Wandering Crusader #291 Coulda Been a Contender

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  Jude v3

As a writer, I’m what’s called a “pantser”. That is, I write by the seat of my pants; no outline, or notes, just an idea. I sit down and start writing. I’ve often thought the writers of the scriptures may have done the same thing under the sudden inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That was the case with Jude.

He tells us two things at the outset. He was thinking about writing a letter, and he had a subject in mind. He was going to write something about the salvation he shared with his readers. But something happened that changed his mind. He no longer wanted to write a letter; he needed to write one. I’ve had feelings like that, and they usually come from experiencing sudden inspiration. It’s like the fire Jeremiah said was shut up in his bones.

Is that what happened to Jude? I don’t know, but it sure sounds like it. He not only needed to write; he needed to write something to exhort his readers to action. Exhort isn’t a word we use much anymore. It means “to incite by argument or advice; urge strongly: to give warnings or advice”. Jude had a warning he needed to deliver.

It wasn’t a message warning of sin that keeps people from salvation. These were Christians to whom he was writing. He was warning them of the sin that steals our power, our focus on Christ, and our testimony. It was a warning about being seduced from the faith they had received when they were saved.

Jude was trying to warn his readers away from sensuality. Yes, he was writing about fleshly desires, but he goes beyond that. He also means worship based on the senses rather than the Spirit. Worship designed to dazzle the eyes, titillate the ears, soothe the soul, and celebrate comfort keep Christians stagnating in infancy and idleness rather than contending for spiritual growth.

Spiritual growth distances us from the world. It does not welcome the world in. It destroys old habits, old desires, and old thinking. Contemporary worship models are not new; they are as old as the works of Cain, Balaam, and Korah, all of which place self above God. Before you become a champion, you must be a contender.

Maranatha