The theme of Jude’s letter comes out of verse 3, “contend for the faith.” But this contending for the faith is not put forward in a vacuum. Verse 4 supports the theme by contributing the occasion for the letter with the little word “for.” Thus, the call to contend is rooted in Jude’s conviction that the faith is being challenged by opponents he only will call “certain people” (Jude 1:4, 8, 10, 12, 16, 19).  

The structure of the entire letter flows from these ideas. The conclusions Jude makes about the challenges facing Christianity in verse 4 will be defended by him in verses 5–16. Further, the appeal to contend for the faith in verse 3 will find its explanation in verses 17–23. Thus, the Bible does not leave us to our own imagination in determining how to “contend for the faith”. Rather, it actually shows us how. Here is the structure of the letter:  

– Jude 3: Contending for the Faith—Jude 17–23: Showing Us How

– Jude 4: Challenges to the Faith—Jude 5–16: Supporting His Case

This built-in construction should prove helpful as we unpack Jude.

The Greek word translated as “contend,” when verbalized, sounds like our word agonizing. It possesses the idea of athletes who, in an effort to win, find themselves intensely struggling, competing, even fighting with all their might. Interestingly, the word also seems to attach itself to things that are intrinsically worthy of full-orbed and all-engaging effort. Or, as a Greek-English Lexicon puts it, “effort expended . . . in a noble cause.”[1]  

“Effort expended . . . in a noble cause.” This is what Jude is after. He aims at enlivening the church of his day to an immediate and intense struggle, a very real fight requiring all of their available energy.  

1. Walter Bauer, ed. Frederick William Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), p. 356.  

—David R. Helm  

Source: Content taken from Jude: 1-2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings by David R. Helm, ©2015. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 

Two things to notice here. First, Jude wants believers to contend for the faith against other professing Christians. The foes here are those who are “inside” the church, not outside—ungodly people claiming to belong to Christ. 

Second, the error that prompts Jude to exhort us is not the denial of foundational tenets of the gospel, but a twisted view of grace that excuses or celebrates sexual immorality. In other words, “contending for the faith” in the context of Jude 1:1 is less about doctrinal fidelity and more about Christian morality and praxis. The denial of Jesus Christ in this case isn’t creedal (as in 1 John 4, where the apostle warns against those who deny Christ’s humanity); it’s moral. By their advocacy and engagement in illicit sexual activity, they are functionally denying Jesus. 

—Trevin Wax  

Source: Trevin Wax, quoted from his article, “Defending the Faith Is About Life, Not Just Doctrine.” This article originally appeared here at The Gospel Coalition. Used by permission of Trevin Wax.

The wolves who pervert the faith are professing Christians. They are pastors and church leaders and seminary teachers and missionaries… The threat to the faith is coming from among some who are now inside. They are probably saying something like this: If we are saved by grace, then it doesn’t matter what we do morally. In fact when a Christian sins, it only serves to magnify the grace of God. So they turned the grace of God against the commandments of Christ and in effect denied the lordship of Jesus. 

—John Piper  

Source: By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org.

He [Jude] also describes himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ.” “Servant.” As it is for all of Jesus’ followers, so it was for Jude. Here is a great and comforting truth, one worth stopping to observe: The people closest to Jesus are happy to call themselves servants. 

Don’t forget it. Jesus is God’s King, and as such he is our rightful ruler. At times when each of us is tempted and even taught to take offense or act affronted at the notion of yielding to the authority of another, remember Jude. He will have more to teach us about the importance of living under authority in this short letter. And in the coming chapters we will see that this subject is very close to his heart. 

In preparing this book I have come to believe that our persistent desire to get out from under the biblical notion of authority, be it ecclesiastical, civil, vocational, or marital, is often problematic and in most cases self-destructive—in the case of Jude’s opponents eternally so. 

Our propensity to play the rebel, to answer to no one, to throw off any and all vestiges of authority is perhaps why—right out of the gate—Jude identifies himself as Jesus’ servant. He is modeling Christian maturity for every reader—strikingly by the third word in the English text. That he does so with such matter-of-fact joy ought to be encouraging. Never think it wrong or demeaning to identify yourself as one under authority. There is great sweetness in living by God’s design.  

—David R. Helm 

Source: Content taken from Jude: 1-2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings by David R. Helm, ©2015. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 

What Peter and Jude concentrate on, then, is not what these people [the false teachers] are teaching but the way they are living. They are obviously concerned that these false “behaviorists” will draw other Christians into their own sinful and destructive lifestyles.  

What does this lifestyle look like?…They assume that the grace of God revealed in Christ gives them the “liberty” to do just about anything they want to do (2 Peter 2:19-20; Jude 1:4). They have no use for any kind of authority (especially spiritual authority, like angels; cf. 2 Peter 2:10-11; Jude 1:8-9). And so they engage in all manner of “sins of the flesh” illicit sex, perhaps including homosexuality, excess drinking and eating, greed for money (2 Peter 2:13-16, 18-20; Jude 1:16, 19). What is especially shocking is that both Peter and Jude make clear that these profligates are claiming to be Christians (2 Peter 2:1, 21-22; Jude 1:4).[1] They are, in effect at least, “denying the Lord” and are therefore destined for the condemnation reserved for those who rebel against the Lord… 

The letters of 2 Peter and Jude warn us about any tendency to treat sin lightly, to suppose that an immoral lifestyle can be pursued without any penalty…And they teach us the way to avoid this destructive path: by “remembering” (taking to heart, internalizing) the message of Christ and his apostles.   

1. This is also the implication of Jude 1:5-6, where Jude argues that the false teachers will share the fate of the Old Testament people of God who rebelled after being delivered at the Exodus and “the angels who did not keep their positions of authority” (Jude 1:6).

—Douglas J. Moo  

Source: Taken from The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Peter and Jude by Douglas J. Moo Copyright © 2011 by Douglas J. Moo. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com

There comes a time when God’s patience runs out (Romans 2:4-10; 2 Peter 3:8-10; Jude 1:5). Those living in continual disobedience must not presume upon God’s grace, falsely assuming that God’s kindness means that he is winking at their sin. Nor should we take God’s forgiveness for granted. We must not sin willfully, thinking that by doing so we are simply giving God another opportunity to glorify himself by showing forth his mercy. As Paul would put it centuries later, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” (Romans 6:2). To do so is to reveal by one’s hardened disobedience that the saving power of God is not really in one’s life (see Romans 6:2-14).

—Scott Hafemann 

Source: Content taken from The God of Promise and the Life of Faith by Scott J. Hafemann, ©2001. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Quote retrieved from Grace Quotes at gracequotes.org.

The flesh works to make you forget the design (that you are saved to be holy) and think only of the remedy (if you sin you’ll be forgiven). It preaches half a gospel (a twisted gospel) to us: “Go ahead and indulge—it’s already paid for.” Those who fall prey to such deception are evidently many, since the Scriptures go to such lengths to condemn it (Romans 3:5-8; 6:1-4; Jude 1:4). 

—Kris Lundgaard

Source: The Enemy Within, Kris Lundgaard, Copyright 1998, P&R Publishing, Philipsburg, NJ. Quote retrieved from Grace Quotes at gracequotes.org.

Apostasy isn’t an unintentional departure or personal struggle with doubt. It is deliberately abandoning the truth for erroneous teaching. “The faith” refers specifically to the body of Christian doctrine, not the act of believing. Some will depart from “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3). People who understand and outwardly affirm Christian doctrine but don’t have a heart for God are prime candidates for being seduced by demons away from the faith. 

—John MacArthur 

Source: MacArthur, John. The Master’s Plan for the Church. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1991. Quote retrieved from Grace Quotes at gracequotes.org.

Jude isn’t going to get entangled in trying to sort out every heresy. Do you know what he does? He doesn’t talk about their doctrine; he talks about their life. He unmasks them… Jude’s description of them has to do with life and conduct. It has to do with how they live. 

—John MacArthur  

Source: Copyright 2023, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission. This Grace to You article originally appeared here at gty.org.