SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES 27-10-2019

RECAP OF OUR LAST STUDY “Contemporary social vices: the Christian view”: The modern man has a sin generating mind and now lives in a world that invents evil things. Contemporary vices such as the use and abuse of drugs, betting and pools-taking, pornography, sexual perversion and wild music remain evil no matter how we rationalize them. The Christian must not be obsessed with transient and perishable titles; he must avoid the use of slangs and gutter language. Whoever has slipped into any of present- day vices should turn to God in repentance and for restoration. .

TODAY’S STUDY: LESSON 766: EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH MEMORY VERSE: …… “ 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” (Jude 3). TEXT: Jude 3-13

INTRODUCTION The Church has many adversaries. Notable amongst them are the devil, sin, the world, principalities, powers, and in some cases, institutional bodies like the government. Therefore we are always contending with or resisting opposition. The fight is not against human beings; it is the devil’s desire to steal from us the treasure of God’s unchanging word and revelation. This is what Scripture calls ‘The Faith’. It is the totality and entirety of all that we believe. QUESTION 1: What are the odds or forces against the Church? – Ephesians 6:12; 2 Timothy 3:8,9

OUR CALLING AND CONDITION FOR CONTENDING Philippians 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 3:1 To fight for the faith, we must be born again and come out of the world. Our calling is a high calling – higher than any earthly call; a holy calling: one that only the Holy Spirit can explain, and a heavenly calling: it comes from heaven and leads us to heaven. QUESTION 2: Mention the conditions we must meet before we can contend for the faith – Acts 3:19; John 1:12, 5:14 QUESTION 3: Mention three types of the call of God on our lives – Philippians 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 3:1

COMPROMISE AND CONTEMPT FOR THE FAITH Acts 13:8; 2 Corinthians 2:17; Jeremiah 5:31 The devil usually entices saints with false hope and opportunities to draw them out of the Kingdom. Some Christians compromise their faith and fall to a state whereby they dilute or weaken the word of God. False prophets and false teachings always lower the standard of righteous living, lighten the demand of God’s laws, remove fear of damnation of the soul, sear the conscience and take away responsibility both to God and man. God frowns at compromise and we must beware of building the things we had earlier destroyed.

COMPROMISE AND CONTEMPT FOR THE FAITH Acts 13:8; 2 Corinthians 2:17; Jeremiah 5:31 QUESTION 4: How does the devil entice people and make them compromise – Luke 4:5-7; Genesis 3:4-6 QUESTION 5: What is the influence of false doctrines on Christians? – Romans 16:17,18; 1 Timothy 1:19 QUESTION 6: How can a compromising Christian be identified? – Matthew 7:20; Galatians 2:18

CHRISTIANS CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH Jude 3; Nehemiah 13:23-25 To earnestly contend is to strive to keep something that Satan is laboring to take away from us. To do this, we must totally separate from compromisers, refuse invitation from false teachers and avoid listening to their literature. We must also be more earnest in preaching the truth of God’s word, rebuke members who depart from the faith and live an uncompromising life that will convict the unstable. It is the whole church’s duty to contend for the faith. QUESTION 7: What must we do to keep contending for the faith? – 2 Corinthians 6:17; 2 John 1:10,11

CONCLUSION The devil’s plan is to take us away from the faith. It is every believer’s responsibility to strive for the faith. To fight against the devil and his forces, conversion, an uncompromising life and total separation from the world are required. Believers must also avoid compromise and refuse to entertain false teachers and their false doctrines. Finally, we must aggressively preach the word of God and support pastors and Christians who preach the word of God without compromise.