Jude 1:3 ( NKJV ) Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
There seems to be two extremes that run through broader evangelicalism. One that is strident and will argue over any deviation of theology or methodology and the other extreme that sees little value in strongly held doctrine and a view of methodology that is purely pragmatic – if it works, then it’s OK. Whether it’s fundamentalism, seeker driven, emergent, or much of mainline evangelicalism, finding when and where to draw the line in the sand, knowing where to take a stand is an issue that is absolutely necessary to know if we are to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.” Just where is that line? To even raise the question for many is offensive. But it must be asked and it certainly needs an answer.
The problem for much of Christianity is its distaste for doctrine. It seems that doctrine has become offensive and is used as a measurement of religious intolerance and rigidity. The mantra seems to be, “can’t we just agree on Jesus?” What is implied is that Christianity is all about Jesus, which on the surface is a true statement, but it ignores any discussion about just exactly who is Jesus. The person of Jesus Christ is boiled down to a reductionist theology that views Him as inclusive and non-threatening. Jesus Christ is often pictured as a paragon of love who is accepting of all people, willing to receive anyone on any set of supposedly “personally sincere” terms or motives, simply because that is how love is often interpreted. This is often expressed by the statement, “God is love and He loves everybody therefore God loves you.” Again, another half truth meant to be non-offensive, avoiding any discussion about sin and God’s judgment. Acceptance of Christ based on Biblical propositional truth is not what is seen as a requirement in our day.
But the Gospel accounts tell a much different story of the Messiah who reached out in love to seek and to save those who were lost (Luke 19:10), and also confronted religious error. Sinners who were repentant such as Zacchaeus (Luke 19:2-10) found forgiveness and salvation in Christ, while those who resisted Him for their own righteousness found they stood under the condemnation of God (John 3:18, 36). Our Lord’s continual confrontation with the Pharisees was not over some sort of gross immorality or licentious worldly life style. They had a religious righteousness (Matthew 5:20), just not one that was found in reliance upon the grace of God. The indictment of hypocrisy (Matthew 6:2,5,16; 23:13-15, 25, 27; 25:51) was directed at a religiosity that pretended to be Biblically authentic but was filled rather, with the traditions of men (Matthew 15:2-3.6; Mark 7:13), and more to the point kept men from a saving relationship with God and in bondage to their sins (Matthew 23:15).
Yes, Jesus is the ultimate representation of love, but that love was demonstrated on the cross of Calvary as God vented His wrath on Christ for our sin (1 John 4:9-10). The cross of Calvary does not ignore sin, it confronts it. The life and sacrificial death of Christ is a declaration that the human race is lost because of sin and that the provision of Christ because of Calvary is dependent upon the individual’s repentance and full trust in the merits of Christ and His lordship alone (Matthew 4:17; Luke 13:15; Acts 3:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Romans 10:9-10).
For our Lord, what His disciples thought of Him was all important; “who do say that I am…” (Matthew 16:13-17; Mark 8:28; Luke 9:2). Our Lord would not settle for anything short of, “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” For the disciples as well as the Pharisees this declaration of who was the Son God was, for the most part, understood. Our Lord made no vague declaration but established Himself to be the God/Man who invaded this world for the redemption of all who would trust Him alone (cf. Matthew 9:6). This was a declaration of Deity as well as redemption. It was a declaration of the sufficiency of Christ to forgive sins and a rejection of the good works of men, religious or not. This of course was good news to repentant sinners but it also elicited anger and several attempts on the life of Christ from those that felt their self righteousness and religious works were threatened (Matthew 26:4; Mark 6:19; John 5:16,18; 7:1).
-Michael Holtzinger