Are You Contending For The Faith?
Picture yourself as a watchman standing on a high tower, keeping an eye out for anything that might threaten your home. You have a responsibility to sound the alarm at the first sign of danger—whether it be from enemy forces or dangerous animals. The safety of your family depends on your vigilance and readiness to act. As you stand there, you notice something strange. A few individuals, seemingly harmless, have slipped past your guard and infiltrated your home. They appear to be part of the family, but their presence is slowly eroding the foundation of everything you’ve worked to protect. What do you do? Will you sit idly by, or will you take action to protect what is sacred?
This scenario, while simple, reflects a serious challenge that every Christian faces today. In his brief but powerful letter, Jude issues a warning to the church, urging believers to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3). The “faith” here refers to the body of truth handed down by the apostles—the gospel message that is meant to preserve God’s people from error and spiritual death. Jude’s concern was not just that false teachings were coming from outside the church, but that certain individuals were creeping in unnoticed (Jude 4). This isn’t just a matter of intellectual disagreement. These false teachers were distorting the grace of God, turning it into a license for immorality. The church had to be on guard, and the same is true for us today.
How many of us have stood by silently as false teachings subtly infiltrated our communities? How many have witnessed the watering down of the gospel, and instead of standing firm in the truth, we’ve allowed these errors to go unchecked? The world we live in, much like the early Christian world, is full of distortions that threaten to mislead even the most well-meaning believers. Jude’s letter is a call to action—a call to contend for the faith, to guard against the infiltration of error, and to stand firm in the gospel, no matter the cost.
But what exactly does it mean to “contend for the faith”? It’s easy to think of contention in terms of arguing or fighting. But the word contend in the original Greek—epagōnizomai—carries a sense of intense, deliberate effort. Think of an athlete who trains rigorously, giving everything he has to prepare for the race. Or consider a soldier who fights fiercely to protect his home. The faith we are called to defend is not something passive; it requires active engagement, focus, and determination.
To contend for the faith is to hold firmly to the gospel, ensuring that its truth is not compromised by the world’s changing values or by those who would distort its message. But, like any fight, it’s not always easy. Jude tells us that false teachers have “crept in unnoticed” (Jude 4), suggesting that these men didn’t come with horns blazing, proclaiming outright heresy. No, they blended in with the community. They appeared to be part of the family, and so their influence went unchecked. That’s why Jude’s warning is so urgent—false teachings often infiltrate the church in subtle ways, dressed in words that sound kind and compassionate, but which ultimately lead people away from the truth.
Look around today. The prosperity gospel, which teaches that faith guarantees material wealth, the rise of universalism, which suggests that all paths lead to God, and the acceptance of cultural Christianity, which minimizes the demands of Scripture, are all examples of false teachings creeping into modern Christianity. In many places, the gospel has been watered down, and its core truths have been diluted in an effort to make it more palatable to a world that doesn’t want to be confronted by the reality of sin, judgment, and the need for personal transformation.
But Jude doesn’t leave us in despair. He doesn’t merely tell us to “contend” without showing us how. He points to the example of God’s judgment on the apostates of the past. He reminds us of the Exodus generation, who were saved from Egypt but later destroyed because of their unbelief (Jude 5). He reminds us of the fallen angels who abandoned their appointed place and were bound in chains (Jude 6), and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed for their sexual immorality and perversion (Jude 7). These historical examples serve as a powerful warning to us today. Just as those who rebelled against God were judged, we too will face judgment if we allow error and immorality to creep into our lives and communities unchecked.
The truth is, false teachers and their destructive influence are not new. Jude warns that they will be like “hidden reefs,” “waterless clouds,” “fruitless trees,” and “wandering stars” (Jude 12-13). These metaphors speak to the emptiness of false teachings. They promise much but deliver nothing. They may appear harmless at first, but they are dangerous, leading believers into spiritual shipwreck. But here’s the good news: Jude also encourages us to remain steadfast in the faith. He calls us to “remember the words of the apostles” (Jude 17), to build ourselves up in our most holy faith (Jude 20), and to keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).
To contend for the faith is not just to fight against error; it is also to grow in grace and knowledge. It is to remain faithful to God’s Word, continually seeking to be built up in our understanding of His truth. But this is not something we do alone. Jude reminds us that it is God who is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us faultless before His glory (Jude 24). Our confidence is not in our own strength but in the power of God to preserve us as we seek to live out His truth.
The call to contend for the faith is a call to action. It is a call to vigilance, to discernment, and to faithfulness. We are in a battle for the truth, and the stakes are high. Let us not be complacent but rather actively engage in guarding the faith that has been entrusted to us. The question for all of us is simple: Are we truly defending the faith?