According to verse 3, Jude’s purpose for writing this letter was to encourage these Christians to contend for the faith. But what does that mean? Why should we contend, is it really necessary? And how do we do that?
ANALYSIS OF VERSE 3
Diligence (Gr. spoude)—to interest one’s self most earnestly
Common salvation—the gospel
Earnestly contend (Gr. epagonizomai)—to contend strenuously in defense of. Henry Morris—“[This word] was used of athletes intensely agonizing in the grueling training for a coming contest. Jude thus graphically stresses the urgency of defending the faith. The defense of the gospel is no indifferent matter to be left to a few specialists, but one to which all believers should be trained and committed.”
The faith—the Christian faith, our set of doctrines
ANALYSIS OF VERSE 4
Crept in unawares—false teachers who are deceptive
Ordained to this condemnation—God has condemned the evil practices of these men before time began
Ungodly men—John Butler says of this phrase, “Apostates are impious people. They do not truly respect God but disdain Him. Everything they do religiously is only outward show to cover their dislike of God and His ways.”
Lasciviousness (Gr. aselgeia)—unbridled lust, excess, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence, specifically, of gluttony and sexual indulgence.
CONTENDERS OF THE PAST
Apostle Paul—Paul, more than any of the apostles, fought for the faith. One time on Mars Hill he even debated with a group of skeptics. He was constantly combating false teachers and their erroneous doctrines.
Philippians 1:7, “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”
Philippians 1:17, “But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.”
Martin Luther—Luther was a German monk who studied and lectured on the book of Psalms, Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As he studied these Scriptures, he realized that justification was through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Yet the Catholic Church taught that penance came through giving to the church and buying indulgences for sins. Luther saw in the Bible that money could not take away sins, but only the blood of Christ.
After putting his own faith in Christ for salvation, Luther began writing a series of objections to the Catholic Church—ninety-five in all. These became known as the ninety-five theses. They attacked the doctrines of the church such as the selling of indulgences and even the Pope himself. At this time, the Catholic Church had the ultimate control of all religious adherence, so to oppose it was either very stupid or very bold.
On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany. It was a public denouncement for all to see. Imagine the amount of courage it took for Luther to oppose the powerful Catholic Church of his day! He had once sworn allegiance to it, but now he was standing against it.
Luther could have kept his beliefs to himself. He knew the extreme danger he would put himself in if he openly opposed the church. Yet he courageously stepped out. He did not know what would happen. He did not know if his writings would have any impact. He simply did what he believed God wanted him to do. He was contending for the faith.
With the first step taken, Luther continued his courageous stand against the church. In 1520, the Pope warned Luther that he would be excommunicated unless he recant forty-one sentences from his writings. Not only did Luther refuse, but he also publicly burned the book which the Pope had sent to him. Luther refused to budge on the convictions he believed.
At the Diet of Worms in 1521, Luther defended his writings, stating that he would not recant what he had written or said. “I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted,” he stated, “and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.” When confronted again, Luther responded, “Here I stand. I can do no other.”
THE NEED OF THE HOUR
We are in the eleventh hour. There can be no doubt that Jesus is coming very soon to rapture away His church. The Christian faith is under attack in our country like never before. You cannot pray in Jesus’ name in the school or on the football field; teachers are not allowed to teach Creationism; American history is being twisted to teach that our country is only a secular nation. Sin is rampant in our schools, and it’s because we have taken the Bible out. The immorality of our youth today is appalling. Businesses that take a stand for their convictions are promptly sued and maligned against and called bigots.
I Timothy 6:20, “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.”
The church has dropped the ball, preaching the prosperity gospel, the feel-good gospel, but not the biblical gospel. Many churches today refuse to preach against sin, instead accepting sinful lifestyles such as homosexuality and fornication. This produces pampered Christians who NEVER share the gospel, let alone stand up for the faith.
II Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Explain: itching ears
Fables: Evolution, Everyone will go to heaven, etc.
HOW CAN WE CONTEND TODAY? (four simple steps)
1. Know your Bible
I Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”
Many Christians today don’t know their Bible! Why? Because they never take time to read it, study it, or go to church to learn it.
2. Pray for boldness
Standing up for the faith is not easy. What will people think of me? Ask God to give you boldness. We see this all throughout the book of Acts. Martin Luther certainly had boldness. You have to be bold if you’re going to contend for the faith.
3. Ask Questions
In his book Tactics, apologist Greg Koukl talks about what he calls “the Columbo tactic.” Basically, this tactic involves asking questions when someone blurts out some ridiculous claim. “The key to the Columbo tactic is to go on the offensive in an inoffensive way by using carefully selected questions to productively advance the conversation.” He goes on, “[you] want to draw them out, to invite them to talk more about what they think. This takes a lot of pressure off me, because when I ask a question, the ball is back in their court. It also protects me from jumping to conclusions and unwittingly distorting their meaning.”
Best questions: “What do you mean by that?” and “How did you come to that conclusion?”
4. Give the truth
We as Christians are responsible to proclaim the truth. Don’t keep it to yourself. You might not have all the answers, but you can always give the gospel. You can always tell someone your testimony. Should the opportunity arise, give the truth as best you can. If they ask you something that you don’t have the answer to, tell them, “I’ll get back to you on that.” Find the answer, or even ask the pastor (he would love that). Don’t be content to have the truth but never share it. Ask God to give you opportunities to share your faith.
CONCLUSION
We often refer to the 5th—15th centuries as “the dark ages.” This time period followed the decline of the Roman Empire. It was a time of violence, uprisings, neglect, and educational illiteracy among the common people.
I fear that we are entering another dark age. Christians are not willing to stand up for the faith, and so we are seeing wickedness abound in our nation. Good is being called evil, and evil is called good. We have prosperity, but we are spiritually poor. We have the internet, knowledge is at our fingertips, and yet Christians don’t know the Bible at all. As Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6). We are too afraid of offending people to take a stand or simply share the gospel. Even worse, we are content to do nothing while we hope for Jesus’ return. II Timothy 3:1 says that perilous times are coming, and they are here! We are entering the Second Dark Ages, but this time it’s much worse. We have the ability to contend for the faith, but we won’t do it.
Ephesians 6:14-17, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
If these are true of you, then take a stand! “Stand therefore!” Christians are not pampered babies, they’re soldiers, and soldiers stand their ground—they fight! Jesus IS coming back soon, but until that day, take a stand for the Lord—don’t be content to live in another age of darkness.
