CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

Wednesday Evening:  June 20, 2007

Text:  Jude 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

COMMON SALVATION

Acts 16:30-31  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  31  And they said, Believe [aorist active imperative] on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved [future passive indicative], and thy house.

BE SAVED – VERB

FUTURE TENSE --  From the command to be saved, salvation would be future.

PASSIVE VOICE – The subject is being acted upon. In this case the Jailor would be saved by the action of God.

INDICATIVE MOOD -- The indicative mood is a simple statement of fact the action really occurs or has occurred or will occur, it will be rendered in the indicative mood. Completed action can not be stopped nor reversed.

THEY BELIEVED, EVENT, SIMPLE FACT

Acts 17:34  Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed [aorist active indicative]: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

BELIEVED - VERB:

AORIST TENSE – The aorist tense is characterized by its emphasis on punctiliar action; (an event) that is, the concept of the verb is considered without regard for past, present, or future time.

ACTIVE VOICE  -  The active voice represents the subject as the doer or performer of the action.

INDICATIVE MOOD  -  Defined above

SO GREAT SALVATION

Hebrews 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord (gospel of the kingdom of heaven), and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

SAVED IF THEY CONTINUE IN THE FAITH

1 Timothy 2:15  Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

CONTINUE IN THE FAITH

Acts 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting [present active] them to continue [present active] in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

IF YOU CONTINUE IN THE FAITH

Colossians 1:22-23  In the body of his (Christ’s) flesh through [the] death [thanatos, death to self], to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, …

CONTEND FOR THE FAITH - NOUN

Jude 1:3  Beloved, … (I) exhort [present active] you that ye should earnestly contend [present middle] for the faith [feminine dative singular, (no mood)] which was once delivered [aorist passive] unto the saints.

FAITH – NOUN  There is no tense, voice, or mood. A noun can not be used as a verb because there are no parts of speech in the noun that relates to the parts of speech in the verb.

GENDER – feminine there are three genders in Greek. Masculine, feminine and neuter. Used to associate with other word in the sentence of the same gender.

CASE –

Dative. The dative case uses the following prepositions to make a prepositional phrase; in, at, with, by, to, for. In this verse the preposition is “for” the faith.

     NUMBER – singular or plural.

NO MOOD!

PAUL WAS A CONTENDER

2 Timothy 4:7  I have fought [perfect middle indicative] a good fight, I have finished [perfect active indicative] my course, I have kept [perfect active indicative, guarded] the faith:

FAITH IS FOR THE SAVED

Hebrews 11:2  For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good report. (not salvation) (also Hebrews 11:39)

GRACE TO ENDURE HAVING BEEN SAVED

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace are ye [present active indicative, ye endure Mark 4:17; Mat. 13:21] saved [perfect passive nominative participle, ones having been saved] through [by means of] faith [feminine genitive singular); and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

THE REPORT – THEY PLEASED GOD

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith [feminine genitive singular] it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

FAITH BY HEARING

Romans 10:17  So then faith [feminine nominative singular] cometh by hearing [what you hear], and hearing by the word of God.

WORD OF GOD DEFINED

Luke 8:10-11  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God (the seed sown): … 11  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

BELIEVE IN VAIN

1 Corinthians 15:1-2  Moreover, brethren, I declare [present active indicative] unto you the gospel which I preached [aorist indicative] unto you, which also ye have received [aorist active indicative], and wherein ye stand [perfect active indicative];  2  By which also ye are saved [present passive indicative, ye are being saved (not an event)], if ye keep in memory [present active indicative] what [logos, word] I preached unto you, unless ye have believed [aorist active indicative] in vain.

THESE BELIEVED IN VAIN

Luke 8:13  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive [present middle indicative] the word (mysteries of the kingdom of God, v. 10) with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe [present active indicative] (endured for a time, Mark 4:17), and in time of temptation fall away.

FAITH - SUBSTANCE AND EVIDENCE

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith [feminine nominative singular, (no mood)] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

EVIDENCE AND SUBSTANCE

Hebrews 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly [present middle] unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

CONTINUE IN GRACE

Acts 13:43  Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded [imperfect active indicative, repeated persuasion] them to continue [present active] in the grace of God.

  IT TAKES FAITH TO HAVE GRACE

Romans 5:2  By whom (Jesus Christ, high priest) also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

FAITH LEAKS

2 Corinthians 10:15  Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having  hope, when your faith is increased [present passive], that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,

PERFECTING LACKING FAITH

1 Thessalonians 3:10  Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect [mend, repair, restore] that which is lacking [wanting, behind] in your faith?

SHIPWRECK OF THE FAITH

1 Timothy 1:19  Holding [esteem] faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

DEPARTING FROM THE FAITH

1 Timothy 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

THAT GRACE MIGHT REIGN

Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness (by obedience, Romans 6:16) unto [leading to] eternal [age (millennial)] life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

EXAMINE YOUR FAITH

2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be [present active indicative, endure, same as in Eph. 2:8; Mar. 4:17] in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates [disapproved]?

THE APPROVED ARE CROWNED

James 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.