are at stake. The word here means to contend to the point of exhaustion. What Jude is talking about is spiritual warfare.
What do you want us to fight for, Jude? He says, “For the faith.” Not just faith, but for THE faith. He is talking about a body of truth. He’s talking about “the faith that was once delivered to the saints.” What is the faith? It’s the basic doctrines; the basic truths of the faith. There are some truths that are absolutely essential to the Christian faith and if you take away any of them, then you don’t have the Christian faith. For example: the virgin birth, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the inspiration of the Bible. These are precious truths that we must be willing to stand for, and to fight for!
Many churches are doing away with the fundamental teachings of the faith. They are doing so to be more inclusive. Yet, that doesn’t change the fact that they are Bible doctrines given to us by a holy God, and as such must be fought for!
We do not need to be ugly when we take a stand, but we do need to take a stand. Tomorrow, I will give four specific ways in which we can “earnestly contend for the faith.”