Commonly Uncommon

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 1:3 AV)

Salvation, or the message thereof, can become so common that we lose zeal in preaching it.  This is Jude’s point.  He elevates the challenge even more by revealing there are false prophets who will preach another gospel and steal away the sheep from the fold.  What happened with this group is the same that happens today.  Either with individual saints or a church; there seems to be a point when we grow beyond our common salvation.  Salvation seems to be one of those things we tack on at the end of a service because we are supposed to.  Or, our Sunday School lessons tend to ignore our common salvation altogether.  Junior Church is more about the stories of the bible than it is about our common salvation.  We get to a point where we take for granted the salvation of all those who attend.  We assume most if not all, are saved and therefore we can go on to something else entirely.  We cease to contend for the faith, and in particular, our common salvation because we are unaware of the spiritual realities of the people assembled.  We assume they are all saved.  Or, we assume if they are lost, they have heard the gospel so many times that one more time isn’t going to make that much of a difference.  Our salvation has become so common, that we do not think it must be contended.

My soul-winning partner and I were talking about some who have come to Christ all the while serving faithfully in the church.  It happens more than one would think.  Several people come to mind.  Years ago, during my single days, there was this fella who was on fire for God.  He brought visitors almost every week.  He was responsible for leading twelve people to Christ in one year.  Then something rather strange happened.  One particular Sunday morning, the preacher was preaching on our common salvation and this young single man raised his hand and admitted he was not saved.  He bowed his head that morning and received Christ.  Contending for Christ was a way for him to avoid surrendering to Him for salvation.  What started this conversation with my soul-winning partner was the news that someone he knew who had gone through bible college and was serving on a church staff admitted he had never accepted Christ.  My partner scratched his head trying to understand how that was possible.  I have heard many stories similar to this one.  At a preacher’s meeting in western Kentucky, I heard the testimony of a man who happened to graduate from Bible college, get ordained, and serve as a pastor for several years before he realized he truly was not saved.  At my last church, we had a young lady come to the altar during our Homecoming service and trust Christ after over a decade of thinking she was saved.  The one that really stands out to me, though, is the testimony of a world-renowned tenor who sang with a very famous men’s quartet.  He sang for Presidents, Kings, and Queens.  When he quit the quartet, he served as an assistant Pastor.  Several years later, he realized he was not truly saved by the glorious grace of God and bowed his head as he accepted Christ.  What happened?  What caused these people to come to church for so long and never accept Christ?

There could be many causes.  But the one in our text is the brethren ceased to contend for the faith because it had become common.  As a preacher, we tend to avoid being repetitive.  We think that if we preach the same truth over and again, we will lose people.  The thing is, the old and new testaments both teach the principle of repetitive instruction.  If we neglect what we consider to be common, it was cease to be common.  It will become rare.  And in some cases, disappear altogether.  Jude was concerned.  The evidence that salvation became too common was the false teachers who arose.  The foundations cannot be ignored.  We cannot take for granted that because salvation seems to surround us, that we can leave it be and go on to bigger and better things.  As any homeowner knows, one must inspect and repair the foundations of a building regularly or the whole house will collapse.  This is exactly what is happening in our churches.  Salvation is no longer as plain and precise as the Bible teaches.  It is watered down and is a mere shadow of what it truly is.  Salvation no longer includes repentance and is more about what we do than what God does.  The common salvation has become so common that it has changed.  If revival is to hit, then we start with the basics.  The most basic of all is our common salvation.