God is able and willing to deal with such enemies. Therefore, do not cower [crouch down in fear] before them. Do not back away from the faith which must be defended. But stand upon it realizing, that the enemies of the faith are not your personal enemies, even though you may be in their line of fire. The enemies of the faith are enemies of God, and it is against his Word that they are rising up. And while they rise up against his Word, and at times may have us between them and his Word as the recipient of their barbs, their anger, and their persecution, yea, even as the history of Christ's church has shown, their martyring crusade, yet their true objective is to stand against God himself.1
John McKnight
3 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.