Are You Settling or Contending?

Certain people have crept in unnoticed... who pervert the grace of our God...

Jude 4

The book of Jude was written to a group of believers who were discouraged because of a growing number of church leaders who were marked by moral compromise and doctrinal error. Jude describes the quality of leadership (verse 12) in many churches:

• Shepherds who feed only themselves. These pastors were trusted to care for God’s flock, but they were more interested in their careers.
• Clouds without rain. These leaders seemed to be walking with God, but they were spiritually dry. A conversation with one of them would leave you with nothing for your thirsty soul.
• Blown along by the wind. These leaders took their direction from culture. Their minds were filled with marketing and management, but devoid of a living communion with Jesus Christ.
• Without fruit and uprooted. These pastors’ lives were filled with fruitless activity. The reason it was fruitless is that it was not deeply rooted in the work of God’s Spirit.

This is a powerful description of how ministry gets compromised. Jude is writing late in the first century. The first generation of Christians is almost gone. The torch is being passed to a new generation. Jude says: Even in “church world,” faith is being eroded, reshaped, and repackaged.

You are going to have to decide: Are you going to contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3)? Or are you going to settle for a faith that is shaped to suit your lifestyle and culture?

What are some characteristics you would expect to find in the person who is “contending for the faith?” How about the person who is “settling for a faith?”