More Pressing than our Common Salvation

Jude called himself "a servant of Christ" (Jude 1:1) even though he was actually one of Jesus's physical brothers. They shared the same mother. That's impressive. Jude wrote his letter "to those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:1) And what did Jesus's brother write to say?

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. (Jude 1:3)

Jude "was very eager" to write about his older brother who was his Savior as well as the Savior of all those who are called, beloved in God, and kept for Christ. It was exciting. It was a great topic. Let's dig in!! But, no. There is something else. There is something more pressing. There is a more immediate issue that needs to be addressed first. What? "Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3)

Jude's day was apparently facing a truth crisis. Jude's fellow believers were facing truth decay. When he writes that "certain people have crept in," he's referring to "crept into our churches." Some people were creeping in among God's children and perverting God's grace into sensuality and denying "our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:4) "Alert!" Jude cries. "I was eager to write about our common salvation, but this is a real problem!!"

These people, "relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones." (Jude 1:8) (Compare with 2 Peter 2:10.) They overthrow the authority of the Word and the authority of the church and the authority of God and speak evil of the respected saints and angels in favor of sensuality. "We know better," they boldly declare. "If it feels good, do it. We are ignoring the Bible and changing the church and throwing out old beliefs. We know better. We are on the right side of history."

Jude's time wasn't much different than ours, was it? In our very midst are those who call themselves believers while they turn God's grace into sensuality, reject the authority of God and His Word, and lean instead on their own dreams and ideas. Jude reminded his readers that the apostles had predicted, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." (Jude 1:18) And it is so. We are to contend for the faith given once for all (as opposed to "being unveiled throughout time"). We are to build ourselves in the faith and pray and remain in the love of God (Jude 1:20-21). We have a job to do and can rest in the confidence that He "is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy." (Jude 1:24) So we stand ... in a world populated by unbelievers in and out of our churches hoping to persuade us of something else.