“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

As great as it would be to simply sit back, relax, and enjoy our faith for the rest of our lives, that hasn’t been an option for 2000 years! It certainly isn’t an option today! The New Testament consistently warns and commands Christians to do what Jude says here: contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then this applies to you because you’re one of the saints!

This isn’t a call to be contentious or obnoxious. Rather, it’s a call to understand, believe, explain, and defend our unchanging faith in Jesus Christ and what it teaches us about how to live. Throughout history, orthodox faith in Christ has been chipped away at, added to, diluted, and distorted, particularly by people inside the church. This is precisely the threat Jude addresses.

Sometimes the distortion of the faith looks like easy assurances that sin doesn’t really matter because of God’s love and grace. Wrong! Our faith calls us to pursue holiness as modeled and commanded by Jesus!

Sometimes it looks like extra burdens, rules, procedures, and legalities beyond God’s grace. Wrong! Our faith utterly rejects legalism.

Sometimes it looks like denying or reducing the nature of Jesus, perhaps diminishing Him to being merely a great teacher or moral example. Wrong! Our faith knows that Jesus is God the Son, eternal and fully God, yet come in the flesh and fully human.

The list of distortions goes on and on. The threats won’t cease until Christ returns. Each generation of believers must contend for the historic faith delivered by Christ and recorded in Scripture. It’s our turn to do our part! If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, study and understand the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Then contend for it – in your own heart and mind, in that hearts and minds of your brothers and sisters in Christ, in the churches across this world. Do so with love, humility, and firmness. It is necessary!

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord.” – Zechariah 2:10

What a wonderful promise to a demoralized nation in exile! As Israel despaired of ever experiencing God’s love again, He promised He would once more come and dwell in their midst! They weren’t alone! They weren’t abandoned! They had a future and a hope in the living God of the universe.

Centuries later, this promise would be fulfilled when, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). As Christmas draws near, this is what we celebrate! God the Son, eternally and forever God, took on a human nature and body and became a newborn lying in a manger in the little town of Bethlehem! Born to live a sinless life, die a sacrificial death, and rise from death, God once more dwelt with mankind so that all who believe in Him will dwell with Him forever. Sing and rejoice!

We certainly do sing and rejoice during this sweet season of Advent. However, let us remember that the anticipation we feel during this special time isn’t just for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. At this time, we anticipate, sing, and rejoice that Jesus will one day return in victory over all the evil and darkness we see surrounding us!

When Christ returns, He’ll ultimately bring about the renewal of this fallen world. Heaven will come down to earth and God’s promise in Zechariah 2:10 will be our everyday experience forever and ever. God will dwell in our midst and we will rejoice in the glory of God the Father and Christ the Son day and night! Come, Lord Jesus!

“Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.” – 2 John 1:12

It would seem the Apostle John recognized the limits of written communications. As convenient and useful as letters, emails, and texts can be they can’t replace face to face conversations on matters of deep importance. Written communications can be great for clarifying matters, coordinating activities, and providing a quick word of encouragement. However, they’re terrible for communicating the deeper things of life – whether good or bad.

With written communication, we can’t feel emotions, we can’t see facial expressions and body language, we can’t hear tone of voice. We lose many of the most important elements of communication and it’s easy to start assuming the worst of one another. Face to face conversations remind us that the other person is also a human being. That he or she was lovingly crafted in the image of God. That even when there’s some disagreement, if both are believers, you’re still siblings in Christ loved by God. This makes it easier to discuss hard issues, more likely to resolve simmering conflicts, and more joyful to share good news.

Don’t let the perceived short-term convenience of written communication result in long-term relational damage. Don’t neglect meeting together. That’s particularly true once there’s the slightest hint of conflict. Don’t ever use written means to work through hard issues if that can be avoided. Talk face to face that your joy may be complete!

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” – 1 John 3:14

One of the unmistakable marks of a life saved and transformed by God’s grace is a consistent love for fellow believers. The Christian life is never intended to be a solitary life. We’re saved through faith and called into active, deep Christian community. It’s impossible to obey many of the commands of Scripture apart from other believers in our lives. So we must practice genuine love toward other Christians.

As children of God, we should love our brothers and sisters in the faith. Even when they disappoint us. Even when they frustrate us. Even when they embarrass us. Even when we don’t particularly like them. Our ability to love others intentionally, practically, and consistently gives us assurance that we have indeed passed from the grasp of sin and death into the glorious Kingdom of Christ.

This Advent season, examine your heart. Are you full of love toward other believers or is there a trail of broken relationships? Who can’t you stand or won’t you ever talk to again? If there’s a list of fellow believers you don’t love, whom you resent or condemn, or toward whom you carry a grudge you need to work on that. You need to work on forgiving them – to God and to them directly. You need to work on loving them even when you don’t particularly like them. Make peace and pursue reconciliation. This isn’t just for their good, it’s for yours because, “whoever does not love abides in death.”

“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” – 1 John 3:10

Ouch! The Apostle John doesn’t pull any punches does he??? Before we reflect on the critical point John’s making, let’s be clear – we are born again and adopted by God as His children entirely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. There is literally nothing we do, can do, or must do to be saved, forgiven, made clean, and adopted by God.

However, if that’s actually happened to us, then there will be unmistakable evidence of that in our hearts, minds, and actions. Those who truly believe in Jesus and have been born again as children of God will reveal that by the way they lived changed (and changing) lives.

Through the presence of God’s Spirit in our hearts, children of God will lose their love and tolerance for their own sin. They will sense God’s hatred of their favorite “pet” sin. Though Christians won’t ever be perfect, we should be increasingly aware of our sins and working ever-harder to eradicate them from our lives, whether they are matters of action, speech, thought, or inaction. We should increasingly desire to practice the righteousness modeled and commanded by Jesus as a reflection of the inner righteousness we already have in God’s eyes through faith in Christ.

Likewise, if we are children of God, we should demonstrate increasing love toward other believers. We shouldn’t be content to be angry or bitter toward fellow Christians, earnestly seeking peace, love, and reconciliation through Christ.

A crucial implication of John’s letter is that if you think you’re a Christian based on a prior profession of faith or regular church attendance, but you aren’t increasingly practicing righteousness, aren’t trying to crucify the sins that tempt you, and aren’t finding yourself loving other Christians, you need to seriously reflect on your faith. Who and what do you actually believe in? Is it Jesus or a self-styled caricature of Jesus? Do you understand what it means to believe in Christ and how it should change your life? Do you know what it means to deny yourself and take up your cross each day? Consider discussing these questions with a more mature Christian who may be able to help you discern your present spiritual condition and what to do next.