Fighting for Spiritual Safety

Scripture:

Jude 3   Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. ⁴ For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Observation:

Jude is writing to those whom he loves who have found salvation in Jesus Christ. Just like other New Testament writers, he is concerned about the faith of these believers and writes for them to contend for the faith. This is action that he believes is necessary, to fight off those who will try to erode their faith. The saints refers to all those who are followers of Christ, not just the leadership of the church. This message is for everyone. Jude’s goal in this writing is to secure the spiritual safety of those who will read his message.  

Spiritual warfare is a real thing and that’s why contending for the faith is absolutely necessary. The enemy is now within the body and the threat is more internal than external. The external threats are much more obvious while the internal threats are more insidious. To fight off the enemy believers need to be able to “articulate their doctrinal convictions but also commit themselves to a lifestyle that corresponds to what their faith proclaims. Jude expects believers to pursue the Christian life with the same dedication and passion as an athlete who trains to win a sporting event.” (Powers, NBBC). 

Application:

A real battle is being waged over our spiritual condition. The enemy does not want God’s people to continue to grow in grace, but wants to stifle anything that might bear fruit. Jude realized that false teachers, those from within, were extremely dangerous. The false teachers take our understanding of God’s grace and twist it into ‘permissiveness.’ All of these false teachings, whether in Peter, Paul, or now in Jude, take us to licentious behavior. Evidently in the first century people were looking for excuses to be able to engage in all kinds of sexual behavior, and they were grateful when those within the church gave them that license under the guise of grace. This, however, according to Jude, is spiritual warfare, eroding faith from within, and encouraging ‘feel good’ behavior. Opposed to this, our Master and Lord is inviting us into a new way of living our lives, and that is to follow Him. This is the unique nature of Christ and the salvation that we find in Him. 

The battles appear to be all too familiar. Christianity is under attack for not endorsing every form of ‘feel good’ sexuality or gender identification. God’s holy love is not the same definition of love used by the world. Holy love comes with cleansing, healing, redemption and transformation. Worldly love is temporal, bringing satisfaction in the moment, but often leaving one hurt and wounded. Instead of providing a pathway out of the pain of this world, worldly love encourages us to leave people in their current state and not to expect anything different. Jesus offers new life and transformation and this is worth fighting for. 

We are to be contenders of the faith. This term, contend, is used for athletes who are a part of a competition. Serious consideration must be made for our spiritual lives, growth and development. Other voices will try to join the competition, but we must be prepared, ready to fight them off at a moment’s notice. 

Prayer:

Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear anything within the body of Christ that may be intruding upon the faith. Clothe me with your armor today and every day, so that I might be a contender for you.  Amen.