Contending For The Faith

      The front cover of our bulletin reflects the “Faith of our Fathers.”   As a young boy, I never saw a faith of my Father.  I believe he was an admiral man and I believe he loved me, however, I never heard that from him, nor did I ever see faith in Christ. 

      As a Father, I don’t remember telling my children I loved them as they grew up.  Through a crisis in our lives, before my salvation, I determined not to ever let that happen again.  I tell my daughters, my grandchildren, my aunts, and my cousins I love them.  

      The verses below speak of contending for the faith.  That is my subject today, faith, not just having faith, but contending for it.  We all say “I am saved and I said that prayer and got myself Baptized.”

OK, but then what?  Our scripture states we need to contend for the faith.  (Contend means to strive as in a competition; to strive to win.)

      For what are we contending?  I believe the context is our looking for the old Gospel, not the new.  It is you working within your own soul to increase your faith, to increase your heavenly reward.      You see, when we accepted Christ and His eternal life in Heaven; we committed our lives to Christ.  It is God’s will that we will serve Him and sacrifice our lives by winning souls, supporting missionaries, and tithing.

      Are you contending, or just passing time? 

(Romans 10:17)  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

      Only through God’s Word can we strive (contend) for the faith of our Fathers.  Only in our King James Bible can we find that “Faith Of Our Fathers Living Still.”

Bro John R. E Chastain

Jude 1-6  Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:  (2)  Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.  (3)  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.  (4)  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.  (5)  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.  (6)  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.