The Devil's Door by John Bevere

Author:John Bevere
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Deception, Control (Psychology), Christian Life, Christianity, Religion, Christian Church, Demonology & Satanism, General, History
ISBN: 9780884194422
Publisher: Creation House
Published: 1996-10-14T22:00:00+00:00

Disobedience is contagious.

9

The Fight of Faith

Have you ever seen a person start their walk on fire for Jesus, only to end up in a lukewarm state after a process of time? You wonder, How could someone so enthusiastic end up so lethargic in their walk?

These people are the casualties of a battle they failed to recognize. Jude wrote a letter devoted entirely to addressing this conflict.

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

Can you sense the urgency of the message? It is one of great importance. The Amplified Bible magnifies this further, "Beloved, my whole concern was to write to you in regard to our common salvation. [But] I found it necessary and was impelled to write you and urgently appeal to and exhort [you] to contend for the faith."

To contend is to battle or combat. The word earnestly indicates serious intent.

We must ask this question, With what or with whom do we fight? I have heard different answers to this question. One suggests that we battle for the faith by speaking of our resistance toward demons in the heavenlies. Though this is valid spiritual warfare (see Eph. 6:10-12), it is not the fight of which Jude is speaking. We can find the answer in the next statement in his letter.

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness (Jude 4).

We must battle for the faith because certain individuals have slipped into our churches, misrepresenting the grace of God as a cover-up or even license for sin. The Greek word for lewdness is aselgeia. Strong's dictionary of Greek New Testament words defines this as "lasciviousness, unbridled lust or excess." These individuals pervert the grace of God by living excessive, fleshly lifestyles while proclaiming their salvation by grace. The Living Bible sheds further light on this. It declares these people show "that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God's punishment" (Jude 4).

Some of you may be thinking, No one could come into our churches today and speak out a denial of God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

You're right—anyone who tried to do that couldn't get away with it anymore today than they could in Jude's day. But Jude indicated these people creep in unnoticed. No one who openly denies Jesus as the Christ could remain unnoticed. The following verse sheds some light on how these people manage to creep in:

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him (Titus 1:1516, NIV).

They do not deny the Lord by what they say but do so by their lifestyles or actions.

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