In Isaiah, chapter eight, verse sixteen, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” The great majority of God’s people were living in apostasy, but there remained a faithful remnant: disciples who followed the will of the Lord. They were the ones who called to preserve God’s Word. In every age, the true disciples of the Lord, those whose hearts have been set on His Word, must contend for God’s unalterable truth and pass it along to the next generation, as in Jude three. “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.”
Those faithful to Christ are placed under solemn obligation to “contend for the faith” that God delivered to the apostles and saints. “The faith” consists of the gospel proclaimed by Christ and the apostles. It is the fixed and unalterable truth, given by the Holy Spirit and embodied in the New Testament. However, “the faith” is more than objective truth. It is also the way of life to be lived in love and purity.
There is a difference between those who live for God and people that claim to serve Him. Believers who live for God will follow according to God’s ways and not seek to do things their own way. God does not condone His people to request substantial amounts of funds from God’s people because if servants and leaders of God who claim they believe God, and preach His holy Word, they must by faith live by it. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD, as in Isaiah fifty-five, verse eight.