Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." Jude really cuts to the chase in his epistle, and for good reason: the church in his day was embattled by false believers and false teachers who had crept in unnoticed, perverting the grace of God into sensuality and denying the Lord (Jude 4). That's a pretty serious charge, but also a very familiar one. 

Pastors, authors, bloggers, you name it--there are so many who seem to start well, but somewhere along the line swerve from the truth and take a great number of people with them. Just as in Jude's day, the 21st century church is under attack from within. And just like Jude's audience, Christians today are called to contend; to counter false beliefs and teaching with all our might, upholding the message entrusted to us without compromise. But sometimes that's easier said than done. How do we determine what to contend for, whom to contend against and, at the most basic level, figure out what contending really even means?

That's where Contend: Defending the Faith in a Fallen World comes in. Written by Aaron Armstrong, the most recent book from Cruciform Press (of which I am a co-founder) looks at what it means to fulfill Jude's command in a day when the next generation--put off by the squishiness of the seeker churches and the cold rigidity of fundamentalism--finds it easier to ask, "Can't we all just get along?"

While some authors approach contending with a bit more of a militaristic feel, Contend takes a different approach, focusing on Jude's plea to show mercy. In fact, Aaron argues that this is fundamental to understanding the call to contend: “Contending must be understood and exercised as an act of mercy toward those who doubt and those who have been deceived, regardless of whether they claim faith in Christ.”

While the early reviews are only just starting to appear, the endorsements for this book from (among others) Owen Strachan, Dr. Peter Jones, and David Murray are very encouraging. David writes:

Contend is a fine combination of concise biblical exposition, down-to-earth examples, contemporary illustrations, and challenging practical application... It's not only an ideal book for discipling a new believer, but also for shaking the more mature out of dangerous complacency and passivity.

Contend is available now from Cruciform Press (starting for as low as $3.99) and is bound to be a benefit to the believer seeking to defend the faith in a Christ-exalting manner. And don't forget to pick up a copy of Aaron's first book, Awaiting a Savior: The Gospel, the New Creation and the End of Poverty, which is temporarily on sale for the Kindle for $0.99.

12 Things - Mark Altrogge challenges us with twelve things to do when we’re criticized. “We will all be criticized at one time or another. Sometimes justly, sometimes unjustly. Sometimes others' criticism of us is harsh and undeserved. Sometimes we may need it. How do we respond to criticism?”

10 Questions - Trevin Wax says this: “Debate moderators and reporters love to ask pro-life candidates hard questions about abortion. Curiously, they don't do the same for pro-choice candidates. Here are 10 questions you never hear a pro-choice candidate asked by the media…” They’re great questions.

2 New Albums - Matt Boswell releases a new album today titled Messenger Hymns. Lauren Chandler’s new album is titled The Narrow Place. Both are 6-song EPs and both are selling for $5.94.

1 Apology - Here is the apology that Lance Armstrong will never give. I share this because it displays just how deep-rooted our sin and deception go. Once we begin, it’s hard to stop. Most people think Armstrong just doped, but look how much more he did in order to maintain the illusion that he was clean.

He Leaned on God - Here’s the story of Josh Willingham, a professional athlete who has learned to depend upon the Lord.

The Casual Vacancy - I’ve seen J.K. Rowlings book out and about, but haven’t read any reviews from a Christian perspective until now. Jim Hamilton says, “This is a book that does what Hamlet told the players they should do: hold the mirror up to nature. And nature isn't pretty.”

Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven. —C.H. Spurgeon

Love the sinner, hate the sin.” That’s a well-worn Christian mantra, an expression of conviction that even while we stand firm on what constitutes right and wrong, we will continue to love those who do what is sinful. We use the expression to affirm love for others even while expressing that their sin is really, truly wrong.

The expression works in many contexts. I can love the alcoholic even while hating the alcoholism or, more rightly, hating the episodes of binging and acting out. “I love you. I really do. But I hate that you continue to indulge in these episodes of binge drinking and I hate the way you behave when you’re drunk.” This is the stuff of Intervention, the stuff of Dr. Phil. I can love the thief even while hating that he imperils his safety and freedom by taking what is not his. “I love you, but I hate that you keep stealing from people.” Non-Christians look at things much the same way, though they do not frame it with the word “sin.” We all know that there are times when we can disapprove of a person’s actions even while continuing to love and value that person.

“Love the sinner, hate the sin” works in many contexts, but Christians are learning that there is one context, one very important context, in which it does not work quite so well. Some things that the Bible says are sin are very closely tied to a person’s identity, to their very understanding of who they are. There are not a lot of alcoholics who say, “I was born an alcoholic and will always be one. At heart, that’s who I am.” There are not a lot of thieves who declare that theft is an integral part of their identity and who celebrate it as the deepest part of their self-understanding. There are not parades to celebrate alcoholism and thievery. These are sins to be sure, but they are not the kinds of sins by which people identify themselves. Even those who do these things tend to acknowledge that they are wrong and try to clean themselves up by moving past them.

But other sins are very closely tied to identity. The Bible is clear that homosexuality is sin. As the designer of humanity, as the designer of gender, God has both the ability and the right to tell us what is consistent with his will and what is radically inconsistent. Homosexuality is inconsistent with his will and, therefore, sinful. Christians have long held this and have sought to hate the sin even while loving the sinner. Those words may help the Christian as he thinks about that particular sin, calling him to affirm the wrongness of the sin and at the same time to affirm the value of the person who commits that sin. But this phrase brings no comfort to the homosexual; because his sexuality is so closely tied to his identity, it is nearly impossible to believe that I can truly love him, even while I reject his sexuality. My words in effect say, “I love you; I hate you.”

A growing number of Christians are calling on us to understand that we’ve made this whole issue a little bit too simplistic. We’ve made it a little bit too neat and tidy and haven’t really pushed ourselves to look at homosexuality in light of culture’s celebration of it. They are by no means calling on us to abandon what we believe or to reject what the Bible says. Rather, they are helping us see it from a clearer, more realistic, more helpful perspective.

Today we will be introduced to the next big thing—the next next big thing, that is. This afternoon, in one of Apple’s much ballyhooed events, they will take the wraps off what most expect to be the iPad Mini, a scaled-down version of the iPad. The iPad Mini will be smaller and less expensive than its older sibling which will allow far more people access to a device that, to this point, may have been out of reach. It will open up a whole new market for Apple, thus generating even more revenue. Or such is the hope.

Whenever the next great device is unveiled it comes with promises that it will bring with it a higher quality of life. It will bring greater satisfaction and greater contentment. It will increase efficiency and double productivity. Whatever it brings will be good. It has to be this way, right? Why else would we allow it into our lives?

Our gadgets reflect our priorities. Apple’s job—and Microsoft’s and Google’s and every other company’s—is to just give us what we want. They feed us these devices and convince us that our lives will immediately be that much better. But is this actually the case? Do they really make us more productive? Do they really help us accomplish more?

Though I wrote about this a little bit in The Next Story, I really like how Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon put it in their book The Art of Neighboring (which, I just realized, is free on Kindle today). Here is what they say:

Think about it. Even fifteen years ago, you’d never have dreamed that in the near future you’d be able to:

• Make phone calls while riding in your car.
• Send mail electronically while riding in your own car, while you are making phone calls.
• Own a machine that allows you to record your favorite TV shows so you can watch them whenever it’s convenient for you—and you can even fast-forward through the commercials.
• Turn on your computer and be able to see on the screen the people you’re talking to. There’s no longer a need to travel for meetings.

Your reaction most likely would have been, “Wow! What am I going to do with all of my free time?” Maybe you would have started dreaming about a four-hour workweek. You’d be planning for all those extra tee times on the golf course. You’d be dreaming about spending time with your family or simply lying on a hammock in your backyard.

The fact is that’s what technology could have enabled us to do. But instead of having more free time, we’ve added more things into our already crammed lives. Even though we get more and more done, we still pile up the tasks. Our calendars continuously stay full, no matter how many time-saving devices are invented.