Contend

Someone once said that the beginning of the Church Age started with the Book of Acts and the Church Age ends with the book of Jude, when we actually see the acts of the apostates.

We’re living in a day that God predicted would happen - when men would fall away, they would apostatize, or waver in the faith. We read in 2 Thessalonians 2, that before the day of the Lord would come, there must come a falling away first. One of the evident signs that we’re living at the end is the falling away from the faith, “…which was once and for all, delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 1:3) I see this in our nation and many Women’s Prayer Army members from other nations have shared the same.

Timothy 4:1 says, “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, demons.”

Jesus warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing. Paul the Apostle speaks through all of his epistles about false teachers. When he met with the elders in Ephesus in Acts 20 he said, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.” Jesus taught about the sowing of tares among the wheat, the false with the true.

What is sad today and of great concern about the church in general, is that we lack discernment. Many think anyone who claims to be a Christian is one. Lacking insight, they believe that anyone who has a large following, anyone that is popular and purports to preach the Gospel, is a Christian and is sent from the Lord. We need to have Holy Spirit and Biblical discernment as to the content and the truth of the message they are preaching. There are tares among the wheat.

So, how do we discern and how do we contend?

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines contend as: The meeting of effort by effort, striving against opposition; sometimes physically, as in battle (Deuteronomy 2:9), or with horses (Jeremiah 12:5), sometimes orally (Nehemiah 13:11), sometimes spiritually (Isaiah 57:16).

We are an army of women that have been called to contend. We have been commissioned. We fight against a very real enemy, and we are set apart, strengthened, enabled and preserved in Jesus Christ. He multiplies His mercy, love and peace toward us. (Jude 1:2)

We contend for one another, our families and our communities. But, more broadly, as women who intercede, we are contending for ‘the faith’ that has been handed down and entrusted to us.

Anyone who has truly trusted Jesus is in the Army of God. HIs is a draft army. The question is not, “Shall I become a soldier?” Rather, the question is, “Will I be a good and faithful soldier?” This is a question each one of us must answer.

That phrase ‘earnestly contend’ in Greek is epagonizomai (Strongs G1864). It is where we get our word ‘agony’ from. It means to struggle for. Some think of it as a wrestling or boxing match. Others think of it in terms of real warfare on a real battlefield, while still others think of the struggle in terms of an athletic endeavor.

The boxing analogy resonates with me. I’ve never boxed, but when my sons were young, I bought them a punching bag and gloves. I figured it was better than them pummeling each other. Turns out, I really liked hitting that punching bag too. If felt great, especially because it did not hit back!

I do remember how exhausting and how strenuous it was to hit that bag for a consistent amount of time. My plan to wear my sons out worked on me more than them! That’s the picture of ‘earnestly contend’ for me. We do not back down or give in. We push ourselves to the point of exhaustion to hold on to the precious truth that God has entrusted to us. His Word says He “delivered it to the saints.” He preserved His message throughout the centuries and delivers it personally and profoundly to each of us who have made the decision to follow Him and study His Word.

Our battle is constant. The world is bombarded with messages that contradict the truth of the Word of God. Media, entertainment, politics, academia, athletics, the literary world and yes, even the church, circulate lies on a consistent basis. These lies, for the most part, seem to go uncontended.

So, we know that the ‘world is the world.’ We cannot expect those who do not know Jesus to know the truth because HE IS TRUTH. If you do not know Him, you have no firm benchmark for truth. BUT the church ought to know better and that is why we ‘earnestly contend.” This is no time to be weak.

Now, it’s important to note that this passage refers to ‘the faith,’ not faith. 'The faith,’ it’s not talking about your personal, subjective, individual trust in God. It’s talking about the body of truth—doctrine—that we, as Christians, hold to and know to be THE TRUTH. The Bible is actually saying that we need to earnestly strive to hang onto and struggle to defend and protect 'the faith,' the doctrine, the truth, the teachings of the Word of God.

The struggle is real.

God has given us THE TRUTH. In the last verses of the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, we are warned not to add to or take away from the words recorded therein. If anyone comes along and says, “I have a new revelation. I have a new doctrine,” and it can’t be substantiated by the Word of God, we need to reject it.

That does not mean that the Holy Spirit cannot deliver a ‘rhema’ word to an individual believer. What it does mean is that the ‘rhema’ word will be in line with the written WORD and it does not become doctrine. The rhema word is essential. It is the word used in Ephesians 6:17 when we are instructed to use the “Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (rhema, Strongs G4487) We need a personal Word from God and that personal Word will motivate, inspire and propel us in our obedience to the written Word.

‘The faith’ is the essential doctrine that we hold in common. We have a responsibility before God to know what the Bible teaches and to contend for it! Foundationally, we must believe in the divine inspiration of the Bible. Commit 2 Timothy 3:16 to memory if you have not already done so. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” This is what gives us the discernment we desperately need.

1. I believe in God supernaturally inspiring human authors so the words they wrote were the very words of God.

2. I believe that the Bible is without error and is infallible. There are no errors or lies in the Bible, and we need to interpret it literally. I believe that God is a God of truth. He does not lie, and the Bible is true in all that it affirms, in all that it teaches.

3. Everything I believe is based on the Bible. I do not rely on church tradition, my experience or my intellect, but the Word of God. My personal experiences and intellectual studies affirm and confirm what I have learned in His Word, but the Word is my final authority in everything. ( I even have a little post- it on my desk to remind me of this fact each day!)

4. I believe that Jesus is THE WORD. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4) Jesus, the Word or Logos, is eternal and is God. Further, all creation came about by and through Jesus, who is the source of life.

5. I believe there is only one true and living God. The Bible is monotheistic, there is only one God. Some people say, “Well, different religions have different gods.” There’s only one God. You either have the true and the living God, or you don’t have God. I believe the God of the Bible.

6. I believe that God is triune in His nature, that there is a trinity. There is a Father, and there’s a Son, and there is a Holy Spirit. Now this, like many other truths, is sometimes hard for people to understand because God is infinite and transcendent, but the Bible teaches one God in three Persons and I believe it.

7. I believe in an inherited human sin condition. Man is by nature rebellious and in that state is separated from God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Man is in need of a Savior. (Romans 6:23)

8. I believe that Jesus is The Way, the only way to be reconciled to God. (John 14:6) I believe there is only ONE mediator between God and Man, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5) “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

9. I believe that Jesus is the second Person of the Godhead, the eternal Son who preexisted his physical birth in Bethlehem. I believe that He came to earth and was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe he was fully human and fully divine and lived a sinless life. I believe that He voluntarily gave His life as a substitutionary death on the cross. I believe that He was the Lamb of God, slain for the sin of the world. I believe that He died a physical death, was buried and then three days later He rose from the dead. I believe He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father!

10. I believe that the salvation offered to us by Jesus is by grace alone. He sought us out. There are no rituals we can perform, prayers we can recite, sacraments we can take, that will save us. It is only total surrender to Jesus and being born again that secures forgiveness and provides eternal life. Only Christianity, of all the religions of the world, teaches that we’re saved by grace through faith. All other religions teach that in some way, some form, you must do something to save yourself, to earn God's favor. My Jesus grants me favor unconditionally and lavishes His love on me.

11. I believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. There may be different views as to when Jesus returns and what happens afterwards, but a Bible-believing Christian believes Jesus Christ is coming again. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3) Is Jesus going to keep His promise? Of course He is! “ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)

12. I believe that my life MUST line up with this faith. I cannot say one thing and do another. The TRUTH must be reflected in how I live my day to day life and I must have the personal courage to fight to keep the teachings of Jesus in a society that increasingly rejects Him.

So, I’ve shared what I am contending for. This is what shapes my values, character and world view. The faith that we contend for today was preserved for us with the blood of the martyrs. We need to gain a whole new sense of how precious this TRUTH is that was delivered to us. Unless we seek the mind of the Holy Spirit in prayer, we will not grow in our grasp of 'the faith' and we will be weak contenders.

What are you contending for?