Jude 1:3 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.
Godly servants care for the saints. As we mentioned yesterday, the love of God indwells the true child of God. That is part of the gift of God to His children. That love motivates true believers to care about the spiritual and physical well-being of the saints.
A great concern that true godly leaders have is the spiritual well-being of the saints. The “common salvation” is that true salvation that is for all, whether Jew or Gentile. There is only one way of salvation. In our world, we have the Catholics who have their popes and priests and Mary and dead people they classify as “saints”. None of them can save their own souls, never mind anyone else. The New Evangelicals have a God who is not holy nor interested in holiness for His followers. They have a Jesus who is also not holy and does not care that His blood sacrifice is insufficient to deliver those who trust in Him.
True Biblical Christianity has a God and a Saviour Who are holy and Who can provide life-changing salvation for all who will turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Remember, those who are saved are sanctified.
There was a problem in the first century with a corruption of the Gospel of Christ. That problem has not gone away. In every generation there are many who want to corrupt the good Word of God.
There were copies of Bibles that were being developed prior to the King James Bible. The Catholic establishment tried hard to keep the true Word of God out of the hands of the people. To this day there are Catholics who have been deceived into believing that they should not read the Word of God. The priests want to keep control of their people.
There is a danger of the corruption of the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. It seems to me that few people read this verse and believe it. The multiplicity of “faiths” today suggests that there is no “one” faith which was delivered unto the saints.
There were twelve disciples/apostles. There was one Jesus. That makes thirteen different individuals that had a special task of teaching the Word of God. According to New Evangelicalism, those thirteen men all taught a little different message, but it did not matter, because the words were not that important. What was important was the thoughts and intents of the men. From there, there have been thousands of other men and women who have developed their own thoughts and they are just as valid as any one else’s thoughts. Thus we have a plethora of religious beliefs, all suggesting that they are just doing their best and the common person can choose which one they want to follow. They will caution that a person should not get too serious about religion. Just follow your heart, they say.
Following your heart will lead you straight to hell. There is a faith that Jesus embodied and the apostles taught, that is necessary. That faith is quite simple. There is one true God. He is the Creator of heaven and earth. He created all things in six literal days and rested on the seventh. This God is three persons in one. He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of mankind. A person that desires to be forgiven and saved, must come to God in humility, repenting toward God and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The ecumenical “faith” is a hodgepodge of lies that leads to destruction. Jesus called that the broad way. God loves man and thus He has provided the only way for man to be forgiven and saved. His way of salvation has always been the same. He began to reveal that way in Genesis 3:15. Abel knew there was a way that was right and he chose that way. His offering was accepted, while his brother Cain’s was rejected. Abel was murdered for his faith, but he is resting in heaven today. Cain is in torment for all eternity.
It is important to know the truth and to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
At Calvary Baptist Church of Treherne, that is what we strive to do. We are not people pleasers. We have had many visitors over the years. Most come but eventually turn up their noses and leave. We do not scratch their itching ears and they do not like that. Some of those have died and they know better now, but it is too late.
We also put out a daily devotional to help people to know the truth. We also broadcast all our messages on our website and on SermonAudio. We want people to have access to the truth.
There are a few other true churches across the world. We do not believe we are the only one. We do not believe we have a corner on Truth. We do believe that God has preserved His Word and for the English speaking world that is found in the King James Bible.
Today is the Lord’s Day and that means it is the day to get ready and attend a true local church if there is one in your area. We live in an area of a few small towns. Most of the people do not care to attend our services. They are “much wiser” than God. We continue to pray for hearts to be broken and souls to be saved. God is gracious and merciful. The day of reckoning is coming for each one of us. If you listen to the news you know that things continue to remain quite hot in the Middle East. God is warning us of change that is coming. That change will be good for those who are saved, but it will be disaster for those who are not saved.
We encourage each reader to stop and consider carefully what faith you are following. Be sure you have the faith once delivered unto the saints.
Pastor Bartel