Contending for the Faith

Jude 1:1-4 (ESV)
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: [2] May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
[3] 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. [4] 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.

Every time I read verse 3 of this letter, I begin thinking of Bo Giertz. He quoted this verse in his “My last Will and Testament” but he lived it in his life. “Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. “ Contend. It needs to be contended for, over and against those who have “crept in.” The greatest threats to Christianity today do not come from the Dawkinses and Hitchenses of the world, nor their intellectual superiors who can more aptly argue for an Atheist position. The greatest threats to Christianity do not come from the muslim onslaught of the west. The greatest threats to Christianity come from those who have crept in and seek to pervert the grace of God.
They are crafty. Men like Bo Giertz were able to see them for who they were and contend against them. He is a voice confessional Lutheranism needs to listen to as we enter into the 21st century. He was maligned in the press for opposing women’s ordination. Many thought of him as nothing more than a sexist. He saw it for what it was, the perversion of the grace of God. He saw how this issue would erode the authority of scripture in the life of the church, and without that authority give rise to all sorts of evil in the church. And so it has. It is hard to discern anything Christian whatsoever from the public announcements of the LWF and her sister churches anymore, even as I know many faithful Christians in those communions.
Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Contend. We do not contend with enemies of flesh and blood. Oh they have human faces. When we contend for the faith we must always remember that those who we are contending with are people for whom Christ has died. Our weapons cannot be those of this world that can destroy flesh, but cannot deliver a good conscience. We have the word of God and plain reason in subordination to the word of God. With these we contend for the faith. We contend for faith when we proclaim his word, proclaim the gospel and the forgiveness of sins. We contend for the faith when we rebuke those who pervert the grace of God by preaching what is unsound doctrine. We contend for the faith when we train our children up in the way of the Lord. We contend for the faith when we support our congregations. We contend for the faith when we send out missionaries. We contend for the faith when we participate in the voters assemblies and conventions of our church. We contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints when we allow Jesus Christ to be our only Master and Lord, ruling our hearts through the scriptures he has given the church, even when it means being politically incorrect, and unpopular.