New Testament · Letter

Jude 1

Contend for the Faith

Jude intended to write about salvation. Instead, he writes about danger — false teachers who have crept in unnoticed. His response is urgent.

King James Version BSB KJV

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1Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

2Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

3Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

4For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

5I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

6And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

7Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

8Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

9Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

10But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

11Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

12These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

14And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

15To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

16These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

17But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

18How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

19These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

21Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

22And of some have compassion, making a difference:

23And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

25To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Understand This

Jude 1, explained

What Jude 1 is saying

Jude, the brother of James, urgently appeals to believers to 'contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints,' prompted by the infiltration of ungodly persons who pervert grace into licentiousness and deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Drawing on three Old Testament examples (Israel in the wilderness, fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah) and two intertestamental texts (1 Enoch's prophecy of judgment and the Assumption of Moses's dispute over Moses' body), Jude builds a devastating case against the false teachers. The letter closes with one of the New Testament's most magnificent doxologies.

The background behind it

Jude's explicit citation of 1 Enoch (vv. 14-15) and apparent allusion to the Assumption of Moses (v. 9) raise important canonical questions about the status of intertestamental literature. The extensive verbal parallels with 2 Peter 2 indicate a literary relationship, with most scholars viewing Jude as the earlier source. The identification of Jude as 'brother of James' links him to the family of Jesus.

Themes running underneath

The faith is described as a fixed deposit (hapax paradotheisē) requiring defense against corruption from within. The triple historical exempla demonstrate that proximity to divine privilege does not guarantee final salvation: Israel was delivered from Egypt yet perished; angels held exalted positions yet fell; Sodom received divine visitors yet was destroyed. The doxology's emphasis on God's ability to 'keep you from stumbling' provides the theological counterweight to the warning.

Why it still matters

Jude's letter warns that the most dangerous threats to faith come from within the community. The call to contend for the faith is balanced by the closing assurance that preservation ultimately depends on God's power, not human vigilance alone. The doxology's joy reflects confidence in the God who presents believers 'without fault and with great joy.'

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.