Introduction: We live in a time when people can’t handle adversity. People no longer believe in hard work and dedication and finishing their course. You work with people who don’t care what kind of a job they do. Husbands and wives really don’t care how well their marriage is doing. Young people don’t care what kind of students they are. People don’t care what kind of friends they are and worst of all is that Christians don’t care whether or not they are good Christians.
American Christianity has been reduced to a watered down, offend nobody draw everybody mess. You’ve got Billy Graham telling hell bound religionists that they are going to heaven because they are doing their best. You’ve got mainstream charismatic crowds making people into gods. We’ve turned the Church into an entertainment center and sent holy living and godly Christianity packing. We’ve watched as young people lose their purity not because of Hellywood but because they’ve sat in a modern Church service. We’ve forsaken songs with words like:
“O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives”
from To God Be the Glory by Fanny Crosby
And
“My Jesus I love Thee I know Thou art mine
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now”
from My Jesus I Love Thee by William Ralph Featherstone at 16 years of age
To the modern praise and worship, contemporary Christian and southern gospel junk. So how do we get back what we’ve lost and gain ground to being a godly people? EARNESTLY CONTEND!
- What Does It Mean To Earnestly Contend
- Earnestly contending basically means that you are fighting with every bit of strength and zeal that you have and if you lose it will be because you died fighting
- The Example of a Shepherd (Amos 3:12)
- For What Things Should We Earnestly Contend
- The Bible
- The Blood
- Following the teaching of John MacArthur many have forsaken the importance of the blood of Christ. They say that the shedding of blood is merely symbolic to say that Christ had to die.
- References to the blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:12; Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 10:19; Hebrews 13:12; 1 Peter 1:18; Revelation 1:5)
- Baptism
- The Gospel
- Liberty
- To Preach
- To Proselyte
- Holy Living
- Why Should We Earnestly Contend
- Because the faith has been bought by the blood of Gods people since it was delivered to them
- Because this faith that was once delivered has been delivered to us
- Because the Church was purchased by the blood of Christ
Conclusion: The blood of martyrs is so precious to God that one day He will avenge their blood (Revelation 6:10-11). The blood of Jesus Christ is so precious to God that He will forgive the vilest sinners debt if he only put his trust in that blood. The church was so precious to Christ that He purchased it with that blood. Is Jesus Christ and His blood precious enough for you to Earnestly Contend for the faith? How are doing? Are you just going through the motions or have you given yourself in life and even in death to fighting the good fight of faith?
