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We should not add to it or take from it. Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Surprisingly, large numbers of Protestants agree. And we need to be sure that we know the truth in order to spot errors. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. Turn off this feature for production websites.
And we need to be sure that we know the truth in order to spot errors. I have heard that the reason that art historians are so good at spotting forgeries is not because they are familiar with all forms of forgery, but because they are so familiar with the real thing. The same, apparently, is true for experts in spotting forged currency. They cannot possibly anticipate all the techniques that might one day be employed in the practice of forgery, but they can become increasingly familiar with the real thing, the genuine article. And so we have to recognize how vital it is that we understand the truth.
We have to know the truth of the faith so intimately that whenever deceptive and divisive false teaching arises in the church, we will be well-equipped to diagnose it properly and refute it clearly. Do you intimately know the truth about the Christian faith?
Is that something you leave to pastors and Christian leaders?
But recognize that this is not a one-man operation. Verse 20 uses plural nouns. The commands are given to congregations. This means that if you are only marginally attached to a church, your faith is at risk. If you doubt this, then I have to wonder if you are taking the warnings and prophesies of the Lord and His apostles seriously.
Jude makes it quite clear that there is always a great danger of the faith being perverted. We are enjoined to help one another. And this prayer in the spirit is not some special kind of prayer.
Instead, Jude is saying, all of you can pray by the power of the Holy Spirit. The prayer was to be for discernment and preservation in the midst of what will always be trying times. And the prayer was specifically to be a prayer which would keep them in the love of God.
There are several important truths in Jude 3 worthy of serious consideration. One reads of great faith, weak faith, etc.
Contend for the Faith - Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you. 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.
This certainly contains the implication that Christians can believe and teach the same doctrine cf. For I make known unto you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. Jude thus affirms, in anticipation of the completion of the Christian body of doctrine, that there would be no need for continuing revelation. There is, therefore, no ongoing revelation, with accompanying spiritual gifts, today cf.
First, saints are simply Christians. All children of God are called to be saints 1 Corinthians 1: Some people are their own favorite theologians. Every Christian must be a biblically-educated theologian who earnestly contends for the faith. The third question is, why must we contend for the faith?
Jude provides a simple answer: Christians cannot allow false teachers to do what they do. Jesus, along with the other New Testament authors, warned of the coming of false teachers e. These are texts with direct statements claiming that false teachers are coming and are currently present in our churches now. In this letter Jude is sounding the alarm: This is a truth that is clearly understood both biblically and experientially. My mother worked at a bank for many years as a bank teller. I asked her one time, what kind of training she went through to learn how to distinguish a counterfeit bill from the real thing.
A bank teller handles so much of the real thing that they can spot a counterfeit in an instant. A fourth question is, how must we contend for the faith?
Word, , ; Thomas R. The term was used to describe the agonizing pain one experiences in running a long distance race. One who does not stand his ground will be defeated. It is a superlative word of intensity. That is how one is to contend for the faith.
Doctrinal error must always be taken seriously and refuted in the church. In doing so, however, we must be sure to distinguish between that which is false teaching-heresy-from that which is disagreement on secondary doctrinal issues. For example, consider the varying doctrinal interpretations of eschatology. There are those who hold to premillennialism. Some of these are post-tribulational and believe that Christians are going through the great tribulation before the rapture of the church. Others hold to pretribulationism, believing the rapture will occur before the great tnbulat10n.
Some hold to an amillennial interpretation of eschatology while still others are postmillennial.