Published by admin on 26 Dec 2007 at 03:44 pm
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
There isn’t a lot of teaching out there on the book of Jude, and if you haven’t read it lately, you’re missing out on some really good stuff. For now I’ll focus on the first seven verses.
1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.
Jude 1:2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, 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 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
We see here a pretty strong admonition from Jude, one that affects every aspect of our life today. Why is that? Because, without faith it is impossible to please God. That faith was once delivered to the ears of the followers of Jesus as He went about teaching and healing people. The disciples who followed Jesus and lived with Him saw the faith He exercised, and were constantly amazed at some of the things He did. Faith works! It worked for the heavenly Father, it worked for Jesus, it worked for the Disciples, it’ll work for you! But just hearing it isn’t enough. I’ve heard it said, “Action speaks louder than words.” Jesus didn’t just preach faith, He lived it and demonstrated it! Just ask the people He healed, or fed, or taught.
About now, you may be saying, Well, Jesus was the Son of God. Yes, He was, and is. But He did no miracle as the Son of God, but instead, as the son of man. How? He used His measure of faith, the one He was given when He was born a baby in the manger. He didn’t get a supernatural faith. He got the same measure YOU have, and I have. He got THE measure. I see a lot of “Thee’s and Thou’s in the Bible, but this “THE” concerns you immensely. It is written in Romans;
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
So, what’s the big deal about “THE MEASURE of faith”? Well, for one thing, it will get you over in this life. Anything you will ever get from God, you will get by utilizing your measure of faith. If you need salvation, healing, finances, provision, anything at all, it’s by faith or forget it. You can’t use physical methods to accomplish spiritual things. When we fail to receive from God, it’s not because God is holding out on us, it’s because we have failed in the faith arena. Mankind is hard-wired to work by the five physical senses; touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell. So, when it comes to the things of God, we naturally try to use these senses, and when it doesn’t work, we get frustrated at God. Well, God gave us a “Sixth” sense….FAITH! Oh, my, how we need to earnestly contend for that faith once delivered to the saints, as Jude said.
In verse 4, he said, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” We’ve all had experiences with the “faith-stealers”. They’re the ones who try to convince you that God is not in the healing business anymore, or that the days of miracles are past, that they were only for the original disciples. They’re the first ones to tell you, “You can pray, but I tried that faith stuff, and it didn’t work for me……”, or maybe it’s “You gotta get in touch with reality here…faith can only do so much, that’s why we have doctors….” HEY!!! Who are they working for, anyway? God or the devil? Well, if they’re not contending FOR the faith once delivered to the saints, then they’re contending AGAINST it! These people aren’t going to tell you that they’re working for the enemy. They try to blend in with real believers, so they can go about undermining your faith. If they can but cast doubt on the integrity of God’s word, they can get you in unbelief faster than you can spend your paycheck.
What happens next? Well, for one thing, you stop getting the things you pray for. Then you start doubting if God really keeps His word. Then you get an attitude toward God. Oh, you won’t come out and tell God you’re upset at Him, but He gets the idea, because you stop worshipping, studying and praying. Pretty soon, it’s the old blame-game, like Adam tried to pull, after he had eaten the forbidden fruit. Remember that? I’ll refresh your memory. Let’s go back to Genesis 3:10-12, “And he (Adam) said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He (GOD) said, Who told the that thou wast naked? Has thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom THOU gavest to be with me, SHE gave me of the tree and I did eat.” In today’s language, it’s, Hey, God, I disobeyed you and it’s all YOUR fault! Or maybe it’s, Hey, God, I let some people talk me out of the faith I was once delivered, and now my faith isn’t working for me anymore, (and it’s still YOUR FAULT!) I’m helping you here…..Hello….
Moving on…..Jude 5 says, I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
Verses 6 and 7 also speak of punishment. Why is this? I’ll answer that with another question. Why are some people healed or delivered from some other problem, then whatever they were suffering from came back on them? They got off in disobedience or unbelief, because they got hit with some symptoms, and believed their five senses over the Word of God. Or maybe they just stopped obeying God. And they suffered the consequences, just like the Israelites did in Moses’ day. God is a God of mercy, but He’s also a God of justice. Let us not forget that. God did not bless sin and unbelief in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, and He’s not doing it today, either. Nor will He tomorrow or any other day soon.
Contending for the faith once delivered to the saints involves more than just hearing the Word of God. It’s acting on it, when everything in the natural is screaming at the top of it’s lungs at you that your faith and the Word of God isn’t working. Sometimes, it means contending for a long time. Often we’re prepared to contend for a short time, thinking everything is “sudden” in the Spirit realm. Then, if it isn’t, we give up. Translate that, “LOSE”. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have “LOSER” tattooed on my forehead. Go look in the mirror. Neither do YOU!
I used to hear my coach say in school, “It isn’t whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game that counts.” Well, if he wanted to live by that rule, then fine. But it’s not for me. It’s about winning. Ball teams don’t get huge salaries for just “playing the game”. They get paid for winning! Losing is NOT an option when it comes to the things of God. Winning isn’t always quick. How long it takes for your faith to bring forth your victory isn’t the object here. Contending till you win IS. In Revelation 21:7-8, it is written, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Tell me, does that give you motivation to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints? You have heard the Word of Faith, which I preach, and the Disciples preached, and Jesus preached. The Word of God is true, it is the will of God for you, and if you will earnestly contend for the faith delivered by God Himself unto you in His written word, one day, you will look back with much satisfaction and say,
I contended, and I won, and it was worth it!