The book of Jude consists of one chapter and addresses the issue of “earnestly contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints.” Below is the entire passage:
“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 faith that was once delivered unto the saints.” Jude verse 3
The following verse gives the reason for his exhortation:
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God unto lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ,” Jude verse 4
In this article, I wish to focus on the expression “the faith that was once delivered”. I believe Jude had a specific aspect of the message of faith when he penned those words. I believe the writing of the apostle Paul targets the heart of the issue in his letter to the Corinthians in the fifteenth chapter of his first epistle.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. I Cor. 15:1 & 2.
The next two verses, three and four, pinpoint the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures:
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” I Cor. 15: 3 & 4.
The faith once delivered to the saints focuses on the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Evidently, this doctrine was under attack when Jude wrote about it. That same truth is in greater jeopardy today than it was at the time of Jude’s writing. Let us examine this basic, foundation aspect of the “once delivered faith.”
The apostle is careful to point out that the death of Jesus was not a happenstance event but an event determined according to the scriptures. Paul calls Jesus our Passover, meaning that He himself fulfilled the type of the Passover lamb set forth in the writings of Moses. The prophet John called Jesus “the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, according to the scriptures, he was not born in just any manger. When the shepherds received the news of his birth from the angel, they did not wander about the city of David aimlessly looking for the baby Jesus, they knew exactly where to go. Their destination was the breeding farm where Passover lambs are bred. Where else would the Lamb of God make his entry into the world?
The sign of the newborn Messiah was a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. It would not be a difficult stretch to assume that the Christ’s birth occurred sometime near the first day of the New Year or the Feast of Trumpets. More so, the year of His birth, 2 B.C, was a Jubile Year. The Feast of Trumpets was the beginning of a ten-day celebration culminating with the Day of Atonement. That fact would explain why there were no rooms available in Bethlehem. The Feast of Trumpets was heralded with the blowing of a ram’s horn. That horn produced a sad, mournful sound meant to remind the nation of its sins, which would motivate them to repent. The prophets identified Jesus as “a man of sorrows acquainted with grief.” One thing is certain, Jesus was not born on December 25th or anytime near that date. At best, he was born no later than October 15, the latest date that shepherds would be in the field during the night because the climate would be too cold. Jesus’ birth date is not the focal point of the scriptures. The “swaddling” clothes marked the true purpose of his birth: he was born to die. His clothing was a burial wrapping.
Regarding Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus said he would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Using the sign of Jonah, Jesus verified both the book of Jonah and the fact that Jonah died and was in a tomb, the belly of the fish, for three days and three nights. With those facts, how is it that Christianity continues to celebrate the death of Christ on Friday and celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday? That period falls woefully short of Jesus’ stated three days and three nights, the truth Jude was warning the Church to defend.
The Word of God says, “let God be true and every man a liar.” Jesus said we make void the word of God by adhering to our traditions. Is it a big deal if we do not stand on the statement of Jesus and accept the lie? Of course it is. There are those who believe that just knowing Jesus died for our sins and rose again is sufficient. But undocumented faith is no faith at all! If the disciples of Christ can be hoodwinked on the most basic truth, how many more lies will the deceiver, Satan, cause the Church to believe?
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