A needful letter

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

I like how this letter opens. After a brief introduction we see a clear example of how the Holy Spirit gave us His word. Jude, Jesus’ brother was all set to write a general letter about salvation. Is was giving is, as he put it, ‘all due diligence.’

But then he ‘found in needful’ to write and exhort his readers to ‘earnestly contend for the faith.’

Whenever I read Jude I am reminded of the importance of being willing to stand, and if we have to, fight for the faith. While the Bible is full of love and peace and getting along even with those who don’t agree with 100% we still are reminded here, and in other places, that we have a faith worth fighting for.

I think about the verse in Hebrews that says ‘follow peace with all men...’ That is a beautiful reminder about how God wants to us to be a people who seek peace and cooperation. But the verse doesn’t end there. It continues with ‘…and holiness, without which no one no one can see the Lord.’

Yes, we are to seek peace with each other. There is petty stuff that we can choose to lay aside and choose to get along.

But we can’t tolerate unbiblical error. We must be ready to contend for the truth. In fact we must be ready to earnestly contend. That means when it comes to deal with false doctrine and error we have to stand and fight against.

There is never an excuse for ugliness or meanness or vindictiveness. But there do come times when we must lovingly take a firm stand on the word of God. Sometimes that involves exposing error. Sometimes it involves separation.

Earnestly contending was so important that Jude stopped writing a letter on salvation to deal with it. Are we willing to contend for the great salvation and truths of God’s word that have been delivered to us?