Contend for the Faith; Jude

May the mumbling commence!

You and I are saved through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Let us celebrate this fact.  It is far more worthy than anything else to celebrate.

Part of that celebration in this world that we inhabit means that we must stand.  We must stand and contend for the faith that we hold so dearly.  Read from Jude:

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.  For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Verses 3-4)

Indeed, there are people today that will whisper in our ears the age old lies of Satan that Jude speaks about.  God’s grace is a license to sin.  We are entitled to what our heart desires – regardless of the damage that we will do to ourselves and to the people who love us.

With this thought is mind, it is easy to denigrate into harsh words and unfeeling and uncaring attitudes.  But harshness is not the kind of contention that God calls us to.  There are other ways to contend for our faith that will not wilt the fruit of the Spirit that should be evident in all Christians.  Read later from Jude:

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.  Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.  Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (20-23)

The supporting legs of contention are evident in this passage.  They are: continuing in faith, praying in the Spirit, remaining in God’s love and mercy, being merciful to doubters, and snatching people who have fallen from eternal damnation. 

It is depressing to me that sometime I and other people skip over the first part and focus instead on the last part.  Sometimes we focus on fear and hate.  It is sad.  How many times does God tell us not to fear anything but our Creator?  Almost too many to count.

Let us stand in our holy faith, in our prayer through the Spirit of God, in the love of God, and in the mercy of God.  Our doubt will disappear.  And the mercy of the Lord will spare us from the flames of eternal damnation. 

You and I – we’re in this together. So let’s not fight with or compete with one another.  Let us, instead, help one another find the love and grace so evident in our Lord.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out