What does it mean to contend for the faith?

TL;DR:

Contending for the faith speaks of hard and diligent work. Jude exhorts his readers to contend for the message of the gospel against those who seek to erode it.

In his letter to believers who were living in Jerusalem, Jude urged them to "contend for the faith.” Rather than focus on the commonality of their salvation, Jude urges the church to have ownership of their faith by fighting for it. He writes, "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" (Jude 1:3). Jude's concern is that the Christian message of the gospel—"the faith"—is under attack from false teachers and their heresies. Jude exhorts his readers to contend for the message of the gospel against those who are seeking to erode it.

The ancient Greek word translated contend comes from the athletic world and is a form of the word meaning to agonize. Therefore contend speaks of hard and diligent work. Jude was prompted to write this because "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 1:4). False teachers had infiltrated the church. The New Testament is filled with warnings to the church about false teachers. False prophets are dangerous because they convince others by “twisting the Scripture” (see 2 Peter 3:16), so Jude instructs the church on how to respond when there are false teachers in a congregation—by holding fast to the truth of the gospel.

from the old testament

The nation of Israel’s battles to possess the land God gave to them, described in the book of Joshua, can serve as a metaphor for us today. As Israel defended and contended and battled against the Canaanite peoples, we see a picture of our need to rely upon the Lord to fight for us as we move forward to remove sin from our lives, defend the truth, and contend for the faith.

from the new testament

This urge to fight for the gospel, or to contend for the faith, is found elsewhere in the epistles. In 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 Paul compares his life to a race. Athletes use self-control to win a temporary crown, but we are living for eternity. Paul talks about running with purpose, endurance, and self-discipline “lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
In 1 Timothy 6:12–14, Paul encourages Timothy “to fight the good fight of faith.”
Philippians 1:27 talks of believers “with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”
Ephesians 6:12 urges believers to be strong in the Lord because our battle is ultimately a spiritual one. If we are lazy and hold the gospel loosely, letting man's doctrines, traditions, legalism or liberality outweigh Scripture, then we have lost the battle.

implications for today

At the end of his letter Jude gives practical instruction on how to contend for the faith and how to encourage a congregation that has false teachers within it: "But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh" (Jude 1:20–23). We are to contend for the faith by building ourselves up in the faith (2 Peter 1:5–10) and by praying in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). We are also to be sensitive to the needs of the congregation as many might be struggling in their faith because of the false teacher's doctrines. We are to hate the presence of sin, calling our brothers and sisters in Christ out of it, and at the same time show mercy to those who are doubting (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:14; James 5:19–20). We are not only fighting the battle for the truth for ourselves, but for those around us—for those who are weaker or those who are easily deceived, those younger or more impressionable. In order to “contend,” we must also be ready to “defend.” Peter’s challenge to the believers was, “...always being prepared to make a defense [of your faith] to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). So, we must know God’s Word and stand up for what we believe both for ourselves and for others.

understand

Contending for the faith means actively defending the truth of the gospel against false teachings.
Contending for the faith involves knowing what we believe and being prepared to share it while also trusting in the One who holds our faith.
Contending for the faith helps others who are weaker in faith, younger in the faith, or struggling in their faith while standing firm against the influence of sin.

reflect

How have you responded in situations where your faith was challenged by false teachings or doubts?
In what ways can you actively build yourself up in faith to be better prepared to contend for the gospel?
When you see others struggling with their faith, how can you offer support while staying true to the truth of the gospel?

engage

How can we ensure we are vigilant against false teachings while maintaining compassion for those who doubt?
How does contending for the faith today resemble the way they are described in Scripture?
How can we balance standing firm in biblical truth with showing mercy and grace to those struggling with their beliefs?