Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:3-4 (ESV)

 

People become toxic and unhealthy when a church community is not centred on Christ and the proclamation of the gospel. Bereft of spiritual health and well-being, they will turn against each other, harming rather than healing. This is why we have many wounded believers and horrible stories reported about churches and Christian communities.

The problem is not because we have toxic people or difficult people in the church. The problem is that we can create an entire church culture and system based on bad theology or a faulty understanding of good theology, which attracts bad people and corrupts good ones.

The gospel is both life-giving and empowering. The apostle Jude however warns us about infiltrators who deliberately turn the message of God’s grace for their own self-serving ends. They are diluting the gospel and distracting believers from their true purpose, which is to glorify Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Christ desires wholeness for us and for our church community.

The sad part is that the majority of believers are biblically illiterate and are not grounded or rooted in their faith. This can be seen in their opposing and contradictory approaches to dealing with false doctrines. They either believe there is no more heresy or believe that anyone who does not share their beliefs is a heretic. In a broader sense, there are churches that question and adulterate the essentials, and then there are churches that turn their distinctives into essentials.

Jude tells us that Jesus wants His church back.  More specifically, Jesus wants us to come back to the gospel and live in the truth of our salvation. We are to contend for the faith by building ourselves up in our faith (Jude 1:25, cf. 2 Peter 1:5-10). This is accomplished by actively focusing on Christ because Christ in us is constantly transforming us into His likeness and holiness. We are then strengthened and empowered to mature and bear fruits that last.