Subtle humanism

The final verses of Jude's Epistle crush the subtle humanism that makes us the hero of defending the faith. Jude's dual challenge to contend for the faith once and for all entrusted to the saints and to build ourselves up in the most holy faith can be extended to the point of making us mortals the guardians of this precious treasure. It is the subtle humanism of the contemporary enlightenment, maybe the dark side of the conservative resurgence. We act as if our faith in an infallible Word is more the issue than the infallible Word itself. You know, that the Good News is safe as long as we stand by it strongly enough, can articulate clearly enough, and speak it forcefully enough. Get a life!

Scripture reminds us that we have this treasure in jars of clay. Our human devices don't really bring anything worth while to the party. Grace certainly redeems us from the human depravity that separates us from God. Yet, we struggle with these human tendencies as long as we occupy this tent. So, what we bring to the defense of our faith is a sack full of good intentions, maybe some well-crafted words and phrases, creeds, confessions and statements, and a whole group of human fallibility.

In the final analysis, Jude understood the facts of life. He wrote, "To him who is able to keep you from falling..." (verse 24). All the talk about contending and building and dealing with deceptive teachers is the recognition that "He is able". History supports this conclusion. Preserving the Good News isn't the stuff of human design. It's miraculous. Heavenly. A work accomplished only by God.

So, maybe we should stop beating each other on the back and just look up. He is able. That's good enough for me. And, there I go again, making it about me.

Subtle humanism.

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