Contend For the Faith!
Part One
April 19, 2026
Scripture: Jude 3, 4, 17-25
It was half time of 1928 game between Army and Notre Dame. It didn’t look good for the Fighting Irish. The Fighting Irish had been struggling the entire first half. During half time, Coach Knute Rockne dug deep for words to turn his team around. He encouraged them. He challenged them. He warned them. He demanded their best. Finally, he paused. The scene was made famous in the 1940 movie “Knute Rockne—All American” starring Ronald Reagan. Rockne finally breaks the silence. He reminds them of a former player, George Gipp who had recently died. That is the part Reagan played in the film. In the screenplay, the coach quietly tells his team of his last visit to the bedside of Gipp. “And the last thing he said to me, "Rock," he said, "sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper.”
Those words have become the classic example of a final challenge designed to inspire a team. The book of Jude is similar as it challenges/inspires us to fight the good fight, to contend for the faith. Let’s look.
Now in verse 1, the author is identified as Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.
Jude’s brother James was a key leader in the Jerusalem church. They were both half-brothers of Jesus (Mark 6:3). Jude was a leader in the early church, but he was not an apostle. If you recall, it was not easy for James and Jude to accept Jesus as the Son of God, (John 7:3-5) but they came to accept and love Jesus and serve Him faithfully. Please note Jude emphasizes his spiritual relationship with Jesus rather than his biological one.
One other note here. II Peter 2 and this book of Jude share numerous similarities. Scholars are unsure if both drew from a common source, or if one epistle influenced the other. It is unknown which epistle came first. However, both address the concern about false teaching infiltrating the church.
Jude writes verse 3. Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Jude had initially intended to write a letter of encouragement on the topic of salvation that they share. Instead, Jude is compelled to warn the readers to stand firm, to contend for the faith.
He has a deep concern about believers abandoning the faith. To contend means to struggle in rivalry, to strenuously defend, to assert. It might be compared to an athletic event when the contestants’ strain to the challenge of the event. The word, contend, is an ancient word to describe wrestling. We derive our word “agony” from the same word. It is an up close and personal, hand-to-hand battle.
We are called to contend for this faith. The Apostle Paul stated in Timothy 6:12, Fight the good fight of the faith (I Timiothy 6:12). Paul later would say, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (II Timothy 4:7).
I personally take to heart what Paul writes at the end of Colossians 1 and the first part of chapter 2 as he expresses how he struggles, contends for the faith. He writes, He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (Colossians 1:28-2:7). This is my hope and prayer for each of you and this church.
We are to contend for “the faith.” Faith here refers not to some opinion, but a body of truth. It is not our faith or your faith. It is the faith. The word faith has a primarily objective meaning: it refers to a collection of doctrinal truths that are foundational to the Christian message and the life of the Church. The faith includes the Christian gospel and teachings of Jesus Christ. For instance, truths such as: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (I Corinthians 15:3, 4); that as one wholeheartedly believes/trust/puts their faith in Jesus, one is born again of the Holy Spirit; that if you love Jesus, then you will wholeheartedly want to obey His commandments (John 14:15; I John 2:3) and that you will want to abide/remain in Him (John 15:1-16; I John 2:26, 27). These are truths established by the apostles and were handed down to the saints.
So, in a sense, Coach Jude gathers his team in the locker room. Men and women, I wish I could tell you it’s going to be easy. I would love to talk to you about something else. But facts are facts. This is going to be a tough one. Our opponents are tough and ruthless. They know how to play. But they have been beaten before. We can beat them again. This is what it is going to take. We are going to have to compete. We are going to have to play together. We will have to support each other. We are going to have to dig deep into that reservoir of inner strength. Business as usual is not enough. We are going to have to take the game to the enemy. You must go for the ball. We must play like our lives depend on it.
As most of you know, my favorite question is “Why?” Why do we need to contend for the faith?
We are called to contend for the faith and its purity because, as Jude points out, verse 4, For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
They have seen God’s grace as a license to satisfy their selfish/worldly desires. Unbelievers, licentious, immoral people, and false teachers have distorted the truth and the grace of God. They did not hold to the truth of the Christian faith.
In verses 5-16, 18, 19 Coach Jude elaborates. In verses 5, Jude reminds his readers how the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt but later destroyed them for lack of believing.
Verse 6, he noted how angels abandoned their proper dwelling (Note: Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-17). Isaiah 14:12 notes Satan has been cast down to the earth. Scripture is clear that we are in a spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12). Satan and his demons are present here in this dimension. They are limited by God’s sovereignty. Now take to heart that their judgment is certain. Yet today Satan and his demons are running rampant which is evident in our culture today. One verse that gives me encouragement is Romans 16:20, The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (Note: Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:1-10.)
Then verse 7 states, In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
The sin most strongly connected with Sodom and Gomorrah is homosexuality (Genesis 18, 19). Paul in Romans 1:26, 27 describes this type of behavior as unnatural. In fact, Romans 1:18 notes, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness. People suppress the truth which Paul further notes leads to people hardening their hearts and then think they are wise, but really fools (Romans 1:21, 22). Since God gave us free will, he then gives them over to their sinful desires including sexual impurity and ultimately people are led to do shameful lusts such as homosexuality. Then a depraved mind and all sorts of wickedness (Note Romans 1:23-31). Sadly, this is happening today.
Some 25-30 years ago, I came across a website entitled, Soulforce. It is a website to promote the gay lifestyle. Their goal was and is to penetrate every church and denomination in affirming the gay lifestyle.
Now, don’t misunderstand, I welcome and will have a Christlike love for a gay person, which I have dealt with several times over the years. I am glad to report one person decided after sharing God’s word not to pursue or act on their gay desires. If the opportunity arises, I will try to persuade them from God’s word, but I can’t approve of their lifestyle as Scripture is clear about this. My hope is they will tolerate my position also. There have been a couple of times that people have been verbally abusive simply because they learned that I was a pastor of a Baptist Church.
This past week, I came across an interesting article entitled, 13 barriers keeping Americans away from Christianity by Arvyn Braich. One of the barriers was one’s viewpoint of the LGBT. The article stated, 47% of non-religious Americans who left their childhood religion claim they did so because of negative comments towards LGBT+ people. The rate jumps to 60% for younger adults, while it goes as high as 73% for those who identify as LGBT+. It seems that, rather than being a side issue, the apparent lack of acceptance for LGBT+ people causes some to step back… As a result, the separation goes beyond the church to include Him/Jesus for some people, preventing them from learning more about Jesus Christ himself.
Now, if you have a family member who is gay, my heart goes out to you. I encourage you to love that person with a Christlike love. However, I also encourage you to lovingly use God’s word to teach, to lead that person to at least an understanding of the truth of who Jesus is and His word. Please don’t push but lead them. As II Timothy 2:24-26 states, The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Verses 8-10 indicate these godless people were dreamers who pollute their own bodies. They rejected authority and spoke abusively against things they did not understand. In other words, they put themselves in the place of God as the judge. They are seeing themselves as the final arbiters of the faith instead of relying on God and His word. They corrupt themselves.
In verse 11, Jude references the Old Testament stories of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Cain represents the type of person that is prideful, cynical, and angry. Balaam represents the type of person who is greedy and would betray anyone for the sake of money. Korah represents the type of person who revolts out of pride.
Verses 12-13 gives several graphic metaphors of these people. They did not have any guilt. They were shepherds who did not feed the sheep but only fed themselves. These ungodly people were breaking down the community.
Verses 14, 15, Jude makes an interesting statement as he quotes from the book of I Enoch. The Dead Sea Scrolls included I Enoch. My NIV Study Bible states, First Enoch was a well-respected writing in NT times. That it was not canonical does not mean that it contained no truth; nor does Jude’s quotation of the book mean that he considered it inspired. Jude simply uses it to note the Lord is coming and will judge the wicked. Note II Thessalonians 1:6-10.
Jude goes on in verse 16 to further describe this behavior of these ungodly people. These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
Verse 18 notes they follow their own ungodly desires. Verse 19 notes that they divide the church and they follow their natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. Sadly, we have seen denominations split because of ungodly desires.
To sum it up, the reason why we are to contend for the faith is 1) because people will pervert/misuse God’s grace (v. 4); 2) because people will reject the authority of God’s word (vv. 6-110; 3) because people foster attitudes only for personal desires, their own lusts instead of following truth (v. 8, 12, 18); 4); and lastly because people will grumble, fault find, accuse, and use arrogant words to rationalize their behavior.
Those who wish to contend for the faith are not to take part in any of these behaviors. Now, let me note this. We are all going to fail in some way. Yet, thankfully, God promises to forgive those who acknowledge/repent of their missteps and rebellious ways.
After Coach Jude encourages us to contend for the faith and instructs us why we need to contend for the faith, he then states how we can contend for the faith.
Here is the first principle of how we can contend for the faith. (I am going to cover more next week.) If you are going to contend for the faith, then you need to remember and hold fast to God’s word!
The end of Jude 3 states, Contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.
What was entrusted to God’s holy people. It is the words of the Old and New Testament. Jesus affirmed the Old Testament, and he commissioned his disciples/apostles to preach and write the New Testament. One of the conditions for a book of the New Testament to be accepted as God’s word was the material had to be written by one of the apostles or their close associates. The core books of the New Testament were affirmed around 170 AD, with the Gospels being finished slightly earlier. Church historian Eusebius noted around 325 AD that there was generally consensus of the New Testament books constituting at that time the same books were recognized in the first century. Athanasius names the 27 books of the New Testament. I personally believe that the Bible we have today is the same teaching entrusted to God’s holy people.
The importance of what the apostles taught is again emphasized in Jude 17. But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. Jude encourages his readers to remember the words that were spoken by the Apostles.
The faith is constituted in the apostles’ doctrine. As Acts 2:42 says, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.
II Timothy 1:13, 14 states, What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (Also note II Peter 1:12-21.)
Coach Jude calls us to remember the words of the Apostles, who wrote the Word of God. Hold on to, protect, apply the revelation of God that has been authored by the Apostles. May we take to heart as Paul writes Timothy, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16).
Coach Jude, verses 17, 18, particularly notes that we need to remember the Apostle’s teaching in the last days. Now, we have been in the last days since the death and resurrection of Jesus. However, prophetic signs indicate that the return of Christ is soon!
The first one to predict apostasy was the Lord Himself in Matthew chapter 24:11 Jesus noted that as time goes forward, there will be many false prophets and false Christs. Verse 12-14 then says, Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
The love of many in so many ways has grown cold in our churches and culture today. So many family members are not talking to each other. Even church people have a challenging time having a good relationship with each other. Of course, the gospel has been or is very close to being preached in the whole world.
Over 40 years ago, one of the key issues within seminaries was the theology of God’s word. I attended a seminary that started because so many other seminaries had forsaken the view of inerrancy of Scripture. Of course, inerrancy of Scripture refers to the original texts. We don’t have the original texts. However, the point was to have a high view of Scripture. Scripture is the inspired word of God. Sadly, many seminaries forsook this viewpoint. My youth pastor transferred to Princeton Seminary since it was Presbyterian seminary. He noted that one professor got up in class, picked up a Bible, and clearly stated, “This book is just like any other book on the shelf.” Sadly, the seminary forsook a high view of God’s word.
Listen, the first and extremely important key to contend for the faith and to survive in times of apostasy is to know and take to heart God’s word!
Let me close with this story. There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance. He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note. The note read: "Pour all the water into the top of the pump to prime it, if you do this you will get all the water you need.” Now the man had a choice to make, if he trusted the note and poured the water in and it worked, he would have all the water he needed. If it didn’t work, he would still be thirsty and he might die. Or he could choose to drink the water in the jug and get immediate satisfaction, but it might not be enough and he still might die. After thinking about it the man decided to risk it. He poured the entire jug into the pump and began to work the handle, at first nothing happened and he got a little scared, but he kept going and water started coming out. So much water came out he drank all he wanted, took a shower, and filled all the containers he could find. Because he was willing to give up momentary satisfaction, he got all the water he needed. Now the note also said: after you have finished, please refill the jug for the next traveler. The man refilled the jug and added to the note: “Please prime the pump, believe me it works”! We have the same choice to make, do we hold on to what we have because we don’t believe there are better things in store for us, and settle for immediate satisfaction? Or do we trust God and give up all that we have to get what God has promised us? I think the choice is obvious. We need to pour in all the water, trust God with everything. If you want to experience living water, then I encourage you to trust and obey God’s word! Believe me, it works!!!!!
