Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude 3-4
Jude 3-4
TRUTH is under attack. Our nation is having trouble defining marriage. Our nation is blurring the lines of our constitutional rights. Our nation is stumbling over offenses that have come by way of the truth. Our nation is watering down any semblance of the truth on which it was founded.
The battle for truth has become a lost art...a vigilant effort for the Crusaders and early church...but history at best. Truth has become a great source for advice or counsel but has been demoted from its rightful place as the foundation and standard for our very lives.
But unfortunately...the attack hits closer to home. This week alone...we received several phone calls and became involved in several situations in which truth had become obsolete. Families floundering, lives destroyed, children hurting...because truth had been abandoned.
Jude appeals to the body of Christ to CONTEND for the truth. To contend involves a struggle. It will mean perchance a confrontation. And possibly it will be a battle against anything that presents itself contrary.
Apathy has crept subtly into our homes and taken us captive. Our desire to please others and keep the peace has kept us from being vigilant. We have distorted our mission as believers and become confused on what our calling is. Afraid to step on toes or rock the boat...we have become the meek tolerater and idle spectator. We have been disturbed by those who speak out against sin and labeled them as "judgmental" or "self-righteous". Yes, the depart from truth is bothersome to us also...but not enough to stir us from our sleepy complacency.
And all the while...certain people...have crept in unnoticed to our homes. To our churches. To our circle of friends. They have perverted the grace of our God and denied Him as our ONLY Master and Lord. They have promoted the philosophies of this world. And they have squashed the backbone of our truth.
This truth came to us at a high cost. One Man sacrificed His life to be the author, the perfecter, and sustainer of truth. He stood up to the wisdom of this world...to the fallacies of philosophy...and the hypocrisy of religion. He held His ground. He contended for TRUTH. He battled toe to toe. And eventually...walked Calvary's path...to give us this truth.
The carnage around us is evidence enough. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Now is the time for the body of Christ to rise up. We are called to be the ambassadors of truth. To have those hard, uncomfortable conversations. To be the instigator of healing. To abandon our fear of rejection and speak up when the time comes. To be the voice that speaks the loudest.
To contend for the TRUTH!
The battle for truth has become a lost art...a vigilant effort for the Crusaders and early church...but history at best. Truth has become a great source for advice or counsel but has been demoted from its rightful place as the foundation and standard for our very lives.
But unfortunately...the attack hits closer to home. This week alone...we received several phone calls and became involved in several situations in which truth had become obsolete. Families floundering, lives destroyed, children hurting...because truth had been abandoned.
Jude appeals to the body of Christ to CONTEND for the truth. To contend involves a struggle. It will mean perchance a confrontation. And possibly it will be a battle against anything that presents itself contrary.
Apathy has crept subtly into our homes and taken us captive. Our desire to please others and keep the peace has kept us from being vigilant. We have distorted our mission as believers and become confused on what our calling is. Afraid to step on toes or rock the boat...we have become the meek tolerater and idle spectator. We have been disturbed by those who speak out against sin and labeled them as "judgmental" or "self-righteous". Yes, the depart from truth is bothersome to us also...but not enough to stir us from our sleepy complacency.
And all the while...certain people...have crept in unnoticed to our homes. To our churches. To our circle of friends. They have perverted the grace of our God and denied Him as our ONLY Master and Lord. They have promoted the philosophies of this world. And they have squashed the backbone of our truth.
This truth came to us at a high cost. One Man sacrificed His life to be the author, the perfecter, and sustainer of truth. He stood up to the wisdom of this world...to the fallacies of philosophy...and the hypocrisy of religion. He held His ground. He contended for TRUTH. He battled toe to toe. And eventually...walked Calvary's path...to give us this truth.
The carnage around us is evidence enough. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Now is the time for the body of Christ to rise up. We are called to be the ambassadors of truth. To have those hard, uncomfortable conversations. To be the instigator of healing. To abandon our fear of rejection and speak up when the time comes. To be the voice that speaks the loudest.
To contend for the TRUTH!
