Message 24 - By Jerry D. Green
Contending for “THE FAITH”
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 (the true “…doctrine of Christ…;” which our faith must be in, if we are to be saved [II John 1:9].) which was ONCE (at one time) delivered unto the saints.”
FAITH is simply believing in some one or some thing.
THE FAITH of Christ is the pure, true, unadulterated “…doctrine of Christ…”
which one must believe; must place their faith in, must trust in, to be saved. Why was Jude so concerned about THE FAITH
which was ONCE delivered to the saints? Verse 4 explains:
Jude 1:4
“For there are
certain men crept in unawares (unnoticed by the simple), 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.”
The method which the
antichrists (plural) always use to get their beguiling message or messages into
the church (II Corinthians 11:3-4) is to come in looking pious and
harmless (Matthew 7:15), then they chip
away, little by little, bit by bit (again, unnoticed by the simple) until they
have completely corrupted the truth of the gospel, rendering it powerless to
save a soul. Jesus does tell us,
however, that “the (spiritually) wise” can know them “by their fruits” (Daniel
12:10; Matthew 7:16-20). It
actually depends on whether a person loves the truth, or no.
This was already
the case in John’s day (I John 2:18), as well as in Jude’s day. How much more is it today, over nineteen
hundred years later. This was the reason Jude exhorted the church to earnestly
CONTEND for the faith, which was ONCE delivered to the saints. What does he
mean by contend? Strong’s Greek Concordance says contend (in this particular
text) means to “struggle for.” The English definition (according to the
American Heritage Dictionary) is basically the same, “to strive in opposition
to, or against difficulties; to struggle;” NOT AGAINST SIN, but against
deceiving devils who come in to spy out our liberty which we have IN Christ,
and would bring us once again into bondage to both sin and the devil. Yes, that
is exactly what we are in, a life or death struggle against the spirit, and
spirits of antichrist; against the powers of darkness of this world.
Accordingly, the apostle Paul exhorts us to:
Ephesians 6:10-18
“…be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” And to “Put on the whole armour of God (For what reason?), that ye may be able to stand against the
WILES (the travesties; the trickery) of the devil. For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places. Wherefore
(brethren), take unto you the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand (the onslaught of the lie of decption) in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand. 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 (THE 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 (rightly
divided) word of God: Praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
No, it is not a
flesh and blood struggle, but it is a very real spiritual struggle. And these
spiritual struggles can sometimes be just as arduous as a physical struggle.
What are we so arduously contending for? The TRUTH of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ which was once delivered to the saints; which is the GRACE of God unto
us. “For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). It is always “the true
gospel” which the devil purposes, with all his means, to blind our hearts and
minds to; because it is only “the true gospel” that will bring true salvation
and true deliverance to those who truly believe.
A blatantly false
gospel, false god, or a false, far out doctrine, is not as likely to deceive as
a perverted (mingled) gospel, which, retains some semblance truth. It was the pure truth (pure gospel) which the
apostles of our Lord, Jesus Christ, suffered, and strived so diligently to
preserve (Jude 1:17-19; II
Peter 3:2); and so should we. More specifically, the true gospel will always
retain the truth of those things which transpired in the death, burial, resurrection,
and ascension of the Lord, Jesus, the Christ, AND HOW IT PERTAINS TO OUR LIFE
today. It is through faith in the
true “gospel of Christ,” that we are made partakers with Christ, of all the
goodness of God the Father (John 1:16).
Let’s look at some scriptures and see
what some of these wonderful benefits are.
I Corinthians 15:1-4
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also YE ARE
SAVED, IF ye keep in memory WHAT I preached unto you, unless (otherwise) ye have believed in vain. For I delivered (preached) unto you first of all
that which I also received (by
revelation), how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And
that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
scriptures.”
The believing of
the true gospel of Jesus Christ IS our salvation.
Romans 5:8
“…(For) God commendeth His love toward
us (gave His Son on the cross), in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
I Peter 3:18
“For Christ also hath once suffered (suffered once, for all eternity) for (our)
sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put
to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”
Galatians 1:3-4
“Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who gave Himself FOR OUR sins, that He might DELIVER US FROM this
PRESENT EVIL WORLD, according to the will of God and our Father.”
Galatians 6:14
“But God forbid that I should glory (in anything), save (except) in the CROSS of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by… (which, and by whom, this PRESENT EVIL) …WORLD is crucified
unto me, and I unto… (this
PRESENT EVIL) WORLD.”
Titus 2:13-14
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for US, that He might redeem
us FROM all iniquity, and PURIFY (us) unto Himself a peculiar people (His own special people), zealous of good works.”
Hebrews 13:11-13
“For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the
sanctuary by the high priest FOR SIN, are burned without (outside) the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might SANCTIFY
the people (from their sin) with HIS OWN blood, suffered without (outside)
the gate (of the walled city). Let us go forth therefore unto Him without (outside) the camp, bearing His reproach (of the cross; Exodus 29:14, 33:7).”
Hebrews 13:20-21
“Now the God of peace, that brought (raised) again from the dead
our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant, Make you perfect (complete) in every good work to do His will,
WORKING IN YOU that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ;
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
I Peter 2:21-24
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither
was guile found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when
He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to him (God, the Father) that (who)
judgeth righteously: who His own self (Jesus) bare OUR SINS IN HIS
OWN BODY on the tree (on
the cross), that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes ye were healed (For more about the healing Peter is speaking about in this verse, read JDG
Message 10.)”.
Galatians 2:20
“I am (and we are) crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet (it’s) not I, but (it’s) Christ (who) liveth in me: and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by the faith (the
true gospel) of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”
I Peter 4:1-2
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath SUFFERED (died) FOR US in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh (died physically) hath CEASED from sin (Likewise, we should understand that our old man of sin, the
sin nature, died in union WITH HIM on that cross); That he (we should) no longer… live the
rest of… (our) time in the flesh to
the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
II Corinthians 5:14-15
“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if
one died for all, then were all dead (Romans 5:15): And…He died for
all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
him (Jesus, the Christ) … (who)
died for them, and rose again.”
Galatians 5:24
(For) “…they that are Christ’s HAVE
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (thereof).
Romans 6:1-12
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised… from the dead by the… (by the
determinate judgment or decree)
of
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted (buried) together in the
likeness of his death, we… (have) also (been raised together) in the likeness of
his resurrection: KNOWING this, that OUR old man IS crucified with Him, that
the body of sin (the whole or entirety of sin [both
committed sins AND our old sin nature which causes us to commit sins]) … (would) be destroyed, that henceforth we… (would) not serve sin. For He that is dead is freed from sin. Now
IF WE BE DEAD WITH CHRIST, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing
that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more
dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He
liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.… (LEST) sin therefore reign
in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” (For a better understanding of what’s
being said here, please read JDG Message 26; “Let Not, or LEST?”)
Whether you are a
sinner who has never sought after God in your entire life, or a
religious sinner who has struggled against sin for all of your
entire life; stagger “…not at the promise
of God…” (Romans 4:20; John 8:30-36). Believe the true gospel of Jesus Christ
(Romans 1:16) and God will
save you, deliver you, and make you FREE indeed FROM ALL your sin, in,
and through, His Son, Jesus, the Christ (I
Corinthians 1:30).
JDG
Message 24 - Contending for THE FAITH
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