“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3)
1. A Shift in Intention
Jude opened his letter intending to write about “the common salvation”—to encourage believers in the blessings we share in Christ. But almost immediately he explains that it became “needful” to change course. The word he uses, anankē, speaks of compulsion—an unavoidable necessity. The Spirit would not let him merely celebrate; he was pressed to warn.
Why? Because the faith was under threat. False teachers had already slipped in unnoticed (v. 4), and the church needed to be stirred up to contend for the truth.
This reminds us that there are times when the church’s joyful celebration must give way to sober vigilance.
2. The Command to Contend
Jude exhorts believers to “earnestly contend for the faith.” The word he uses is epagonizesthai—an intensified form of agonizomai, meaning to struggle, to fight, to strive with all one’s energy. Jude is calling the church to nothing less than a battle for the truth.
The imagery is both athletic and military—to wrestle, to fight, to struggle to the point of exhaustion. This is not casual debate; it is active, deliberate resistance against error.
In other words, truth will not guard itself. The church must contend for it.
3. The Object of Contention
The struggle has a clear focus: “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” This is not about defending personal opinions or preferences—it is about guarding the unchanging gospel handed down to God’s people.
- The faith (hē pistis) here does not mean our personal trust in Christ, but the objective body of Christian truth—the teaching once for all delivered.
- Once delivered (hapax paradotheisē): hapax means “once for all,” final and unrepeatable. The gospel is not being reissued in every generation; it has been definitively given.
- Delivered unto the saints: the verb paradidōmi (“to hand over, to entrust”) shows that the truth was deposited with the church as a whole. It is not the possession of scholars or elites, but a corporate stewardship.
Thus the church does not invent doctrine; it receives it, guards it, and proclaims it.
4. The Corporate Dimension
It’s important to see that Jude’s exhortation is not directed to individuals alone, but to the whole community of believers. The church, together, carries the responsibility to preserve and defend the apostolic faith.
- Individuals may contend bravely, but without the church’s vigilance, truth erodes.
- The faith was delivered to the saints — the whole body, the gathered church, entrusted with the deposit.
- Local congregations are therefore guardians, ensuring that what they teach, support, and send forth aligns with the once-delivered gospel.
In practice, this means churches must weigh carefully the missionaries they send, the agencies they support, and the doctrines they allow. To be careless here is to disobey Jude’s command to contend for the faith.
5. The Mission Application
Missions is not merely about spreading the gospel, but about spreading the right gospel. If the faith is not carefully guarded, it will be diluted or distorted as it crosses cultures.
- Contextualization is good, but compromise is dangerous.
- Adapting methods can be wise, but altering doctrine is unfaithful.
- Missions must be measured not only by how far it reaches, but by how true it remains.
It is the church—not agencies alone—that bears the responsibility of ensuring the truth preached abroad is the same truth once for all delivered to the saints.
Conclusion
Jude calls the church to contend earnestly for the faith—the once-for-all delivered gospel entrusted to the saints. This is no private hobby; it is a corporate calling. Every congregation must see itself as a guardian of truth, standing firm today so that generations to come may stand firm tomorrow.
If the church refuses to contend, the faith falters; but when the church contends, the gospel endures and spreads in power.
Andy Streit | Rooted and Sent 
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