Champions of the Faith

Read Jude 1:3-4.

There is a sense in which each generation is entrusted with passing on the Gospel—and God cares immensely about our trustworthiness in this call. Not only are you and I, and all of our generation, custodians of the Truth now, but we must hand it down to the next generation unmolested, unmodified, and untainted. That is how the faith is carried on.

Believers have been entrusted with the faith—the Gospel “once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3)—but sadly, many don’t take time each day to read their Bible. And unsurprisingly, we cannot contend for something we don’t know. The faith has been handed down to us in the pages of Scripture. Therefore, if we are going to be champions of the faith, we must be people of the book. If we don’t know what God’s Word says, we will be deceived by all manner of false teaching.

We must uphold the Truth of Christ out of love for both God and the lost. You cannot contend for the faith if you don’t know, love, and live the faith.

When believers refuse to contend for the faith, false teachers will flourish in their midst. Some, in an attempt to be kind, don’t speak up when false teaching begins, and in time heresy grows rampant.

Jude exhorts us to contend for the faith with those who sneak into churches with the aim of altering or watering down the Gospel, like the serpent of old. We speak up against those who preach a partial truth.

Outwardly, false teachers can appear loving and kind—saying all the right words. But inwardly, they do not fear God. Paul described them as “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). If we let them go unchallenged, they will divest the Gospel of its saving power. The true Gospel changes people from the inside out. And that is one of many reasons why it’s worth contending for!

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the transforming, saving power of Your Gospel. May I be bold to stand against false teaching out of love for You, Your Truth, and the lost in need of redemption. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.