"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 3 KJV)
"Is there a conflict, then, between God's law and God's promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only be believing in Jesus Christ." (Galatians 3:21-22 NLT)
Maybe there was a simpler way to describe what it means to struggle; because believe it or not, in this world we are living in, everyone struggles in one way or another. How else can I explain this, except by stepping back to the term, "common salvation," which is more than likely the major portion of many churches. Basically, Jude has used the word, "common," as if it were to mean it was, unclean, defiled, or unholy.
In other words, it has a since of being ordinary! Please forgive me if I step out of line, but I certainly do not believe that my relationship with my Lord and Savior is ordinary! I hate to admit it, but there are times when I might treat my walk with the Lord, shall we say, as if it is ordinary and He isn't there; but those are the times when I feel free to sin, as if I am alone and can get away with it.
Do you know what I mean? Because we only sin when we think He isn't looking! But this relationship is something absolutely different than any other, because Jesus is living in my heart! He is there all along, wanting me to learn of Him and surrender my life to Him; which is struggle enough, without making any effort to share this extra-ordinary life to others.
But that is the whole point of being here, in this world; whether you like it or not, we are meant to be a vessel that can be used to share about the relationship we have, in one way or another; even if we have, so called, mistakes! Call it Living Water, if you will, because that is what Jesus called it; the more we share, the more the Water flows, and the more we don't feel ordinary...
"For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you." (Romans 8:7-11 NLT)
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