Beloved, 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. 4 For 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. Jude 3–4.

Something weighty was on Jude's heart. He says,

"Beloved, 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."

That phrase "earnestly contend" comes from the Greek. It is where we get our word "agonize." It paints the picture of an athlete straining every muscle or a soldier fighting with all he has. This is not casual. Jude tells us that the gospel is so precious that we must guard it with everything we have.

But what was the fight about? Not politics. Not personal preferences. Not minor theological arguments. Jude says the battle was for the very heart of the gospel.

First, some were twisting grace into unrestrained immorality. Jude writes,

"For 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."

They claimed God's grace meant sin no longer mattered. That lie did not just corrupt doctrine; it wrecked lives. Paul asked the same question in Romans 6:1,

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid."

Grace is not permission to sin; it is the power to walk free from it.

Second, they denied Christ as Lord. This denial was not necessarily in words but in lifestyle. They wanted Jesus as Savior but not as Master. Yet Jesus Himself asked in Luke 6:46,

\"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

To separate His saving work from His authority is to reject Him in practice.

Here is something we need to see clearly: grace can be distorted in more than one way. On one side, grace is twisted into license, saying, "I can do whatever I want." On the other side, grace is buried under law, saying, "I must perform for God to accept me." Both are lies. Both deny the finished work of Christ.

Grace is not license, and grace is not law. Grace is God's love poured out on the undeserving, a gift that saves and transforms us. To contend for the faith is to guard grace as it truly is, full and free and finished in Jesus.

But contending for the faith does not mean becoming harsh or combative. You do not defend grace by being graceless. You do not stand for truth by cutting people down. The fight is real, but the spirit of the fight must reflect the very gospel we are protecting.

We are not called to be bullies in the name of Jesus. We are called to stand with courage but also with humility and love. Jude is not asking us to go out hunting heretics. He is asking us to cling to Jesus and refuse to let the gospel be diluted, whether by compromise or by control.

And we need to remember, contending is not just about debates in church meetings or theological discussions. It is about everyday life. We contend for the faith when we refuse to treat grace like a loophole for sin. We contend when we let Jesus have the final word in how we live, spend, forgive, and love. To call Him Lord and then ignore His commands is to deny Him in practice. Contending means making the simple decision that if Jesus really rose from the dead, then He really does get to lead my life.

And here is the hope: this is not a fight we enter trembling as though the outcome were uncertain. Jude says the faith was once delivered. The gospel is complete. The victory is already secure. We are not fighting for victory, we are fighting from victory.

So yes, the battle remains. Grace must be guarded, Jesus must be honored as Lord, and the gospel must not be twisted. But we do not fight with fear. We fight by holding fast to grace, by resting in the finished work of Christ, and by living in a way that shows He is Lord.

That is how we contend for the faith, firm in truth, full of grace, and confident in the One who has already overcome.