Once For All Handed Down | Eastside church of Christ

“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). When Jude mentioned “the faith,” he was referring to the revelation of God’s will. When Paul wrote to the saints in Rome, he told them that in the gospel, God’s righteousness “is revealed from faith to faith” (Romans 1:17). The faith produces faith in us. Paul made this clear when he identified the revealed word of God as the source of faith: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). This faith – the revealed will of God – has been “once for all handed down.” This means that God has given us everything we need in His word. Peter said that God has “granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us” (2 Peter 1:3). Everything that we need to know to please the Lord is found in His word. Because of this, we only need to look to the Bible to learn what God expects us to do. There are no modern-day revelations – divine revelations have ceased (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). Those who would claim a different or new message are not speaking from God (Galatians 1:6-9). We must search the Scriptures to find the truth (Acts 17:11). Studying and learning how to “accurately [handle] the word of truth” is how we become “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15). Once we understand the truth of God’s word, we must “contend earnestly” for it (Jude 3) so that we are not led astray and that we may be able to lead others to the truth. –Andy Sochor