The future of Christianity in your community

Earnestly contend for the faith which was entrusted to the Saints. Jude 1:3

Jul 22, 2022 – The future of Christianity in your community is up to you and other people like you. Another translation says, “I urge YOU to defend the faith,” because this faith has been entrusted to YOUR care. Question: have you been born again? If the answer is yes, please notice this faith called the Christian faith or Christian belief system has been entrusted to your personal care.

It is like two young parents coming to you and saying, “We do not plan to die, but life happens and we may die in an accident. We would like to appoint you the guardian of our children if we die. We have a life insurance policy of one million dollars to cover their expenses. We want to entrust our children to your care.”

Ruth Ellen and I have been asked to do this on two different occasions. Why us? It was because the parents wanted to see their children in heaven; they knew we would teach Jesus to their children and lead them to Christ the Savior.

Thankfully, that situation never happened, but suppose that responsibility happens to you. Serving as a guardian would be a great responsibility. You would need to give the children a home. That includes food, shelter, guidance, clothing, companionship, and much more.

Get this idea in your mind: The lives of those children have been entrusted to you…deposited in your hands. Their future rests on your shoulders. You must not walk away from it. The need is too great. The responsibility is too great. The parents need you to say, “Yes, I will do it. I will do it to the best of my ability.”

That is what Jude is saying in Today’s Verse. He is saying, “This faith was delivered once and for all to the saints.” The Greek word for “delivered” is “paradidomi” and it has the idea of “entrusted, take care of, manage, keep safe.” Kenneth Wuest writes, “The idea is that God gave the Christian doctrines to the saints as a deposit of truth to be guarded.”

Notice this faith was not given merely to the apostles but to all the saints…to people like us. Not to the mighty angels but to us with all of our weaknesses, limitations, frailties, inconsistencies, etc.

Bottom line: What will happen if we fail? Will the next generation have much interest in Christ? What about our own grandchildren and great-grandchildren? The answer is obvious.

It is true you cannot stop the decline alone. But it is also true the generations to come deserve your best effort to “preserve the faith which has been entrusted to our generation.” So start contending! The destinies of many people depend upon the ordinary saints like you.

Tom Swartzwelder was born again at the age of nine in an old-fashioned revival meeting. Tom received his B.A. from Tennessee Temple University and his M. Div from Luther Rice Seminary. He has pastored for nearly forty years in both bi-vocational and full-time roles. He provides practical how-to-do-ministry resources for the disciples of Jesus Christ at http://www.godsgreenhouse.net. Tom’s latest book is “God Speaks–Today!”