Fight for the Faith: The Battle of the Heart

What you’re prepared to fight for reveals what is most important to you. Family, kids, dreams, ambitions, friends, money, career—the question: Of all the things worth fighting for in your life, does your faith make it on the list? Are you prepared to fight for faith?

The Two-Front War: Mind and Heart

Jude wrote to his readers who were facing all sorts of challenges and opposition to realize that the future of the faith was in their hands. Nameless as they were, God was calling them to be prevailing heroes who would defend the gospel of Jesus Christ. False teachers had infiltrated their community and they were perverting the grace of God and denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their teaching and by their lifestyle. And so, a two-pronged attack was needed to combat their falsehood. And so, we saw the first last time – and that was the battle of the mind over what we believe about God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now we’re about to see the second which is the battle of the heart. Because false living, that is living in a manner that dishonours God is always a fundamental issue of the heart – of the desires which we are allowing to captivate our hearts over and above God.

Cain, Balaam, and Korah: Warnings for the Heart

Why is this battle of the heart so necessary? Like he did with the battle of the mind, Jude compares these false teachers to three Old Testament examples of those who lost this crucial battle of the heart in rebellion against God. Look at what he says in Jude 1:11, “Woe to them! (that’s these false teachers) For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.” And so, three Old Testament examples that illustrates how crucial this battle of the heart is. And so;

1) The way of Cain

And so Cain – Adam and Eve’s firstborn son killed his brother Abel. Why? because God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice instead of his. But God graciously tries to warn Cain about this jealousy and this anger he was allowing to take root in his heart in Genesis 4:6 when he says, “The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” But Cain refused to listen to God’s warning and instead allows jealousy and anger to take root deep into his heart and then kills his brother as a result.

2) Balaam’s error

Balaam was a diviner whose story we actually found in the Book of Numbers 22- 24. King Balak of Moab had actually summoned Balaam to actually come and curse the Israelites before battle. Knowing God’s desires to actually bless the Israelites, Balaam made it seem like he had obeyed God’s desires, wishes to bless the Israelite by blessing them instead of cursing them. As the story continues in the Book of Numbers, we actually discover that the Israelite men engage in sexual immorality with the Moabite women. Only later on in Numbers 31 do we discover the reason why Israel sinned in this way. And it was because Balaam had allowed greed to take a hold of his heart. And so, before he departed King Balak, what he decided to do was advise the Moabite women to actually entice the Israelite men into sexual sin and other worship knowing full well that that would compromise their devotion to God and then leave them vulnerable to the enemy because of God’s judgment over them. And so, Balaam had allowed himself to be lured and thirst away by riches. And out of a greedy heart he decided to disregard what God holds dear. And so, he inserted the people to rebel against the authority structure that God was placing over them, and then he self-appoints himself as the leader over God’s people. And so, God judged Korah’s prideful heart by bringing his rebellion to an abrupt end.

When Belief Is Betrayed by Behavior

What these three examples have in common, is a failure to live honourably before God. And the root cause of that failure was what these men were allowing to actually (their motives) that they were allowing to actually drive their actions at heart. And so, their actions were coming from what they were allowing to rule their hearts. Likewise, Jude is saying, by their lifestyles you know that these false teachers have denied the Lordship of Jesus Christ at heart. And so, it’s the kind of lives that we live which reveal where we actually stand in our devotion to Jesus Christ.

A profession of faith, an association to a local church, the good and necessary are not the substance by which a true devotion to Jesus Christ is actually justified. And so, our faith isn’t simply seen by what we’re prepared to claim that we believe, but it must be seen in our conduct, by our actions, in true devotion to Jesus Christ. And so, what you are treasuring at heart becomes what you end up acting on. And so, Jesus explained the same thing to his disciples in Mark 7:21-22, So speaking to them he said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.” 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” What is Jesus describing? He’s describing the way of Cain, Balaam’s error, Korah’s rebellion.

All these evil things come from within. What you treasure at heart becomes what you act on. That’s why the gospel calls for transformed hearts if we are to live transformed lives. And so, no transformation of life can ever happen apart from a transformed heart at the feet of Jesus Christ. And so, make no mistake, no matter how nice someone may seem or whatever they may claim that they believe. Christians who are not prepared to lead transformed lives are actually denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ at heart. Therefore, contending for the faith must involve us laying our hearts bare at the feet of Jesus Christ. Choosing to embrace his Lordship over our conduct.

The Danger of a Bad Example

Why is it so crucial that we get this right? Because two serious consequences follow if we don’t. The first one is this; that we actually endanger the well-being of others by a bad example. Look at Jude 1:12-13, “These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.” And so, Jude uses lots of imagery to try to really describe the kind of lives that these false teachers were leading.

By contrast what he’s actually doing is actually appealing to Christians to be the kind of leaders and the kind of influencers who are not a danger to others like hidden reefs are to a boat. He’s appealing to them, crying out to them to actually care for people like good shepherds who are not about feeding their own egos. Deliver on the promise of feeding people from the word of God unlike waterless clouds or fruitless trees. Resist the temptation of becoming a moral corrupting influence like wild waves corrupt with their own flow. And then lastly unlike wandering stars, he’s calling them to be dependable guides who come alongside people, helping them to navigate the uncertain terrains of life. Now some may object and say “Well surely this should only apply to the false teachers that Jude is talking about. I’m not one of them. I don’t even have a desire to teach anybody.” Now that would be missing the whole point that Jude is trying to make.

It’s not about the status we hold but it’s about the motives we allow. And so, you may not be a teacher by status but your life can be a far more effective teacher by example. Because the motives we allow to take root in our hearts become detrimental to others. How? By the bad example that we end up setting for them to follow. And so, we’ve got to examine our lives and ask ourselves whether we are leading the kind of lives that are detrimental to the well-being of others by the bad example that we set for them. And so, if others do like you do, driven by the same motives that are driving you through the actions that you take, and the way that you’re leading your life, does it lead them to thrive in their walks with God? And so that’s a serious reflection that we must conduct over our lives, over our hearts as we look to contend for the faith. I don’t know about you but I would like to hope for the best in that. But more than just assuming the best we’ve got to actually allow the Word of God to actually touch home, come home with us on the on this. Why? Because the well-being of others is at stake by the examples that we set.

Honest self-reflection

So let me press us here a little bit by sharing how this has pressed me in certain areas of my life and causing me to consider the kind of example that I’m setting. Now I’ll be very honest with you I don’t know what all this is revealing about in my heart, I haven’t quite figured it out yet, and so I am a work in progress. And so, three areas quickly in my life where I need to be considering the kind of example that I’m setting to others:

The first area is this; My work and rest rhythms. And so, I’m discovering that I work too fast -not just too much but too fast. So, from one thing to another and I rest far too little. I’m starting to see that this pace is somewhat exasperating some of my colleagues around me and not resting adequately will literally physically kill me. Now I don’t know what all is being revealed about what’s driving that behaviour from my heart but I’m seeing enough warning signs that if my life continues to exemplify or set that example for others to follow, that it places both them and myself on dangerous grounds both spiritually and physically.

The second area is my determination to succeed. No doubt my past has got something to do with it, and so somewhere along my journey of life, I somewhat started to tell myself that it was that it all depended upon me that somehow life would be what I make of it and so I cannot afford to find myself asleep beyond that wheel. And so that has led me to have this constant sort of mode that I operate from of get there at all cost. “But where are you headed Badi?” I’m starting to ask myself. “And why is it so important to you that you absolutely get there? And if you never got there, would it really be the worst thing in the world? And so, what are you actually afraid of in all of that?” The knock-on impact of that mentality to get there at all cost, that determination to succeed is actually being seen now playing itself out in my life by the warning of those closest to me and what they trying to tell me to actually realize about my transactional approach to life instead of a relational approach. And so, I’m not at depth at dealing with or connecting with people places and things. And so, I’m more driven by dreams, ideas and what-ifs. And so, when you camp in that in kind of those spaces for too long on those ideals, then life becomes all about seeing those ideals come to pass than connecting with the people around you. Now that cannot be an example that I set for my wife, for my children, for my friends. Nor can I keep on subjecting them to the pain of the disconnection they feel when I’m in that mode, in that zone of just going off the thing at all cost. I’m disconnected in my relationship with them and it cannot be the example that I end up setting for them.

The third area that this is pressing me in is in my marriage. Somehow it feels like I’ve woken up overnight to the reality and the challenges of being married, with small kids in my late 30s and I’m wondering to myself, “Did I miss the memo of how hard this was going to be? Because after all you guys sent it to me, right? And I must have gotten lost in the mail or I’ve misplaced it somehow.” If you get to know my wife in social setting, you’ll soon discover that she has a wicked sense of humour when it comes to real life. Now and again, she will drop bombshells that can leave you gossiping and saying “I cannot believe that she just said what we might have all have thought of before or have done before.” And so last year we were at a weekend on a farm with another two families from the church. And so, we did not know the one couple so well. And so, after we had put all the children to bed, we decided to actually care outside under the stars. And so, the wife of the one of that couple that we did not know so well started to share about their lives, how they met and the fact that they had been married for seven years. To which Stephanie my wife responded saying, “The seven-year itch huh?” And then Stephanie added “Me I was itching at year five already. Also at six, seven I’m still itching.” That just cracked us all up with laughter and it just opened up the evening to great laughs as we just began to connect over the challenges of marriage, of trying to parent the little one, work and etc. And it really set us up for a great enjoyable and edifying weekend. That whole experience just showed me how we can all sometimes just project a certain positive view about what our lives are like when the reality is far more a struggle – a struggle, married or single.

And so, for me am I allowing for a positive view to exist out there about my marriage when in reality if you got close to Stephanie and I you will actually discover that we have some stuff we’re trying to work on and deal with and not always and we’re not always working on them in the best of ways. And so, I do not want to keep on allowing for a certain positive view out there to exist about our marriage that: “Oh we are all fine. And everything is always great and good and dandy.” When actually in reality we’re experiencing challenges like all other relationships do. Now in order for me to be that open, that vulnerable, that transparent about those challenges I would need to confront certain heart issues in my life that are causing me to portray a certain example about my marriage. And so, what are you needing to confront? In terms of the desires, in terms of the motives in your heart that are allowing you to project a certain positive view about your life. Of being perhaps more successful than you are, of having more money than you have perhaps, of being more progressive, liberated, woke, intelligent, attractive stable, mentally healthy, diligent, knowledgeable, likable than you perhaps are.

What would you need to confront in those particular areas because by your example, by those motives, if others do like you do, you will be endangering their well-being before God? Why? Because get this, by that example we are setting them up to want to become more like us than setting them up to want to become more like Jesus Christ. That’s what we are ultimately doing through our example – setting people up to want to become more like us than to become more like Jesus Christ. And so, Jude is saying to his readers when you follow the way of Cain or go the way of Balaam’s error or follow the way of Kora’s rebellion, you become more like those men instead of contending to become more like Jesus Christ. And so therefore the example of your life will result in the same outcome as it resulted for Cain, as it resulted for Balaam and for Korah. And so therefore your life will actually become a barrier that gets in the way by example preventing people from finding Jesus. And so instead may our lives give cause for people to say “Wow I really want to fall in love with your Jesus.” Or cause others to say “Wow your life makes me want to fall in love with Jesus all over again.” That’s what it means to contend for the faith as we wage the battle of the heart.

Repentance: The Weapon of a Heart Transformed

Waging the battle to strenuously fight to defend against allowing certain motives and certain heart desires from taking deep root into our heart preventing us to from exemplifying and displaying the beauty of Jesus Christ in what we do. And so, we want to fight for faith and wage the battle of the heart that it may be seen always clearly that it is Christ Jesus that we are treasuring at heart so that it will lead others to see by the example that we set that we are devoted to Christ Jesus and that we are calling them to not look to us but to look to Christ and live for Christ through and through.

And so, to do that we will need to allow repentance or adopt repentance as our got weapon. To always be prepared to repent of the desires that we are allowing to take root in our hearts. And so not just our actions, but desires – to always be prepared to repent of that so that by repenting of that we may turn to Christ Jesus and embrace the fullness of transformation that Christ Jesus brings at heart so that our lives may become examples of lives or the kind of lives of people that live lives that display the beauty of Christ Jesus.

Judgment Is the Response of Holy Love

If we don’t, then the second consequence we leave God no choice but to judge us for our bad example. Now talks of divine judgment in our day and age today isn’t all that popular because we would much rather believe that if God was loving then he would not be judging anyone for their conduct and their behaviour. And so, the logic behind that being that actually love finds no room for judgment. Now listen true love sorry love that finds no room for judgment can never be true love. It can never be true love. Why? Because how can you truly love something and then not act against the very thing that is trying to threaten to damage what you truly love?

And so, Jude quoting another extra biblical resource of 1 Enoch, he actually quotes it to try to support what the Bible already teaches us about what God truly loves. Look at Jude 1:14-15, ” It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” And so, all these things they were doing was against God and God alone. Jude 1:16, “These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favouritism to gain advantage.”

And so, the Bible teaches us that God truly loves first and foremost, himself – He truly loves himself. And then second, he truly loves people whom he has created in his image. Therefore, God cannot out of true love for himself, not act against those ungodly people and sinners who will choose or threaten to damage his authority, morality and glory. He has to act in judgment against them. And then secondly out of true love, God cannot remain indifferent against the sinful desires of the ungodly heart as it looks or threatens to damage the lives of people whom he has created in his image, people whom he loves by their sinful actions and example. And so therefore we know that God is truly loving precisely because he acts in judgment towards the very things that threaten to actually damage the things that he truly loves. And so therefore we get leave God no choice but to judge us for a bad example if we will not allow or run to Christ to transform our hearts so that we will live lives that display the beauty of Jesus Christ.

Prevail in the Battle Within by Turning to Jesus

And so, listen, as a parting exhortation, take these two consequences seriously. Take them seriously. But then don’t just stay there but consider the gospel of Jesus Christ that offers us a transformation of the heart so that we can then go on to live lives that display the beauty of Jesus Christ as those who have been truly loved by God. And so, find Jesus if you haven’t done so already. Why? Because he is your only hope for heart transformation so that then you can go on to prevail in the battle over what is in your heart.

And for those of us who have found Jesus then contending for the faith as we wage this battle of the heart is allowing Jesus Christ to reign supreme as Lord over what is in our heart so that we will then go on to act in a manner that displays the beauty of Jesus Christ in all that we do. That’s what we are contending for. And so, fight for faith.