The Fight
In the Book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse one, Solomon writes, "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven..." he goes on to state in verse eight, "...A time for war and a time for peace". After I graduated from high school, I immediately shipped out to boot camp. I spent the next six and one half years serving this country as a member of the US Army. One thing that I never forgot while serving was - even though I was earning money for future education - that my main purpose for being in the Army was to, “……support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” That meant that when my unit was called upon we would have to fight.
Turn to Jude and let’s look together at verses 3 & 4, they read as follows: “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints”(NASB).In the Book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse one, Solomon writes, "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven..." he goes on to state in verse eight, "...A time for war and a time for peace". After I graduated from high school, I immediately shipped out to boot camp. I spent the next six and one half years serving this country as a member of the US Army. One thing that I never forgot while serving was - even though I was earning money for future education - that my main purpose for being in the Army was to, “……support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” That meant that when my unit was called upon we would have to fight.
Jude begins this passage in verse three (3) by addressing his readers with a familiar term of endearment, “Beloved”. This word translates a Greek word that could also be translated, “Dear friends’ (cf. NIV). Therefore we gain insight that Jude wasn’t writing to strangers, but to folk that he was close to and well acquainted with. Jude informs his readers that although it was his greatest intent (i.e., “making every effort..”) to write to them concerning the salvation that they had in common, he felt the necessity to write to them something else. The Greek word for, “necessity” is the word, “Ananke” (pron: Ah-non-kay). This word means, “Constraint, compulsion or pressure”. This same word is used in 2 Corinthians 9:7 where Paul teaches that believers should NEVER give money under compulsion, constraint or pressure, rather giving should be done freely and cheerfully.
Therefore, Jude tells his readers that he had the greatest intent and desire to write to these dear friends in Christ about the wonderful salvation that they shared in common. But he instead felt the constraint and pressure to write to them something different. The question may arise, “where did this pressure to do otherwise come from?” I believe there are two sources for this pressure that Jude felt to go in a different direction in his writing. The first source of this pressure was sovereign (cf. 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1: 20-21). The second source was circumstantial (cf. Jude 4ff). Now exactly what new thing did Jude feel compelled to write to these believers? The answer is found in verse three (3), he states, “…I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly…” The phrase, “contend earnestly” is one word in the Greek, it’s the word Epiagonizomai (pron: Epy-ah-gon-nidz-o-my). Interestingly this word is used only 1 time in the Entire N.T. and its here in Jude 3. This word means, “To strive strenuously in defense of something”. It also means, “to fight as a combatant about something that is being assaulted”. As we have seen, Jude intended to write to these fellow disciples about the great salvation that they shared in common. But through a move of God and tenuous circumstances, he was sovereignly pressured to write to them: calling them and us to arms, urging them and us to battle, admonishing them and us to fight. There are 3 things about this fight that Jude wanted them and us to understand (I've added a 4th):
Exactly what would this fight that Jude called believers to then and today be like? We gain some insight by examining again the word, epiagonizomai. This word lets us know that this fight WILL be first, ongoing/continuous. The word epiagonizomai is a present tense verb indicating continuous, ongoing action. Jude informs us that this fight that he is calling us to will be an ongoing/continuous battle either to death or the Rapture, whichever comes first. Second, this fight will be strenuous, severe and agonizing. This fight that we’re called to will be no Sunday afternoon stroll through the park, this fight will be anguishing and taxing. This fight will bring pain and suffering – both mental and physical.
1. Firm persuasion (2 Co 5:7); 2. Assurance or firm conviction (Heb11); 3. Trust or belief (Matt 8:10; Acts 3:16)
If you notice, each of these uses can be classified as, subjective, meaning that they are personal in nature. Each of these relates to a person’s experience. The, “pistis” (i.e., faith) that Jude speaks of is not subjective, but rather objective. In other words, Jude is not speaking of one’s experience of faith (i.e., how one believes) rather he is speaking about the content of faith (i.e., what one believes). Let me be clearer. Jude is urging believers to fight NOT for how they believe, BUT for what they believe. In other words Jude is NOT admonishing us to fight defending our personal experience of faith, but we are to fight defending the foundation of our faith. The reason why we know that the content of faith is at issue and NOT the experience of faith is because of what Jude says in the remainder of verse three, “…contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all handed down to the saints”. This phrase is marvelous because it clearly teaches us that we have in our possession something that was given, “once for all times” NEVER to be repeated. This phrase also states that this special possession was not given to just any old body, but to, “the saints”. So what is this, “faith” that was given to us the saints once and for all times that we are called to fight for until death or Jesus’ return. This “faith” is none other than, the gospel. So, therefore the object of the fight that we are called to is the gospel.
In verse four Jude writes, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ”. My brothers and sisters, the gospel is under attack. Just recently I was engaged in a conversation with two guys over this very issue – one a Muslim and the other a Jehovah’s Witness. They both affirmed that they were going to heaven or paradise when they died. Why? Because they believed that they had earned enough points to qualify. The Apostle Paul clearly writes in Galatians 1:8,”….if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed”. Listen, I know that we live in the age of political correctness and tolerance. No one wants to appear contrary and argumentative. But we cannot remain silent when the very thing that brings salvation to the lost (cf. Rom 1:16) is assaulted, undermined, distorted and redefined. You know what? We can debate the timing of the rapture, we can debate whether or not infants should be baptized, we can debate what place man plays in his/her salvation, we can debate whether or not women should be Elders in the church and a host of other important issues. BUT when it comes to the gospel, the debate is over. There is only one view, one correct understanding of the gospel and that is what we have been once for all given from the Apostles (cf., Gal 1:8; 1 Cor 15:1ff). And when this very gospel is attacked, it is our God given duty, our divine calling to protect and defend it with our very lives. Now let me say this quickly, some of you may be saying to yourselves, “I can’t defend the gospel, because I don’t have much education, or I don’t have the right kind of education. I didn’t go to Bible College or Seminary”. Hey! Are you born again? Do you possess the Holy Spirit? Do you have a Bible? Then, you can defend the gospel. This task is not just for ministerial professionals. Jude describes the target of our fight in four (4) ways:
First, he describes their stealth (vs. 4)
Jude states that, these certain unidentified men and women have, “crept in unnoticed”. This phrase is a word in Greek that means, “To slip in stealthily”. You’ve heard of stealth fighter jets? These are planes that are able to literally fly, “under the radar”. Jude states that these men were able to slip into the congregation of the saints, “under the radar”. What’s interesting here also is to understand that the phrase, “have crept in unnoticed” is in the passive voice, indicating that these men are not acting in and for themselves, but are being acted upon. In other words, they were snuck in, by Satan, no doubt. According to Spanish history there existed something called, “the fifth Column”. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica the “fifth Column” is, “…a clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation’s solidarity by any means at their disposal. The term is credited to Emilio Mola Vidal, a Nationalist general during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). As four of his army columns moved on Madrid, the general referred to his militant supporters within the capital as his “fifth column,” intent on undermining the loyalist government from within. So the fifth column is a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders”. In other words, this person or persons would become a public school teacher, a professor, a butcher, baker or candlestick maker. His/her job was to corrupt the enemy from within without obvious detection. Satan also has his fifth columnists. I’m convinced that every local church has someone who is working for the enemy trying to corrupt that congregation from within. These people are serving as Elders, Deacons, Sunday school teachers, Trustees, even teaching Pastors.
“….those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation…”
What Jude is saying is that these gospel attackers were, “marked out” (literally “written about”) in scripture long ages past. Jude tells us that the announcements in Scripture concerning the condemnation of these deniers of the gospel was made in the past and is in full authority and effect at this present hour. One writer writes, “Apostasy should not take us by surprise, for God predicted from the very beginning that Apostates would appear on the scene to work their destruction, and he also predicted their condemnation and punishment” (cf. Isa 8:19-21; Hos 9:9; Zeph 3:1-8; Jer 50:36; etc,.).
“…ungodly persons…”
The Greek word here for ungodly speaks of someone who is, “without reverence for God” not just someone who is irreligious, but someone who acts in contravention of God’s demands”. This word ungodly speaks of those who are often referred to as heretical and Apostate. True followers of Christ can never apostatize (i.e. fall away from the gospel) because as we learned in Jude verse one, true believers are, “kept” for Jesus Christ. You realize a person may walk an aisle, pray a prayer, shed a tear or sign a pledge, but if that person falls away, according to Scripture they were NEVER redeemed in the first place (cf. 1 John 2:19).
“….who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ”.
Jude states that these gospel attacking apostates turn (i.e. pervert) the free grace of God into a license for sin. They perverted the gospel by telling people that if you come to Christ by grace through faith, you are FREE to live as you please because all your sins are covered and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. These apostates also denied the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word for “deny” means, “repudiate or disown”. These apostates repudiated and disowned Christ and taught others to do the same. They denied the Sovereignty of Christ, The Lordship of Christ, The Uniqueness of Christ, the Oneness of Christ with the father. I believe this is absolutely happening in our churches today, especially in the name of scholarship and education. There are people who are placed there by Satan and over time they spread their apostasy. They deny the sovereignty of Christ, they deny the Lordship of Christ (e.g. in salvation).
IV. The resources for the fight
For His Glory
Todd
