Day 17 – The Faith Once Delivered

The Faith We Have Received

Yesterday, we met the Bereans.

They listened to Paul’s teaching, but they did not simply accept everything they heard.

They searched the Scriptures to see whether his teaching was true.

Today, Jude takes us one step further.

The question is not only:

“How do we test what we hear?”

It is also:

“What truth are we called to preserve?”

Jude gives us the answer:

“The faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”

The Christian faith is not something we are free to redesign according to every generation.

We are not called to invent a new Gospel.

We are called to receive, preserve, live, and proclaim the Gospel that God has entrusted to His people.

The Gospel is precious because it is God’s message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We are not its authors.

We are its stewards.

The Faith Was Entrusted to God’s People

Jude speaks about:

“the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”

The word “entrusted” is important.

Something has been handed to us.

We are stewards.

Think about someone giving you something precious and saying:

“Take care of this. Protect it. Pass it on.”

That is the responsibility Jude places before believers.

The Gospel is precious.

It must not be treated carelessly.

The Gospel does not belong to a denomination.

It does not belong to a culture.

It does not belong to a particular generation.

The Gospel belongs to God.

We Did Not Invent the Gospel

The Gospel did not begin with us.

We did not create it.

The apostles did not invent it.

The Church did not create the Gospel.

A denomination did not invent it.

A culture did not invent it.

God revealed it.

The Father sent the Son.

Christ came into the world.

Christ died for our sins.

Christ rose again.

The apostles proclaimed what they had received.

And that message has been entrusted to God’s people.

There Is One Gospel

Paul gives a very serious warning in Galatians:

“There is no other gospel.”

This is essential.

Christianity is not a collection of different Gospels that we can choose between.

There is one Gospel.

There is one Saviour.

There is one cross.

There is one resurrection.

There is one Mediator.

There is one way of reconciliation with God:

Jesus Christ.

This does not mean every Christian tradition expresses every secondary doctrine in exactly the same way.

Christians may disagree about many matters of interpretation, practice, and church order.

But the central Gospel cannot be reinvented.

The Gospel Is About Christ

What is the faith we have received?

At its centre is Jesus Christ.

Paul summarised the Gospel this way:

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

That is the heart of the message.

Christ died.

Christ was buried.

Christ rose.

And salvation is found in Him.

Christ is the centre of the Gospel.

“Once for All”

Jude says the faith was:

“once for all entrusted.”

This means the Gospel is not waiting for every generation to create its own version.

We don’t need:

Gospel 2.0.

We don’t need a modern replacement.

We don’t need to improve God’s revelation.

We need to remain faithful to what God has revealed.

The Gospel is not like fashion.

It does not need a new version every few years.

Truth does not become outdated simply because the world changes.

The World Changes — God’s Truth Does Not

Cultures change.

Technology changes.

Politics change.

Languages change.

Social customs change.

Generations change.

But God’s truth does not change with the culture.

Isaiah says:

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

The world may move in one direction.

Public opinion may move in another.

But God’s Word remains.

Therefore, the Church must not constantly reshape the Gospel to make it acceptable to the culture.

We must faithfully proclaim it.

Contending for the Faith

Jude says:

“Contend for the faith.”

This is strong language.

It does not mean becoming aggressive, quarrelsome, or hateful.

It means standing firmly for the truth God has entrusted to His people.

There are times when Christians must say:

“This is true.”

And:

“This is not what Scripture teaches.”

Faithfulness sometimes requires courage.

If we remain silent whenever the Gospel is distorted, we are not protecting the message entrusted to us.

Contending Does Not Mean Fighting People

There is an important distinction.

We contend for the faith, not against people.

Our battle is not about humiliating those who disagree with us.

Peter tells believers to be prepared to give an answer for the hope within them “with gentleness and respect.” – 1 Peter 3:15

Biblical courage and biblical love belong together.

We can stand firmly without becoming cruel.

We can disagree without hatred.

We can defend truth without pride.

We can correct error without treating another person as an enemy.

A faithful Christian does not need to become angry in order to become courageous.

Truth and love must remain together.

Why Did Jude Write This?

Jude originally wanted to write about their shared salvation.

But something urgent happened.

False teachers had entered among them.

The Gospel was being threatened by distortion.

Therefore, Jude felt compelled to warn believers.

This shows us something important:

False teaching is not a new problem.

The early Church faced it.

And the Church today must remain alert.

False teaching can distort who Christ is.

It can distort how salvation is received.

It can add human requirements.

It can remove biblical truths.

It can make people trust religious performance rather than Christ.

That is why we must know the Gospel.

We Must Know What We Are Protecting

You cannot protect something you do not know.

If we are called to contend for the faith, we must know the faith.

We need to know:

Who Jesus is.

Why He came.

Why we need salvation.

What He accomplished on the cross.

That He rose from the dead.

That salvation is by grace through faith.

That Christ is the only Mediator.

That eternal life is found in Him.

And we need to know God’s Word.

That is why the Berean principle from yesterday is so important.

Scripture tests what we hear.

And Scripture helps us understand what we have been entrusted to preserve.

We Must Not Add to the Gospel

There is a danger in adding requirements to the Gospel that God has not given.

If Scripture says salvation is by grace through faith, we must not turn salvation into a human achievement.

If Scripture points us to Christ as our Mediator, we must not replace Him.

If Scripture teaches that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient, we must not imply that His saving work is incomplete.

If Scripture commands us to worship God, we must not allow human practices to take His place.

We must be careful.

Do not add to God’s Gospel.

We Must Not Take Away From the Gospel

There is another danger.

We can also remove truths that make the Gospel uncomfortable.

We may want to talk about God’s love but never mention sin.

We may want to talk about forgiveness but never mention repentance.

We may want to talk about heaven but never mention judgement.

We may want to talk about Jesus as Saviour but never acknowledge Him as Lord.

But the biblical Gospel contains all of these truths.

We do not have permission to edit the Gospel according to what people want to hear.

The Gospel is good news precisely because it tells the truth about our condition and God’s gracious answer.

We proclaim what God has given.

The Gospel Is Not Ours to Change

Imagine being entrusted with an important message from a king.

Your responsibility would not be to rewrite it.

Your responsibility would be to deliver it faithfully.

The Gospel is infinitely more important.

Paul describes believers as:

“Christ’s ambassadors.”

An ambassador does not create the message.

He represents the one who sent him.

In the same way, Christians are called to represent Christ faithfully.

We may communicate differently in different cultures.

We may use different methods.

We may speak different languages.

But our responsibility remains the same:

Faithfully represent Christ and His Gospel.

A Message for the People of the East

This principle is especially important when we consider the spiritual heritage of the Eastern world.

There is a rich Christian history.

There are ancient churches.

There are centuries of traditions.

There are beautiful buildings, liturgies, hymns, customs, and cultural expressions.

But the question remains:

Are we preserving the faith once delivered, or have we allowed human traditions to become mixed with or placed above the Gospel?

This is not a question of attacking our ancestors.

It is a question of returning to Scripture.

Our ancestors must ultimately be measured by God’s Word.

And so must we.

The goal is not to reject everything inherited.

The goal is to examine everything in the light of Scripture and keep Christ at the centre.

We Honour the Past by Returning to the Truth

True respect for Christian history does not mean refusing to examine it.

If our predecessors faithfully followed Christ, then we should follow their example.

If something developed later and cannot be supported by Scripture, we must be willing to examine it.

Our goal is not:

“Destroy everything old.”

Nor is it:

“Accept everything old.”

Our goal is:

“Test everything by God’s Word.”

That is the Berean principle.

We honour what is faithful to Christ.

We examine what may have departed from Scripture.

And we remain humble enough to allow God’s Word to correct us too.

The Invitation

Jude gives us a sacred responsibility:

“Contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”

The Gospel is not ours to reinvent.

It is not ours to improve.

It is not ours to commercialise.

It is not ours to reshape according to culture.

It has been entrusted to us.

Therefore, let us be faithful stewards.

Let us return continually to Scripture.

Let us keep Christ at the centre.

Let us proclaim salvation by grace through faith.

Let us proclaim that Christ alone is the Saviour.

Let us proclaim His death and resurrection.

Let us proclaim the truth without adding human requirements or removing uncomfortable truths.

And let us pass this precious message to the next generation.