Contending Earnestly for the Faith

 

I came across an article from 2009 the other day and couldn’t help but wonder if faith had grown, or had it been compromised to conform with the world, or perhaps simply passed away with the last generation. Speaking of the church the article read: In the tiny community of Whitehall, Arkansas, located on Hwy. 1 between Harrisburg and Cherry Valley, you won’t find any shopping malls or even gas stations for that matter. The only thing one will find in Whitehall is a very small congregation of believers who meet in an old brick building that was built over 100 years ago by the oldest members’ parents. As one walks through the uneven front doors of the building you are overwhelmed by the smell of must and mildew. You won’t find vents for central heat and air, but instead window A/C units and some old Dearborn propane heaters. The auditorium is filled with old theater seats from the 1850’s and the interior walls are painted lime green. No doubt these seats were once filled with Spirit driven worshippers who enjoyed “that old time religion” and the foot-tapping songs that the hardwood floors once knew. The building is secluded deep into the woods, and one won’t find a sign on the building or on the main road. Just to get there one has to drive down a perpetually muddy dirt road filled with potholes. In short, the building’s appearance and location would receive nothing but chuckles from big city folks used to attending worship in large modern facilities. Though one couldn’t tell by seeing the structure, there remains a handful of Spirit filled believers who very faithfully serve God in that ugly little building. I thank God that He doesn’t look at the appearance of the building to judge the people inside and He doesn’t look at the appearance of a person to judge the heart of that soul (1 Samuel 16:7).

[Jude] What is the greatest danger to the church today? Is it the different and conflicting cultures and religions? Is it the interferences of governments in deciding what one may or may not do religiously? While these and many more are considered dangers to the church, what is the greatest danger facing the church? Please allow me to give you my two-cents worth of thought. The greatest danger is stated in the New Testament letter of Jude. One of the shortest contributions to the Bible, only 25 verses, it can be read in about two minutes. The theme of Jude is “apostates” or “false teachers.” Jude sounded the alarm of the danger of “certain men” (v.4) who have crept into the church unnoticed to destroy “…the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (v.3); “certain men” “…who long ago were marked out for condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.4). In New Testament times the church, as today, existed amid many different and conflicting cultures. Immorality was rampant – is it not today? In Jude’s day society had degraded (Romans 1:18-32) and the Bible clearly condemns such. Is our 21^st Century any different? Perhaps worse? Immorality was one of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire and could quite possibly be the fall of democratic and republic nations around the world in this decade. We often speak of governmental interference in man’s religious practices. We often make the claim the government is a serious danger to our religious freedoms. As it is in the world today, Rome took exception to Christianity’s claim that it was the ONLY avenue whereby man could be saved – all other religions were false. Once it was apparent that Christianity claimed to be exclusive, and therefore not like the other religions, Rome persecuted the church (Christians) resulting in the blood of many martyrs. Are you contending earnestly for the faith? Faithfully serve God and live forever.