Contend for the Faith

 The Book of Jude tells us to "contend for the faith". What does that mean? The dictionary defines "contend" as: 

• 1) To argue or state earnestly, 
• 2) Struggle,
•  3) Compete with others in a struggle to achieve (something).

It makes one wonder how they might "contend for the faith". First, it needs to be said that we are not to pick and choose what we wish to believe in God's Word. Only reading and believing the "positive" parts of the Word leaves a lot out.

In New Testament times, Christianity was competing with Gnosticism. The Gnostics saw Jesus as merely a spiritual being and not a physical being. They felt that the physical part of life was evil and only the spiritual mattered. This was convenient in that it meant that they could literally do whatever they wished with their physical bodies as long as their spiritual body was on the right path. 

Paul was thinking about the Gnostics when he admonished the believers to make sure that anyone who taught them needed to believe that Jesus is God and that He was raised bodily from the dead. Consider that since we are saved by faith, if Satan can destroy the faith, he has destroyed salvation.

The Book of Jude addresses the fact that false teachers in the church are to be condemned and removed. He wanted to expose the false teachers that had infiltrated the church and to encourage Christians to stand firm and fight for the truth. Jude thought more than just being aware of false teachers and their teachings, believers were to stand against those working against the faith. How?

• Remember the teaching of the apostles.
• Build each other up in the faith.
• Pray in the Holy Spirit.
• Keep themselves in the love of God.

"Christianity was never intended to be the follow-the-leader-blindly cult" (Dave Hunt) It is important for us to do as the Bereans and to search Scripture to ensure we are not being led astray. We need to stand against error and to not allow the Gospel to be homogenized with our culture. Gnosticism did not fade away. It is alive and well today, just difficult to see unless you are looking for it.

We should be asking the questions, what can make a church vulnerable to false teachings today? Have we been "sucked in" because we don't know the Word as well as we should?  

According to a poll:

• Only 36% of those who attend church weekly believe Jesus is the only way to heaven.
• 57% believe other religions can lead to eternal life.
• Only 22% believe the Bible to be God-inspired.
• Over 82% of American Christians only read their Bibles on Sundays while in church.

Christians Don’t Read Their Bible | The Ponce Foundation

Thoughts: What is a Prophet?

 

Truth

There were prophets in the OT, not so much in the NT. Perhaps because once the Holy Spirit was given, God could and would speak to individual believers. The office of prophet was not entirely eliminated however, since it is listed as one of the five ministries. Today I see several "prophets" arise. The question is, "Do they all speak for God?" How do we know which do and which do not? How do they compare to the OT prophets? Think about the OT prophets, Moses, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, to name a few. What did they all have in common?

1. They all were not particularly liked by the nation's leaders and the religious leaders.
2. Most, if not all experienced some type of persecution.
3. Their message focused on repentance and returning to the Lord and the consequences of not returning more than what might happen tomorrow.

If we were to line up those who profess to be prophets today, how would they line up?

1. Does what they say come to pass?
2. Have they been persecuted for their message?
3. What is the focus of their message? Is it repentance and returning?
4. In Jeremiah, the people only wanted to listen to the prophets that gave hope. Are we doing that?
5. I have heard a few of today's prophets talk about Christ consciousness. How many people would recognize that for New Age teaching?
6. How many people would prefer to listen to these prophets than to read or study their Bibles? Wouldn't that make the prophet almost operate as a medium?

Don't be fooled, in the last days many prophets will arise. Be careful who you listen to. Realize that the dark side has their prophets too.

We need to be able to discern double agents. Those who profess one thing but hide the fact they are working for the enemy. It disturbs me that a recent poll shows only 37% of church leaders have a Biblical worldview. That would mean almost 60% of our church leaders are double agents. Where do you think they are leading their people?

Antidote: 

• Watch to see or hear a message of repent and return. 
• Study your Bible to know if you are following the right path and pray for discernment.
•  Remember the dark side is skilled at fake news.

Thoughts: Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain

 

What does it mean to take the name of the Lord in vain? Most of us have been taught that means we should not swear. True, but there is much more to it. The Jews neither speak nor write God's name, choosing to avoid any chance of using it in vain. Christians, on the other hand, bandy God's name around without much thought. They even risk using it as a magical incantation. What thought is given to the phrase, "In Jesus' name" when it is tacked on the end of a prayer? If we would be honest, it comes off as a type of listing our requests and since the Bible says, "If you ask anything in My name, believing, you will receive", we think we can blackmail God into giving us what we want because we asked in His name.

At marriage, a woman takes her husband's name. As a result, from then on everything she says and does reflects on her husband. The same thing is true for a nation's ambassador. He is operating under the authority of the nation, but his words and actions also reflect on the nation. As Christians we are ambassadors for Christ, operating under His authority. 

How often do we think upon how our words and actions reflect upon Him?

 If we took our respect for His name seriously, wouldn't we be more careful how lightly we use His name?

 Would that change the flippant way we use the phrase, "In Jesus' name"? 

How can we use God's name more respectfully?

  Are we offended when someone doesn't show proper respect? 

Are we really any better than those who use God's name as a swear word, if we use it disrespectfully?

Are we so vain that we choose to speak for God? How would that look?

Don't Be a Rock, Be a River

 

I've been considering Moses. He was known for his humility which made him an asset to God. The times he stepped out of his humility put him in a lot of trouble. The event of striking the rock to get water instead of speaking to it, as he was told to do, got him banned from the promised land. Moses also dealt with a group of frustrating people, yet he also acted as a mediator between God and them when God wanted to get rid of them.

The idea of "don't be a rock, be a river" opens the door to better understand humility. The rock sticks up in the river, not moving, but causing the river to go over or around it. Sometimes the rock seems to impede the water's flow. We are like the rock when we insist on our own way. The river on the other hand, doesn't allow the rock to stop it. It gently flows over or around obstacles. There are times you can hear the river crying as it encounters a group of rocks. Rapids or waterfalls may impact the river, yet it continues on its course. The rock stubbornly remains in its place while the river moves on to create power, beauty and life, eventually making its way to the sea. The river uses the rocks in its way to enhance its beauty and increase its force.

If given a choice, I would be a river. The river doesn't fight the rocks it encounters it uses them. If I were a rock, I would want everything to be about me and would find forgiving and moving on near to impossible. I would impede other's lives and sometimes be the source of hurt to them

Which would you choose to be? A rock or a river?

In the Last Days there will be Prophecies, Dreams, Visions...

 "In the last days there will be those who prophecy, dream dreams and see visions." We read this both in Joel and Acts. There is no question we are in the last days, but there are some questions about the prophets, dreams and visions. The Old Testament prophets had a strong bent toward calling the people to repentance and returning to following God. Those who claim to be prophets today mostly resemble reading a horoscope or getting a "reading" from a medium, those things we are warned to avoid. I am not saying that God doesn't tell us what to expect, but where is the call to repentance? If Jeremiah were alive today, I'm sure he would have some strong words for the church. I'm also sure there are some of the prophecies/dreams/visions that truly are from God, but it has almost become a fad to say, "God gave me this word." Why are there suddenly a plethora of those "hearing from God?" When we become filled with the Holy Spirit God said He would speak to us directly. Why do we seek out these "prophets" to get a "word from the Lord"? Are these people a smoke screen sent by Satan to distract us from what the Holy Spirit is actually saying to us? Maybe like in Jeremiah's day, we would choose to listen to the false prophets over the true because they speak words we want to hear. "Repent and return to Me" is not a comfortable thing to hear as we would rather hear wonderful things are coming. Refusing to hear truth doesn't make it any less true. Believing a lie over truth because we don't like the truth can get us into so much trouble.