Contend for the Faith - Part I
Author John Spence
“Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” Jude v.3
The main point of the book of Jude is that there is a faith that was once delivered to believers and that it is worth fighting for. “The faith” is not a reference to a Christian’s personal faith in Jesus Christ whom we have trusted for our salvation but is a description of the truths we believe about the One in whom we have trusted. It was “once for all delivered to the saints”. This was a delivery that was completed by the transmission of truths from Jesus Christ to the apostles and prophets when the Church was founded in the New Testament.
This faith was then passed down from the apostles. It was not thought up by the church. It was revealed by God to his apostles and their close associates and then taught to the churches as the "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). “The faith” is constantly under attack from outside the church and also from within the church. Jude is emphasizing that every believer should contend for it.
“Contend” is a word from which we get our English word “agonize”. It is a word that really means to strive or go all out or give it your best. You can think of a track man who is finishing a long distance run striving to cross the finish line. Or you can think of a wrestler who is trying his hardest to defeat his opponent.
My high school did not have a track team. When I was a senior, the coaches decided we should start a track program. We did not have a track at our school so we had no place to train. So the coaches decided we should just go compete in track meets anyway. I was not quite fast enough to run the 100-yd dash so I was put in the 440-yd run. The 440-yd run is once around the track, going as fast as you can go. I remember gasping for air as I finished the last 50 yards of the race. My problem was I was not prepared to run in this event because I had not trained. It is also true that we cannot “Contend earnestly for the faith” if we have not trained for it.
A Personal Relationship with Jesus
It is important to stress that Christianity is primarily a relationship with Jesus rather than affirming a set of facts or ideas from the Bible. The reason this is vital is because no one is saved by believing a set of facts or concepts from the Bible. Unless a person has a living trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord, all the teachings of the church will not get him into heaven. I had an office mate for many years who was a brilliant engineer and professed to be a Christian. He had grown up in a mainline church and had attended “confirmation” classes from the 6th to the 9th grade. Confirmation is a curriculum of teachings of a church from which the student is taught. By completing the course in the 9th grade my roommate was “confirmed” to be a Christian and was subsequently baptized. But in my many discussions with my partner and professional mentor, Gary, I realized he was not saved and did not have a personal relationship with Christ. Thankfully, this changed later on, but that is another story.
But, if our stress on the personal relationship with Jesus leads us to minimize the set of truths essential to Christianity, we make a serious mistake.
Doctrinal Truth
Doctrine is the teaching of the principles of truth that are defined in the Bible. There are truths about God and Christ and man and the church and the world and history and prophecy which are essential to the life of Christianity. If they are lost or distorted, the result will not be merely wrong ideas, but misplaced trust. Our inner life of faith is not independent from the doctrines of the faith. When doctrine goes bad, so do hearts. There is a body of doctrine which must be preserved and defended. The compromising mindset in many churches today is that “doctrine” divides; therefore, let’s coalesce around the things that we have in common. As a result many of the truths of the Bible are diluted and end up being discarded.
Contending for the faith is a very broad subject. The purpose of this article is to concentrate on the purpose, distinctive, and structure of the Church.
Church Purpose
The church is described in1 Timothy 3:15 as “the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth”. The apostle Paul is not referring to “the church” as the source of truth or the creator of truth. He is describing it as the repository or storehouse for God’s truth. He is not saying either that the Church is the infallible source for interpreting spiritual truth.
This verse refers to “the truth” which is a reference to Scripture. It is the concept of sola scriptura; Paul is assigning authority to the written Word. He does not say, “The church will tell you what this letter means. Paul is not saying that the leaders in a church have the sole responsibility to interpret the Scriptures and explain what they mean. Individual believers also have the responsibility to study and understand the Scriptures as well.
Paul refers to the church as stewards of the truth, not the source of it. “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” 1 Corinthians 4:1 Elsewhere, Paul explicitly says there is only one “true” foundation for our faith, which is Christ. “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” 1Corinthians 4:11
Church Distinctive
The Church is a distinct body of believers which was not present on earth during the Old Testament period and which was not the subject of Old Testament prophecy. The apostle Paul was given role of revealing this truth, “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit ..His body, which is the church”.. the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” Col. 1:25-27
Israel and the Church are distinct in the Bible. The Church has not replaced Israel in God’s prophetic program. National Israel still has a future even though they rejected their Messiah. God made literal promises for the future of Israel in the Old Testament. These promises include land and prosperity during the future Millennial Kingdom. In order for these promises to be fulfilled, a believing remnant in Israel (representing in God’s view, true Israel) will need to repent and recognize Jesus as their true Messiah.
It is so important in studying the Bible to keep this distinction in mind. We can apply individual spiritual experiences, moral truths, and figurative types of Christ to our time. However, there are verses in the Old Testament that apply strictly to Israel as such. For example, in Psalm 109 David calls on God to destroy his enemies (the enemies of Israel) and rightly so, “Let there be none to extend loving kindness to him.. let their name be blotted out”. Compare that to the New Testament in Romans 13:20,21, ““But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” What is the difference? In the NT God is saving people out of the nations. In the OT God established Israel as a nation where his truth was to be honored and practiced. Those who opposed this were to be destroyed. During the Tribulation the nation of Israel will be reinstituted. Those who oppose this national revival will be judged and destroyed conforming to the appeal of David in Psalm109. So in reading your Bible keep in mind what applies strictly to Israel, or what applies strictly to the Church, or what applies to both.
Part II continued August.