Contending for Faith: Strength in God's Love
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Dear church, you are loved, not just by your pastors and your elders and those around you, but most importantly, you are loved by God. That is truth, whether you believe it or not. In life, you will take some hits, but you are not fighting alone. We have a privilege that we get to contend together in fellowship with one another and with God." [00:00]
2. "Rocky Balboa, he stands locked, with his opponent in a small-time boxing match. His opponent cheap shots Rocky, if you've seen it, with a headbutt, and then Rocky lets loose. Pound after pound, the opponent goes down to the mat. Rocky collects his winnings, and he's cut up, and he's bruised, and he hits then the cold Philadelphia streets. He's not flashy. He's not wealthy. He appears to just be an ordinary guy in a tough city on tough times living alone." [07:05]
3. "Dear church, fight for your faith. God has made you a contender through Jesus Christ, and he's the victor. Church, that fight is coming, you like it or not. In fact, that fight is already here. Your opponent, who is the spirit of the Antichrist, not flesh and blood, doesn't care if you're prepared or if you've trained. His fist is ungloved, bare knuckles, covered with brass, looking to take you out before the bell dings round one." [08:44]
4. "Love is shown on the cross. You don't make love, you die for it. Truth is shown in the tomb. You don't decide your own truth. You embrace Jesus, who is the truth." [25:59]
5. "Be merciful to one another when we waver or doubt, and every one of us wavers. Every one of us doubts. That's okay. Lift each other up. Be proactive to call out sin, pulling one another out of the fire and back into fellowship for restoration. But do so with reverence to God, not dabbling in sin, in order to excuse it in others." [29:24]
### Quotes for Members
1. "If you are to contend for your faith, then you must know what it is you're fighting for, what it is you're fighting against, how to train for the fight, and who is in your corner, who is in your fellowship." [07:05]
2. "Christian fellowship cannot exist where we fail to fight for our faith. I'm going to say that again because it's an important concept, and I want you to wrestle with it. Christian fellowship cannot exist where we fail to fight for our faith. Where we fail to fight for our faith, our fellowship becomes nothing more than a social club." [14:00]
3. "Jude specifically addressed a heresy called antinomianism. That's a fancy word, and it basically means this. Antinomianism is the belief that because of God's grace and forgiveness that all things are now acceptable. Because of God's grace and forgiveness, well, we can do what we want because his blood covers us." [17:29]
4. "So how do you train? You build yourself up in faith. You study, you test, you grow, you learn, you apply it to your life. Know why you believe what you believe. Let your faith be solidified in your heart and in your mind. You pray in the Holy Spirit, and that's less a reference to speaking in tongues as some would have you believe, and more of a reminder of the power of God." [29:24]
5. "Dear church, how minimal is salvation to our lives if we don't value it enough to train our minds and our hearts to contend for it in response to it? Is it not worth more than a token piece of our identity that gets considered from time to time but is largely ignored from day to day? How much more precious is something that you look towards, that you train for, that you prepare for than something that we take for granted?" [14:00]
6. "Dear church, don't forget 2 John. Be wary of wolves. There are many, but they only attack when no one is watching the sheep. Watch out for one another. In fellowship, holding each other accountable in love and truth for the salvation we share in Jesus Christ." [25:59]
7. "Jude addresses it in this way. Verse four, for some people who were designated for this judgment long ago have come in by stealth. They are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ our only master and Lord. And that is the crux. The crux of our opponent. To reduce grace into an excuse to willfully wrap ourselves in sin rather than embracing grace's power to wrestle us away from sin." [17:29]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "Dear church, you are loved, not just by your pastors and your elders and those around you, but most importantly, you are loved by God. That is truth, whether you believe it or not. In life, you will take some hits, but you are not fighting alone. We have a privilege that we get to contend together in fellowship with one another and with God." [00:00]
2. "Rocky Balboa, he stands locked, with his opponent in a small-time boxing match. His opponent cheap shots Rocky, if you've seen it, with a headbutt, and then Rocky lets loose. Pound after pound, the opponent goes down to the mat. Rocky collects his winnings, and he's cut up, and he's bruised, and he hits then the cold Philadelphia streets. He's not flashy. He's not wealthy. He appears to just be an ordinary guy in a tough city on tough times living alone." [07:05]
3. "Dear church, fight for your faith. God has made you a contender through Jesus Christ, and he's the victor. Church, that fight is coming, you like it or not. In fact, that fight is already here. Your opponent, who is the spirit of the Antichrist, not flesh and blood, doesn't care if you're prepared or if you've trained. His fist is ungloved, bare knuckles, covered with brass, looking to take you out before the bell dings round one." [08:44]
4. "Love is shown on the cross. You don't make love, you die for it. Truth is shown in the tomb. You don't decide your own truth. You embrace Jesus, who is the truth." [25:59]
5. "Be merciful to one another when we waver or doubt, and every one of us wavers. Every one of us doubts. That's okay. Lift each other up. Be proactive to call out sin, pulling one another out of the fire and back into fellowship for restoration. But do so with reverence to God, not dabbling in sin, in order to excuse it in others." [29:24]
### Quotes for Members
1. "If you are to contend for your faith, then you must know what it is you're fighting for, what it is you're fighting against, how to train for the fight, and who is in your corner, who is in your fellowship." [07:05]
2. "Christian fellowship cannot exist where we fail to fight for our faith. I'm going to say that again because it's an important concept, and I want you to wrestle with it. Christian fellowship cannot exist where we fail to fight for our faith. Where we fail to fight for our faith, our fellowship becomes nothing more than a social club." [14:00]
3. "Jude specifically addressed a heresy called antinomianism. That's a fancy word, and it basically means this. Antinomianism is the belief that because of God's grace and forgiveness that all things are now acceptable. Because of God's grace and forgiveness, well, we can do what we want because his blood covers us." [17:29]
4. "So how do you train? You build yourself up in faith. You study, you test, you grow, you learn, you apply it to your life. Know why you believe what you believe. Let your faith be solidified in your heart and in your mind. You pray in the Holy Spirit, and that's less a reference to speaking in tongues as some would have you believe, and more of a reminder of the power of God." [29:24]
5. "Dear church, how minimal is salvation to our lives if we don't value it enough to train our minds and our hearts to contend for it in response to it? Is it not worth more than a token piece of our identity that gets considered from time to time but is largely ignored from day to day? How much more precious is something that you look towards, that you train for, that you prepare for than something that we take for granted?" [14:00]
6. "Dear church, don't forget 2 John. Be wary of wolves. There are many, but they only attack when no one is watching the sheep. Watch out for one another. In fellowship, holding each other accountable in love and truth for the salvation we share in Jesus Christ." [25:59]
7. "Jude addresses it in this way. Verse four, for some people who were designated for this judgment long ago have come in by stealth. They are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ our only master and Lord. And that is the crux. The crux of our opponent. To reduce grace into an excuse to willfully wrap ourselves in sin rather than embracing grace's power to wrestle us away from sin." [17:29]
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