JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q1. Contending for the Faith - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Let's discusses the problems with false teachers in our day, while being careful not to bash denominations in the Forum. It's a fine line, but I expect you to walk it with me.

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?

[color="grey"] First of all: Pastor Ralph this is a sobering study. Thank you for addressing the need for accountability to each other in our local congregations. The denomination, my wife and I just left was because of the very subject matter "Open and Affirming." It was a denomination that I grew up in, and yet has fallen so far from the Word that it endorses abortion, same-sex marriage, openly practicing homosexual clergy, stem cell research...believe whatever you want to, interpreting the Gospel your way is okay. We are honoring diversity. God is still speaking . Oh dear.[/color]

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[color="blue"]1a.) I think Peter says it best when he answered Jesus; "[/color][color="purple"]Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.[/color][color="blue"]" John 6:68 The road to salvation is narrow, that path to condemnation is wide. Take the narrow path.[/color]
1b.) (Jude 3) What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers?
[color="blue"]1b.) I think if you refer to my opening remarks, you see the problem. False doctrines rarely honor God, you do not grow in Christ, but in your own ways. No deliverance or victory from our sins. Jesus tells us to take up the cross daily.[/color]
1c.) (Jude 3) What is the danger inherent in challenging them?
[color="blue"]1c.) Conflict and division within the Body of Christ. But better conflict then condemnation for apostasy.[/color]
1d.) (Jude 3) How can we keep the correct balance?
[color="blue"]1d.) Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:21. That the Bible is from God through men carried by the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that all Scipture is "God breathed." We will find the balance in the Scriptures.[/color]

Q.1. We must contend for the faith because it is a gift that God has given to
His own peculiar people. We contend so that false teachers will not undermine the faith. we must stand against falsehoods and errors and also
we must contend for the faith for our children, who carry on after us.

Q.2. If we don't contend with false teachers , then we are in danger of becoming apostate in our beliefs and becoming passive in our proclamation of the gospel.

Q.3. The danger inherent in challenging them is that we cannot become CONTENTIOUS and lose the gift of love which God has bestowed on us, thus
leaving a bitter taste in the lives of people.
Q.4. We can keep a correct balance by focusing on the salvation that Christ
as provided instead of being led astray by false doctrine, and we must gently
correct those who are in error.

Pastor Ralph, on Jul 18 2004, 05:56 PM, said:

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? [color="blue"]Because the false teachers are undermining the "faith;" there are ungodly men who creep ino the body of Christ trying to deceive and in Jude 3:18 we read “How they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. [/color]

What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers?
[color="blue"]The danger is that we can become lazy and tolerant letting false teachers draw a person away from the Truth into the lusts of the flesh and the Lord will destroy those that don’t believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We will be held accountable for that.[/color]

What is the danger inherent in challenging them?
[color="blue"]1. You will be an outcast.
2. You will look as if you are causing divisions, We can become contentious, that is, we can get a reputation for being "fightin' Fundies" (fighting Fundamentalists), rather than a reputation for love which is our hallmark
3. False teachers will twist the truth and try to deceive you with empty words so you will join them in their thinking.
4. We can easily become reactionary rather than proactive, spending our time renouncing false doctrine rather than spreading the Gospel to those who haven't heard it yet. [/color]

How can we keep the correct balance?
[color="blue"]By praying in the Spirit we can make a distinction of which spirit we are dealing with, God, Satan, or self.
1. Matt. 13:24-30 --We have to be alert and know that false teachers will come and try to deceive us;
2. knowing this we must be grounded in the Word and our faith continue to look for our Lords coming and not teach our interpretation of the Bible but what we know to be accurate according to the Bible.
3. And when we speak the truth, which is the basic message of the Gospel and salvation through Christ we need to speak it in love. Rather let us speak the truth in love and humility with unity as our aim (Ephesians 4:15). [/color]

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?

This is a tough one. But God gave us this responsibility--to stand up for His word, so we must try to do so. The most important thing is to be sure we are led by His Spirit in this--in humility--searching ourselves first and foremost.
If we do not (contend for the faith) then these teachers will lead people astray--as they have from the very first. Did not the serpent set the precedent? "Did God really say...?" When a teacher departs from the Scriptures, we need to gently point them to the Scriptures they are denying and ask them to consider what God is saying.
The danger? That we may become arrogant and think WE know the correct interpretation and all others are stupid and wrong!
We can keep the correct balance only by keeping humbly near to the Lord, ans check with Him before saying anything. We especially need to let Him speak through us--and only in His love!

Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?

If we don't contend, our lack of action may allow enough water (lies) to get in and sink the boat (church). This is rather harsh but the damage is too. The danger lies in many people believing lies and not Truth thus going to hell, not heaven and we would fail in our basic command from Jesus which is to go out and preach the gospel to all men. The danger could be physical and verbal violence against us who challege the little liars. We must challenge them in a loving way. This is where the Holy Spirit empowers us.

We must defend the faith because it is GOD's truth and when someone is undermining the faith they are leading souls to hell.

The danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers is lost souls and believers deceived.

We can keep the correct balance by speaking in love and quoting Scripture. II Timothy 2:24-26 "And the LORD's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that GOD will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?

These questions have been well answered by several here. Keeping the balance is very hard especially if you have a teacher who has ninety percent down and is teaching something not as doctrine or to the entire congregation but is teaching something on the side to a "elect" and secretive few knowing that the teaching would split the church, teaching it anyway, and not recognizing because of his position as a teacher that many will take it as doctrine or essential and that it can then become for them works overshadowing grace.

[FONT=Optima][SIZE=7]Q1. (Jude 3) [color="red"]Why must we "contend for the faith"? [/color]
Just as the heavy weight champion must contend for his title, we must contend for the truth. We have an enemy that desires to steal the life and truth that God has freely given.

[color="red"]What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers[/color]?
Danger is in lost souls and defeated living in the lives of believers.
[color="red"]What is the danger inherent in challenging them? [/color]
When challenging false teaching, feeling are hurt. Pride is damaged and deceived people will fight back. You may feel isolated, but knowing that Jesus will never leave or forsake you gives courage to stand for sound bilblical teaching.
[color="red"]How can we keep the correct balance? [/color]
Be led by the Spirit of God. Speak when he says speak and pray without ceasing.

We must contend for the faith because it is the faith once delivered, and our salvation and the salvation of all the body of Christ depends on it. Unfortunately, in some cases contending for the faith may require leaving a church that has been overtaken by false teachers. Perhaps clergy and laity didn't contend strongly enough for the faith in the past few decades and congregations, or sadly entire denominations, have allowed false teachers to take over the positions of leadership. When bishops pronounce that "we wrote the Bible and we can change it," that contradicts the fact that all Scripture is God-breathed and the faith was once delivered to the saints.

How could the leadership of any of the denominations be taken over by clergy who don't believe in the basic teachings of the Bible? I think it came about because Christians like me weren't even aware of what was happening - our pastors and priests were orthodox and we didn't notice what was happening beyond our own congregations and parishes until the false teachers had so much power we didn't know how to deal with them. I wonder if we could have prevented the tragedy of what's happening in much of the body of Christ today if we had been more aware and stood up for the truth.

I've left a "welcoming and affirming" denomination for a church that is basically what my old denomination was 40 years ago - one that believes in the unchanging Word of God. I love my present church, but it breaks my heart that the Body of Christ is broken apart by false teachers.

I don't know if we can do anything but pray about the schisms that have already occurred, but we must speak out in love when we encounter false teachers to keep the poison from spreading any further.

I think it's very important to tell people about Jesus,but done out
of love there is also a time and place where it is more advisable to talk to people about Jesus

If we don't challenge unsound teaching / unscriptural doctrine, then the Christian faith will be overtaken by doctrines that will rob us of the power to overcome sin and to enjoy fellowship with the Lord. We will be seduced into lifestyles that enslave us to sin, rather than enjoying freedom from sin and the benefits of living a life that is pleasing to God.

However, in challenging false teachers and false doctrine, we have to be careful of spiritual pride, or else we too will fall! We must be sure that we are not just 'rebels without a cause', bringing unnecessary division to the body of Christ. I also believe that our underlying attitude should be that of love.

1. Why contend for the faith? a) We ourselves must know what we believe and be ready to give answer to those who would ask about the hope we have in Christ. Our speech should always be seasoned with salt. In doing so we not only protect ourselves from error which is easy to fall into but we also act as an example to others of purity and probity. As Peter wrote earlier, it is by knowledge that we partake of the divine nature, escape the corruption in the world because of ****, grasp the promises of God and experience the grace and peace of God.
b) If the above things be true then the converse would mean and alienation from God, His promises and protection. The Bible compares doctrine to leaven which is spoken of as something which will grow to contaminate the whole person or body of believers. Luke 12:1; 1Cor. 5:6-8. We are admonished to purge out the old leaven. So it is important that we pay close heed to our doctrine because it will contaminate "the whole lump".
c) We must contend for the faith because there are those who would "make merchandise" of us. They are following the dictates of their own lusts and seek to draw a following after themselves. Through deception and appeal to the lusts in others they draw them away and subvert their faith. Because there is nothing hidden that will not come to the light their error soon becomes evident and the truth is blasphemed among the heathen. I do not need to give modern day examples of this happening.
2. The danger in not challenging doctrines of false teachers: a) They would of course be free to propogate their "leaven". They themselves would have no check by which they might be recovered from their error. Instead they woud be left in their deception to be further deceived and to deceive. b) Not to challenge a false teacher would embolden them to expand their sphere of influence. It would send the message to others that we did not deem this issue worthy of confrontation or censure. It would find its way in as an accepted topic of contemplation.c) Especially older believers are in a position to offer protection and sound guidance to younger believers and to the unstable. Non-confrontation leaves such people vulnerable. d) Not challenging false teachers sends the message of confusion to the world. They are incapable of discerning sound doctrine and so only see contradiction and hypocrasy. e) Not challenging false doctrine will inevitably lead to divisiveness and strife in the Body of Christ. Eventually we will be forced to make a statement but perhaps too late when we will then have to choose a side being unable to hide from or avoid the controversy. f) Hence not challenging false teachers and doctrine will incur judgment upon ourselves and the grieving and displeasing of our Father and the Holy Spirit.
Consider Revelations 2:14-16; 2:20-24; 3:8
3. The danger in challenging false teachers: There is always the danger of addressing controversy in a spirit of acrimony. We need to take heed to ourselves when we see another overtaken in a fault lest we also be tempted. And we are tempted to lash out in anger, we are tempted to rely upon our own intellect and eloquence. We are tempted to take our eyes and our trust from Christ. The battle then descends to the level of the flesh and no-one wins and the workings of the flesh and carnality are evident in backbiting, malice, envy, spite, hatred, division etc.. But I think the blessings of standing firm in Christ holding our confidence firm in Him through it all, out weighs the trial we would pass through. We are promised in Rev3:8 that these dissemblers will be exposed but not by our might or power but by the Holy Spirit. Our mandate is to continue to walk in love and to preach the Word and sound doctrine in season and out. His Word will do the rest.
4. Ther correct balance? a)I think we need to ask ourselves how this teaching affects the sphere over which I am responsible before the Lord. In other words is it my place to address this particular issue or is it the bailiwick of another? We must however be certain that within our own area we maintain good doctrine and we hold this forth boldly. b) Were it does touch us we must be adamant pointing out the error and advancing true doctrine

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?

When we acknowledge Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we are enlisted to become ambassadors for Christ. As Peter put it "I will constantly remind you to......." As ambassador, we are entrusted with the responsibility to promote the virtue and value of God. To show the benefit of kingdom living in line with what the bible teaches. Of course, there will be some who will manipulate the doctrine of the faith to promote personal agenda. Such people have to be corrected through healthy correction and discussion based on the word of God. I believe a truth practitioner of the word of God will alway be ready to accept correction in the spirit of unity and humility. Otherwise, it will be most fruitless to continue to try to say anything more because it will only lead to more disunity and worst still, causing some to forfeit the salvation given to them through Christ.

(1a) Why must we contend for the faith?
For a number of reasons we must contend or defend our faith. Jesus said,[COLOR=red]But he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Luke 12:9. Paul said in Romans 1:16, [COLOR=blue]For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. I stand on God's Word. I know where it has brought me from. Of course we will run into doubters, non-believers, and different sects or religions, that is a part of the race we must run.
(1b) What is the danger of not challenging the doctrine of false teachers?
I have a friend, a brother in Christ. One thing that he always say is, "For God I live, for God I will die". And that's what our attitude must be. If someone teaches any other doctrine we must speak out, in love of course.


Pray my strength in the Lord. God Bless You All!!

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?

We must contend for the faith because the truth of the Bible must never be compromised.

If we do not challenge the doctrines of falsh teachers people will lose sight of the only path that leads to etenal life.

The danger inherent in challenging them is not an easy task, since many who fall in this catergory refuse to study for themselves and learn the truth for themselves from God Word.

We can keep correct balance by embracing true doctrine and right cunduct in our Christian walk with Christ. Make sure we avoid leaders and teachers who distort the truth of the Bible to suit their own purposes. Make sure we have a inherent desire to know the truth and to work dilegently to bring others
on-line.

Romans 3:23 tell us that:

"for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God."

Don't let any one tell you that you can get into to heaven without being saved.

Jesus said: " I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me." John 14:6

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?


[color="blue"]This faith that was passed on to us from generations has been the same faith that the Apostles proclaimed after Jesus' departure. We are the keepers of the faith as well as propogators. Since false teachers come as wolves in the garb of sheep, we have to be on the lookout so that they will not destroy our foundations. Contend for the faith is fighting for what is ours. If someone comes and says something else that is not scriptural, we must deny those people and thier doctrine. [/color]

[color="red"]If we don't challenge the false teachers, many will be led astray and their souls will be lost. Since we have a responsibility for our neighbours as well as ourselves, we should challenge thier false doctrines and lay them bare. It is our responsibility to challenge them otherwise we would be failing in our duties.[/color]

[color="green"]The danger in challenging them lies in our attitude. If we puff ourselves up and think that we are superior, then the purpose of challenge is lost. False teachers are people who are misguided and unstable in their beliefs. It is our responsibility to check them with love and compassion. They too are eligible for the love of Jesus. Balance has to be maintained so that we don't sound harsh and judgmental at the same time firmly grounded in the Word of God. Our correction should make them see their folly instead of making them put up thier defences[/color]

We must “contend for the faith” because in order for the lost to receive salvation, they must believe in the real Jesus of the Bible. These false teachers are among the lost. This text speaks to those who may not truly know the Lord as Savior. There are many different Jesus’ proclaimed today. People like to have Jesus the way they like to think of Him. We should avoid false teachers and the errors they promote and we shouldn’t embrace any bizzare interpretations, be on our guard. We should be knowledgeable concerning the truth of the Word of God. We shouldn’t be lazy and expect others to study for us or do our thinking for us.

There are several dangers. False teachers bring reproach upon true saints and the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are driven by their lusts and greed motivates their ministry. Their methods are sneaky and their message is destructive and twists and distorts the Scriptures. They deny Christ as their Master and seek to diminish His nature and attributes. They have no respect for those in authority nor for the authority of Jesus. False teachers tickle the ears of those who will not have the real Jesus. These teachers are bringing destruction on themselves as well as their followers.

When the sin of false teachers is exposed, the unrighteous delight in lumping all professing Christians together so that we are wrongly associated with the folly of fradulent saints. Those who like to use the excuse “the church is full of hypocrites”, see little difference between false teachers and their followers and mainstream evangelicalism. They leap at the opportunity to find a reason to ridicule us and reject the faith. We are going to suffer from the presence of false teachers.

I believe we must let people know who the true Christ is. That is the most significant question today, “Who is Jesus Christ?” There are still billions of people who don’t know the answer to this question. We must stay in the Word, pray, and get the truth out into the world of the lost with love and in obedience to God.

Why must we contend for the faith? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrine of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the balance?
I looked up contend in the dictionary and it said to struggle or compete. There are so many things competing for our time and energy and money. The devil wants to have all of us steeped in false doctrine so we will not be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. If we don't contend for the faith others will think it doesn't matter. We will lose. We will no longer be the salt of the world and will be good for nothing. If we don't contend for the faith there will be no faith for our children and grandchildren. We are here because those who have gone before us contended for the Faith . The Faith has been entrusted to us for safe keeping.
One of the dangers inherent in challenging them will be persecution and conflict. The Bible says we are to watch stand fast in the faith , be brave be stong. Let all that you do be done in love. We need to remember that our goal is to see God glorified and souls won for the Lamb.

God Bless!
Jen

Q1. (Jude 3) Why must we "contend for the faith"? What is the danger in not challenging the doctrines of false teachers? What is the danger inherent in challenging them? How can we keep the correct balance?

If we don't contend for the faith, faith can be undermined. Since the doctrines of false teachers will, by definition, be false, if they are not challenged will spread lies. This has done more to undermine and confuse the Gospel message than anything secular and atheistic society has done.

The danger inherent in challenging false teachers is we can be viewed as always negative and contentious instead of loving and optimistic due about the Gospel. The focus should be on spreading the Gospel. We should focus on spreading the truth of the Gospel and preaching true doctrine which in the long run will defeat false teaching.