A FAITH WORTH DEFENDING

If you mock and trash my wife, I can guarantee you that I will not sit idly by! Hopefully, I would remain self-controlled, but it is hard to envision squeezing the life out of someone in a self-controlled way (I jest). What I am saying is that I am passionate about my love for Janie. I am not passive about it! I believe the same should be true of my love for Jesus and His truth! However, when it comes to the faith so many profess but then in practical reality live like they have a faith that is not worth defending. Whatever happened to "righteous indignation"?

Drew Dyck writes: "The most hurtful thing for me wasn't the people who didn't like me; it was the people who didn't support me. They were passive. I'm trying to think charitably of them. But that's the hardest thing - the passive majority, including fellow leaders who were protecting themselves. In private they were very supportive, but then they'd be in a meeting where I was getting beat up, and they just sat on their hands. That was more hurtful than anything."

Now apply what Drew is saying to the truth of Christ. So many in private claim to be "all in" with Jesus but then in the public forum they won't lift a finger to defend Him. It could cost them. It could be painful. They are yellow cowards! As Drew says, this is the most painful thing of all! I think this is how the Lord feels. Jesus said, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Mt. 10:32-33)

Understood in the right way I can really appreciate the red-hot passion of David for the LORD as expressed in Psalm 139. There David said the enemies of God take His name in vain (v. 20). David's response was "Do not I hate them, O LORD, who hate You?... I hate them with perfect hatred" (vv. 21-22). David was not expressing some fleshy hatred that is condemned in Scripture rather he was expressing in graphic terms his passionate commitment to the LORD. He was supremely OFFENDED by those who had no regard for the LORD. He was all in with God! He was siding with God totally! True love and loyalty to someone is offended by a violation of the beloved!

When a brazen sinner dared to be so bold as to bring a pagan woman right into the camp of Israel, right in the sight of Moses, then a priest by the name of Phineas took a javelin and went after them. He went into the tent where they were at and thrust them both through with the spear. God was pleased with this passion for His name! He said of Phinehas, "because he was zealous with My zeal...I give to him My covenant of peace" (see Num. 25:6-13). Zeal is the idea of burning passion!

Is my wife worth defending? You bet your life! Is my God worth defending! You bet your life! A godly ZEAL for God is commendable! We live in a time when so many have a lame faith at best. There is little if any passion. Plenty of raw emotion in the right SAFE context, but in the context of a Christ rejecting world many wither. They have a limpy, wimpy, "love" that lacks deep true loyalty! Where are those who will openly EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH? (see Jude 3). We have way too many pretenders and not enough contenders. Many want to be counted as "Christian" but do we really have a faith worth defending? How we live answers the question. Passion must be governed by godliness, but a love without passion is a non-sequitur!

A true faith is a faith worth defending! The Christian call is a call to arms! We are to "Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6:12). At the end of his life Paul summarized his Christian experience in this way:

2 Timothy 4:7 (ESV)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

God help us to "fight the good fight". It is a battle to the pearly gates. But let us always remember that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

Jude 3–4 (ESV)
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.