…more about warfare
A friend of mine found herself in the unenviable position of having to defend her faith without a firm understanding of all the doctrines about which she was being questioned. Upon hearing her story, I thought of Jude’s epistle which exhorts us to earnestly contend for the faith. So, what does it mean to contend for the faith? With whom are we contending and exactly how do we engage in this battle?
Contending is a battle. In the sport of boxing, the opponents are called contenders. It takes two men to have a boxing match. In the case of contending for the faith, the contenders are both within our own minds - our flesh and our spirit - battling for purity of the faith, or the clarity and truth in our own minds of the doctrines handed down to us from the prophets and Apostles.
Contending for the faith inevitably leads to the defense of the faith. Once we are unwaveringly sure in our own minds of what the Bible does and does not say, then we can, with confidence, “give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15b).
What occurs in your mind when you hear someone say, “We are all God’s children.” Do you balk or do you think, “Yeah…maybe?” How strong is your knowledge of “The Faith?” Do you know what the Bible says about the sovereignty of God, election (predestination), or the character of God? Do you know where to find those subjects in the Bible? Do you know what you believe well enough to defend those beliefs Biblically? My opinions, ideas and “feelings” on any given subject are worth about as much as yours but they don’t prove anything! Peter told those to whom he was writing his second letter about what he saw and heard at the Mount of Transfiguration. Then he said, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy;” (2 Peter 1:19a KJV) He was talking about the scriptures - the inspired written Word of God. Do you recognize when you are confronted with a false doctrine or teaching? Or are you easily swayed by a reasonable presentation of “almost truth?”
Some friends and I were discussing spiritual warfare today at lunch. There are many areas of life - addictions, opposition from others, false teachings and more - that require us to wage war for truth but first we must be rock solid sure of what truth is. The enemy must be defeated in our own minds before we can rescue anyone else (Jude 1:22-23).