Solid

When Jude, the brother of James and Jesus, wrote his letter, he had intended ("I was very eager") to write about "our common salvation." But ... he didn't. He wrote about something else.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 1:3)

Now, this text serves as a call for Apologetics, a defense of the faith, and many people (including me) have focused on that. But I was caught by a trailing hook, so to speak. Yes, yes, by all means, contend for the faith. But I was struck by the nature of that faith.

Jude refers to it as "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." Do you sense how solid that is? Do you see how timeless, how sure? He's not talking about shifting ground, new and improved discoveries, a new slant on an old faith. He's talking about "that old time religion." When Paul wrote, sometimes he'd refer to "my gospel" (Rom 2:16; Rom 16:25; 2 Tim 2:8). Some have understood that to mean that Paul's gospel was different than, say, Jesus's gospel or Peter's gospel. It wasn't. He also referred to it as "the gospel of God" (Rom 1:1, et. al.) and "the gospel of Christ" (Rom 15:19; et. al.). Paul's gospel wasn't a new revelation, a different gospel (Gal 1:6-9). It was the gospel that he carried to the Gentiles from long before (e.g., Rom 15:8-12). It was the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

I use Paul as an illustration. My point is very practical. We live in a changing world. In 2008 California voted twice to retain the "longstanding, traditional" definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. In the blink of an eye, that definition has been erased. It is not beyond living memory that "gay" meant "happy" or "cheerful." When the old movies talked about "making love" they are talking about doing things that stir up romance; not today. Things are changing fast. We no longer have a clear idea of things like "male" or "female," "racism," or a growing number of concepts as our world seeks to manipulate our thoughts to arrive at new and different conclusions. So where can we go for stability? Paul told us, "Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." (Eph 6:13). Stand firm where? How? On what?

Jude's words come echoing down the corridors of time. "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." Yes, "our common salvation" would be a sweet discussion. But right now, we need to contend. Contend for what? Not modern ideas. Not current social themes. Not even yesterday's principles. We need to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. It was once for all. It doesn't shift. It doesn't change. If someone comes up with a new version, it is not that faith. If someone makes a new discovery that differs with it, it is not that faith. What I'm saying is, we who stand on that faith once for all delivered to the saints have firm footing, a solid foundation. It's important in a world shifting as rapidly as ours.