While peace in the church is necessary and should be sought by all believers, it cannot exist while false teaching is tolerated. Therefore, Christians must contend for the Gospel against all false teaching that perverts it. This is done by first understanding and holding fast to the true Gospel then identifying and fighting against any teaching that distorts it. The Gospel is the most precious possession of any Christian and is therefore worth our utmost effort to defend.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.  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.

– Jude 3-4, ESV

The last three New Testament epistles (letters) are also some of the shortest, but they are also linked by a common theme.  Second John, Third John, and Jude all warn their recipients against false teachers who distort the Gospel.  Jude’s warning is the strongest, but Second and Third John also contain similar warnings, which are also stated by Peter (2 Peter 2:1-3) and Paul (Philippians 3:3, Titus 1:10-16, etc.).  Jude spends most of his letter describing these false teachers in graphic detail.  Why?  In verse 3, he appeals to his readers to contend for the faith.  His use of “contend” implies a fight or struggle, which is echoed by Paul (Philippians 1:27, 1 Timothy 6:12).  I recently wrote of the need for unity in the church, but clearly there is an appropriate time to fight.  It is important for every Christian to know when and why we must fight, who we must fight against, and how we must fight.

What to Contend for and When

First, since Scripture is filled with calls to maintain peace whenever possible (eg. Romans 12:18), it is important to know what we must contend for and when it is appropriate to fight for it.  Jude makes it clear in verse 3: “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints”.  This is clearly the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul says is “of first importance…that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  This is the Gospel: salvation by the grace of God alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone to the glory of God alone as revealed in Scripture alone.  Anything contrary to this is a false gospel that must be opposed.

When should we fight for the Gospel?  Jude answers this by stating that people “pervert the grace of our God…and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ”.  Jude accentuates this by describing the Gospel as delivered to us “once for all”.  This precludes any distortion of the Gospel that adds anything to or subtracts anything from the Gospel as it is clearly taught in Scripture.  This means that any gospel that subtracts from the person and work of Christ or adds any requirements other than the work of Christ (such as good works) is a false gospel.  Thus, we must fight for the purity of the Gospel when it is threatened.

One could argue that the Gospel is always threatened, as unbelievers frequently attack the Christian faith.  This is typically what we think of as the greatest threat to the Gospel.  However, Jude does not have external threats in view, since he says these enemies have “crept in unnoticed”.  Later, he calls them “hidden reefs at your love feasts” (Jude 12), referencing communion and therefore revealing these as enemies within the church.  This means that we are called to contend for the Gospel whenever its purity is threatened within the church.

It is equally important to note what Jude doesn’t mention: anything but the Gospel.  While we must contend for the Gospel, we are not fight over secondary doctrines (like the specifics of baptism and eschatology) or personal preferences.  Scripture explicitly commands us not to fight over such things (Romans 14:1).  This is why my theology page focuses on core doctrines rather than secondary doctrines and controversies. Still, even that goes a bit beyond core doctrines, so we must rely on what Scripture clearly teaches as the Gospel, which has been recognized throughout the history of the church and concisely stated in various creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed.

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