Voddie Baucham - Contending for the Faith

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Did you join me in word of prayer. God, we
are so grateful again for another opportunity to gather together
as your people and to worship you, and to proclaim
your goodness and to proclaim your glory, proclaim your majesty.
And as we come to this moment, this time where

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we will feast together on the bread of life, we
ask that you would feed us till we want no more.
Pray that you would teach us, that you would encourage us,
that you would convict us, that you would transform us

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and conform us to the very image of Christ, in
whose name we pray and ask all of these things. Amen. Amen.
I am honored to be here with you today, and
I mean that I have looked forward to this for
quite some time. And I want you to know that

(01:08):
you helped me today with my prayer life, because as
I got up this morning and walked around on the campus,
I envied you for being able to be here and
study here, and I had to pray and confess that
sin of envy. But it is indeed an honor to
be here, and thank you. Thank you for that song.

(01:33):
It was especially meaningful to me. I travel about ten
days a month doing different conferences and things like this,
and that means that ten days a month I'm away
from my home. But you know, when we were there,
we worshiped together as a family every morning. And my children,

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my older children, I have a fifteen year old daughter
or twelve year old son and a thirteen month old son.
The older two are both classical pianists, and they both
study and play and compete and all the rest of
that stuff. And I never learned to play. But as

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a family, we would always gather around God's Word every
morning and we would sing songs together. So on March
tenth of this year, I turned thirty six. On March
eleventh of this year. On March tenth of this year,
I call the kid's piano teacher, and I said, I
have to learn how to play. I want to lead
my family in worship. I want to play, and I

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want us to sing, and I want you to teach me.
So on March tenth, I took my first piano lesson
and the first song that I ever learned to lead
from the piano was in Christ Alone. So this morning
has been very meaningful for me already. If you would
open your bibles with me this morning to the Book

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of jew second to the last book in the Bible.
This small letter sometimes referred to as a postcard the
Book of Jude. Don't ask what chapter. If you ask
what chapter, will make you start your seminary education all
over again. Let's read those first four verses. Jude, a

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bond servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. To
those who are the called beloved in God, the Father
and kept for Jesus Christ. May mercy and peace and
love be multiplied to you, beloved. While I was making
every effort to write you about our common salvation, I
felt the necessity to write you appealing that you contend

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earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed
down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unknown,
those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation,
ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into
licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

(04:15):
I want to talk to you this morning about contending
for the faith. Contending for the faith now that makes
us uncomfortable, And I want you to know why it
makes us uncomfortable. Because we live in a culture that
values tolerance above all else. In fact, some would argue

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that tolerance is the only virtue that we have remaining
upon which we agree and mass in our culture. And
when I say tolerance, don't be confused. I'm not talking
about the kind of tolerance that led Voltaire to right.
I may disagree with what you say, but I will
defend to the death your rights to say it. I'm

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talking about the kind of tolerance that led one public
school super intendent in a very large school district in
the United States of America to say it is the
mission of the public schools not to tolerate intolerance. I've

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been trying to meet her. I want to meet her,
I really do. I just want to ask, you know,
miss superintendent, ma'am, Lady doctor ma'am. You know, I just
ask you just one little anybody question, what do you
call the active not tolerating intolerance? Could it be intolerance?

(05:43):
You see? The new tolerance argues that you can't disagree,
you must embrace, and so this idea of contending for
the faith, it's completely untenable. We don't understand that that
does not compute. That is in tolerant and in our culture,
that's the only thing that we absolutely positively refuse to tolerate.

(06:10):
But I agree with G. K. Chesterton who wrote, tolerance
is the virtue of a man without conviction. I'm not tolerant,
not in the new sense of the word, because I
serve a God who's not tolerant. He's just not. Have
you read the thin commandments lately? This is a paraphrase,

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but it works for me. God says, I'm God all
by myself. You don't get another one. I won't tolerate it. Amen.
And so in the midst of this culture that won't
tolerate in tolerance, we are called upon to contend for
the faith and that, let me be clear, I'm not

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saying that we ought to be contentious, and I'll be
the first to admit I struggle with that because there's
this guy who lives on the inside of me. His
name is bad Vote. I'm not even sure that brother's saved,
you know. I try to let him out once a week,

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late at night when nobody's around, you know, But every
now and then he'll raise up his old, ugly head.
But we're not called to be contentious. We are, however,
called to contend. And I just want to say a
few words about Jews command for us to contend for
the faith. The first is this, Contending for the faith

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is the responsibility of every believer. Look at what he
says here, Judah bonserved of Jesus Christ and brother of James.
To whom, to whom is he ready? Let's see to
those who are the called. I'm claiming that one. Amen.

(08:06):
Anybody else want to jump on that man wagon with me?
To those who are the called? Okay, let's look at
number two, Beloved in God the Father. I put two
hands up on that one. Amen. That's me and kept
for Jesus Christ. I don't know what else to raise
on that one, but I'm in that one. Amen. It's

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almost as though he is using a teaching tool here
to refer to one group of individuals three times using
three different terms. This is for all believers, the called,
the beloved in God the Father, those kept for Jesus Christ.

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That means every last one of us who is a
blood washed, born again Bible toading on the way to heaven,
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of us been
called upon to contend earnestly for the faith, to agonize greatly.
He says for the faith for all of us. And

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sometimes we try to sideswipe certain things like this, and
we want to say no, no, no, that's just for
the doctor molers of the world. That's just for those
people who are trained in Apolitanic so or trained in philosophy.
That's not for me. But my job is just to
love on people and to live my life in such

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a way that they will look at me and say,
I've been watching the way you mow your along, and
there is something different and magnificent about the way that
you trim your head. Just please tell me what I
must do to be saved? Don't we do that? We

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do that with the Great Commission, bad vote. He loves
it when people try to seisfipe the Great Commission. He does.
That's one of those times when I gladly let him out.
People try to ill. I'll go you therefore, and make
disciples of Pandata every people group. That was for the
original hearers? Oh really, is that your final answer? Well, okay,

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maybe it wasn't just for the original hearers, but it
was for those people who are called to missions. Really
you like that one better? You tell me when you're
ready to stop because I got a friend and wants
to talk to you about that. It wasn't for me.
Oh really, Because if you keep reading, he says, lo,
I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.

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If you don't get go ye, therefore you don't get low.
I'm with you. I don't know about you, but I
want some law. I'm with you, Amen, which means I
get go ye. Therefore, the responsibility of every believer to
contend for the faith. This is for all of us,
every last one of us is called upon to plant

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our feet, to square our shoulders, to hold our heads high,
and give an account to anyone who would ask us
the reason for the hope that is within us, and
to do so with gentleness and with reference. Contending for
the faith is the responsibility of every believer that includes me,
that includes you. Secondly, contending for the faith is a primary,

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not a secondary issue. Look at the next part of
this passage, beloved, while I was making every effort to
write you about our common salvation. Now maybe some of
you haven't been here long enough, but let me help
advance your theological education. Salvation is a primary issue. Amen.

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You don't get more primary than that. He says, while
I was making every effort to write you about our
common salvation. Here's what's interesting. Can you imagine if all
of a sudden, there's a press conference called today? Can
you imagine? I mean, the President was going to make
a speech. He's going to address the nation, and by
the way, that just crawls all over me. Not that
I'm against the president addressing the nation, not that I'm

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against any of that, not that I don't like it,
just whatever w is fine with me. He's good old
Texas boy. He's fine. Drives me crazy sometimes, but he's fine.
That's not what I'm saying here. Here's what I can't stand.
If he's gonna make a speech. For two days, they
tell me what he's gonna say to that at one point,

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the president is expected to drive home the point. Let
the man that's bad body right there, okay, and then
it gets worse. Two days they tell me what he's
gonna say, He makes his speech, and then for two
hours they tell me what he said, and half of

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that doesn't match what I just heard. Amen. Imagine if
you will two days set up, he's going to make
this speech. He's going to address the nation over the
prime time airways, and he stands and he says, I
was making every effort to make a speech to you
today concerning those people in New Orleans who desperately need

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to be rescued from the rising water. However, I felt
compelled to speak to you concerning whatever comes after. That
is a primary, not a secondary issue. This is not

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the President of the United States, but an apostle under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who says, I was
making every effort to write to you about our common salvation.
But it's necessary for me to make a turn here.
It's necessary for me to appeal to you here, to
appeal to you that you would go into oh mind,

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that you would diagonalize greatly for the faith, that you
would contend earnestly for the faith. This is a primary,
not a secondary issue. This is of utmost importance. You'll
understand why in a moment, but for now, let's look
at this third principle. Contending for the faith is the

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responsibility of every believer. It's a primary, not a secondary issue. Thirdly,
it requires familiarity with God's revealed truth. Look at what
he says here, that you would contend earnestly for the
faith that was once for all handed down to the Saints.
I love that to dune. Deal that you would contend
earnestly for the faith that was once for all handed

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down to the saints, not that you would contend earnestly
for the faith that was once we're all handed down
to the clergy, that was once we're all handed down
to the priesthood, the faith that was once for all
handed down to the saints. By the way, we are
not called upon to contend for the way we were raised. Amen.

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God bless your mama, but she's fallible. God bless your
Sunday school teachers, but they're fallible. We called upon to
contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all
handed down to the Saints. That's you, and that's me.

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It's the responsibility of every believer. And if we are
going to conduct ourselves accordingly, we must be familiar with
God's revealed truth. Part of the problem that we have
in our day is that people are contending for things
other than that which was handed down to the Saints.
People are contending for their own sort of theological predilections.

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People are contending for their own preferences. People are contending.
We have people arguing over contemporary versus traditional music. Help us,
you know what that argument is. What we call traditional
has its origin somewhere around the nineteen fifties. You know,

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three hymns and a special full about three points in
a poem, and an offer call. That's somewhere around the
nineteen fifties. All right. What we call contemporary, where we
got the band who comes up and they play and
all that, that has its origin somewhere around the nineteen seventies.
So you know what we're arguing about it In our churches,
God lives in nineteen fifty. No he doesn't. He lives
in nineteen seventy. He lives in fifties. No, he lives

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in the seventies. Hello, somebody, it's two thousand and five.
We contend for the color of carpet, But we won't
contend faith. We contend for our little preference. Oh, nor

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contend for that which serves as the foundation upon which
everything that we are is built. Why is this so important?
Two reasons? If we don't contend, Two things happened. Look
there in the next verse, verse four. For certain persons

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have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked
out for this condemnation ungodly persons who turn the grace
of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master
and Lord, Jesus Christ. Why is this so important? I'm
glad you asked. It's so important because there are individuals

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who call themselves Christian and are not. It's so important
because there are individuals who say that they represent us,
but they do not. This is so important because they
are those who have prepped in unnoticed, who are redefining
what Christianity is all about and undermining our witness in

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the culture. Can I just give you one example. Listen
to the words of John Shelby's paung. I want to
meet him too, No, I don't, prayer life is already
tough enough. John Shelby Sprong served as a bishop in

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the Episcopal Church. It's a pastor for some three decades,
best selling author, lecturer at Harvard Divinity School. Listen to
what he writes in his book, A New Christianity for
a New World. I do not believe that Jesus entered
this world by the miracle of a virgin birth, or
that virgin births occur anywhere except in mythology. I do

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not believe that he was born in Bethlehem or that
he fled to Egypt. I do not believe that a
literal star guided a literal wise man to bring him
gifts at his birth. I do not believe that the
events Christians celebrate at Easter was the literal resurrection of
the three days dead body of Jesus. He didn't believe

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any of the essentials of the historic Christian faith. But
not only does he call himself a Christian, but he
is often called upon by individuals like Larry King to
represent Christianity. When the late Peter Jennings had a primetime
special called The.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
Search for the Historical Jesus, I began to look at
the names of some of the characters that he brought on,
and there was something disturbingly familiar about all of them.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Most of them had some alignment with or allegiance to
the Jesus Seminar, but they were referred to as experts,
some New Testament scholars. And when he should have been saying,
the majority of these individuals who are outside of the pale,
who are not Christian by their own profession according to

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the Bible's definition of Christianity. Most of these individuals believe
this about the Gospel, but instead he would make statements
like the majority of scholars of dreed. Certain persons have
crept in unnoticed, who were long beforehand marked out for

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this condemnation, and they do two things. They turn grace
into lawlessness, and they deny our only master in Lord,
Jesus Christ. We'll see how these individuals are denying Jesus Christ.
And we like to point outwardly at those individuals and say,

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that's them, that's those people, that is those are those outsiders.
You know what's interesting on that first point, turning the
grace of God into licentiousness. I turned your attention to
my hometown, Houston, Texas, where, year before last, the pastor
of the largest Black Southern Baptist church in the country

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at that time came into sharp focus in our nation.
He came into focus because there was a scandal in
the church. This man was a past moderator of Union
Baptist Association, the largest association of churches in the world,

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and the reason that he came into some sharp focus
was because there were accusations made against him of sexual
harassment against a man who used to be on his staff.
He denied these accusations, vehemently denied these accusation. This man
is just druddle. This man is trying to bring me down.

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This man released the tapes. They were vile. They were
absolutely disgusting, damning pieces of evidence. This man was telling
the truth. This pastor gave himself four weeks of paid

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leave to deal with his issues and still serves at
the helm in that church under the guise of what
grace grace? We've heard it before. We don't need to

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shoot our wounded. We need to show grace. You know
what grace means. Grace means God should have killed me,
but he didn't. Grace doesn't mean I can live anywhere
I want to and still qualify as beyond reproach. You see,

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Grace doesn't mean that one Timothy III no longer applies
for those who wish to stand behind this sacred desk
and call themselves pastor. Grace doesn't mean that we erase
Titus chapter one or consider it something that was just
for those individuals at that time, so that we can
sisfife the requirements of those who call themselves the leaders

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and shepherds of God's people. That is turning grace into lawlessness.
There is a higher standard, and we're called to it.
Do I believe this man should have been taken out
and given thirty lashes? No? Do I believe that he

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should have just been shunned. No, But I believe he
should have been disciplined. And I don't believe he should
stand behind that pulpit and call himself a pastor. And
virtually nothing was said. And there were two reasons for that.

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Number one because we shy away from issues like that,
because we don't want to seem like people who are
not gracious. And number two, because he's black. And for
whatever reason, in the SBC, we still play the race card.

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And everybody in the SBC knew the minute white leaders
and white pastors would have opened their mouths, they'd have
been crucified. Here's what's ironic. You sexually harass men who
work for you, and that's excusable. You call a black
pastor to the carpet for immorality, that's inexcusable. God help us,

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because we're turning the grace of God into lawlessness and
denying our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. Contending for
the faith is the responsibility of every believer. It is
a primary, not a secondary issue. It is as important

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as anything else that we deal with as followers of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It requires a level of familiarity
with God's revealed truth. And the reason that it's so
important is that there are those who have crept in unnoticed,
who call themselves Christian, all the while undermining and denying

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the very core of the historic Christian faith. And if
we do not contend, they get to represent us unhindered.
I could have come and talked to you about the
tragedy in New Orleans. However, I felt compelled to urge

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you to admonish you, to beseech you to contend earnestly
for the faith that was once for all handed down
to you and to me, with every fiber of your being,

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with every breath in your body, with every moment that
God grants that's you stand for. Contend for, represent and
proclaim the authentic, unadulterated Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And let the chips fall where they may, because there

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are some things worse than being called intolerant by this
culture in which we live. Did you bow with me?

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Follow as we buy. Before you, we say to you
that we are grateful, grateful for your word, grateful for
your truth, grateful for these moments that you've given us
in your presence. Pray that the things that you have
taught us would sink deeply, and that we would bury

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them in the forefront of our minds as we go
throughout the balance of our day and the balance of
our days, contending for the faith, regardless of the cost.
We pray these things and ask these things because we
believe that they are in accordance with the will and

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the nature and the authority of Jesus, who is the Christ.
And all God's people said Amen.