Contending for The Faith!! Part 1!!

Jude chapter 1




Today we are walking in: Contending for The Faith!! Part 1







Today we look to the word CONTEND-- H1624 -- gârâh-- ; to cause strife, stir up, contend, meddle, strive, be stirred up to stir up strife, excite strife, to excite oneself against, engage in strife, to excite oneself (against foe), wage war








The Torah testifies...............



Deuteronomy 2:9



And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend H1624 with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.







The prophets proclaim..................



Isaiah 57:16



For I will not contend H1624 for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.





The writings bear witness...........................



Proverbs 28:4



They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend H1624 with them.




Throughout the New Testament we are exhorted to apprehend something that is called ‘The Faith.’ We are encouraged to attain it, and then contend or fight to keep it. We are also warned to examine or test ourselves, to see if we are still ‘in’ The Faith.

But what is this thing called ‘The Faith?’

First, we must understand that ‘The Faith’ speaks not of a general quality of faith and trust that we are to have, of which faith we are all given a certain measure. Instead, this phrase speaks of a particular system of Truth that is described throughout Scripture. One is either ‘in’ or ‘out’ of this system of Truth — for there is no middle ground. Thus the phrase “in the faith” is used in 2Corinthians 13:5 to describe its nature. But what is ‘The Faith?’
What is ‘The Faith?’

The phrase the faith appears in 42 verses of Scripture, giving us our first clue as to what ‘The Faith’ might be. Since the number 42 speaks prophetically of Yahushua appearing in us, our first thought is that this phrase must relate to this subject of ‘Messiah-in-you.’ As we see what the Scriptures tell us, we notice that the test of being ‘in’ The Faith can be seen in the following passage:

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2Corinthians 13:5)

According to the above passage, if we know for ourselves that Yahushua is in us, then we can see that we are ‘in’ The Faith. This understanding of ‘The Faith’ is necessary as we look at other Scriptures to determine their meaning. Now notice the following passages:

And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. (Romans 4:12)

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:16)

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)

When we see the term, “the faith of Yahushua,” our first thoughts are that it always means faith ‘in’ Yahushua. But what does the term, “the faith of Abraham” mean? This term does not mean faith ‘in’ Abraham, but describes a system of faith, of hearing and walking in obedience to The Most High, and to the Truth of His Word. The term ‘the faith’ of Abraham can then be seen as the system of walking in the Word, as Abraham did; and ‘the faith’ of Yahushua is the life of walking in the Word as Yahushua did, and whose life is our pattern, and our example.

When we are first Born-Again, we are ‘in the faith’ as a newborn Babe, as we obey the Truth given to us. However, as we grow and mature, we begin to hear teachings from many that will shape our lives as Believers, and some that will actually turn us away from the Truth:

Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. (Titus 1:14)

Some false notions come in the form of Jewish fables; others come in the form of Doctrines and Commandments of Men. Many young Believers may not know Scriptures well, but believe everything that is taught them, without checking against the Scriptures. These Commandments of Men can turn us away from the Truth.

Many teachings turn out to be a mixture of Truth sprinkled with the Commandments of Men, and are not easily discerned. As a result, many young Believers are led away from Truth, into a form of captivity, as Paul explains in Romans and 2Timothy. They are still The Most High’s people, but they are in disobedience. Their spiritual eyes remain closed, and they are not aware of this captivity.

Samson, who was counted among The Most High’s people, had his eyes put out, and was put in captivity. Believers today, like Samson, have had their spiritual eyes put out when they are led into captivity for their disobedience. Only repentance, by returning to obedience, can restore the eyesight.

This understanding is vital when we are confronted with passages that have been twisted by modern theologians to say something that the Scriptures do not say. The enemy is constantly at work, ‘twisting’ the Scriptures. So our first line of defense is to know the Scriptures, by studying The Most High’s Words, by reading them for ourselves.

When we encounter any idea that goes against what we already know, there is a sense of ‘contending,’ as the ‘waving of a red flag.’ An uneasiness will stir within us.

But this same uneasiness happens to us, when we encounter the Truth of The Most High’s Word — if we are holding on to a mixture of Truth and error. We do not want to oppose The Most High, but to grow. So how do we overcome this uneasiness, this sense of opposition?

It is human nature to avoid confrontation. As a result, many will try to avoid the uneasiness and the confrontation, and will not contend for the Truth. For this reason, there are multitudes of Born-Again Believers who will reject some of the precious Truths of Scripture, because those Truths of Scripture are not in agreement with what they have been previously taught.

What should we do when we encounter ideas that are against what we hold true? If we desire to grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of Yahushua, there is only one thing to do when we find ourselves in disagreement. Notice the following Scripture passage:

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 1:3)

Jude tells us that we are to contend, to fight, to struggle to remain in ‘The Faith’ as it was originally given to the people of The Most High. Some have thought this means physical fighting. However, the wording and context of Jude’s epistle tells us exactly what this contending is — it is a struggle of Truth against Doctrinal error, centered around Leaders who have altered the Biblical subject of ‘Grace,’ in order to teach an un-biblical version of Grace.

Let’s look more closely at this passage, to see how we are to contend for The Faith.
How Do We Contend for The Faith?

When we are confronted with notions or ideas that may be in error, we are called to contend, or fight to maintain the Truth of The Faith. How do we do this? First, let’s see a continuation of the passage regarding contending for The Faith:

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:4)

In the above passage, Jude confirms for us the reason we must contend. Jude tells us that men had crept in, and had created destructive ‘Doctrines of Men’ regarding the Biblical Truths of ‘Grace.’ As Jude indicates, when these Leaders wrest or twist the Scriptures and mix them with Doctrines of Men, they promote lasciviousness or lack of restraint in the daily lives and testimonies of those Believers that hear their teaching. In this way Believers can actually deny Yahushua by their actions, as Paul explains (Titus 1:16). But now lets look at the remedy:

I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. (Jude 1:5)

Here we see the call to remember the Scriptures. It is apparent from this passage that these Leaders were not currently teaching Truths of the Law [Torah], because Jude tells the Believers they ‘once knew’ these things, but had forgotten them, and needed to be reminded of these Torah Truths.

When we are studying the Scriptures, reading it for ourselves, then the remedy against the ‘Doctrines of Men’ is in our weaponry. The Holy Spirit, who guides us into all Truth, will bring to our remembrance the things that are truly of The Most High’s Word, and “shall show it unto you” (John 16:15; 1John 2:26-27). This is an important part of our ‘contending for the faith’ — to know, and remember all the Scriptures, and to learn the consequences of abandoning the Commandments of The Most High.

So the remedy is to look at any idea or notion that is taught, comparing the idea against all of Scripture.




Notice also what Yahushua tells us:

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: (Luke 24:25)

Here we are told that we are slow of heart [‘foolish’] when we do not believe [become “Do-ers” of] all that the Prophets have spoken.

But what have the prophets spoken?

A quick look through the Scriptures reveals that every one of The Most High’s true Prophets continued to call The Most High’s people back to obedience to Torah! And Yahushua is telling us that the foolish among His redeemed people are those who are ‘slow of heart’ to be ‘Do-ers’ of the words of the Prophets.

After looking at the life of Yahushua as our example, the words of the Prophets is one of the next tests we may use. If our notion or idea is not in agreement with all that Yahushua did, or if it does not agree with ‘all that the Prophets have spoken,’ then it is a false notion.



If we would contend for the faith, then we must search the Scriptures, and cry out to The Most High to show us the truth of a matter. We must find either agreement or disagreement of Scripture against an idea or notion, in order to determine its Scriptural validity.


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