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Jude: How to Keep YourSelf from Error!

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Jude quickly informs his readers about the purpose of his correspondence. Verses 3-16 form a specific section in which Jude transmits his reasons for writing.

In this section, vv. 3-16, Jude explains to his readers why he felt compelled to write to them at this time (v. 3-4). He then describes and condemns the false teachers who had somehow made their way into this Christian fellowship (vv. 5-16).

The Letter's Occasion: vv. 3-4
What To Do: Verse 3
Jude begins this section with an intimate word. He calls his readers dear friends. The words dear friends could be translated "my dear friends," "my dear brothers and sisters," or "my dear fellow believers." There may be some indication that his readers could have been his close friends or even converts whom he had led to the Lord.

Jude now tells them that he had planned a letter to them—although I was very eager to write to you. The phrase should be understood as indicating the continual eagerness of the author to communicate with his followers. A man's eagerness is action as well as wish. Jude had a constant concern for the people God had given him to nurture. He was endlessly thinking about them. He had been eager to write a planned letter. The present infinitive of to write suggests that he had made diligent preparation to write to them. Jude displays by his choice of words that his planned letter was not a mere letter of greeting. He was going to share some thoughts apropos to their common salvation.

This preparation to explain about the salvation we share reflects a concern in Jude for the further knowledge of the saints concerning their salvation. He was going to take pen in hand and remind them about this salvation. Believers need to be reminded from time to time about the gift they have received from God. Salvation came to mean to the early believers the eschatological deliverance which would be accomplished and fulfilled by God at the close of this present evil age. It is interesting that Jude sees salvation as common, i.e., that which we all share. No one in the body of Christ is more "saved" than any other person.

Jude uses the connective but to alert the reader that he wants to contrast his previous statement with the following statement. In this verse Jude says that he had one set of thoughts which he was going to write, but he made a choice to write to his readers about another subject. All too often we think that what ever we think that the Spirit is saying has to be said. Sometimes there are choices.

Something or someone had alerted Jude to a problem that took on such magnitude in Jude's mind that he fixed his attention on addressing the obstacle that had received the spotlight. It seems that he received news of the activities of the false teachers and so he decided to write immediately a letter of warning and condemnation. These false teachers were apostates. They had turned their backs on the faith. They were teaching heresies and doctrines of demons. True believers everywhere must be warned at once and informed of the evil which was prophesied earlier and was then being fulfilled.

He told his readers that I felt I had to write. Jude was the servant of Jesus for this crisis in the early church. He could take a stand against the individuals and what they were teaching because he was available to heal the fracture which had occurred. He found it necessary to move at once, as soon as the news reached him to write and urge you to contend for the faith which had been delivered to them. Jude's eagerness to write and the urgency in which the believers were to respond were of equal value in his mind. He wanted these believers to wake up to what was happening to them and contend strenuously. He wanted them to take the offensive and fight, standing for the faith which was being assaulted. He appealed to them to realize the adversary desired to take away their faith and give them something counterfeit in its place. They were urged to contend for the faith. Jude wanted to incite them to pursue this calling. To contend meant for them to defend their faith and retain it. Jude provides a picture for his readers of becoming soldiers of Jesus who must fight in this terrible conflict. They must defend the faith and retain it at all cost. To contend is to enter into a demanding and severe struggle, a conflict that will bring physical and mental combat. It is at once agonizing and traumatic. One must wait until vv. 20-23 to discover how believers are to contend for the faith.

Jude was not telling his readers that they should rise up and whip these false teachers and all would be well. He was telling them that they can never go to sleep as a soldier because the conflict is continuous. The present tense of the infinitive contend points out that the contending has no end. It goes on and on during our whole lifetime.

There is a definite article with the noun faith. Faith has several meanings. In this context it means the body of truth which all Christians had come to believe. It is the message which demands faith (cf. Gal. 1.23, 1 Tim. 4.1). There is no indication as to the specific content of the faith, which implies that the first readers knew exactly what Jude was referring to. For the current readers of Jude, it is safe to infer that "the faith" is the teaching of the Apostles as recorded in the New Testament. (For a different opinion on the meaning of faith see Richard J. Bauckham, Jude, 2 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 50, Word Books, 1983. p. 36.)

The passive verbal phrase that was once for all entrusted to the saints reveals that God is the one who determined the contents of the Christian faith, and he gave it to believers to accept and transmit without change.The delivering had occurred once and was delivered by an outside source, in this case God. The faith was given for all time. It has a perpetual effect. The giving will never be repeated. This should be a warning light for all believers that the Christian faith is unchangeable. Every new doctrine that arises, even though its legitimacy may be plausibly asserted, is a false doctrine. All claims to convey some additional revelation to that which has been given by God in this body of truth are false claims and must be rejected. The word saints reflects the OT designation of the Israelites as a people dedicated to God, a people who belong only to him and are dedicated to him who are to be the reflection of God to the world.

Questions to Ponder

1. How would you communicate to your "dear friends" that they were living according to a false set of theological premises?
   
2. How do you tell your story of salvation?
   
3. Could it be that most believers can't "fight for the faith" because they don't know "what the faith" is? How would you set about correcting this problem?
   
4. How does the aspect of "contending" that says that it is a life-long practice help you understand part of you mission as a believer in life?
   

Recommended Resources

	Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude		2 Peter, Jude: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary		James, First and Second Peter, and Jude		Second Epistle General of Peter and the General Epistle of Jude: An Introduction and Commentary
	1 Peter 2 Peter Jude		2 Peter, Jude		The Letters of John and Jude