Earnestly Contend For The Faith

This is a thorough, full- scale English commentary on the Greek text of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. While author George W. Knight gives careful attention to the comments of previous interpreters of the text, both ancient and modern, his emphasis is on exegesis of the Greek text itself and on the flow of the argument in each of these three epistles. Besides providing a detailed look at the meanings and interrelationships of the Greek words as they appear in each context, Knight's commentary includes an introduction that treats at length the question of authorship (he argues for Pauline authorship and proposes, on the basis of stylistic features, that Luke might have been the amanuensis for the Pastoral Epistles), the historical background of these letters, and the personalities and circumstances of the recipients. Knight also provides two special excursuses: the first gathers together the information in the Pastorals and elsewhere in the New Testament on early church offices and leaders; the other excursus examines the motivations for conduct in Titus 2:1-10 with a view to their applicability to present-day situations.

Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the Saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed...ungodly men. Our God does not change, and His Word and Standard remains the same. He does not show partiality. And if you call on the Father, Who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear. Take heed to yourself and to the Doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. The faith, which is the true and adulterated Word of God, has been given to us; and we must defend it!

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ have been exhorted saying, " 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).To earnestly contend for the faith signifies that the called out ones have to eagerly, seriously work hard against difficulties, and to affirm, assert, and maintain the faith which was once, meaning one time only, and for all, meaning for every race, tribe, culture religion etc.The logical question therefore is, since there is one faith which was once for all delivered to the saints why is there so many wrangling confusions and disputes among believers?What believers therefore ought to know, believe and understand is, what is this one faith which was once for all peoples delivered to the saints?Let me say from the outset that faith is not a vague nebulous feeling without any substance, because faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is the evidence of things not seen. Faith therefore is to have confidence in the testimony of another, a real substance which in this case is Jesus Christ, and it comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Faith comes by hearing the testimony which God, the writings of Moses, the writings of the prophets, the gospel, the promises of God and Jesus Christ gave concerning Himself. Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1).Now since we have been admonished to, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, for there is one body and one Spirit, just as we were called to one hope when we were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in all;" It is imperative that all true believers know and believe exactly what are we to contend earnestly for. But before we get to the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints, let us see how we should go about contending earnestly for the faith, because in our attempt to defend the faith we sometimes inadvertently do more harm than good by creating enemies instead of co-workers, therefore, it is imperative that we know how to go about earnestly contending for the faith.We no doubt have been given the mandate to; "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap-up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:24).But the question is, how should we go about accomplishing this task of contending earnestly for the faith? The way one should go about accomplishing this task is by having first and foremost a spiritual mind and acting in love. For we have been admonished saying; "But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:23-26).The stark reality is, whenever, there is foolish and ignorant disputes which generates strife it is a clear indication of carnality, as alluded to by the apostle Paul who wrote saying, "for you, are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," Are you not carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:3-4).One of the main hindrances in contending earnestly for the faith is that of carnality.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith We are definitely living at the end of the age — when many events prophesied long ago are coming to pass. One of those prophesied events is apostasy that will emerge in the Church at the end of the age. What exactly does the Bible say about it? And what should be our response to these end-time developments? In this crucial series Earnestly Contending for the Faith, Rick Renner teaches about what the Bible says will occur in the last days and how we are to respond to it. In this series, Rick covers: What it means to earnestly contend for the faith. How God expects us to maintain the purity of the faith. And divine warnings to those who twist the doctrine of grace. If your desire is to stay on track with God and to stay rooted in His Word, then this is a series you will need to hear again and again so you can get these truths deep into your heart.

In innumerable discussions and activities dedicated to better understanding and helping teenagers, one aspect of teenage life is curiously overlooked. Very few such efforts pay serious attention to the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of American adolescents. But many teenagers are very involved in religion. Surveys reveal that 35% attend religious services weekly and another 15% attend at least monthly. 60% say that religious faith is important in their lives. 40% report that they pray daily. 25% say that they have been "born again." Teenagers feel good about the congregations they belong to. Some say that faith provides them with guidance and resources for knowing how to live well. What is going on in the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers? What do they actually believe? What religious practices do they engage in? Do they expect to remain loyal to the faith of their parents? Or are they abandoning traditional religious institutions in search of a new, more authentic "spirituality"? This book attempts to answer these and related questions as definitively as possible. It reports the findings of The National Study of Youth and Religion, the largest and most detailed such study ever undertaken. The NYSR conducted a nationwide telephone survey of teens and significant caregivers, as well as nearly 300 in-depth face-to-face interviews with a sample of the population that was surveyed. The results show that religion and spirituality are indeed very significant in the lives of many American teenagers. Among many other discoveries, they find that teenagers are far more influenced by the religious beliefs and practices of their parents and caregivers than commonly thought. They refute the conventional wisdom that teens are "spiritual but not religious." And they confirm that greater religiosity is significantly associated with more positive adolescent life outcomes. This eagerly-awaited volume not only provides an unprecedented understanding of adolescent religion and spirituality but, because teenagers serve as bellwethers for possible future trends, it affords an important and distinctive window through which to observe and assess the current state and future direction of American religion as a whole.