Book: The Way of the Word: Chapter 65: Contending for the Faith
- Dr. Layne McDonald
- Jun 9
- 11 min read
The Book of Jude is often referred to as the "vestibule" to the Book of Revelation. It is a small, twenty-five-verse letter tucked away just before the final curtain of the New Testament, yet it pulses with an urgency that feels as fresh as today’s headlines. In a world of shifting shadows, cultural compromise, and theological "fog," Jude rings a bell that demands our full attention. He calls us to a task that is often misunderstood, sometimes avoided, but absolutely essential: to contend earnestly for the faith.
As we continue our journey through The Way of the Word, we find ourselves standing at the edge of the apostolic age. The voices of the giants: Paul, Peter, John: are beginning to fade into history, and a new generation of believers is facing a subtle, internal threat. The danger Jude addresses isn't an external persecution; it is an internal infiltration. It is the danger of "creepers": those who have slipped into the church unnoticed to distort the grace of God into a license for immorality.
For those of us in the Assemblies of God and the broader Spirit-filled community, Jude’s message is a vital guardrail. We are a people of the Word and the Spirit. We believe in the power of God to transform lives, but we must also be a people who guard the truth that transforms. Jude teaches us that we cannot have the Spirit without the Truth, and we cannot keep the Truth without the Power of the Spirit.
The Bond-Servant’s Greeting (Jude 1-2)
Jude begins with a lesson in humility. He identifies himself as "Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" (Jude 1). If you know your biblical history, you know that Jude was actually a half-brother of Jesus. Yet, he doesn't lead with his family credentials. He doesn't say, "Listen to me because I grew up in the same house as the Messiah." Instead, he identifies as a doulos: a slave, a bond-servant. He has transitioned from a sibling relationship to a spiritual submission.
This is the first principle of contending for the faith: it must come from a heart of submission. We do not defend the faith because we are "right" or "smarter" than others; we defend it because we belong to Jesus Christ. Our authority is derived from our surrender.
Jude addresses his letter to those who are "called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ." Notice the three-fold security here. You are called by His purpose, loved by His person, and kept by His power. This sets the stage for the entire letter. Before Jude warns us about the darkness, he reminds us of our position in the Light. You cannot effectively contend for the faith if you do not know you are kept by the Father.
The Shift of the Spirit (Jude 3)
Jude intended to write a different kind of letter. He says, "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 3).
Jude wanted to write a "Common Salvation" devotional. He wanted to talk about the joy of being saved, the beauty of the cross, and the wonder of heaven. We all love those messages. But the Holy Spirit gave him a "check" in his spirit. There was an emergency. The foundation was being attacked, and a "common salvation" message would be insufficient for a church under siege.
There is a time to celebrate our salvation, and there is a time to defend the Gospel that makes salvation possible. Jude uses the word epagonizomai: translated as "contend earnestly." It’s where we get our word "agonize." It’s an athletic and military term. It implies a struggle, a battle, a high-stakes effort.
What are we contending for? "The faith once for all entrusted to the saints." This is a crucial distinction. Jude isn't talking about "my faith" or "your faith" in a subjective sense. He is talking about "The Faith": the body of apostolic truth, the core doctrines of the person and work of Jesus Christ. This truth isn't evolving. It wasn't "upgraded" for the second century, and it doesn't need to be "reimagined" for the twenty-first. It was delivered "once for all." Our job isn't to innovate the Gospel; it’s to insulate it and communicate it.
The Creeping Threat (Jude 4)
Why the urgency? Because "certain persons have crept in unnoticed" (Jude 4). These aren't people breaking down the front doors of the church with pitchforks. These are people who look like us, talk like us, and sit in the pews next to us, but they have a hidden agenda.
Jude identifies two primary errors of these false teachers:
They turn the grace of God into licentiousness (moral compromise).
They deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (theological compromise).
In our modern context, we see this everywhere. Grace is often preached as a "get out of jail free" card that requires no repentance and no transformation. It is a grace that makes no demands and offers no power over sin. Jude warns that this is a perversion. True grace doesn't lead to licentiousness; it leads to holiness. As Titus 2:11-12 tells us, the grace of God teaches us to "deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age."
Furthermore, they deny Christ’s Lordship. This doesn't always mean they say, "I hate Jesus." It often means they refuse to submit to His authority. They want Jesus as a Savior but not as a Sovereign. They want the benefits of the Kingdom without the requirements of the King.
Lessons from History (Jude 5-7)
Jude doesn't just make assertions; he provides evidence. He takes us back to three historical examples of what happens when people reject God’s authority and God’s truth.
1. Unbelieving Israel (v. 5): God saved them out of Egypt, but He destroyed those who did not believe. Being part of the "crowd" that experiences a miracle isn't enough. Many saw the Red Sea part but never entered the Promised Land because their hearts were full of unbelief and rebellion. Privilege does not exempt us from judgment; it increases our responsibility.
2. Rebellious Angels (v. 6): Even the angels in heaven were not safe from the consequences of rebellion. Those who "did not keep their own domain" but abandoned their proper abode are now kept in eternal bonds under darkness. This is a sobering reminder: no matter how high your spiritual position, you are never above the authority of God.
3. Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 7): These cities are set forth as an example of "eternal fire." They pursued "strange flesh" and indulged in gross immorality. Jude connects theological apostasy with moral decay. When we lose our grip on the Truth of God, we inevitably lose our grip on the morality of God.
For the Assemblies of God, these verses are a heavy reminder of our stance on the Final Judgment. We do not believe in universalism: the idea that everyone gets in regardless of their response to Christ. We believe Jude’s warning is real. There is a judgment for those who persistently reject the light.
The Nature of Apostasy (Jude 8-16)
Jude’s description of these false teachers is both vivid and terrifying. He calls them "hidden reefs" in your love feasts (v. 12). They are like sharp rocks hidden just below the surface of the water, capable of shipwrecking a soul while everyone thinks they are just having a fellowship meal.
He uses nature to describe their spiritual emptiness:
Clouds without water: They promise rain (spiritual refreshment) but deliver nothing but wind. They have a form of godliness but no power.
Autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead: They look like they should be producing, but they are hollow and uprooted.
Wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam: They are loud, chaotic, and messy, leaving a trail of debris wherever they go.
Wandering stars: They have no fixed point, no true north. They offer guidance but are themselves lost in the darkness.
One of the most intriguing parts of Jude is verse 9, where he mentions Michael the archangel disputing with the devil about the body of Moses. This isn't in the Old Testament; it likely comes from an ancient Jewish tradition (The Assumption of Moses). Jude’s point is about authority. Even Michael, the highest of angels, did not dare to bring a "railing judgment" against the devil but said, "The Lord rebuke you."
The false teachers, by contrast, "revile the things which they do not understand" (v. 10). They have no respect for spiritual authority. They are "grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage" (v. 16).
How many times have we seen this? A leader arises who is charismatic and eloquent, but they use their platform to stir up division, flatter the wealthy, and grumble against biblical standards. Jude says: Watch out. These are markers of a "creeper."
The Apostolic Reminder (Jude 17-19)
Jude tells us not to be surprised. "But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 17). Paul, Peter, and John all warned that "mockers" would come in the last time.
Jude characterizes these mockers as "those who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit" (v. 19).
This is a critical diagnostic for any Spirit-filled believer. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace (unity). The fruit of the "creeper" is division. They divide families, they divide churches, and they divide the heart from the Word. They are "worldly-minded" (psychikoi): driven by their natural emotions and intellect rather than the Holy Spirit.
In our Pentecostal heritage, we prioritize the moving of the Spirit. But Jude reminds us that not every "spirit" is the Holy Spirit. If a movement causes division away from apostolic truth and elevates worldly passions over biblical holiness, Jude says it is "devoid of the Spirit."
The Spiritual Strategy (Jude 20-23)
After diagnosing the disease, Jude gives us the cure. He provides a four-step strategy for staying "kept" in a world of compromise.
1. "Building yourselves up on your most holy faith" (v. 20): How do you build yourself up? You get into the Word. You study the "faith once for all delivered." You don't look for "new" truths; you deepen your understanding of the "old" truths. Theology is the foundation of our stability. If your faith is a "holy faith," it must be built on a Holy Word.
2. "Praying in the Holy Spirit" (v. 20): This is where the power comes from. For us, this includes the beautiful gift of praying in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance (1 Corinthians 14:14-15), but it also means praying under the Spirit’s direction, in the Spirit’s power, and in alignment with the Spirit’s will. You cannot contend for the faith in your own strength. You need the "intercession of the Spirit" (Romans 8:26-27). Prayer is the oxygen of the contender.
3. "Keep yourselves in the love of God" (v. 21): Notice the balance. Jude said in verse 1 that we are "kept for Jesus Christ." Now he says "keep yourselves." This is the classic biblical tension of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God keeps us, but we must stay in the place where He keeps us: the place of obedience and love. We "keep ourselves" by abiding in Christ (John 15).
4. "Waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life" (v. 21): Keep an eternal perspective. This world is not our home. The struggles we face today: the cultural battles, the theological debates, the personal temptations: are temporary. We are waiting for the Final Mercy, the return of our Lord.
The Ministry of Rescue (Jude 22-23)
Contending for the faith isn't just about winning arguments; it's about saving people. Jude gives us three levels of engagement for those affected by false teaching:
Have mercy on some, who are doubting: Some people are just confused. They’ve heard a false teacher and they have questions. Don't blast them; be merciful. Answer their questions with patience and truth.
Save others, snatching them out of the fire: Some have gone deeper. They are on the verge of spiritual disaster. This requires urgent, forceful intervention. Snatch them back!
On some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh: Some are heavily entrenched in the immorality of the false teachers. We still show mercy, but we do it with extreme caution ("with fear"). We don't want to get "polluted" by the same sin while we are trying to pull them out.
This is a high-level manual for pastoral care and discipleship. We don't treat everyone the same, but we treat everyone with the goal of restoration.
The Great Doxology (Jude 24-25)
Jude ends not with a warning, but with a worship service. These final two verses are perhaps the most beautiful doxology in the entire Bible.
"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."
After all the warnings about "creepers" and "hidden reefs," Jude lands on the ultimate truth: God is able.
He is able to keep you from stumbling. He is able to present you blameless. He is able to give you joy in the midst of a dark world. Our "contending" is only possible because of His "keeping."
As we look at the landscape of the church today, it’s easy to get discouraged. We see the "creepers" on social media. We hear the "mockers" in the academy. We feel the pressure to turn grace into licentiousness. But Jude reminds us that the Faith is once for all delivered, and the Savior is forever able.
Stand firm. Build yourselves up. Pray in the Spirit. And remember: you are kept for Jesus Christ.
Practical Application for Today
Audit Your Influences: Who are you listening to? Are they "clouds without water," or do they root you in the "faith once for all delivered"? If someone is causing division or making light of biblical holiness, it's time to tune them out.
Deepen Your Foundation: Don't just settle for a "common salvation" understanding. Dig into the Word. Study the core doctrines of our faith. Be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you.
Activate Your Prayer Life: Spend time this week "praying in the Holy Spirit." Let the Spirit build you up and give you the discernment you need for the days ahead.
Engage with Mercy: Is there someone in your circle who is doubting or drifting? Reach out with the mercy of Jude. Don't let them drift into the "hidden reefs" without a rescue attempt.
The Book of Jude is a call to arms, but it is also a call to rest. We fight the good fight, but we rest in the One who is able to keep us. Contend earnestly, for the King is coming, and He is able to present you blameless with great joy.
Author Bio: Layne McDonald, Ph.D., is an author, teacher, and leadership consultant dedicated to helping believers navigate modern culture through the lens of biblical truth. With a focus on spiritual formation, emotional health, and practical discipleship, Dr. McDonald’s work is rooted in the authority of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the author of numerous books, including Leading with Heart and Saving Corporate America, and serves as a mentor to leaders across ministry and marketplace sectors.
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The Final Thought: If God is the one who keeps you, and God is the one who presents you, then who can possibly pull you away from the Truth, unless you choose to walk away yourself?
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