Answer: We should contend as one man for the faith of
the Gospel, (verse 27).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
"Contend" is also translated "striving
(KJV)." The word comes from the Greek word
sunathleo, meaning "to strive together."
It is "to contend along with a person," or "to
strive at the same time with another." To
"contend as one man for the faith of the Gospel" (the
established body of Truth which is the Gospel) requires that
Christians be perfectly united, without division. As Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 1:10: "I appeal to
you, brothers, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of
you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among
you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and
thought." The implication is also that we "stand
firm" without being moved--grounded, settled,
established, firm:
Matthew 24:10-14: [Jesus said,] "At
that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and
hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive
many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of
most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be
saved. And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the
whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will
come."
Acts 14:21-22: "They [Paul and
Barnabas] preached the Good News in that city [Derbe] and won a
large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium
and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to
remain true to the faith. 'We must go through many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God,' they said."
1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my
dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give
yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that
your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 16:13: "Be on your
guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be
strong."
2 Corinthians 13:5-6: "Examine
yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do
you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of
course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover
that we have not failed the test."
Galatians 1:6-9: "I am astonished
that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the
grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which
is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you
into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of
Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach
a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be
eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say
again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you
accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"
Galatians 5:1: "It is for freedom
that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let
yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Ephesians 6:10-18: "Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full
armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of
this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so
that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand
firm then, with the belt of Truth buckled around your waist, with
the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet
fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of
peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil
one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on
all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in
mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the
saints."
Colossians 1:21-23: "Once you were
alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your
evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's
physical body through death to present you holy in His sight,
without blemish and free from accusation--IF you continue in
your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out
in the Gospel. This is the Gospel that you heard and that has been
proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul,
have become a servant."
Colossians 2:6-7: "So then, just as
you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted
and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness."
Colossians 4:12: "Epaphras, who is
one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is
always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all
the Will of God, mature and fully assured."
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15: "But we
ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord,
because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the
Truth. He called you to this through our Gospel, that you
might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then,
brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you,
whether by word of mouth or by letter."
1 Timothy 3:8-9: "Deacons,
likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging
in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep
hold of the deep Truths of the faith with a clear
conscience."
1 Timothy 4:1, 6: "The Spirit
clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and
follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons...If you
point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister
of Christ Jesus, brought up in the Truths of the faith and of the
good teaching that you have followed."
1 Timothy 6:9-12: "People who want
to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish
and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith
and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God,
flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the
faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when
you made your good confession in the presence of many
witnesses."
1 Timothy 6:20-21: "Timothy, guard
what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless
chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,
which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the
faith."
2 Timothy 1:13-14: "What you heard
from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love
in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to
you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in
us."
2 Timothy 4:2-5: "Preach the Word;
be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound
doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching
ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the
Truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all
situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,
discharge all the duties of your ministry."
2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the
good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith."
Titus 1:10-14: "For there are many
rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of
the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they
are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to
teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of
their own prophets has said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil
brutes, lazy gluttons.' This testimony is true. Therefore,
rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and
will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those
who reject the Truth."
Hebrews 4:14: "Therefore, since we
have a great High Priest Who has gone through the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we
profess."
1 Peter 3:15-16: "But in your
hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope
that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a
clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your
good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their
slander."
1 Peter 5:8-9: "Be self-controlled
and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in
the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world
are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
Jude 1:3: "Dear friends, although I
was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt
I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once
for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose
condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in
among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God
into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only
Sovereign and Lord."
