Are You Fighting for the Faith?
Am service January 6th 2008
Jude 1-4
Introduction
We fight for what we are passionate about. A politician will fight for bill to passed because they are passionate about the cause that that bill represents. A parent will fight for there children because they are passionate about there children’s well-being. We fight for what we are passionate about.
Jude who is the half-brother of Jesus, in this letter which is known as the forgotten letter because it is short and tucked away after the Apostle Johns three letters and before the book of the revelation. It is so often passed over, however this is a vitally important letter for the church today, it is very relevant for the church today. These first four verses brings up a very interesting question which I hope you will answer in your own heart, are you fighting for the faith.
Are you passionate about the faith, the faith is the body of doctrine that was delivered by God to the apostle for the church. It is the core beliefs of Christianity. It is the teachings that holds the church together, and makes it a beacon and a light to a lost and dying world.
Jude will outline for us in this passage why we fight for the faith, and how we fight for the faith.
Read Scriptures: Jude 1:1-4
I. We fight for the faith, because it was entrusted to us.
Vs. 3 “3Dear 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.”
We as a church or a body of believers collectively, and each Christian personally has been entrusted with the stewardship of the faith.
1 Thessalonians 2:4 “We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel…”
Jesus in His final earthly words gave us the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”
Warren Wiersbe said this, “The Church is always one generation short of extinction, If our generation fails to guard the truth and entrust it to our children, then that will be the end! When you think of the saints and martyrs who suffered and died so that we might have God’s truth, it makes you want to take your place in God’s army and be faithful unto death.
We fight for the faith because God entrusted this to us, and if we don’t fight for it then who will.
II. We fight for the faith, because the enemy is encamped around us.
Vs. 4a “4For certain men whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you.”
So many Christians see this life as a playground instead of a battleground. They have the mentality that as long as I am a Christian then I’ll never have to face the enemy.
We are told in the book of Ephesians to put on the full armor of God, not because we will not need it, because the apostle Paul knew that this life is a battleground and we will need to geared up and ready to face the enemy.
The enemy is entrenched and ready to fight and destroy us. The apostle Peter in his epistle reminds that our enemy satan is a roaring lion seeking to whom he may devour.
We fight because the enemy is a real foe, who wants to destroy us, the army that doesn’t fight in a battle will quickly loose that battle.
Now we know why we fight because the faith has been entrusted to us, and we have a real and present enemy, now we need to know how do we fight.
III. We fight for the Faith, by identifying the enemy.
Vs. 4b “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.”
If we are going to fight in the battle, we must know who our enemy is. Paul reminds in his letter to the church at Ephesus, that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against, but against rulers and, against the authorities, against powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
This passage outlines the faiths real enemies, we battle the enemy of godlessness, we are called to be holy set apart people. We fight the enemy of Change, those who try to change God’s word to meet there own desires. We fight the enemy of denial, those who will deny that Christ is the only way to heaven, in that there are several ways to heaven.
We must identify the enemy to be able to fight the enemy.
IV. We fight for the Faith, by standing firm in Christ.
Vs. 4b “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.”
How do we fight and win this battle for the faith, only through Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated Sovereign in this passage means power without limit, or absolute domination.
When we understand the power we in Christ, we stand in Him and in His strength and the power of His might, then we stand firm on sure footing, with a firm foundation that will not be shaken.
Then enemies of the faith can throw everything at us, but because we are standing on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, we sing aloud, “I Shall not be, I shall not be moved.”
Conclusion
What are fighting for, as I mentioned in the introduction of this message, we fight for what we are passionate about, are passionate about the faith, is it worth fighting for in your mind. If we don’t stand and fight then who will. You maybe here this morning and you feel like a deserter in God’s army, and you want to come back and get back out on the front lines of the battle, you can come to this alter and meet with Jesus today, maybe you need to enlist for the first time and join this battle for the faith that has been entrusted to us who believe you can come today and receive the Lord Jesus, and Join the winning team.
