Living during a time when the church was being persecuted by Rome and facing the possibility of many within the church accepting doctrinal error, Jude (half brother of Jesus Christ) writes to challenge his readers to “…contend [fight] earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (v.3). Jude begged his readers to stand firm on the faith which had been passed down to them from the apostles and reject any teachings which were contrary to the truth. Although the reader cannot be certain about the date or audience to whom Jude was writing this letter, scholars indicate that the time of writing falls somewhere between Peter’s second letter (AD 68-70) and before AD 80. The recipients of Jude’s letter were most likely Jewish and seemed to be facing the infiltration of false teachers into their church. Much like John’s first letter, Jude is probably warning his readers about the dangers of Gnosticism which denies the humanity and deity of Jesus (v.4), tolerates immoral lifestyles (vv.8, 16), disrespects authority (vv. 8, 11, 18), seeks financial gain (vv. 11-12, 16), and causes division as well as confusion (v.19).
Similar to the churches in Jude’s day, false teachings abound in our world today and are always waiting to push themselves into the minds of believers. Rather than being open to every teacher and teaching, Christians must not only stand firm in the truth but also demonstrate the truth through obedience to God’s commandments. As Jude’s letter became a warning to the believers in the first century, Christians today must maintain our faith in Jesus by “building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (vv.20-21).
Dear God, help those who believe in You to stand firm in the truths You’ve revealed through Scripture. May we also be wise and discerning of some who may attempt to distort the truth. May the faith we hold dear also change the way we live.
I just wanted to say that God’s word is awesome and it breathes life. God is so loving that he reveals his word to you when u need it the most
I could not agree with you more! Thanks for reading, Justina!
We are living in perilous times and our only guarantee for salvation is through building our most holy faith and praying fervently to God that nothing takes us away from His love,our only perfector in Jesus’ Name. Amen