Can I Serve God My Way?
Follows the message Purity of Our Faith from the Contenders series
Can you serve God your own way, keeping the parts of Scripture that fit and setting aside the rest? The Bible's answer is no, and the temptation is as old as Cain. God wants obedience, not just religious effort on our terms. The good news is that there's grace to come as you are. And God loves you too much to leave you there.
Key takeaways
- Jude 3 calls believers to contend for the faith, which means standing firm for the truth God has already given.
- The "way of Cain" in Jude 11 is doing something religious on your own terms and expecting God to accept it.
- Everyone struggles to obey, and there is grace to come as you are, but God calls you to keep growing.
- You learn to submit to God by knowing His Word well, honoring the authority He gives, and resisting the devil.
What does it mean to contend for the faith?
To contend for the faith means to stand firm for the truth God has already given, especially when other voices are pulling people away from it. The phrase comes from Jude, a one-chapter letter written by one of Jesus' brothers. (Because the book has only one chapter, "Jude 3" means verse 3.)
Jude planned to write about something else. What was happening around his readers made him change subjects.
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.
Jude 3
Contending for the faith is not about picking a political team. As Beyond Sunday host Pastor Sean Sloan put it, so far no one has found a party of holiness. Whatever side of the issues you're on, Scripture will challenge you toward something higher. Some things will need opposing even among people you agree with. Your identity is first and foremost as a follower of Christ.
What is the "way of Cain"?
The way of Cain is doing something religious on your own terms and expecting God to accept it. Jude says the people leading believers astray follow patterns that are centuries old.
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.
Jude 11
Those men are long gone, but the motives that drove them keep resurfacing as new ideas. There is nothing new under the sun.
Notice something about Cain: he knew to bring an offering. Long before the law of Moses, his family had apparently learned that offerings were to be made to God. Abel brought what he knew to bring. Cain did something, but it wasn't what he'd been instructed to do. He wanted to set his own terms. Then he invited others into the same accommodation: you don't have to do everything God said.
Calvary's Next Steps director summed it up on the episode: Cain had a desire to be accepted, but not a desire to be obedient. When you want acceptance from God, or from other people, without wanting to obey God, you're in trouble.
Where does "my way" show up today?
It shows up wherever culture goes one way and Scripture goes the other. The Next Steps director sees new believers wrestle with it in relationships, money, and parenting. It shows up most in the idea of "my truth and your truth," where there is no objective truth and everyone sets their own morality.
Sexuality is one clear example. Culture says everyone does it and it's fine. The Bible reserves sexual intimacy for marriage, a covenant between a husband and a wife. Scripture goes further: marriage is a picture of Christ and His church, a relationship meant to be undefiled and not shared with any other god.
Pastor Sean described people so set on their own desires that they look for a church that affirms what they already believe. They don't let Scripture shape their conduct. Thomas Jefferson famously cut out the parts of his Bible he didn't agree with. That is the error of Cain: doing part of what God said and altering the rest to suit yourself.
Jude also names Balaam, who served for the wrong motives, and Korah, who led open rebellion against God's authority. Some voices today don't bother twisting Scripture. They reject it outright. That voice of rebellion is old too.
What if I struggle to obey?
If you struggle to obey, you're not alone, and grace meets you there. Everyone struggles. Following Jesus is not about being perfect.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23
There is tremendous grace to come as you are. But you're not meant to stay as you are. God loves you too much to leave you that way. With each step, you give Him more lordship over your life.
How do you learn to submit to God?
It starts with being in the Word. Submitting to God is letting His Word set the terms for how you live. Karen Carter, Calvary's Next Steps director, put it plainly: if you think the Bible is just words on a page, you won't want to submit to it. When you come to understand that it really is God's Word, you're willing to submit yourself to it.
Submission also includes honoring the authority God places you under. That includes the leaders of the church He has called you to. You don't honor authority because every authority is honorable. You honor it because you honor God, who gives it. That's why Scripture calls you to pray for those in authority and to serve as unto the Lord.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
The way out of error is simple to say: know the Word, submit to the Word, and resist. Once you know the real thing well, you can recognize the counterfeit.
Three questions to check your heart
- Is there an area where I want to be accepted more than I want to obey?
- Where is culture pulling me one way while Scripture points another: relationships, money, parenting, sexuality?
- Am I reading the Bible to be shaped by it, or looking for a voice that agrees with me?
This week, read the book of Jude in one sitting. It takes about five minutes.
Pray
Lord, I don't want to come to You on my own terms. Show me where I've held back, and give me the grace to obey. Teach me Your Word so well that I recognize what is false. I give You more of my life today. Amen.
Common questions
What does it mean to contend for the faith?
In Jude 3 it means standing for the faith "once for all entrusted to God's holy people." You do that first by knowing God's Word well, so you can recognize teaching that leads away from it.
What is the way of Cain in Jude 11?
Cain brought an offering, but not the one he had been taught to bring. His way is doing something religious on your own terms and wanting God's acceptance without obedience.
Can I follow Jesus and still pick which parts of the Bible to accept?
Following Jesus means submitting to His Word, including the parts that challenge you. Everyone struggles and grace meets you where you are, but God calls you to grow and keep giving Him more of your life.
Why should Christians submit to church authority?
Scripture teaches that authority comes from God. Believers honor the leaders God places them under not because every leader is perfect, but because honoring that authority is a way of honoring God.
Your next step
New to following Jesus? Calvary's Following Jesus class helps new believers understand what it really means to follow Him. Find it on our Next Steps page, or join a group to study the Word with others.