Week of Monday December 1 – December 7
Call to Contend – Man as Defender
“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 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. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” - Jude 1:1-4 ESV
Some things in life are worth defending, even fighting for. Obviously, we fight for our families, we fight for biblical values, and we fight for our freedoms. As a soldier in the U.S. Army, I have literally put my life on the line to defend liberty. As a leader with Family Research Council, we are battling each and every day, from the School House, to the Court House, to the State House, to the White House, for the sanctity of God-created human life, the sacredness of God-ordained marriage between a man and woman, the God-given right to religious freedom, the God-given right for His covenant people Israel to occupy the land of promise, and much more.
For Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, the focus of his battle was for “the faith that was once delivered to the saints” (v 3). Though he had other things he wanted to address, Jude changed up his letter to address the urgent need to “contend for the faith” in view of the clear and present threat posed by false teachers (v 3-4). These depraved deceivers were apparently peddling a form of gnostic dualism, which resulted in loose living. So, Jude’s purpose in his letter was twofold: 1) to expose the false teachers who had infiltrated and infected the church fellowship, whose immoral and rebellious lifestyle was an indicator of their heretical theology, and 2) to encourage genuine believers to stand firm and contend for the true faith that had been handed to them. Again, the faith handed down to us from Jesus and the apostles is worth defending, even fighting for.
Jude goes on to compare these bad actors with a rogue’s gallery from the Old Testament and then trains some withering fire on the faults of these false teachers: they sneak in, defile the flesh, despise authority, slander angelic beings, follow the way of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. They are like hidden reefs that cause shipwreck, shepherds helping themselves to the sheep, clouds without water and fruitless trees that promise but don’t deliver, wild waves that throw up filthy foam, wandering stars that mislead, and they are grumblers, hedonists, boasters, playing favorites to curry favor (v 8-16). Their destiny is utter darkness (v 13), which Jesus spoke of repeatedly when describing hell.
Finally, Jude looks to the future and offers exhortations to genuine believers going forward. He repeats “But you beloved” and urges us: To remember the words of the apostles, build ourselves up in the faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God, wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ, show mercy on some, and save others with fear, snatching them from the fires of hell itself (v 17-23).
Consequently, Jude painted his target, then fires away at these false teachers until he exhausts his ammo and melts his barrel, comparing these depraved deceivers with some of the worst offenders in the OT, and then reminds us that how you live is the best indicator of what you believe. Yet more than simply sounding a warning about these false teachers, the letter of Jude is a call to contend, to fight for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. This call is especially relevant to Christian men today. The message of Jude is a battle cry to engage as courageous Defenders. Let’s be men of God who contend for the faith, for our families, and for our freedom!
- When you hear someone trash or try to twist the Christian faith, how do you respond? Do you let it go or do you contend for the truth?
- Since contending for the faith takes preparation, what are you doing to arm yourself? Are you in the word daily? Text “Bible” to 67742 to get into our daily Bible Reading Plan and start taking your family through it as well.
- Pray and ask God for the courage to contend for the faith as well as for your family and your freedom!
Call to Contend – Man as Defender
“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 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. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” - Jude 1:1-4 ESV
Some things in life are worth defending, even fighting for. Obviously, we fight for our families, we fight for biblical values, and we fight for our freedoms. As a soldier in the U.S. Army, I have literally put my life on the line to defend liberty. As a leader with Family Research Council, we are battling each and every day, from the School House, to the Court House, to the State House, to the White House, for the sanctity of God-created human life, the sacredness of God-ordained marriage between a man and woman, the God-given right to religious freedom, the God-given right for His covenant people Israel to occupy the land of promise, and much more.
For Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, the focus of his battle was for “the faith that was once delivered to the saints” (v 3). Though he had other things he wanted to address, Jude changed up his letter to address the urgent need to “contend for the faith” in view of the clear and present threat posed by false teachers (v 3-4). These depraved deceivers were apparently peddling a form of gnostic dualism, which resulted in loose living. So, Jude’s purpose in his letter was twofold: 1) to expose the false teachers who had infiltrated and infected the church fellowship, whose immoral and rebellious lifestyle was an indicator of their heretical theology, and 2) to encourage genuine believers to stand firm and contend for the true faith that had been handed to them. Again, the faith handed down to us from Jesus and the apostles is worth defending, even fighting for.
Jude goes on to compare these bad actors with a rogue’s gallery from the Old Testament and then trains some withering fire on the faults of these false teachers: they sneak in, defile the flesh, despise authority, slander angelic beings, follow the way of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. They are like hidden reefs that cause shipwreck, shepherds helping themselves to the sheep, clouds without water and fruitless trees that promise but don’t deliver, wild waves that throw up filthy foam, wandering stars that mislead, and they are grumblers, hedonists, boasters, playing favorites to curry favor (v 8-16). Their destiny is utter darkness (v 13), which Jesus spoke of repeatedly when describing hell.
Finally, Jude looks to the future and offers exhortations to genuine believers going forward. He repeats “But you beloved” and urges us: To remember the words of the apostles, build ourselves up in the faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God, wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ, show mercy on some, and save others with fear, snatching them from the fires of hell itself (v 17-23).
Consequently, Jude painted his target, then fires away at these false teachers until he exhausts his ammo and melts his barrel, comparing these depraved deceivers with some of the worst offenders in the OT, and then reminds us that how you live is the best indicator of what you believe. Yet more than simply sounding a warning about these false teachers, the letter of Jude is a call to contend, to fight for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. This call is especially relevant to Christian men today. The message of Jude is a battle cry to engage as courageous Defenders. Let’s be men of God who contend for the faith, for our families, and for our freedom!
- When you hear someone trash or try to twist the Christian faith, how do you respond? Do you let it go or do you contend for the truth?
- Since contending for the faith takes preparation, what are you doing to arm yourself? Are you in the word daily? Text “Bible” to 67742 to get into our daily Bible Reading Plan and start taking your family through it as well.
- Pray and ask God for the courage to contend for the faith as well as for your family and your freedom!