“CONTEND EARNESTLY…”

Jude instructed men to “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered unto the saints” (v. 3). There are many men now living—quite a number of whom are members of the Lord’s true church—who hold that it is simply not Christ-like to contend for the faith. But this passage corrects that erroneous claim. To “contend earnestly for the faith” is to strive in combat, to engage in a fight, and such like, and, since earnestly carries the idea of intensification, it is clear that Jude 3 teaches that men are to fight with great intensity for the Truth and against error.

Obviously, this does not mean that Christ wants men to engage in petty quarrels. He does not wish that men should wrangle for the sake of strife. Such activity must grow out of a heart that is filled with selfishness, haughtiness, and pride. But one can be humble, loving, kind, and deeply concerned for the cause of Christ and for the souls of men while fighting desperately for the Truth of the Gospel. Jesus did. Peter did. Paul did. And so did many other faithful men during New Testament days. And so have many men who have lived in our day.

Of course, there are many people who have a perverted sense of love and kindness and a distorted sense of what it means to be Christ-like. Such people are severely critical of those who spend most of their lives in doing what the Holy Spirit, through Jude, enjoins men to do. But faithful men must not allow themselves to be intimidated into becoming unfaithful no matter how unpleasant the criticism of liberal, modernistic thinkers may become.

Rather, one must remember not only such persons as Jesus, Peter, and Paul, but also men such as Stephen, who disputed with the Jews and put them to rout by his arguments which proved that what he was preaching was really true (Acts 6:9–10; 7:51–60). Stephen spoke very strongly and argued cogently. Yet, it seems hardly likely that any mere man loved his audience more than did he. Even as men were stoning his life’s blood from him, Stephen prayed, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60). This writer challenges any man to show greater love.

In spite of the pseudo-optimistic attitude of many people, there are teachers of false doctrine in this world and there are doctrines being taught which will cause those who believe and obey them to be lost (2 The. 1:7–9). There are preachers and elders…in the Lord’s church who teach error on fundamental doctrines— doctrines about which one must be right in order to be saved. Such men must be opposed, and those outside of the church who teach error must also be opposed.

It is a grievous error to suppose that by merely pretending that there are no false teachers and there are no false doctrines, God’s pleasure will rest upon us if we do nothing about false doctrines and false teachers.

Many Christians, it seems, adopt a “holier-than-thou” attitude simply on the ground that they—in contrast to some others—never engage in any kind of controversy.

Brother B.C. Goodpasture once told me about a preacher who said to him, referring to the pulpit work with a certain congregation, “as long as I am in this pulpit, nothing controversial will ever be preached.” There are a number of things wrong with this statement. In the first place, no one can preach the whole counsel of God without preaching that which is controversial, at least with some persons. In the second place, such sentiment is directly opposed to the sentiment (and actions) enjoined upon men in Jude 3!

Since no one can defend the faith without presenting sound arguments, then it is obvious that Jude 3 demands that men both recognize and honor the Law of Rationality.

Thomas B. Warren

Lukewarmness

The seven churches of Asia Minor fall into three classes: those in which the Master found something to praise and something to blame–Ephesus, Pergamos, and Thyatira; those in which He found only something to praise–Smyrna and Philadelphia; and those in which He found nothing to praise–Sardis and Laodicea. There was an exception in Sardis, in that there were a “few names” in the congregation that had not defiled their garments, and they would walk with Christ in white. But of the church as a whole nothing good is said. It had a name that lived but was dead.

These three classes are all-comprehensive. One cannot conceive of a congregation that would not fall into one of these groups. All congregations are either wholly bad, wholly good, or partly good and partly bad. Then, as now, the largest group was composed of congregations in which there was a mixture of good and bad.

The church in Laodicea was wholly bad. For it there was no word of praise. It was the worst of the bad. In it there was no exception as in Sardis. Yet this church was not disturbed by the vicious works of the Nicolaitans, as was Ephesus; unlike Pergamos, Laodicea was not troubled by those who held the doctrine of Balaam; it was not subjected to bitter persecution as was Smyrna; no self-styled prophetess, like Jezebel, sought to seduce her members, as in Thyatira; yet, Laodicea was in the most deplorable condition of the seven churches. It was a victim, not of false teaching, not of immoral practices, not of relentless persecution; but a victim of a more deadly malady–lukewarmness, indifference.

Laodicea was the church of the excluded Christ! The saddest words addressed to any of the seven churches fell upon the dull ears of Laodicea. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Mark you, these words were not addressed to the alien sinner. They were written to a church that had expelled the Christ who died for it.

What is the gravest threat to the churches? What is the deadliest malady that haunts the Christian? Worldliness, digression, modernism? Don’t forget lukewarmness, indifference. It drove Christ from the hearts of the Laodicean brethren. It benumbed them into a false sense of independence and self-sufficiency. They mistook lack of pain for absence of malady. They thought they needed nothing when they needed everything. When you come to appraise the dangers besetting the church, remember indifference!

B. C. Goodpasture

Gospel Advocate, April 22, 1971

Bible Preaching

Many in this generation berate and downgrade the man who preaches the Bible. This is not altogether surprising. Naturally, those who do not believe the Bible and those who under-grade its authority do not think well of preaching it. But, there are those within the church who have reached the point where they do “not endure sound doctrine” (II Timothy 4:3). Paul, with inspired prophetic insight, predicted that such would happen.

Again, men sometimes seem to feel that, considering their vast learning (whether real or imaginary, does not greatly matter), it would be an act of intolerable condescension on their part to preach the simple principle of New Testament Christianity, They want something that “sounds scholarly and philosophical.” Such were not the preachers of apostolic times!

On Pentecost, Peter, an inspired preacher, delivered a great sermon, more than a third of which was composed of quotations from the Old Testament, Paul, in his great speech in Pisidian Antioch, drew very heavily upon the same source. He even told where to find one passage he quoted in “good taste”! What a pity that Peter, Paul, and Jesus, who frequently referred to portions of the Old Testament (Luke 24:44), did not know this! They were “Bible preachers.”

Times may change; times do change, but the time will never come when the Gospel of Christ will be out of date. Methods of preaching and teaching and means of transportation may be improved and used, but man’s need for the “Truth” that makes men free will not cease. Lost men must hear the Truth that saves.
It is a crime against God and man not to deliver such Truth. Gospel preaching which does not reveal to lost men the way of salvation is not what they need. “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?” (Isaiah 55:2).

B. C. Goodpasture

The Mission of the Church

Everything which God has made in creation and redemption has a mission. Nothing walks with aimless feet in the economy of God. The church is a divine institution—it is of divine origin. It, therefore, has a mission.

The building of the church was an expensive undertaking. The Lord could create the heavens and the earth without the shedding of a single drop of blood, but without shedding of His own blood He could not establish the church. “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it” (Ephesians 5:25). He purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Even before His death, Jesus sacrificed for the church. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich” (II Corinthians 8:9). He was rich in terms of heavenly and eternal values, yet He became poor, “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross”(Philippians 2:7-8). Surely Christ would not have made such sacrifices for the church unless it was to have a mission in some measure worthy of its cost. What, then, is the mission of the church?

The question can be answered both negatively and positively. It is not the mission of the church to furnish amusement for the world or even for its own members. Innocent amusement in proper proportion has its place in the life of all normal persons, but it is not the business of the church to furnish it. The church would come off a poor second if it undertook to compete with institutions established for the express purpose of entertaining people. It would make itself ridiculous if it entered into such competition. Again, it is not the responsibility of the church as such to furnish recreation for its members. A certain amount of recreation is necessary to the health and happiness of the individual. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, it is said, and rightly said; but it is not the function of the church to furnish the play. The church was not established to feature athletics. Rather, it emphasizes the principle that “bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:8). Sometimes one would conclude, from the emphasis given to recreation, that godliness is profitable for a little, and that bodily exercise is profitable for all things.

For the church to turn aside from its divine work to furnish amusement and recreation is to pervert its mission. It is to degrade its mission. Amusement and recreation should stem from the home rather than the church. The church, like Nehemiah, has a great work to do; and it should not come down on the plains of Ono to amuse and entertain. As the church turns its attention to amusement and recreation, it will be shorn of its power as Samson was when his hair was cut. Only as the church becomes worldly, as it pillows its head on the lap of Delilah, will it want to turn from its wonted course to relatively unimportant matters. Imagine Paul selecting and training a group of brethren to compete in the Isthmian games! Of his work at Corinth, he said: “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (I Corinthians 2:2). What then, is the work of the church?

On the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the church, we find it preaching the Gospel. It is reasonable to expect the church, under the leadership of the apostles, to be engaged in its divinely assigned work. Christ, before His ascension, had laid upon His disciples, His church, the grave and momentous responsibility of preaching the Gospel to every creature in every age of the world (Mark 16:15-16). During the lifetime of the apostles the church was busily engaged in preaching the Gospel to the remote ends of the earth. In his first epistle to Timothy, Paul said, “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (3:14-15). The church is the “pillar and ground of the truth”—not truth in general, but rather truth in particular. The church must support and preach the Gospel always as a part of its divine mission.

Further, the church in Jerusalem “continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching.” In addition to preaching the Gospel to alien sinners, the church taught and built up its own members that they might “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). The Lord has made ample provisions for the edification of His people, the church.

And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error (Ephesians 4:11-14).

It is, therefore, the work of the church to promote the growth and development of its members.

Finally, the church in Jerusalem ministered to the material needs of its worthy poor (Acts 4:32-37; 6:1-6). The Gentile churches sent help to the brethren in Judea (Acts 11:29-30; Romans 15:25-26). Paul said that he was always ready to help those in need (Galatians 2:10). It is a part of the work of the church to help those who are in need, but the church is under no obligation to help those who will not help themselves.

“If any will not work,” said Paul, “neither let him eat” (II Thessalonians 3:10). If the church will discharge its duty in preaching the Gospel, in edifying its members, and in helping the worthy poor, it will not have desire or time merely to amuse and entertain.  

B. C. Goodpasture