Will You Contend for the Faith?

Encouragement to Contend for the Faith

For the next several weeks of the summer, we’ll be working through a short book of the Bible called Jude. This part of the Bible is a pastoral letter to a group of Christians that explains how important it is to contend for the faith. And it’s quite short. It’s only one chapter long – 25 verses. But it deals with a number of important encouragements, explanations, and warnings that are important to the Christian life. So if you have a Bible nearby, go ahead and turn with me to the book of Jude. It’s the second-to-last book of the Bible. This morning I’ll just be reading the first three verses. But before I read our text, please pray with me.

[Pray and Read Text]

Is the Christian Faith Extracurricular?

As many of you know at this point, I grew up not too far south of here, in a rural community. And I attended Fulton high school. The school district was quite small. I graduated with 48 other students. And in order to graduate from school – this was true for other schools, as well – there were certain important classes that I was required to take. There was a core curriculum that I needed to learn. If I remember correctly, I needed to take four semesters of Language Arts, five semesters of math, four semesters of science, two semesters of history, and a couple other specific classes.

But then, outside of school hours, if I wanted to give time to other topics or activities – like jazz band, sports, Boy Scouts, studying current events and general knowledge for Quiz Bowl, or developing skills in 4-H – those other things were perhaps encouraged, but they were considered to be extracurricular. They weren’t considered to be part of the basic information I needed to know for graduation, and for adulthood in general.

Of course, in recent years I think more people have been asking the question, “Who gets to decide what things are required parts of the teaching curriculum, versus being extracurricular?” What are the things that should be core curriculum for life, and how do we tell them apart from the non-essential add-ons?

I think over the years in America, large numbers of people – even many regular church-goers – have been led to believe that Christianity (or religion in general) falls under the category of extracurricular. Many people grow up believing that math, science, and language arts are the things that really matter. It’s largely assumed that human identity revolves around your studies at school, or your job, or the upkeep of your home, or the activities you do in your retirement. Meanwhile, many people imagine that knowing God, or being committed to a church, is something extra – on the same level as any other hobby or community organization.

But the Bible presents things to us much differently. The Christian faith isn’t regarded as something extra or secondary – but it’s valued as something of central importance to you, me, and the whole rest of world. Christianity is spoken of, here, not as a community group we’re casually associated with, but as something that forms the most critical aspect of who we are. The Bible is intended to affect our whole life. The words of Scripture give us the core curriculum for life. It isn’t just hobby.

And in the opening verses of this letter, Jude helps us to see the importance of the Christian faith, both directly, in his instructions, and indirectly, in the example of how he writes. As we walk through the opening of this letter, to see who it’s from and how it’s set up, we’ll be reminded about the importance of our faith, and of five things that the life of a Christian involves.

We’ll see that the Christian life involves first, a commission to serve; second, a calling from God; third, a collection of blessings; fourth, a common salvation; and fifth and finally, the Christian life involves a contending for the faith. These will be my five main points. (A Commission to serve, a calling from God, a collection of blessings, a common salvation, and a contending for the faith).

A Commission to Serve

So first, the Christian life involves a commission to serve. In the opening verse of our text, we’re told that God gave this part of the Bible to us through “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.”

It’s widely understood that this man Jude (or Judas – it’s actually the same name), was one of the brothers of Jesus. The Bible gives us reason to believe, after Jesus was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit and born, that Joseph and Mary went on in their marriage to have a number of other children. In Matthew 13:55, four of Jesus’s brothers are mentioned: notice first there’s “James, then Joseph, Simon, and Judas” – or Jude. So when Jude identifies himself as Jude, the brother of James, that checks out.

And since James became a prominent, well-known leader in the early church – we see his prominence at the Jerusalem council, in Acts 15 – it makes sense that Jude would introduce himself or remind people who he is by making this reference to his brother James. (This James, by the way, is also the one who wrote the book of James we have in the Bible).

But it might seem strange to us – if Jude is, in fact, the brother of Jesus, why didn’t he mention that to bolster his credentials? “Jude, the brother of Jesus” would sound a lot more impressive than, “Jude… the brother of James.”

But I think that Jude speaks the way that he does very intentionally. Because he doesn’t want anyone to make the mistake of thinking that he’s somehow equivalent to Jesus. He doesn’t want to minimize the unique glory and status of Jesus, by calling himself Jesus’s brother. Of course, Jude has no problem affirming that he’s on the same level as his brother James – he speaks as a spokesman for Jesus, just like his brother does. But Jude wants to emphasize the great distinction that exists between him and Jesus – even greater than the distinction between the light of a candle and the light of the Sun – greater than the difference between a king and his stableboy.

And that’s why Jude introduces himself the way that he does – not as Jesus’s brother, but as Jesus’s willing slave – as “a servant of Jesus Christ.” Jude submits himself under the authority of Jesus here. He doesn’t want to go on living for self, sin, and Satan – but he wants to live for the Creator who made him, and the Lord who died to save him. He seeks to serve his master 24/7. He never takes off his “I belong to Jesus” hat. Living for Christ isn’t just an extracurricular that Jude occasionally squeezes into his schedule. Instead, the priorities of Christ determine his schedule. Jude is a servant – that’s what he says here. His life is for Jesus.

Of course, it might be tempting for us to think that being a servant of Jesus Christ is just for Jude. We might imagine that living like this is just for pastors or people like that who have a special responsibility to teach or to lead the church. But we need to understand, this commission to serve Jesus is for all of us. Because Jude has been set before us as our leader – He’s from the company of the apostles, from the very same household as Jesus himself. He’s a leader for the Christian Church, throughout the ages! And yet, if our leader is a slave of Jesus Christ, then what does that make us? It would be delusional for us to think that our status is higher than his. Jude wants us to understand that we, too, have a commission to serve the Lord who made us and saved us.

Our work won’t all look the same. We all have different workplaces, different giftings, and different roles for how we carry out our service – but Jude sets an example here, in affirming that all we do – it’s for the Master. It’s for Jesus. Just like Jude, we too are commissioned to serve Christ.

A Calling from God (6 min)

But then, later in verse 1, Jude turns his attention to the people he’s writing to – “to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.”

Though Jude doesn’t identify any specific names of people or locations in his greeting, it’s quite clear that he’s talking to one or more gathered groups of Christians – to one or more churches. And he describes the people of the Church in a rather interesting way – as those who are called. The emphasis here isn’t put on anything that these Christians have done. Instead, Jude draws attention to the fact that someone else has been active – someone else has taken the initiative to powerfully and productively call people into the Church. And, of course, that “someone else” is God. That’s quite evident from the context.

This way of referring to God’s people as those who are called shows up throughout the Bible. In Genesis 12, God called Abraham – and entered into a special relationship with Abraham and his descendants. And some time after this, God called Abraham’s descendants out of their slavery in Egypt, and established them to be a holy nation – the nation of Israel. And this explains why the people of Israel are later referred to as those who have been called. Isaiah 43, for example: “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.” Also, Isaiah 48:12, “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called.” And the New Testament continues to speak of people being called to faith, and being brought into the church. In fact, the very word for church in Greek is ekklesia – “ek” meaning out and “klesia,” meaning called. So, literally, the people of the Church are “those who are called out” from the world, and gathered together by God.

So it’s a consistent Biblical idea. But why should it matter to us? What practical difference does it make? Look with me at the end of verse 1. Jude adds two secondary phrases to explain why being called by God brings encouragement for those who have been inwardly, effectually called by God, into saving faith.

First, he notes that those who are called are beloved in God the Father. When we understand that God has initiated, and that he has called us to come to him, through faith in Christ, this means that God genuinely wants us to come. We don’t have to wonder if we’re presenting ourselves to God, as an unwanted house guest. Instead, we can have the confidence of knowing – God has sent out the invitation. He urges us to come. He wants us. He loves us. The reason why God has called and continues to call sinners, is because of his deliberate, decisive love.

This was a message that many Christians needed to hear in Jude’s day. And this is a message that many of us need to continue hearing, as well. When people we care about reject us because of our faith, when life circumstances are hard, when it seems like God isn’t blessing our work like he did in the past – we need to be reminded that God’s love is still the same from everlasting to everlasting. His love doesn’t fluctuate from day to day like ours does. But Jude reminds us that God has called us because he wants us. All those who are called to faith in Christ, enfolded into the Church – they are truly the recipients of God’s unbreakable, extravagant love.

But notice the second phrase, at the end of verse 1. Being called by God also means that we’re kept for Christ Jesus, or preserved for Christ. Again, it’s clearly implied that God is the one who’s preserving us. Jude’s point here is that the God who calls us is committed to guarding and keeping us.

I think that many Christians don’t realize how involved God really is, in the daily sustaining and keeping of his people. But he is. It’s like we have our own, personal Nascar pit crew. He’s never far from us. No one has more expertise in maintaining the human soul and keeping us roadworthy. When Jude speaks here about God’s work to keep us on the race track, it’s intended to encourage and comfort us here – especially when we feel run down, or when we’re afflicted by false teachers, temptations, and persecution that would try to take us out of the race. He knows that we’ll be tempted to despair, and give up. But those who have been called by God, into faith – Jude wants us to remember, here, that God himself is working by his unlimited power to keep us, and to guard us.

And do you know what God uses to keep us and to guard our souls? He works through our faith. 1 Peter 1:5 explains that Christians, “by God’s power, are being guarded through faith [or kept through faith – same Greek word] for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The God who calls us into faith, is the God who supplies and strengthens our faith. And He keeps us to the end. He doesn’t divorce us or reject us. Those who are called to Christ, are also kept for Christ, through our living faith in Christ.

A Collection of Blessings

But let’s turn our attention, to a third major item that the Christian life involves: a collection of blessings. We see this in verse 2. Jude adds words of blessing to his letter, and he says: “May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.”

Now, it may seem here that Jude is simply writing out a wish list. It might seem like he’s mentioning things that the Church doesn’t have, and he’s expressing his desire that the Church would come to have these things in the future. But I think we would do better to understand that these good things – mercy, peace, and love – are gifts that Christ has already purchased for the Church.

And this means that it isn’t just Jude’s wishful thinking, that Christians would have mercy, peace, and love multiplied to them – but it’s the earnest desire of Christ himself. This is what Jesus intends to give us. So Jude, here, is pronouncing a blessing upon the Church here, to say, “May you more deeply utilize and enjoy the blessings that are yours in Christ.” May the Lord give you bigger pockets to carry around the treasures of God’s kindness.

And there are three specific treasures that Jude mentions, as being a part of this collection. First, Jude speaks of mercy. Mercy is when we hold back, and don’t give people the bad consequences they deserve for their actions. And as Christians, we’re reminded that God was merciful toward us. We had rebelled against him; we said and did shameful things; we loved other things more than we loved God – and for our wickedness, we deserved the death penalty. But God spared us from the guillotine and the electric chair. The penalty fell on Christ instead of us. And because of this, we can walk forgiven and free. That’s mercy. And Jude’s expectation for the Church, here, is that this mercy would multiply – that we would further marvel in God’s mercy toward us and be eager to show mercy to others.

The second treasure mentioned in verse 2 is peace. Because of what Christ has done, we have been given peace with God. For the one who’s trusting in Christ, we’re no longer regarded as enemies. We no longer need to wonder if our future will involve bitter darkness or happily ever after. In Christ, everything between us and God is set right. And our inner peace and peace with others is intended to multiply, as well.

Then the third treasure mentioned here is love. In Christ, not only do we find and receive God’s great love toward us – we’re also energized and equipped by the Spirit of Christ to display this love toward others.

All three of these things are blessings from heaven. These special gifts are jewels, that sparkle with divine glory. And yet, to our own shame, I think we often prioritize plastic costume jewelry instead of setting our hearts on treasure that lasts. We invest the lion’s share of our time and energy into being athletic, or fashionable, or intellectual. But then we neglect to pursue richness in mercy, peace, and love. We forget to attend to our personal character and the condition of our hearts.

But don’t miss it, here: God’s intent is that these blessings would be ours! These are the blessings that the called ones of God are called into. “May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.” If this is what God wants for us, this is what we should want for ourselves, too.

A Common Salvation

But the reason why the Christian life involves this collection of blessings, is because Christians share together in a common salvation. And this is my fourth main point. We see this in verse 3. Jude greets the Church, and says, “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith…”

Jude lets on, here, that his original intent was to write about the salvation he shared in common with these fellow Christians. And so far this morning, I’ve already dropped some comments to describe what Jesus Christ did to save us. He came to earth to represent us – to live and die as our substitute. He lived the perfect life we couldn’t live on our behalf. And he died the death penalty we deserved for our sins. And because of this, whoever trusts in Jesus to be rescued from sin, death, and Hell – that person is saved. The work to make us right with God has been fully carried out by our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. This is the good news of Christianity. This is the message of salvation that Jude mentions here in verse 3.

It’s quite possible that he wanted to write to the Church about salvation to make sure that everybody understood the Christian good news clearly. And this is something that it’s right for us to be concerned about. If you’re here this morning, and you haven’t admitted your guiltiness before God before – if you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as the Savior you need to make you right with God – then you need to do something about that. Don’t put it off. If you aren’t sure if you’re saved, and you still have questions, then please come ask me, or Pastor Josh, or a Christian friend you trust. We want you to know God, to enjoy his blessings, to know what it means to be right with him.

But I think that there’s another reason why Jude wanted to write to the Church about salvation – in order to promote the unity and harmony of the church. Notice, in verse 3, Jude says he was very eager to write about their common salvation – their shared salvation. Do you see what Jude’s drawing attention to, here? He’s pointing out that salvation doesn’t just affect our connection to God, but it also profoundly affects our connection to other believers! We have been saved from drowning, by being brought into the same lifeboat. We share in a common salvation. All those who trust in Christ are made right with the same God. We’re granted citizenship in the same kingdom, adopted into the same family, and grafted in onto the same vine. Shouldn’t this affect how we relate to each other?

People can form bonds over a variety of things. Some people may become friends because they share a love for fishing. Other people may become friends because they’re fans of the same sports team. Other people may be friends because they like listening to the same music. But for Christians, the bond we have to one another is far more precious and permanent. We aren’t just connected to each other with a vague, manmade bond of general fondness. Instead, the bond that holds Christians together is established by God. In churches like ours, Fellowship Reformed Church in Mt Pleasant, God intends that his redeemed people would live in light of this special bond – in light of our common salvation – in light of our togetherness in Christ. We’re urged to enjoy real fellowship with each other. We’re intended to share our lives, to pursue godliness together, and to cooperate in the same mission. We share together in a common salvation – and Jude recognizes here that this is an important truth that shapes how God’s people should live.

Contend for the Faith

But even though this common salvation was something that Jude was eager to speak about, he perceived that there was another matter that needed his attention more urgently. He needed to urge the Church to contend for the faith. And this brings me to my fifth and final point. The Christian life involves this type of contending – a contending for the faith.

This is what Jude gets to, later in verse 3. He says, “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”

When Jude urges the Church here to contend, he’s encouraging them to compete – to fight – to keep on going in the boxing ring, without letting the opponent knock them down. And specifically, Jude urges the Church to contend for the faith. Now, Jude isn’t telling the church to contend for their personal experience of faith – that’s important, too, but that’s not his focus here. Instead he’s telling the Church to contend for the substance of the Christian faith. He wants them to insist upon the true content of the Christian message, that was once for all delivered to the saints.

And as Jude’s letter goes on, he explains why this is the focus of his letter. Because he acknowledges that there’s a disturbing mass of false teaching which is threatening the Church. Some of these false teachers were potentially claiming that they had new insight from God – a new teaching from the Holy Spirit, or something like that. And this is likely why Jude clarifies that the Church needs to hold to the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. The message of salvation in Christ has been laid down once and for all. There’s nothing more we need, beyond Christ, and the truth he’s already given through his apostles. And Jude warns against people who would claim otherwise. We’ll look at the problem of these false teachers in more detail over the next couple weeks.

But as we consider the instruction here to contend for the faith, it’s practically important for us to figure out – what is this supposed to look like for us? How are Christians supposed to contend for truth in a world of falsehood? Let me mention a few things that are needed.

First, we must understand truth. We need to understand the true substance of the Christian faith. Before we can go out and weed the garden, we need to know the difference between what’s a weed, and what the plant is we’re trying to keep. And in the same way, before we can contend for the faith, we need to be trained in discernment by reading and knowing the unified teaching of the Bible, so we can know what God’s truth is.

Second, we must live in light of the truth ourselves. I’d expect that this is one of the most regular ways that you and I will contend for the truth on a daily basis. People who are serious about the truth will be serious about fighting against the deceptive whispers of temptation. They’ll be driven by love for Christ and their neighbor, instead of being driven by bitterness and pride. They’ll be eager to pursue obedience and Christlike character.

Third, we must speak. The truth needs to be proclaimed. We should speak to ourselves, to remind ourselves. We should speak to our kids or grandkids. (Parents, grandparents, this is important – have regular times in your home where you’re praying with your kids or grandkids and reading the Bible together. Contend for the faith by establishing the next generation in God’s truth). We should be prepared to speak to our nextdoor neighbor Jake, or to Linda, where we work, to tell them what Christ has done for us. When we’re in a conversation and someone proclaims a counterfeit version of Christianity, we should humbly and yet confidently speak up for Christ’s sake to say, “that isn’t quite right.” When false teachers are twisting or redefining words from the Bible to propose a new system of thought, we should insist on the historical, orthodox teachings of Scripture. If we’re going to contend for the faith, we need to speak.

Throughout history, God has preserved his truth, by calling people in the Church like you and I to contend for the faith. He involves us in this work. The way you and I live and speak matters. God’s word is calling us to contend for the faith today, so that his truth will be carried along into tomorrow.

I hope you see the importance of these things. Jude reminds us in these opening verses that Christianity isn’t just an extracurricular sport or hobby. God has commissioned us with a special commission. He has called us in love, to keep us. He has supplied us with a collection of blessings, and has granted to us a common salvation. And now God urges, contend for the faith. Pass on these good gifts. Speak boldly of the sureness and sufficiency of Christ. As we consider God’s ongoing care, to love us and keep us, let’s labor together, with all the strength he supplies, to contend for the faith. Let’s ask for his help for these things – please pray with me: