Jude 3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.
The word “contend” implies that Christians have something worth fighting for. When we have a deep love for the truth, our thoughtful convictions must be defended. We cannot afford to compromise the truth of God’s Word for the sake of tolerance. People are not always comfortable with the rigors of firm convictions. But the world will continually confront our faith, leaving us no choice but to take a stand. If we do not contend for truth in such situations, all that is left is retreat.
The truth is that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man (Colossians 2:9), He lived as one of us facing every trial and temptation that we face yet He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). He willingly laid down His perfect life (John 10:18) as the once for all sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:14) and He took His life up again (John 10:18) when He walked out of that tomb. By doing so Jesus fulfilled the law and conquered sin and death. All who are in Christ have thus been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
Many are celebrating Easter today as a day to remember the resurrection of Christ. As Christians this is something we celebrate everyday by the way we live. Because Jesus conquered sin and death we have been given the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57), we need to live like we have won. Therefore we should contend for this truth. We must contend every day for the inspired truth of God’s Word and its life-giving message of salvation.
This Sunday we continue our series on the one-chapter books of the Bible by focusing on the Book of Jude.
Praying everyone has a happy Easter holiday and a blessed week.
In Christ,
Gary T.