When apostasy arises, when false teachers emerge, when the truth of the Word of God is attacked, it is time for all true Christians to fight for the faith.

"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.  For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ."  Jude 3-4

What is apostasy?

In the Greek, the word is "apostasia", and it means "a defection from the truth; a falling away; to forsake the truth".  It is a word that is used as a military term in conjunction with a desertion from duty.

Jude calls all saints to "contend earnestly for the faith".  As Jude was warning the first Century church of things to come, we can today see these things present with us, and already taking place.

"Contend" - The Greek word is "epagonizomai".  It's a word that is formed from two Greek words:  1) "epi", a preposition which means to 'be over or upon', and 2) "agonizomai" which means 'to struggle, to endeavor, to fight, to fervently labor, to contend'.  We get our English word 'agony' from this Greek word.

We are to agonize over our contending for the faith.  Not just for any faith, not for just some faith, but for the faith.  The faith that Jude is speaking of here is the body of truth that was given once for all.  It's referred to in Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine....".  This is the faith - the apostles doctrine.

The apostles doctrine is the teaching of the Word of God.  What does this have to do with faith?

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."  Romans 10:17

We are to contend for the faith, but that faith must first come through the teaching of the Word of God.  Let Jesus be our example.  Whenever Jesus taught the people, He taught from the Scriptures - from the Word of God.  The whole Book, the entire Bible, is all about Him - all about Jesus Christ.

To quote Charles Spurgeon:
"I have heard of ministers who can preach a sermon without mentioning the name of Jesus or the Gospel from beginning to end.  If you ever hear such a sermon as that, mind that you
never hear another from that man again."

The apostasy in the church begins with the elimination of God's Word.  It has been said that "If you remove the Word of God from the church, it will not be long before the God of the Word removes Himself from the church."

Paul warns of the apostasy, the falling away, in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4.  It began in Paul and Jude's time, and it continues today.  We can know that we are nearing the times of the end because the apostasy in the church is getting much, much worse.  We are given ample warning.  I urge all who call themselves Christians to heed the warning.

If you would like more information, please listen to:

Apostasy in the Church  -  Pastor Howard Fleury  -  8-2-2007
http://biblestudies.aroadinthewilderness.org/2007/08/02/apostasy-in-the-church--the-epistle-to-the-hebrews.aspx