Nathan W. Bingham

Because Jesus is Lord and Master.

He reigns.

Someone that is on this path of destruction with their teaching or what they've embraced in a moment can go from there to in Christ for eternity.

No one is beyond His grace.

In this lesson, what I want to do is just take a step back a little bit from the text for this lesson and think through together contending.

I think often when we hear that, we immediately have objections and there should be some concerns or at least

I have some concerns.

I think you have concerns as we watch different people and maybe even as we see in our own hearts as we're seeking to contend for the faith.

So I want to think through a couple of those objections here in this lesson and then also think through a few warnings for you as we seek to contend for the faith.

The first objection that people will often offer, and you read something like Jude, where Jude comes out of the gate so strong, you need to contend for the faith.

Well, doesn't that sow disunity?

If you're contending, if you're agonizing, if you're fighting, to use Paul's words, doesn't that sow disunity?

And isn't unity important in the body of Christ?

Well, it is.

We see this over and over throughout the Scriptures.

And you think of 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans 12, or you think of Jesus' longest recorded prayer in John 17.

Much of it is about the desire for unity within the body of Christ.

And so it's very much a concern of the New Testament and the New Testament writers and should be yours and my concern.

But look at what's happening here.

Why is it that they need to contend for the faith?