Christians obviously disagree, individually or corporately, over many matters—distinctive beliefs, ministerial philosophy, practical applications, etc. But disagreement is not necessarily the same as persistent disobedience or unbelief. If possible, we should enjoy what levels of fellowship we can have and handle disagreements as charitably as possible.

We must contend for the faith. Jude commands us, “Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

But we must not be contentious. Speaking on head coverings, Paul gave a prohibition against contentiousness that applies to any situation: “If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God” (1 Cor 11:16).

What does it meant to contend? What does mean to be contentious? And how can we contend while not being contentious? By reviewing the meaning of contend and considering the meaning of contentious, I’ll attempt to answer these questions below.

Defining the Term Contend

In a previous post, we examined the word contend:

The word translated “contend” has the idea of expending intense effort and energy. It comes from epagōnizomai, a relative of agōnizomai, from which we receive our English word agonize. Jude’s form of the word is used only here, but its relative refers elsewhere to fighting (John 18:36) or to participating in an athletic contest (Heb 12:1). Whether as a verb or noun, the New Testament repeatedly uses this word as a metaphor for aspects of the Christian life: salvation (Luke 13:24), perseverance (Heb 12:1), self-control (1 Cor 9:25), prayer (Col 4:12), suffering persecution (1 Thess 2:2), and the gospel ministry in general (Phil 1:30; Col 1:29; 2:1; 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7).

Following Christ, controlling ourselves, praying, suffering, and ministering to others—all of these activities require intense efforts on our part, a struggle made possible by the power of Christ (cf. Col 1:29). Opposing false teachers and their teaching, contending, is one of these struggles, and Jude urges us to contend for the faith.

So, here in Jude, contending is intensely opposing heretics and their heresies that have crept into God’s church.

For this post, I thought it would be helpful to add some thoughts on contending without being contentious.

Defining the Term Contentious

Paul concluded his instruction on head coverings with a prohibition against being contentious: “If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God” (1 Cor 11:16).

“Contentious” stems from philoneikos, used only here in the New Testament. If broken into its parts, this word literally means “a lover of victory.” Someone who has an inordinate love for victory has to be right in every dispute. And the sad thing is this—sometimes this love for being right is so blinding that a contentious person thinks he is right in his love for being right. People like this are contrarian, quarrelsome, and contentious.

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