Contending for Our Christian Faith - by Jim Tharp

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith . . ..” (Jude 1:3)

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.” (II Timothy 1:6-8)

“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy 4:5-8)

Jude, a half-brother of Jesus Christ and called to be one of Christ’s apostles, feels compelled to write and urge those who had believed in Jesus as their Savior to “contend earnestly for the faith.” Even though we are reading this Scripture 2,000 years after Jude wrote this warning to the early church of Jesus Christ, I think that we believers should be more serious today about contending for our Christian faith. There are reasons why we must contend for our faith. Most people who repent of their sins and trust in Christ as Savior may not realize that they are being called into a battle against evil. Christian living is spiritual warfare!

The Bible teaches us that the three enemies of the Christian are the world, the flesh, and the devil. By “the world” is meant the very spirit of the age—the system and philosophies of the world (the world trying to control our thinking); by “the flesh” is meant our own selfish natures; and, of course, “the devil” is the evil one who was thrown out of heaven because of his rebellion against God. His destiny is divinely sealed; at the end of the ages, he will be condemned to the eternal fires of Hell. As believers, we must learn to pray earnestly and read our Bibles thoroughly to learn how to defeat Satan with his lies, schemes, temptations, and other attacks.

In II Timothy 1:6-8 we are given the secret of winning our battles against the powers of Satan. The apostle Paul begins by reminding us “to stir up the gift of God which is in you.” This “gift of God” is a reference to the Holy Spirit, who is implanted within us, the very Spirit of Jesus and of God the Father. He is the spiritual Power needed to cleanse us from our carnal selfish natures, purify our hearts, and give us power over the world, the flesh, and the devil!
   

While the Holy Spirit is a given in our experience of being born anew in the Spirit, we are commanded to ask for His fullness of power. I urge us to hear what Jesus promised His disciples—and all of us today—in the Gospel of John, chapter 14:12-17: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Please notice that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our “Helper!” The Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil! There are areas of power in which the Holy Spirit helps us contend for our Christian faith.
THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL HELP US PRAY. In Romans, chapter 8:12-18: “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” God the Father and God the Son call every believer to be filled with this divine Helper, the Holy Spirit, to help us pray.

THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL HELP US WORSHIP. Only in the power of the Spirit can we be strong in our faith. We read in Romans, chapter 5, verse 5, that the Holy Spirit pours love into our hearts—our love for God, our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our love for a lost world. The Holy Spirit will strengthen our faith and help us worship.

THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL HELP US CONTEND FOR OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH. We are living in an age of radical skepticism concerning morality and spiritual issues. It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to awaken to the desperate need to meet God’s conditions for the greatest spiritual awakening in the history of the church. To all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I plead with you to join me in praying for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to help us contend for our Christian faith. It will be worth it all!

I close this message with the testimony of the great Apostle Paul, which he gave just a short time before dying for his faithful contention for the faith. Writing to his friend Timothy, Paul writes his final words: “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

(II Timothy 4:1-8)

Closing Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, how grateful we are for Your amazing love for a lost world—a love so great that You would sacrifice Your Only Righteous Son, Jesus Christ, sending Him to earth to shed His blood on an old rugged cross, suffer, and die so that any sinner could repent and trust in Him as Savior and Lord and be adopted into Your redeemed family. What a great and glorious but costly provision for our salvation through your grace and our faith! Now, Lord, please help your followers here in this 21st century to pray with hunger and faith for fresh fillings of Your Spirit for the effectual contention for our Christian faith. May we, like those faithful ones who have gone on before us, endure to the end in faith and power! Please allow us to see once more the opening of the heavens and millions turning to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord right here in America. Revive Your church and save millions of lost souls before it is too late! In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Note: All scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.