Contend for the Faith: What Jude 3 Asks of Christians Today

So many voices tell you what is true that it's easy to lose track of what God actually said. What does it look like to hold on to your faith when the culture keeps pulling at it? The short letter of Jude gives the answer: contend for the faith. You do that by standing firm in God's standard, being alert to false teaching, and looking up with hope that turns into urgency to share Jesus.

What does it mean to contend for the faith?

Contending for the faith means guarding and living out the truth God has already given you. Jude planned to write a warm letter about the salvation his readers shared. Then he sensed trouble among them and changed course.

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people.

Jude 3

Jude wrote to Jewish Christians living outside Israel. They faced persecution from the outside and deception from the inside. Some people had slipped into the church and were twisting the truth.

Notice the word "entrusted." Your faith is a gift from God, handed to you like a treasure to guard. Jesus paid a price for it. He carried your sin and shame on the cross and paid a debt you could not pay. As Pastor Marty Sloan put it, "My faith is worth something. And so is your faith today."

Scripture shows several ways to contend. You contend through obedience, because obeying God's Word is a living testimony that you believe it. You contend by living a righteous life that others can see. Your works matter, and so does living in the truth.

Is there a standard for following Jesus?

Yes. Once you come to Christ, your life should look different. That standard grows out of new life in Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Many people treat the Christian life as a weekend experience. They keep doing everything they did before and add Christ on top. Jesus belongs at the center of your life as the source of everything.

For example, picture a groom telling his bride in his vows, "I'm glad I could add you to my life. I'll make time for you when it works for me." Nobody would call that a marriage. Marriage recognizes that your spouse is now at the center of your life. Jesus deserves at least that place.

Standing firm also means knowing you are in a battle. Ephesians 6 tells you to put on the full armor of God so you can stand against the devil's schemes. Consider how you pack for a trip. Sunscreen goes to the beach, and golf clubs go to the course. If God hands you armor, you are heading into spiritual warfare. That is why prayer matters so much. Pastor Marty called prayer "a key pathway into the supernatural warfare that can change your life."

One scheme Jude names is turning God's grace into a license for immorality (Jude 4). God designed sexuality for marriage, a lifelong covenant between a husband and a wife. God has always redeemed broken people, and He forgives anyone who confesses. Grace is never a free pass to keep living in what God calls sin. Lordship means Jesus has the final word over how you live, including your desires.

How do you stay alert to false teaching?

You stay alert by knowing God's Word for yourself. Hearing something, or liking how it sounds, doesn't make it true, and Pastor Marty compared it to chocolate ice cream. You can love ice cream and still know it isn't good for you.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

2 Timothy 4:2 to 3

Here is the danger: if you don't know the Word of God, your desires will dictate your theology. Everyone has a sin nature that looks for permission to do what it wants. The Bible works like a mirror. It shows you who you are before God and lets you submit your desires to Him.

So if a sermon corrects you, don't go home mad. Open your Bible and check it. "Just because I say it doesn't make it true," Pastor Marty said. "But if God's word says it, you better believe it." He described the pastor as the mailman who delivers the message. The authority is God's Word.

Don't be the student who only opens the book right before the test. Your real battles won't happen on Sunday. They happen at work on Monday, at the gym on Tuesday, and at the family get-together on Wednesday. If the pulpit preaches the Word, you need to be in the Word.

Jude also warns about teachers who deny Jesus as Lord. Any teaching that moves away from the lordship of Christ is false. Jesus was more than a wise teacher or a prophet. He is the Son of the living God, God in the flesh. The culture trains you in an accommodation mindset. An accommodation mindset is the belief that all religious paths lead to the same place. Scripture calls you to an authority mindset, where God's Word has the final say. That clarity comes with love, because everyone is still within reach of God's grace.

Should Christians fear God's judgment?

No. If you belong to Jesus, your sins are washed away and your future is secure. Jude does remind his readers that judgment is real. He points to Israel's unbelief, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the rebellion of Cain, Balaam, and Korah.

Pastor Marty admitted that as a teenager he was sure he would miss the rapture over one bad word he forgot to apologize for. One night he fell asleep playing preaching tapes, hoping that would keep him safe. Today he is secure in who Jesus is and who he is in Christ. You can be too.

Turn that old fear into passion for the Great Commission. If heaven and hell are both real, you will want your friends to know Jesus. Let the subject come up naturally over time, and let the Holy Spirit guide the conversation.

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

Luke 21:28

Looking up is also where you find help for today. Psalm 121 says it plainly.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1 to 2

If you want to keep reading, Pastor Marty recommends Contending for the Rising Generations by Sean Dunn, Finishing Our Course with Joy by J.I. Packer, and The Invisible War by Chip Ingram.

Common questions

What does "contend for the faith" mean in Jude 3?

It means to guard and live out the truth God has entrusted to His people. Jude urged believers to hold on to that truth when false teachers were twisting it. You contend through obedience, righteous living, good works, and staying rooted in God's Word.

Who wrote the book of Jude?

Jude is a one-chapter letter near the end of the New Testament. He wrote to believers who faced persecution and also deception from people who had slipped into the church. Because the book has one chapter, references are usually given by verse, like Jude 3.

How can I tell if a teaching is false?

Compare it with Scripture, especially what it says about Jesus. Any teaching that denies Jesus as the Son of God and Lord is false. Reading the Bible for yourself is the best protection, because it keeps your desires from writing your theology.

Does God's grace mean my choices don't matter?

No. Jude 4 warns against people who turn God's grace into a license for immorality. God forgives everyone who confesses, and His grace also calls you to a new life under Jesus as Lord.