| The Christian Life | September 1943 |
But not Contentious
Contending Earnestly for the Faith
“Ye should earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints.”—Jude 3
THE obligation to contend earnestly for the faith is one which the follower of Christ cannot shirk without spiritual loss to himself. The world and its spirit of selfishness is no friend to the Christian, and Satan, the prince of this world, who is also the prince of darkness, is ever seeking to becloud the truth in the hearts and minds of the children of light.
Satan is an arch deceiver, and appearing as an angel of light, he often suggests to the Christian that to take a firm stand for the faith and to contend for it would mean to have a contentious spirit, and that Christians should not be contentious. But there is a vast difference between contending for the faith and being contentious. The contending which the Scriptures condemn is that of selfishly striving for place or power among the brethren, or for our own ideas against those of others. All such selfish contending, of course, is wrong, and leads away from the Lord instead of closer to Him.
Among the Lord’s people, even in the apostle’s day, there was a tendency at times to fight each other rather than to fight the good fight of faith and to strive against Satan’s spirit of selfishness and the spirit of the world, as well as the weaknesses within. The organs of destructiveness and combativeness which should serve the Christian soldier in good stead, if directed against his own weaknesses and blemishes, are sadly out of place when misdirected against the brethren over nothing, or over questions the importance of which is exaggerated. Those who are contentious along this line should remember the Scriptural statement that “he that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city.”—Proverbs 16:32
The Apostle Paul condemns that misdirection of Christian energy which “bites and devours” one another. Such contention in the church is destructive of that which is truly spiritual and upbuilding among the Lord’s people. But this does not mean that we should be slack as respects the important principles of divine revelation. The apostle himself declares concerning his rebuke of one of the other apostles, older in the Christian faith than himself, “I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.”—Galatians 2:11
The Lord’s people, having enlisted as soldiers of Jesus Christ, should continually keep watch that they are walking in line with the spirit of the truth. It is to this that our text refers, namely, a contention which is not only proper, but necessary, for all who are walking in the light. These are to “earnestly contend for the faith,” for the Word of God; for the promises which God has made, for the good things which God has outlined for the church and all mankind in His wondrous plan.
The truth today, even as in the apostle’s day, is still in disesteem, and subject to the attacks of the world and the worldly-minded. To resist these attacks in the spirit of meekness and humility, yet without compromise, is the duty of the Christian. This is one of the ways in which God, in His wisdom, tests the sincerity and devotion of His people. He desires that all who shall reign with Christ be a tried people, a people of decision and character.
Character implies fixity of purpose and intention, a determination to fight a “good fight” against every influence tending to lead away from the Lord’s Word and the Lord’s brethren. The theories of the world and of nominal churchianity are almost universally in opposition to the truth and to the Lord’s people who are being led by the Spirit of truth. This means that our fight is against the selfish and satanic arrangements which prevail at the present time.
But even in this it is necessary to be on guard, for it is possible for one to be contentious in religious matters, even to “earnestly contend,” and yet not be contending “for the faith once delivered to the saints.” One might, for example, be contentious over some pet theory of his own, rather than for those principles of righteousness which the Bible inculcates.
For one person to argue with another on Scriptural subjects is not necessarily contending for the faith. In the first place, neither individual may be arguing on behalf of the real faith once delivered to the saints. And even though one individual in such an argument might be holding technically to the doctrines of the truth, his motive in so doing aright be other than love. His motive may be that of pride, a desire to reveal his “profound” knowledge of the Bible and his ability to dispute.
The contention which God would approve is an earnest effort to uphold whatever God’s Word teaches, and a sincere desire to be in harmony with it. Such a contending for the faith is not a misuse of the tongue to speak slanderously of personalities. In all of our contentions we should manifest the fruits of the Holy Spirit—gentleness, brotherly kindness and love. Proper contending for the faith does not partake of anger, hatred, malice or strife.
The Faith
The essence of the faith once delivered to the saints is that wonderful statement of truth which says that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Hun should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Confirming this, the Apostle Paul writes, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”—Romans 5:8
The faith, the Gospel, therefore, is seen as a revelation of the Creator’s boundless love toward His earthly creatures, in that through Christ He made provision for their recovery from sin and its penalty, death. Any high-sounding philosophy, no matter hove clearly set forth, which offers other means of life and happiness than that provided through the redemptive work of Christ, must be resisted by the Christian.
John 3:16 declares that the benefits of Christ’s atoning work are available to the sinner upon the basis of belief; that “Whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life.” This means that all theories which presume that salvation is obtainable upon the basis of ignorance concerning “the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” are contrary to the faith once delivered to the saints, hence cannot be permitted to have a place in true Christian philosophy.
This at once emphasizes the importance of knowledge, and of the fundamental part that it plays in the Christian life. It means that we cannot say it does not make any difference what we believe, that the important thing is how we live. A proper understanding of the place which knowledge occupies in the Christian faith should make us realize that from God’s standpoint it is impossible to live right unless we believe right. We cannot properly separate sound Christian doctrine from right Christian living.
Faith Based on Knowledge
The Apostle Paul very properly raises the question, “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a. preacher?” (Rom. 10:14) This poses the question of how the Gospel affects the countless millions who still are dying without knowledge of Christ and His atoning work for them. But we do not need to search long for the answer, because the same inspired writer declares concerning God’s plan for the enlightenment of the world, and the offering of salvation thereby, that He “will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”—I Timothy 2:4-6
Paul’s explanation that the knowledge of Christ’s atoning work is to be testified to all in due time is an important key for the unlocking of God’s great treasure-house of truth. It means that if the “due time” for the many is not before death, there is a guarantee that it shall be in the resurrection.
With this fundamental Scriptural fact before us, there is meaning to the words of Jesus to the effect that it will be more favorable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for those who opposed Him against greater light. (Mark 6:11) There is also meaning given to Paul’s words in Romans 11:25-32, by which he shoves that there is hope beyond the grave even for the unbelieving Jews who crucified the Master. Thus, contending for the faith once delivered to the saints calls for the upholding of the great truths of the Bible which outline a hope of future life and blessing for both Jews and Gentiles of all nations.
The Promised Seed
However, while God intends to bless all the human race—all nations and kindred’s and tongues—the Bible indicates that He purposed this blessing to come to them through the “seed” of Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-3) In Galatians 3:8,16,27-29, it shows clearly that the seed through which the promised blessings were to come is in reality Christ and His church. While the natural descendants of Abraham, the Jewish nation, were given the first opportunity to qualify as the spiritual seed of promise, yet this opportunity, in due time, was extended also to the Gentiles.
It may seem a commendable attitude to believe and teach that God loves one group of religionists as much as He does the other, and that all roads lead to heaven, yet loyalty to the Scriptures demands that in contending earnestly for the faith Christians should insist that only in this one way, namely, through the seed of Abraham, will God display His favor and shower His blessings upon a sin-cursed and dying world. God does love all groups of religionists, and there is no doubt but that He appreciates their sincere efforts to contact and worship Him, yet He has His own plan of salvation in harmony with which He is working out His kind designs, and His plan He will not change to accommodate all the conflicting religious opinions of a fallen race.
Two Salvations
Long and heated have been the arguments as to whether the redeemed of God are to live on the earth or be transferred to a heavenly abode. In reality both a heavenly and an earthly reward for believers are promised in the Word of God. To the rich young nobleman whom Jesus invited to become His follower, the Master said, “Thou shalt have treasure in heaven.” (Mark 10:21) In Hebrews 3:1 the apostle writes to the church, “Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” To members of the body of Christ, the seed of Abraham, Paul writes, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”—Colossians 3:1
To the redeemed and tried world of mankind at the close of the thousand-year judgment day the invitation will be extended, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34) We need only to read the opening chapters of Genesis to know that the kingdom prepared for man from the foundation of the world was an earthly kingdom, including a home upon the earth under perfect conditions of Edenic happiness. There was nothing heavenly about that provision, and when those blessings are restored to the fallen race, they will be blessings to be enjoyed here in an Edenic paradise restored worldwide.
In Acts 3:19-23, Peter sets forth the divine purpose pertaining to the blessing of the world following the second coining of Christ, describing it as “times of restitution of all things.” Restitution is restoration, not exaltation or change to a higher nature. In Revelation 21:4, where Kingdom blessings for mankind are described, we are told that “the tabernacle of God is with men,” that is, with human beings, not with angels.
It seems clear, therefore, that a heavenly reward and joint-heirship with Christ as kings in His Kingdom, is God’s provision for His footstep followers during; this age. It is equally clear that the blessings to come to mankind through the administration of Christ’s Kingdom are of an earthly character—a restoration of that which was lost because of sin, this restoration being possible because Jesus, by His own death, provided a cancellation for the original penalty.
Surely this wondrous harmony of the divine plan, revealing such a glorious hope for the church, and a blessed opportunity of earthly salvation for the entire human race, is something for which it is truly worth while to contend. By contending for such a faith, we exalt the glory of God in our own hearts, and sound forth His praises upon the ears of others. No wonder the apostle said “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”—Romans 1:16
The Work of This Age
The general conception is that the present age marks the end of divine mercy toward the human family, but this is a great error. This age is distinctively one of suffering and sacrifice for others. It began with the ransom sacrifice of Jesus, and the sacrifice and suffering continue in the experiences of His followers, who are planted together in the likeness of His death, filling up that which is behind of His sufferings.—Col. 1:24
The mission of the Gospel in its present administration is not to convert all of mankind, but to gather out “a people for His name.” (Acts 15:14-18) The next age, the Millennial age, will be the time when earthly salvation is offered to all mankind. It will be then that the entire race, of man will have the opportunity to reap the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice—which provides life—and the sacrifices of His body members, who are said by Paul to experience death baptism for the dead world.—I Corinthians 15:29
Losing sight of the purposes of God as carried out in these two ages, it is easy also to overlook the part which the church plays in the plan of God as co-mediators with Christ in making a New Covenant, first with the house of Israel, and through Israel, with all mankind. (Jer. 31:31-34) Tailing to rightly divide the Word of truth, wonderful promises pertaining to the blessings of this New Covenant are often misapplied to the experiences of the church in this age. This is a confusing of the plan of God, and a dimming of our vision as it relates to the part that we play in that plan. To contend earnestly for the faith, then, means that we should contend as well for these finer points of truth which so greatly enhance the beauty of the plan, and increase the brilliancy of the Gospel light with which God has shined into our hearts.—II Corinthians 4:6
There are important time features also in the plan of God, to which we should give heed. Christ came at His first advent in “due time.” The time of His second advent is also definite, and with the time prophecies of the second advent are associated the Scriptures which outline the manner of Christ’s coming and second presence. All of these truths are important because they all have a part in revealing God’s will to the Christian. We should be ready at all times to give a reason for the hope that is within us, and to define that reason from the Scriptures, not in a selfish, contentious spirit, but in humility and kindness and love.
Christians can be firm and resolute in their belief without being unkind. They can contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints without sitting in judgment upon others. Above all, it is important that we be firm in our beliefs, not because we may be able thus to convince others, but because a full assurance of faith adds to our own strength of character. If it is the Lord’s will for us, we may not be able to convince a single individual that we are right, but if we maintain our own standing before the Lord, by faithfully obeying the instructions of His Word, our life’s work as. Christians will be crowned with glory.