Faith Once Entrusted

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people. Jude 3

Jude, the brother of Jesus Christ, wrote a short letter that found its way into the scriptures. It is short but sharp. In it, Jude talks about chained angels, wicked Cain and Balam, and Enoch's prophecy. Each subject of which would require a good-sized volume to explain. 

Jude wrote to warn us to fight for our faith, that faith that was “once delivered” to God's holy people. This last sentence is incredible. It is saying that, if you are a God follower, a believer in Jesus Christ, that you are one of God's holy people. Do you feel like a divine person? 

When God does his work in saving us, a creation that took place before time, we become holy people. You will notice that Paul begins most of his letters by addressing them to the saints. The Roman Catholic church has made up its list of "saints.” Canonization is an arduous process; it seems complicated to become a saint. For one thing, the person has to be dead. For another, they have to have performed a miracle during their lifetime. If the deceased person meets all the requirements, then they might become Saint. 

I am so glad that the Saint-making process is a work of God. Aren't you? I can't imagine how a group of miserable sinners would be capable of choosing whether or not to make me a holy person. Even harder to understand is why God wants to make me a righteous person—making sinners righteous is precisely what he did when his Christ took my sin. Jesus became sin (2 Cor 5:21), and he gave people like you and me the right to become sons of God (John 1:12). 

As holy people, we must defend our faith. That faith that makes sinners saints of God is worth the fight. Don't you agree?