Contending for the Faith

By Jamey Hinds

Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

God seeks true worshipers (John 4:23–24). And we can infer from this description that there are those who clearly offer worship that God would call false. Just as there are those who are false teachers (2 Peter 2:1), there are those who listen to them and follow them, and thus offer false worship. Paul wrote to Timothy about those who are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men” (2 Timothy 3:7–9).

This is a big part of the reason why we must pay careful attention to the things being taught (1 Timothy 4:16), and why we should do our best to present ourselves approved to God, workers who don’t need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:12–17).

It’s not that God hasn’t expressed what He wants, because He has through His word, and His word is truth (John 17:17; Psalm 119:160). As the apostle Paul put it to the Ephesians: “The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:3–4). In other words, God’s revelation is offered to mankind in written, unchanging form for the best reasons: that we may read and understand what it is God wants us to become.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1–4)

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

“How Do You Read It?”

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” (Luke 10:25–26)

Jesus doesn’t answer him with fancy arguments. He simply asked him: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” So the lawyer answered Jesus by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 in combination with Leviticus 19:18. Jesus then told him that he answered correctly, and then He said: “Do this, and you will live” (Luke 10:28). And this is where is became difficult for the lawyer because he didn’t want this reply. He didn’t want this simplicity: “Do what you know.” He seemed to have wanted to be the exception to God’s rules.

So, how many of us have read the word of God and thought (or hoped) that we could be the exception to God’s rules? “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. . . . So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 1:21–22; 4:17). James isn’t urging us to be knowers of the word, but doers. As Paul put it to the Corinthians: “Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Contending for the Faith

Contending for the faith means we first learn what the faith is according to God’s revealed mind (Romans 10:17; 14:23; 1 Corinthians 2:6–16; Hebrews 11:1, 6) and then we go and do it. Again, we’re to be doers of the word and not hearers only. Paul said in his defense to King Agrippa: “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance” (Acts 26:19–20). In a different context, Paul said there were those who “profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him” (Titus 1:16).

The church of Jesus Christ is full of hypocrites who pretend love to God. Lip-service is the most they will ever offer (Mark 7:1–13; 1 Timothy 5:24–25). It’s hard not become discouraged by hypocrisy. In contending for the faith, if we know better, then we must do better. By living for the Lord the way we know we should, we might encourage someone to stop living for themselves, to stop living against the Lord (Matthew 12:30; James 5:19–20).