Jude 3-4

Read Jude 1-16, 17-25

3

Jude 3 “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation”

Jude starts off with beloved, he is addressing his fellow Christians, whom he loved and cared for. He continues by telling his audience that his original intention was to write to them about the wonderful joy that they share in their common salvation through Jesus Christ. He wanted to write about and share the totally undeserved salvation that all adopted sons and daughters have together as the bride of Christ, Jude wanted to fill the readers of his letter with a reminder of how wonderful a grace we have. All of the elect, from all the way back in history, and all the way forward until the end of this age share a common salvation. A salvation that is big enough and powerful enough for the multitude upon multitudes that will be singing and praising the glories of God, but yet the way of salvation is narrow, or singular in its path, through the only way, truth, and light, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have we or do we ever think about the commonness that all of the Church universal has together with one another through our salvation?

But Jude goes on in verse 3 saying.

“, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”

We should all be eager and excited to share with everyone, especially other believers, the common salvation we share, but something came to Jude’s attention that took an urgent priority over sharing the Gospel. He found it necessary to stop with the letter he wanted and intended to write and instead was forced to address the members of the church or churches he was speaking to to contend for the faith. Contend means to struggle earnestly for, or surmount a difficulty or danger.

Paul closes his first letter to Timothy saying something similar, 1 Timothy 6:20–21 “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.” Paul tells Timothy to guard the deposit entrusted to him, to guard, keep safe, and defend the faith.

Jude felt it was urgent and needed to not only remind but to appeal to his readers, to encourage, summon, or exhort them to stand firm and fight for this same faith that Paul was telling Timothy to guard.

What is the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints?

4

Jude 4 “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”