There has never been a time when the gospel did not need defending.  From the beginning, or very close to it, false teachers have corrupted the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 2:17 (KJV)
¹⁷  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

I have always been amazed that so early in the history of the church, saints had to contend with those who would corrupt God’s Word.  Paul did not say he and his companions were not like the few who corrupted the Word of God, but they were not like the many.

The religious world has grown worse and worse since that time.  More false teachers come emerge all the time.  Peter warned that this would be the case.  

2 Peter 2:1 (NKJV)
¹  But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

There have been false teachers in the past, and there will be false teachers in the future.  The question is, what will we do about it?  We do not have to guess what Paul would do, nor what God would have us to do.

Philippians 1:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶  The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.

These were not just words that Paul wrote, it was the truth that he lived.  After his conversion, he immediately “proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues saying, ‘He is the Son of God’” (Acts 9:19-20); and, confounding the Jews, he went about “proving that Jesus was the Christ (ver. 22).  At this early stage of His Christianity, Paul was defending the gospel of Christ, and he was only just beginning.  He would spend the rest of his adult life doing the same thing, eventually sacrificing his life for the cause of Christ (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

The church still needs members who will follow in the steps of Paul because there continue to be false teachers among us, and false doctrines being spread throughout the world.  The exhortation of Jude is still applicable today.  

Jude 1:3 (ESV)
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.

Our responsibility to defend the gospel is something that we should all take seriously.  We defend things we love, and the gospel should be one of the things that we love most in life.  We were saved by the gospel (Romans 1:16).  It tells us all about our Savior and the sacrifice He made for us, and it teaches us how to “live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).  Let us defend the gospel at all costs.  When it goes undefended, the church is weakened.  

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.