How to Stand Firm for Biblical Truth

Pastor Chris Teien unpacks Jude 1:3-4, emphasizing the call to stand firm for biblical truth in a world filled with shifting beliefs and false teachings. Drawing from historical and personal examples, he encourages believers to defend their faith with conviction, discern false teachings, and demonstrate love while holding fast to Scripture. This episode equips listeners with practical steps to live out their faith boldly and honorably in everyday life.

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2285086/episodes/16761000

Key Points:

1. Defend the Faith with Conviction – Jude challenges believers to contend for the faith with a vigorous and determined defense, akin to an athlete straining every muscle or a soldier standing firm in battle (Jude 1:3, 1 Timothy 6:12).
2. Discern False Teachings – False teachers often distort grace into a license for immorality and deny Christ's lordship. Jude warns against those who secretly infiltrate the church, promoting dangerous doctrines (Jude 1:4, Philippians 1:27).
3. Demonstrate Love While Standing Firm – Following 1 Corinthians 13:6, Pastor Chris emphasizes that love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Believers must hold to sound doctrine while showing kindness and love to those who disagree.
4. Live Out Biblical Truth in Daily Life – From family gatherings to workplace challenges, this episode offers wisdom on maintaining integrity and faithfulness to Scripture even when it is difficult (1 Timothy 4:16).

Personal Stories from Pastor Chris: Pastor Chris shared a personal story of setting boundaries with employers regarding working on Sundays to honor his commitment to church. He also recounted experiences of advocating for students' religious rights in schools through legal support, highlighting the importance of standing for biblical truth.

Notable Quotes:

• “God's Word is solid, unchanging. It's a foundation that we can rely on.”
• “Fight all your battles on your knees and you will win every time.” – Charles Stanley
• “Sound doctrine is the foundation of a faithful life.” – John MacArthur

Actionable Takeaways:

1. Reflection Challenge: Consider areas of your life where you may need to defend your faith more boldly.
2. Daily Application: Apply biblical truth to your daily decisions, allowing God's Word to guide your actions and interactions.
3. Call to Action: Stand firm in your workplace, family, and community while demonstrating Christ-like love.
4. Practical Step: Engage in Bible study and theology resources to strengthen your understanding of sound doctrine.

Scripture:

• Jude 1:3-4: Contend for the faith and beware of false teachers.
• 1 Timothy 6:12: Fight the good fight of the faith.
• 1 Corinthians 13:6: Love rejoices with the truth.
• Philippians 1:27-28: Stand firm in one spirit, not intimidated by opposition.
• 1 Timothy 4:16: Watch your life and doctrine closely.

Keywords: Biblical Truth, Defend the Faith, Jude, Sound Doctrine, False Teachers, Christian Living, Standing Firm, Theology, Gospel, Spiritual Growth

The WELL Faith Podcast offers encouraging, Bible-based messages from Pastor Chris Teien and guests. New sermons are released every Sunday. Replay episodes are marked with an asterisk. Find us online at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.Church in Virginia, MN. Email comments to wellfaith24@gmail.com

Transcript

Chris T 0:16

Last week we talked about how we're called by God. Our lives have a divine purpose beyond the daily grind. And that we're loved by God. His love is the firm foundation of our lives, and we are kept by God. Our future is secure in him. And so that's what we talked about last week with verses one and two in the book of Jude. And I pointed out that while this Jude was not one of the disciples, this Jude was one of Jesus' half-brothers, brother of James. And just to think about the kind of life that he lived, it appeared that he was not convinced that Jesus was truly the Messiah until after the resurrection. And to just have that history, knowing Jesus as a brother, and then seeing everything that he went through, and then dying on the cross, and then coming back from the dead, Jude, like James, they were fully convinced. They were sold-out followers. But Jude, as I mentioned last week, doesn't start the book by saying, Hey, I'm Jude, Jesus' half-brother. Instead, he's like, Hey, I'm Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, brother of James. You might have heard of him. But that humility there, the fact that Jude lived through that. And so he had this opportunity to write this book, and it says that he had hoped to write something real positive, but instead it's a book of correction. So in our Sunday school class in the front hall there, we're going through the book of 1 Thessalonians, and that book is written to a church that's pretty much doing the right stuff. So they're applying what they've been taught, they're doing good stuff. Here Judah is like sending up the warning light saying, danger, warning, you gotta be careful, you gotta be careful. There's false teachers around. Don't shipwreck your faith. And each of the week's message slide, title slide. So I make the title slides and I try to make them all at the same time to save time. But all of them have a lighthouse theme. And again, if you're listening, it is a Bible, an open Bible with a lighthouse on top of it with a storm around it. And so each week is a lighthouse. But lighthouses are very important. If you are a ship in a storm on the sea, it is to direct you, to guide you, often in the right direction, many times to keep you from crashing up against the rocks. Lighthouses are amazing. The lighthouse keeper is amazing. The fact that he would be there at any time to make sure the light is shining. I mean, think about before they had electricity and batteries and remote controls and all these things, that the lighthouse keeper would literally have to run up into the lighthouse and start the light fire or whatever it took to make that thing shine. And sometimes he would stay in the lighthouse while the storm is all around, while the big waves are coming, and he's just trusting he doesn't get washed away. He's probably saying, You this lighthouse hasn't fallen down yet. It's been through many a storm and it's still standing. So I trust that it will continue. And I think that's true in our Christian life too. I think that we have had many of us have had experiences with Jesus in the storms of life. And so we know that the Lord has gotten us through, that our faith hasn't collapsed. We haven't collapsed, and God gets us through. But so Jude wants us to be defending our faith. Jude wants us to be loving and kind, but he doesn't want us to get sucked into false teaching. So false teaching. There's things that churches do that are theological and things they do that aren't theological, but some are preference. So in this church, if you feel led, you can definitely raise your hands in worship. So God is looking for worshipers who will worship him in spirit and truth. And there's no reason why you can't raise your hands unless you're right in front of that camera and you're super tall, then Ken would probably say, Hey, could you move over one seat because your hands are getting in the way of the video? But that's the only reason that I can think of. So I prefer, maybe it's the Norwegian in me, so I prefer to worship the Lord with my hands down here. And I feel like if my hands were up in the air, I'd be drawing attention to myself, and that distracts me from worship. But there's other people who are worshiping the Lord raising holy hands, and that is a true act of worship. That's truly who they are. So we shouldn't force people to do one thing or another. That's not really an issue. But Jude here, Jude is calling out false teaching in the well, I'm gonna read the verse in a minute. He's calling out a type of teaching that affects your life, affects people's lives, affects the way that they live, their morality or lack of it. And that causes trouble in the church, that causes people, causes trouble in people's lives. You could literally shipwreck your faith if you followed the false teacher's instruction. So again, the series Steadfast is focused on living for Christ. And so today we have how to stand firm for biblical truth. How to stand firm for biblical truth. There's a lot of people that want to take the Bible and just pick and choose what they want and what they don't want. I'm not sure. I think it was Thomas Jefferson who had cut out sections of the Bible that he didn't like. I think they called it the Thomas Jefferson Bible. But we need to seek to rightly understand God's truth. It's all scripture. God breathed, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that we can be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The person of God. And so as we do that, then it should affect our decisions. It should affect our motivations and our lives in the way that we worship. And that is a good thing. So Jude from the NIV. So it says Jude 3 and 4, but it's Jude chapter 1, because there's only one chapter. So the reference things just say verse 3 and 4. 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. Verse 4 for certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ, our only sovereign and Lord. So standing firm for biblical truth. In our culture, it seems like truth is shifting. It seems like actually some things going on in our culture right now, it seems like there's a shift back to sanity from insanity. And so some of the things that were very wrong seem to be, at least from a proclamation standpoint, becoming right. Like two genders, for instance. I'm not sure how we got so far off of course that we'd literally have to have somebody say, Yeah, we're standing for male and female. And but biblical truth, things that Jesus said about gender, things that Jesus said about marriage, things that God created to be true, many people want to push back on and say, no, we're gonna do whatever we want. We don't want to look at the owner's manual, we don't want to do what it says, but God's word is solid, unchanging. It's a foundation that we can rely on, that we can trust. And sometimes when people push back, if we just let them take away our religious freedom, if we just let them say, oh, well, okay, well, if you feel that way, then I guess I won't, I won't, I won't pursue that, what I believe God's word says about those things about marriage and morality and things like that. If you let them just take that away, then we'll just easily have this moral slide. Somebody said that if you oppose Muslims, many people are afraid because they will turn, they'll put their faith into action and turn violent, and you will regret that. Where Christians are just pushed and they don't do anything. They don't, many of them don't push back, many of them don't respond, many of them don't stand up for their faith, many of them just let whatever religious freedoms they have be taken away from them. So I'm more of the mindset that while in our country we can all live out our beliefs and truths to the point that it's not breaking a law or infringing upon somebody's rights, that's just the way it is. But if you push too much, if you take away too much, then I'm all for calling Christian lawyers. I'm all for taking things to court. So more than once I've had lawyers write letters to school districts to make sure that a student could share Jesus as their superhero or their favorite person or sing a Christian song in a school assembly and a talent competition or whatever. And those letters written by Christian lawyers usually point out that the student has these rights and the student's rights shouldn't be infringed upon. And if you continue to do it, you will hear more from this law firm. And so it's done in a good way and a kind way, but but often the school district or the school principal has felt pushed in the other direction so much that they didn't even know that the Christian law people would stand up and push back the other way and say, hey, this kid has a constitutional right, this kid has the right to do this. And so sometimes we need to push back. Sometimes we need to stand for what we believe, whether it's received well or not. Sometimes. Sometimes people take biblical Bible passages and they turn it into their truth, and it's really not accurate. They're turning something that they're misinterpreting scripture. And you can easily misinterpret scripture because if you take verses out of context, it's real easy to make the Bible say whatever you want, to approve whatever you want. So we need to rightly divide the word of truth. Yet we need to stand for what is truth, and we need to make sure that we are living out that truth to the best of our ability, and that should make a difference in other people's lives. Because the word of God is active, it's alive, and it's unwavering. So, number one, defend the faith with conviction. Defend the faith with conviction. So the Holy Spirit said, Hey, Jude, you get to write a book, but it's gonna be one that needs to change the hearts and minds of these people. I'm gonna give you an opportunity. It's not gonna be a very big book, but it's gonna be a book that people are gonna treasure and value. So Jude was told, or he wrote, that we are to contend for the faith. To contend. The Greek means to struggle or fight with intense effort. It was often used in an athletic or military context, emphasizing a vigorous and determined defense of the faith. Like an athlete straining every muscle to win the prize or a soldier standing firm in battle, it conveys a sense of urgency and perseverance. So he we need to contend for the truth. We need to not only do that in our personal lives, but that's the way that we should share in the Bible studies we attend when we try to lead our children, our grandchildren towards the Lord, in the Lord, to help hopefully disciple them and raise them up in their faith, that we need to stand against false teaching and heresies. Jude warns against certain individuals who have secretly slipped in among you, false teachers spreading dangerous doctrines contrary to the gospel, promoting distorted views of grace and morality. So twisting God's message to say that, hey, through God's grace, you're forgiven, so it doesn't matter what you do, whatever you want to do. Have fun with it. So somebody a long time ago, when I was a kid, bought me a sweatshirt with a bear on it that said, if it feels good, do it. I wore that when I was a kid. I wouldn't wear that shirt today now, so I don't think that's very good advice. So I don't necessarily think that if it feels good, do it. Sin is a thing that can be incredibly enticing and enjoyable, but for a short term. So the sin that you get into, Satan tries to tempt you, says everybody's doing it, it's fun, you should go for it, nobody will know. And then you give into that sin, and then Satan comes back as the accuser and says, I saw what you did. You might as well quit trying to tell people about Jesus. You're obviously a fake. You have destroyed your life. You probably aren't a Christian at all anyway. You should just sit down, be quiet, and quit trying to live out that faith that you say you have. Sin can be very enjoyable for a short term or even a minute, but have long-term, long-lasting implications of sadness and destruction. And so we defend what we believe is true. We defend the truth. And so some of the doctrines that the false teachings were, some of the doctrines that the false teachers were pursuing was against certain individuals, the ones who secretly slipped in, they were abusing God's grace, perverting the grace of God into a license for immorality, twisting the message of God's grace to justify sinful behavior, and denying Christ lordship, denying Christ our only sovereign Lord at the end of verse 4. So it could have been a theological rejection, like rejecting the divinity or authority of Jesus, or practical by living in a way that contradicted submission to Christ. Sometimes they would be Gnostics and promote hidden knowledge and dualism that separated physical actions from spiritual truth. Another way to say that, what you do doesn't really matter. Just be spiritual, undermining church authority, challenging or circumventing the established church leadership and sowing division and confusion. And Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 12 to fight the good fight of the faith, to take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Paul also told Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.16 to watch your life and doctrine closely, persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourselves and your hearers. So studying the things of God, knowing the doctrines that are key, some of that stuff is important. It needs to be taught. The how to find God in the New Testament starts out in the front with lots of short entries on things about doctrine and who is God and who is angels and who is the Holy Spirit. And then you want to not stay there, but you want to study more and learn more. So the Ryary Study Bible used to be a good tool. I don't even know if they printed anymore, that used to have a doctrine section in the back that was helpful. And then as you read more and more systematic theology and doctrine books, you learn more and more. So Millard Erickson has written Introduction to Christian Theology, which is good. I like Millard Ericsson. He's also got another theology book, which is like a size of the old, well, I would say phone books, but you guys never had a thick phone book. The size of the Minneapolis of the Denver phone book back in the day, a thick book. And so as you read and as you grow and as you learn, you know, what is right about the things of God and how scripture is rightly applied, then it gives you the ability to detect when things are wrong, when theology is off, when things are being taught about God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit that aren't right. And so you grow and you learn that, and you also teach that to your kids. So there's been a lot said about Christian deconstruction where someone tries to set aside their faith. And sometimes people set aside their faith and they don't study anything and they don't pick it back up. They just reject everything they've ever been taught and they just leave it there. Other people try to put aside the things that they've been taught and try to piece it to scripture and come up with okay, is this truly my faith or is this someone else's faith? Is this my parents' faith, my grandparents' faith, or is this my faith? So, on one hand, um, having a spiritual adolescence and questioning things about your faith so that you'll grow in them can be a great way to become a more committed Christian and actually to be more helpful to help other people that struggle with questions because you've had questions and you found answers. You've sought to find the answers, and now you know where the answers can be found so that God can use you. God used that to help you grow in your faith because now it's your faith on a firm foundation, but it can also use you to help other people that struggle with questions like that. Last year we had a series on the full armor of God, and using the armor of God to fight the good fate of good fight of faith is also important. So I don't remember what his name is, Daryl Aaron, I think, wrote a book, and you can get it in on Audible, and it's called Theology for Christians in a Hurry. And so you could listen to it or you could read it, but he's a seminary professor, but he's taken basic theological points, and I think he puts them like into 40 little chapters that you can go through and you can learn why the theology of God and the Trinity and why these things matter, where it's found, what some other views are and what's wrong about them, and you can apply that to your life. There's many different theology books that you can get, but those are just two resources that I think that you will find helpful. Two resources that you will find helpful. So if you've been in church for many years, I know that you have heard this story before. And if you haven't, maybe you'll like it. But it's the story of the lighthouse and the battleship. There's a well-known story of a naval battleship that was navigating through dark and foggy waters. The captain, peering into the foggy night, saw a light ahead. He immediately ordered his signalmen to send a message. Alter your course ten degrees to the south, said the ship. The response came back, Alter your course ten degrees to the north. The captain, now irritated, sent another command. Alter your course ten degrees to the south. I am a captain. The reply came back, Alter your course ten degrees to the north. I am a seaman, second class. Furious, the captain sent a final message. Alter your course, I am a battleship. And the reply was chilling. Alter your course, I am a lighthouse. And the battleship had no choice but to change course. So just like the lighthouse calling out, that truth is unchangeable. So that battleship wasn't going to do anything to move that land, to move those rocks. Maybe the battleship could have taken down the lighthouse, but it still would have crashed up against the rocks. So the lighthouse represents God's word and teaching. So the light from the lighthouse is a beacon of hope and safety, similar to how God's teachings illuminate the path of Christians. So ignoring the lighthouse's signal can cause great danger and damage. If the ship captain ignores the lighthouse's signal, they risk crashing on the rocks, just as someone who disregards God's guidance can face negative consequences. So as we think about how to live the Christian life and what we're doing, maybe God could use us as light, because we're called to be light in the world. Maybe we will be shining light against the dangers around the dangers that other people that we know could fall into, the sin that could so easily entangle and trip people up, the sin that could destroy someone's testimony, the sin that could destroy someone's life. So at work, when faced with policies and practices that conflict with our faith, maybe we could respectfully explain why we don't want to do those things or why we have a stance on this issue or whatever and seek a Christ-honoring solution. Before, many years before I became a pastorman, I would look for a job. I never wanted to work on Sundays because I was committed to going to church. And even when I was like in high school for jobs, I would say, I'd like to work here, but I can't work on Sundays. So that's the day I go to church. And so if there's an emergency and you absolutely have nobody, I will come in on that day. But otherwise, I don't want to work on Sundays. And if I have to work on Sundays, then I don't want to work here. And so I put it out there, I put it up front, and so I was respected on that. So I don't think I ever worked on a Sunday, except for maybe once when there is an emergency. What about when you go to family gatherings and you're around the table or the campfire and there's people that have different views of scripture than you do? What is the best way to fight the good fight of faith? I would encourage you, in a kind way, to express what you believe and why, without it being a throw-darn argument. So maybe give that person some time to think it through, give the spirit some time to work, let them know where you stand and how, and show them kindness and love and put them, let the Holy Spirit take care of them. You don't necessarily need to force their opinion on many things. So most of the things that you would talk about with family would be things that you don't need to have a big argument over. There are certain things though that can come down to Arguments and difficulties. Maybe like grandma's end-of-life care. Maybe that's an issue where you stand up and say, God's word stands on the sanctity of life. And we need to make sure that grandma is cared for. We need to make sure that she is getting having she has an opportunity to live her life. And we shouldn't do anything to end it early. It's so strange to think that in some states in Canada that they make it easy for people to end their lives so that euthanasia would be a discussion, a thing. But you could argue that, I guess. But when we are spending time in God's Word, maybe we should not only think about what we're reading, but think about how it applies to our lives and how we could share that truth with someone else and how it might make a difference in somebody's life that doesn't believe that truth. And that could be a good thing too. So John MacArthur said, sound doctrine is the foundation of a faithful life. If your beliefs are wrong, your life will be wrong. And A. W. Tozer said, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. So John Calvin said, A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent. So then discerning false teaching. Again, I mentioned some of that already. But when the false teacher secretly slipped in, they slipped in like spies or hidden enemies. Greek for pervert means to distort the grace of God into a license for immorality. So Philippians 4, Philippians 1, 27 says, Above all you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the good news about Christ, then whether I come and see you again or hear about you, only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and in one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the good news. Again, there's supposed to be another slide after that. Don't be intimidated in any way. This is verse 28. Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved even by God Himself. So Paul gives us great encouragement there. God is at work in our lives. So some of the issues that you might come up against, Millard Erickson, I'm sorry, Erwin Lutzer wrote a book on doctrines that divide, and some of the chapters include the deity of Christ, whether Jesus is truly God or merely a created being, the Trinity, and the importance of understanding God is three and one, the nature of salvation, is it based on Scripture alone is justification by faith versus faith by works, the authority of Scripture, predestination and free will, the sacraments, we call them the ordinances, but baptism and communion. Does baptism regenerate, or is baptism symbolic of your faith? The role of Mary, end times eschatology, including premillennialism and post-millennialism and the rapture, church governance and authority and other things. Those are things that you can grow and learn in. And hopefully you are already established in those truths. And again, demonstrate love while standing firm to demonstrate love. So the last series was on love and action. And so we talked a lot about love, and we probably don't need to talk a lot about love here. But 1 Corinthians 13, 6 says, love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. We have the truth of Scripture. We share it with people into their lives. It might be well received, it might not, but we know that it is right. We know that it is truth. We know that we are serving God in a right way that can make a difference in somebody's life. And hopefully when our days are done, when our life is over, that we will be able to look back and have people say that we have done a good job, that we have lived a good life. Again, keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. So when I think about people that have stood the test of time, one person that I think of that maybe you've seen on TV a lot was Charles Stanley, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. All those messages on TV and radio that he shared, all those books that he wrote, he was committed to God's call. He preached the word faithfully. He might have gotten too caught up in ministry at the expense of his marriage. I'm not sure. Around the year 2000 or so, his wife left him. And so he got divorced. And Yahweh said that if he was divorced, he would step down from ministry. But his church leaders and his church who saw the situation and understood what was going on encouraged him to keep serving in ministry and invited him to keep being their pastor, I think as long as he didn't marry someone else. And so he was humble and accountable. He was he trusted God with his life. He often said, well, I'll share some quotes in a minute, but he had a legacy of faith. Oh, I guess I'm out of minutes. So he said, for faithfulness, God's plan for enlarging his kingdom is so simple. One person telling another about the Savior, yet we're busy and full of excuses. Just remember, someone's eternal destiny is at stake. The joy you'll have when you meet that person in heaven will far exceed any discomfort you felt in sharing the gospel and sharing the gospel truth and sharing right doctrine and helping to guide people to the right truths. So on praying, he said we can be tired, weary, and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that he injects into our bodies energy, power, and strength. And so many times in the conversation, when the Holy Spirit kicks in, you'll have the right words to say or the right scriptures to point to. The things that you've studied will be brought to mind again, and God can use you in his hands. He said the Bible is clear, obedience is the pathway to blessing. Fight all your battles on your knees, and you will win every time. And God takes full responsibility for the life of those who are wholly devoted to Him. And I hope that when you come to the end of your days, you will be able to say, I fought the good fight of faith. I finished the race. I have kept the faith to be keepers of the faith. So next week we'll continue this on how to avoid traps of spiritual deception. But I'll pray, Lord Jesus, I thank you for your word. I thank you for those who have gone before us to help it to be rightly divided. I thank you for trusted voices that have written theology books and scripture books that we can learn from their studies, that we can then apply to our lives. Lord, we thank you that the Spirit works in our life to continue to teach us, to help us to understand Scripture, especially when we read it and apply and get in and study it. Lord, we pray that as we seek to serve you, that you would give us opportunities to do great things for your glory and that people's lives all around us would be impacted for all eternity. So if there's anybody here that doesn't know you as their Lord and Savior, or anybody that's watching, Lord, we realize, we pray that they would realize that they are sinners in need of salvation, that they would cry out to you, Lord Jesus, please save me. Come into my life. I want to follow after you. I believe that you lived, that you came to die for sin, that you died on the cross, that you rose again, and that you are interceding in prayer in heaven for us, and that I can have a personal relationship with you. Let him pray something like that, and then let him contact us so we can give them resources to help grow in the Christian faith in Jesus' name. Amen.