The Call To Contend Series

Refusing to acknowledge and defend the revealed truth of God is a particularly stubborn and pernicious kind of unbelief. Advocating ambiguity, exalting uncertainty, or otherwise deliberately clouding the truth is a sinful way of nurturing unbelief.

Every Christian should know and love the truth. The Bible says that one of the key characteristics of “those who are perishing” (i.e., unbelievers on their way to hell) is that “they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). The clear implication is that a true and genuine love for the truth is built into saving faith. In fact, one of the distinguishing characteristics of every true believer is that he or she is a lover of the truth.

Lesson

Jude’s letter is a call to Christians to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. In today’s lesson I want to observe the call to contend for the truth against heresy.

I. Jude’s Original Purpose (3a)

So, first, let’s begin by looking at Jude’s original purpose.

Jude said in verse 3a, “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation. . . .”

Jude addressed his readers as “beloved.” The Greek word (agapetos) is defined as “one who is in a very special relationship with another.” I mentioned to you previously that Jude had engaged in an itinerant ministry, and so it is quite likely that he personally knew the Christians to whom he was writing. But, even if he did not know them personally, he certainly had a deep and sincere pastoral concern for them. They were in a special relationship with one another because they were brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jude said that he was very eager to write to them. The Greek stresses “swiftness of movement or action.” He was anxious to communicate with those whom he loved.

And what was it that he wanted to communicate to them? Jude said that he wanted to write about our common salvation. He wanted to communicate to his Christian brothers and sisters the glorious truths that bind us all together as brothers and sisters in Christ. Having being converted and transformed by the grace of God he wanted to share with us what it means to know his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ savingly.

One gets the sense of his eagerness and excitement about writing to Christians about the wonderful salvation we all enjoy.

But something happened to him. Something caused him to change his original purpose for writing.

II. Jude’s Revised Purpose (3b)

So, second, let’s look at Jude’s revised purpose.

Jude said in verse 3b, “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.”

I want you to notice two facts about Jude’s revised purpose.

A. Jude Was Compelled to Revise His Purpose for Writing

First, Jude was compelled to revise his purpose for writing.

Jude said, “I found it necessary to write. . . .”

As a traveling minister, and also as one of the leaders of the early Christian Church, Jude would have heard news of what was going on in the many churches that were being planted in the years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. And the news coming in to him by the time he wrote this letter was very discouraging.