Jude - Contend for the Faith - Pt 1

 

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1–2 ESV)

 

Most of the time once I have finished a short series, I am torn a bit in consideration of where I want to go next. This is not the case with the series we begin today. For the next few days, we will be looking into the Epistle of Jude. It is the second-to-last book of the New Testament, consisting of a single, powerful chapter. The author is identified as Jude (Judah), he calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James, and traditionally regarded as a half-brother or relative of Jesus. The core purpose of this short is to urge believers to "contend for the faith" and warn against ungodly false teachers who had slipped into the community, perverting God's grace into a license for immorality.

 

We will see that he uses vivid examples of divine judgment from the past—including unbelieving Israelites, rebellious angels, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—and uniquely quotes from early Jewish apocalyptic literature like the Book of Enoch. Each of these references have given theologians much to debate through the years. In fact, Martin Luther held a highly critical view of the Epistle of Jude, placing it into a secondary group of New Testament books known as the antilegomena (disputed books) at the end of his 1522 German translation. He famously stated that Jude "…need not be counted among the chief books which are supposed to lay the foundations of faith." There has been much disagreement about that view and of course it is one of the canonized books of the New Testament.

 

The letter concludes by encouraging Christians to build themselves up in their faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep themselves in God's love, and show mercy to doubters. I think it will not only be of great interest for us to look at this epistle, but it will serve as a great encouragement in today’s cultural struggle all believers face. I hope you will read it and begin to jot down some of the questions you have for further examination. Send them to me and I’ll answer as many as possible.

 

Today, commit yourself to truly contend for the faith!