Contending for the faith
Today is Reformation Sunday. We would normally designate the last Sunday of October as Reformation Sunday, to commemorate the Protestant Reformation. It is lamentable that many Protestant churches today do not know why they are called Protestant. The Lutheran churches worldwide, has returned back to the fold of Roman Catholicism. It is ironic as these churches were so named after Martin Luther, who started the Protestant Reformation. Thus, it is important for us, who are after the Reformed Faith, to remember the Reformation so that we stand foursquare on our faith in Christ alone.
Today, we are living in an age which demands religious tolerance. Making a stand for your religious beliefs when it is contrary to what others think is not a popular thing to do. If you stand up for what the Bible says, and in the process, denounce that which is false, you are labelled as a bigoted and narrow-minded Christian.
Jude wrote: “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” (Jude 3). Jude’s plea was to every believer to earnestly contend for the faith. The idea of “to contend” is the total opposite of “to be contented.” To contend for the faith means that we are called to strive zealously and to labour fervently for the faith which we possess and not sit contented even though our faith is attacked.
Take note that Jude was not urging the believers to strive and argue among themselves about the nitty-gritty details of doctrines, splitting hairs over personal preferences. Instead, he exhorted that the believers should earnestly contend for the common salvation. This refers to the full Gospel of Jesus Christ – the divinity and humanity of Christ, as the Son of God, and His redemption of mankind through His life, death and resurrection. Summarily, it is the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.
Take further note that Jude also specified that the faith which we are to earnestly contend for, “was once delivered unto the saints”. The Gospel is unlike any form of knowledge. It is delivered unto saints – it does not arise from men. It is not something innate in man but it comes from heaven. It is unlike science, where in times past, many great and learned men discovered its principles; from Archimedes to Faraday to Louis Pasteur. Neither is it technology where it is invented, such as automobiles and computers. The Gospel is revealed, not discovered Nor invented. It is of grace, not of works. It is conferred upon men not attained by men. It is a gift to our depravity, and not a reward for our intelligence. The Gospel of salvation is based on Scriptures alone (Sola Scriptura), by grace alone (Sola Gratia) through faith
alone (Sola Fide) and in Christ alone (Solus Christus) and to the glory of God alone (Soli Deo Gloria).
In the beginning, the New Testament church faced constant persecution for her faith. Christians were martyred for their faith. They were hanged at the cross, beheaded, shot with poison arrows, and fed to wild beasts. Yet none of these perils doused the flame for their faith in Christ. Instead, the church thrived and grew by leaps and bounds. For the first three centuries, the persecution never ceased. It was only when Constantine ascended the throne that the believers were given the liberty to practise their faith.
In the next two centuries following that, the church grew and became very great, so much so that it became a great affluence not only in the lives of common people, but also a major player in the political scene. It dominated nations and influenced emperors and kings. The church became so absolutely powerful that inevitably corruption entered the church. Many teachings and doctrines that are strange to the teachings of the Bible began to be assimilated into the church. From monasticism to mysticism, the church had them all. Slowly and subtlety, the souls of the people were held in captivity by the church when the church taught salvation by works and introduced the concept of purgatory into its doctrines. It is kind of ironic that as the church’s political clout grew, the spirituality of the church declined. The dark ages of the church lasted for a long period of time.
Despite that, God has the faithful few who kept the flame of the Gospel alive. The first spark was seen in John Wycliffe, who was called the Morning Star of Reformation. He went and spoke against the wrong teachings of the Roman church and urged the people to return to the truth of the Gospel. While he started the early sparks, the flame of the fire of Reformation came through another means. An Augustinian monk, by the name of Martin Luther, opposed the erroneous doctrines as taught by the church and called for reform within the church. On 31 Oct 1517, he hammered a placard at the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, proposing a debate on the malpractice of indulgences. Luther would not have imagined that those hammer blows would still be heard today.
Today, we have this great heritage of the Reformed Faith, not of tradition or the invention of men, but the faith and practice which is in accordance to the truth of God’s Word. We have to guard against false teachings creeping into the church; else we would end up chasing after every new doctrine, from ecstatic tongue-speaking to personal prophetic utterances and to holy laughter. The Gospel would become the invention of men’s mind rather than the very Word of God. If we are not careful, the five pillars of Reformation, Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus and Soli Deo Gloria, would be forgotten. HCL.
