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JUDE Arlen L. Chitwood
Chapter Two Contending for the Faith
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. (Jude 3)
Following introductory remarks in verses one and two, Jude calls attention to the original intent of his epistle. Jude had originally set about to write an epistle dealing with the “common salvation [salvation by grace through faith, possessed commonly by all believers]”; but the Holy Spirit prevented him from writing upon this subject and, instead, moved him to write upon something entirely different. The Holy Spirit moved Jude to write upon contending for the faith during a day of apostasy.
There are two indispensable keys that one must possess when studying the epistle of Jude: a) A correct understanding of “apostasy from the faith” as it relates to both individual Christians and to the Church as a whole.
b) A correct understanding of exactly what is meant by the expression “contend earnestly for the faith.” These things must be grasped at the very outset; else the main message in this epistle will either be distorted or lost to the reader.
“Apostasy from the faith,” the first indispensable key, was the main subject under discussion throughout the introduction to this book; and this introductory material should prove sufficient to provide a base upon which one can build as he moves on into the epistle of Jude and views the various forms which apostasy can take.
Those who apostatize from the faith are Christians, not those of the world. It is not possible for an unsaved person to “stand away from” the faith, for he has never come into a position relative to the faith from which he can stand away. Only individuals from among the saved can possibly come into this position, and only these same individuals can enter into this latter-day apostasy in the true sense of the word.
The second indispensable key that one must possess to correctly understand the epistle of Jude is the subject matter at hand in our present study — “contend earnestly for the faith,” which, in one sense of the word, is the opposite of “apostasy from the faith.” However, contrary to popular interpretation, this opposite meaning has nothing to do with being a protector or guardian of the great Christian doctrines (e.g., divinity and virgin birth of Christ, salvation through a vicarious death and the shedding of blood, etc.). Rather, something entirely different is in view, and this will constitute the subject matter of this chapter.
Striving in the Contest
The words translated “contend earnestly” in Jude 3 are from the Greek word epagonizomai. This is an intensified form of the word agonizomai, from which we derive the English word “agonize.” The word agonizomai is found in such passages as 1 Corinthians 9:25 (“competes,” KJV: “striveth”), 1 Timothy 6:12 (“fight”), and 2 Timothy 4:7 (“fought”). This word refers particularly to “a struggle in a contest.”
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul pictured himself as a contestant in a race, with a victor’s crown to be won through a successful completion of the race. And he pictured himself running the race in the most intense manner possible, using the word agonizomai to describe his actions as he ran. Paul strained every muscle of his being as he sought to finish the race in a satisfactory manner and be awarded the proffered crown.
And Paul sought to encourage others to run after the same fashion, keeping the same goal in view. 1 Timothy 6:12a states:
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called . . . .
This verse could be better translated: “Strive [ Greek: Agonizomai, the word from which the English word ‘agonize ’ is derived] in the good contest [agon] of the faith; lay hold on life for the age, whereunto you are also called . . . .”
Agon, translated “contest,” is the noun form of the verb agonizomai, translated “competes” (KJV: “striveth”). A contest/race is in view (same as 1 Corinthians 9:24-27), and it is a “contest [race] of the faith.” It is “competing” or “striving” relative to the faith.
The same thing is similarly stated in 2 Timothy 4:7a:
I have fought the good fight [i.e., ‘I have strived (agonizomai) in the good contest (agon)] . . . . The “contest” here, as in 1 Timothy 6:12 and as seen in the latter part of this verse, has to do with the faith. And the goal set forth in both sections of Scripture is the same:
. . . I have finished the race [the contest], I have kept the faith.
Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day . . . . (2 Timothy 4:7b, 8a; cf. 1 Timothy 6:12, 15, 18).
The contest or race here is the same race set forth in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, with one or more crowns in view at the end of the race. And successful completion of the race will result in the runner being crowned, anticipating the coming rule from the heavens over the earth as a joint-heir with Christ (called “life for the age” in 1 Timothy 6:12).
With these things in mind concerning the use of the word agonizomai in connection with “the faith,” note the expression “contend earnestly for the faith” in Jude 3. In keeping with the other translations, the exact thought brought out by the word epagonizomai in Jude (an intensified form of agonizomai, the word used in 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7), could perhaps be better understood by using the translation “earnestly strive.” Once again a contest/race is in view, and the thought is really earnestly striving “with respect to the faith” rather than earnestly striving “for the faith.”
The wording in the Greek text will allow either translation, but related Scriptures are concerned with the basic thought from the former translation rather than the latter. Earnestly striving “with respect to the faith” in Jude carries the identical thought as striving “in the good contest of the faith” in 1 Timothy. The intensified form of agonizomai (used only this one place in the New Testament) undoubtedly appears in Jude because of the subject of the epistle (apostasy) and the immediate danger of the recipients of this message being caught up in the apostasy at hand.
Jude and 2 Peter
Understanding exactly what is involved in earnestly striving “with respect to the faith” in Jude is possibly best brought out in 2 Peter. Second Peter is the companion epistle to Jude. Both epistles deal with the same subject matter throughout — “faith,” and “apostasy.” “Faith” appears first in both epistles (Jude 3; 2 Peter, chapter 1), followed by “apostasy” from the faith (Jude 4ff; 2 Peter, chapters 2, 3).
Second Peter also occupies the same unique relationship to 1 Peter that Jude occupies relative to all the preceding epistles — Pauline and General. First Peter deals specifically with the salvation of the soul, and 2 Peter deals with “faith” (chapter 1) and “apostasy” (chapters 2, 3) in relation to this salvation. The same order is set forth in Jude and the epistles that precede. The epistles preceding Jude, Pauline and General, also deal specifically with the salvation of the soul. Jude then forms a capstone for the entire subject, presenting, as 2 Peter, “faith” in relation to the salvation of the soul first (v. 3), and then “apostasy” in relation to the salvation of the soul (vv. 4ff).
Parallels in the sections on apostasy from the faith in both epistles (2 Peter 2:1ff; Jude 4ff) clearly illustrate the oneness of Peter’s and Jude’s messages. Numerous identical subjects, events, and places are recorded in the same order (cf. 2 Peter 2:1-3 and Jude 4; 2 Peter 2:4-9 and Jude 6, 7; 2 Peter 2:10-14 and Jude 8-10; 2 Peter 2:15, 16 and Jude 11; 2 Peter 2:17, 18 and Jude 12, 13, 16; 2 Peter 3:1-13 and Jude 17-19).
“Apostasy” in both instances is from the same “faith”; and since Scripture is to be interpreted in the light of Scripture, a proper study on either “faith” or “apostasy” in one epistle would necessitate a study of the same subject matter in the other epistle. The best available commentary on Jude is 2 Peter, along with other related Scripture; and the best available commentary on 2 Peter is Jude, along with other related Scripture.
Our main interest at hand is the parallel sections on “faith” in the two epistles. Where Jude devotes one verse to contesting earnestly with respect to the faith (v. 3), Peter devotes the greater part of an entire chapter to maturity in the faith (chapter 1). And this chapter, in the light of Jude and other related Scripture, is actually a dissertation on contesting earnestly “with respect to the faith,” which will result in the one engaged in this “contest of the faith” (if he runs according to the rules) “receiving the end [‘goal’]” of his faith, even the salvation of his soul (1 Peter 1:9). Thus, in order to properly understand Jude 3, the remainder of this chapter will be drawn from 2 Peter, chapter one.
(Note that 2 Peter, chapter one is Scripture’s own commentary on Jude 3. And this commentary is perfectly in line with that which is stated about “the faith” at any other point in Scripture.)
Maturity in the Faith
Peter directs his second epistle to “those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 1). This is a “faith” possessed by all Christians. We were all accorded the same measure of “faith” at the time we “passed from death to life” (John 5:24; Ephesians 2:1, 5). Every Christian begins at the same point with the same “like precious faith.” Then, in verses five through seven, Christians are told:
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to [lit., ‘abundantly supply in’] your faith virtue, to [‘in’] virtue knowledge,
to [in] knowledge self-control, to [in] self-control perseverance; to [in] perseverance godliness,
to [in] godliness brotherly kindness; and to [in] brotherly kindness love.
Peter then states in verse eight:
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge [Greek: epignosis, mature knowledge] of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Greek word epignosis, referring to a “mature knowledge,” occurs three times in 2 Peter, chapter one (vv. 2, 3, 8). In verse two, “grace and peace” are multiplied through a mature knowledge “of God and of Jesus our Lord [lit., “of God, even Jesus our Lord” (cf. v. 1)].” In verse three, Christians are given “all things that pertain to life and godliness” through the mature knowledge “of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (KJV); and in verses five through eight, abundantly supplying the things listed (with “faith” as the foundation) will result in “fruit-bearing” (if these things “abound” in the person) within one’s mature knowledge “of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Colossians 2:2, 3 is a corresponding passage concerning a mature knowledge “of Jesus our Lord” which deals with the same basic truths as 2 Peter 1:2, 3, 8. In the Colossians passage, the “mystery of God” is revealed to be Christ, and in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The words appearing between “God” and “Christ” (v. 2) in the Authorized Version are not found in the best Greek manuscripts, and the latter part of this verse should literally read: “. . . to a mature knowledge [epignosis] of the mystery of God, Christ.”
The name “Christ” is placed in apposition to the word “mystery” in the Greek text, making Christ to be “the mystery of God.” The things in this mystery were not fully opened up in the prior dispensation; but now, through additional revelation, the Holy Spirit is making these things known to the saints. Man today has the complete revelation of God, and as this revelation is received into man’s saved human spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and reveals things concerning the Son (things previously made known but not fully opened up and revealed until dealt with in later revelation [John 16:13-15; 1 Corinthians 2:6-13; cf. Genesis 24:4, 10, 36, 53]).
In Colossians 2:2, 3, it is only the person coming into a mature knowledge of the “mystery of God” who will see the great storehouse of “treasures of wisdom and knowledge” in Christ. In like manner, only the person coming into a mature knowledge of “Jesus Christ our Lord” in 2 Peter 1:2, 3, 8, contained in the “mystery of God” in Colossians 2:2, will realize an increase of “grace” and “peace” (cf. “Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you” [Jude 2]), or come into possession of the numerous other things mentioned in this chapter.
In 2 Peter 1:3, 4, a mature knowledge of God’s Son will result in the realization of two things: a) Possessing “all things that pertain to life and godliness”: “Life” (Greek: Zoe) is used referring to life in its absolute fullness, which a Christian is to exhibit during his present pilgrim walk; and “godliness” refers to piety or reverence, which is to be exhibited at the same time. A godly walk in the fullness of life is appropriating that which God has for man (revealed in His Word) and, at the same time, walking in a Godlike manner.
b) Possessing “great and precious promises”: Through these “great and precious promises” (revealed in God’s Word) individuals become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world [by means of epignosis]…” (cf. 2 Peter 1:2, 3; 2:20). The “divine nature” has been planted within the inner being of every Christian; but it, as faith, can be either dormant or very active. To assure that the “divine nature,” along with faith, does not lie dormant, a Christian must lay aside the things having to do with corruption in the world and receive the Word of God into his saved human spirit (James 1:21; 1 Peter 2:1, 2). It is the reception of this Word and the corresponding work of the Holy Spirit alone that bring individuals into that position where spiritual growth is wrought, partaking of the “divine nature” is effected, and victory over the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil come to pass.
The great problem among Christians today is spiritual immaturity, which often results in fleshly or worldly living and resultant defeat in one’s spiritual life. There is no increase of “grace,” “mercy,” “peace,” and “love.” Such Christians, not in possession of a mature knowledge of the Word (epignosis), cannot be in possession of the things pertaining to “life and godliness”; and they can know very little to nothing of the “great and precious promises,” or being “partakers of the divine nature.” They, thus, can be easily “carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:14).
Fruit-Bearing for the Kingdom
In 2 Peter 1:5-11, fruit-bearing is in view; and fruit-bearing is associated with things abundantly supplied in faith (vv. 5-7), a mature knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (vv. 8, 9), one’s “calling and election” (v. 10), and “entrance” into the coming “kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 11).
1) Things Abundantly Supplied in Faith (vv. 5-7)
Every Christian is in possession of faith, obtained “through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” This faith can be very active, or it can be weak, anemic, or even dead (James 2:17, 20, 26). But faith, even though looked upon as anemic or dead, is still present with the believer; and it can never pass away (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The word “dead” appearing in James 2:17, 20, 26 (KJV), in connection with faith, can only refer to a “barren” or “fruitless” faith. This type of faith is void of works, and works are necessary to bring forth fruit and bring faith to its goal. In a number of the older Greek manuscripts the word for “barren” appears in the text of verse twenty rather than the word for “dead,” equating “barren” in this verse with “dead” in verses seventeen and twenty-six. However, one need not belabor whether or not the word for “barren” in these older manuscripts is the correct rendering of the text, for 2 Peter 1:5-8 teaches the same thing concerning a “barren” faith.
Second Peter 1:5 should literally read: “But also for this cause, giving all diligence, abundantly supply in your faith…” Because of that which has preceded (outlined in verses one through four) — things resulting from a mature knowledge (epignosis) “of God and of Jesus our Lord” — the Christian is commanded to follow a certain stepped course of action. And this course of action will result in “fruit-bearing,” within one’s mature knowledge (epignosis) “of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 8). And this will, in turn, ultimately result in an abundant entrance “into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 11).
a) “Add to [‘Abundantly supply in’] your faith virtue” (v. 5): The words “Add to” should literally be understood as “Abundantly supply in” throughout verses five through seven. The Greek word translated “virtue” is arete (same as v. 3), which could be understood as either “virtue” or “moral excellence.” And when used relative to God, the word has to do with His power. The thought contextually would have to do with Christians exercising “moral excellence” under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Thus, with Christians conducting their lives in this manner, divine power through the Spirit’s leadership would be in view through the use of the word.
b) “And to [‘in’] virtue knowledge” (v. 5): “Knowledge” is the translation of gnosis (the regular Greek word for “knowledge”) rather than epignosis (“mature knowledge”) as used in verses two, three, and eight. Gnosis refers to the accumulation of facts, which may result in epignosis, but not necessarily. Epignosis is more restricted in its usage, having to do with knowledge pertaining more particularly to things relating to the coming kingdom (ref. Part 2 on page 24, “A Mature Knowledge”).
c) “And to [‘in’] knowledge self-control [KJV: ‘temperance’]” (v. 6): The Greek word translated “temperance” in the KJV of the Bible is egkrateia, which means “self-control,” “mastery over oneself.” This is a compound word from en and kratos (en means “in,” and kratos means “power”). The reference is to passions and desires emanating from the man of flesh being held in check. And this is accomplished through allowing the Spirit to govern and control one’s life, which goes back to the divine power previously seen through the word arete in verse five.
d) “And to [‘in’] self-control patience” (v. 6): The Greek word translated “patience” is hupomone, which has to do with “patient endurance” under trials and testing during the pilgrim walk. This is a compound word from hupo and mone (hupo means “under,” and mone means “stay,” or “remain”). Thus, the word literally means, “remain under”; and the compound word is possibly best understood by the translation, “patient endurance.”
Note how the verb form of this word (hupomeno) is used in James 1:12:
Blessed is the man who endures [patiently endures] temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Note also the use of hupomeno in 2 Timothy 2:10, 12 (translated “endure” and “suffer” [KJV] respectively). Both should properly be translated “patiently endure.”
e) “And to [‘in’] patience godliness” (v. 6): The Greek word translated “godliness” is eusebeia. This is a compound word derived from eu and sebomai (eu means “good,” and sebomai means “to worship” or “to reverence”). Thus, eusebeia has to do with Christians exercising “piety,” or “godliness” as they patiently endure the trials and testing of life during their pilgrim walk. The thought is simply a continued building upon that which had been previously stated in the book.
f) “And to [‘in’] godliness brotherly kindness” (v. 7): The words “brotherly kindness” are a translation of the compound Greek word philadelphia, comprised of phileo (“love,” “affection”) and adelphos (“brother”). The word should be translated “brotherly love” or “brotherly affection.”
g) “And to [‘in’] brotherly kindness love [KJV: ‘charity’]” (v. 7): The Greek word translated “charity” in the KJV of the Bible is agape, which, as phileo, means “love.” However, agape moves beyond mere affection, or the type of love between Christians set forth by the word phileo. Agape has to do with “divine love,” which God is in His character and nature. “God is love,” i.e., “God is agape” (1 John 4:8).
(The word “love,” as the word “spirit” in John 4:24 [“God is spirit”; ref., NKJV, NASB, NIV] is anarthrous in the Greek text [no article before the word], pointing to God’s character and nature.
An article before a word calls attention to identity, even the use of an indefinite article before “spirit” in John 4:24 of the KJV text [the Greek text does not use indefinite articles, only definite]. And the insertion of even an indefinite article before “spirit” in the translation of this verse changes the meaning intended by the Greek text entirely.)
Agape is also the same word used relative to man in the context of this verse in 1 John. “Love” set forth by the word agape is the highest type love attainable. This is love produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of a faithful believer. Agape appears after all the other things mentioned in 2 Peter 1:5-7. It must be supplied last, for it is placed at the height of Christian experience, and nothing can be added therein (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:1ff; agape is used throughout this chapter).
2) A Mature Knowledge (vv. 8, 9)
Epignosis in Scripture has a peculiar relationship to the salvation to be revealed, the salvation of the soul. This word appears in passages that have to do with the saints possessing a mature knowledge in things related to the coming kingdom. The list is by no means complete, but throughout the New Testament epignosis is associated with a mature knowledge of “God,” of God’s “Son [‘the mystery of God, Christ’],” God’s “will,” truths pertaining to “faith,” “life,” and “godliness,” the coming “judgment” of the saints, “the blessed hope,” and the coming “inheritance” of the saints (Romans 1:28; Ephesians 1:17, 18; 4:13; Colossians 1:9-12; 2:2; 3:10; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Timothy 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1, 2; 2:13; 3:7; Hebrews 10:25-31; 2 Peter 1:1-8; 2:20, 21).
Epignosis, having to do with an impartation of things pertaining to “life and godliness,” allows Christians to escape the “pollutions of the world” (2 Peter 1:3, 4; 2:20). Rejection of epignosis, on the other hand, places Christians in the dangerous position of being easily entangled in the things that epignosis allows them to escape (Romans 1:28; 2 Peter 2:20-22).
“All filthiness and overflow of wickedness” must be set aside prior to receiving the “implanted [KJV: ‘engrafted’] Word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21); and the reception of this Word progressively produces the renewing of your mind “in knowledge [epignosis] according to the image of Him who created him,” working the metamorphosis in one’s life (Romans 12:1, 2; Colossians 3:10), allowing that person to escape the entanglements of the world.
Epignosis has to do with the “strong meat” of the Word, which is associated in Hebrews 5:6-14 with Christ and His Melchizedek priesthood. Those who have been enlightened in these truths — have been allowed by God to move from gnosis to epignosis — and then “fall away” are the ones who become entangled again in the affairs of the world (Hebrews 6:1-6). The fact that such persons cannot be renewed again unto repentance (vv. 4, 6) will answer the question concerning why it would have been better for such individuals not to have known “the way of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:21) through coming into possession of epignosis (v. 20).
Hebrews chapters five and six must be understood in the light of chapters three and four, which contain the record of the Israelites being allowed to go on into things beyond the death of the firstborn in Egypt. They first passed through the Red Sea. Going down into the Sea points to death (as it pertains to the old man, to Egypt), coming up out of the Sea points to resurrection (as it pertains to the new man, to the land ahead). The events of Sinai then soon followed.
A “mount” in Scripture signifies a kingdom. This is where the Israelites received the Law (the rules and regulations governing the people within the theocracy that lay ahead), and this is where they both received the instructions for and built the tabernacle (the dwelling place of God among His people within the theocracy).
They were then allowed to go up to the very border of the Promised Land itself, hear the report about the land from the twelve spies, and taste the actual fruits of the land that the spies had carried back with them. In this respect, the Israelites were allowed to move from gnosis to epignosis; but they turned away (fell away), and it was then impossible to renew them again unto repentance (Numbers 13, 14). They were overthrown in the wilderness.
It would have been better for the ones who were overthrown (the entire accountable generation, twenty years old and above, save Caleb and Joshua) not to have known these things about the land (equivalent in the antitype to, “it had been better . . . not to have known the way of righteousness” for Christians in 2 Peter 2:21), than after they knew these things, “to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (Numbers 13:30; Deuteronomy 1:21ff; cf. Joshua 1:1, 2). It was so with the Israelites in the type, and thus will it be for Christians in the antitype.
3) Call and Election (v. 10)
Individuals are to give diligence to make their “call and election sure.” The word “election” could be better translated “called out.” The words translated “call” and “election” in this verse are from the same root forms as the words translated “called” and “chosen” in Matthew 22:14, which should literally be translated, “For many are called, but few are called out.”
(Both an individual’s calling and out-calling have to do with the same thing. His calling can’t have to do with the Christian’s presently possessed salvation, for he can’t make that anymore “sure” than it already exists. Salvation by grace through faith has already been made “sure,” based on Christ’s finished work at Calvary.
An individual has been saved for a purpose; and that “purpose” would equate to his calling, as “realizing that purpose” would equate to his out-calling. Both have to do with a salvation set in the future, the salvation of the soul; and both have to do with Christians one day being called out of the called and realizing positions as co-heirs with Christ in His kingdom.)
The word “diligent” in verse ten is from the same word also translated “diligence” in verse five. With the same intensity that a person is to abundantly supply in his faith virtue . . ., he is to make his calling and out-calling “sure.” The word “sure” is the translation of a word that means “certain,” “firm,” “secure.” And to make his calling and out-calling “sure,” a Christian would have to be knowledgeable concerning that which is in view (note epignosis, “mature knowledge,” in v. 8).
There can be no such thing as following biblical guidelines surrounding the purpose for one’s salvation and, at the same time, ignoring one’s calling and out-calling. The entire concept widely promulgated in Christian circles today that states or teaches that the one really important thing is just to be saved has no basis in Scripture whatsoever. Scripture places the emphasis on the purpose for one’s salvation. It is man who has turned this around and placed the emphasis back on salvation itself.
The entire purpose for the present dispensation is to procure a bride for God’s Son, with a view to the coming age when the Son will reign over the earth with His consort queen (procured during the present dispensation). God has set aside an entire dispensation lasting 2,000 years for this purpose. He sent His Spirit into the world at the beginning of the dispensation with specific instructions (seen in the type in Genesis 24:3-9).
And the work of the Spirit throughout the dispensation, though it includes breathing life into the one who has no life (salvation of the unsaved), is primarily concerned with procuring a bride for God’s Son. And the bride is to be taken from the saved, not from the unsaved (seen in the type in Genesis 24 through the specific instructions that Abraham gave his servant and that which the servant did once he was in Mesopotamia — went to the city where Abraham’s kindred resided, and went to Abraham’s kindred in that city [vv. 3-27]).
The whole of the matter surrounding the reason for the Spirit being sent into the world at the beginning of this dispensation has to do with one’s calling and out-calling. And Christians are to be knowledgeable concerning God’s plans and purposes for the present dispensation, making their calling and out-calling “sure.”
4) Entrance into the Kingdom (v. 11)
The word “entrance” is the translation of a word which means a road into. The route has been properly marked in the preceding verses, and one can not only follow this route, but he is exhorted to do so. The Christian, through this means, can make his calling and out-calling “sure.”
Peter did not follow “cunningly devised fables” when he made known “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He was an “eyewitness of His majesty.” He saw the Son’s glory when he was with Christ “on the holy mount,” and he penned the epistles of 1, 2 Peter as he was “moved [‘borne along’] by the Holy Spirit” 2 Peter 1:16-21). Peter not only saw and recorded things having to do with the coming kingdom, but he also left detailed instructions concerning that which Christians must do to have a part in this kingdom.
When will Christians learn that they have been saved for a purpose? And when will they learn that this purpose has to do with the coming kingdom?
Positions as joint-heirs with Christ in the governmental structure of the kingdom are presently being offered, and crowns must be won by conquest.
The arch-enemy of our souls is at work in the closing days of this dispensation as never before; but the route for an “abundant entrance” into the kingdom has been properly marked, and the promise of God stands sure:
“To him that overcomes . . . .” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21).
And the command given through Jude, in order that one might one day realize this promise, is clear:
“. . . contend earnestly for [with respect to, in the good contest of] the faith . . . .”
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