“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3).
The verse above is often cited to show the need for Christians to engage in a spiritual battle for the cause of Christ. We are to “put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11), which enables us to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). In doing this, Jude explained that we must “contend earnestly for the faith.” This is just as important today as it was when Jude penned these words in the first century.*
However, Jude’s original intention was to write about another topic – “our common salvation.” This was (and is) a vitally important subject, but because of the pressing need to “contend earnestly for the faith,” the Holy Spirit saw fit to have the inspired writer deliver a different message than Jude originally intended. Whether Jude ever delivered a follow-up message on that topic – in person or in writing – we do not know. However, the idea of “our common salvation” is worthy of our consideration, so we will discuss that in this article.
What Is Salvation?
Before looking at what is common about our salvation, we first need to understand what salvation is. Before Jesus was born, the angel announced to Joseph, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Many of the Jews had the idea that the Messiah would save them from Roman tyranny. Yet Jesus came to save them from something much worse – the tyranny of sin. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).
In providing deliverance from sin, Jesus was also going to provide the hope of eternal life. Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). When he referred to the “wages of sin,” he meant what we earn for our sin. God declared through the prophet, “The soul who sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:4). This is not about physical death but refers to a separation from God that leads to eternal destruction (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
However, we have hope of salvation through Christ. Peter declared, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Only through Him can we be saved.
The Message of Salvation
Again, salvation is only through Christ, and the gospel contains the message of salvation. Paul told the saints in Rome, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Notice what Luke recorded when the gospel was first preached on the day of Pentecost:
“Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.’ And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation!’ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. […] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:37-41, 47).
The message of the gospel is more than just a declaration telling us what Christ did to make salvation possible. It also provides instructions showing us how to take advantage of the salvation available in Christ. This is why Paul referred to the lost state of those who “do not obey the gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8).
Obeying the Gospel
That begs the question: What does it mean to obey the gospel? Remember what Luke recorded about the events on the day of Pentecost. What did the people who “received [Peter’s] word” (Acts 2:41) do when he preached the gospel on that day?
- They heard the message of the gospel, which identified Jesus as the Savior and convicted them of their sin (Acts 2:22-36).
- They believed the fact that Jesus is both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:37).
- They repented of their sin and turned to the Lord (Acts 2:38).
- They were baptized into Christ in order to have their sins forgiven (Acts 2:38, 41).
It is important to note that every example of conversion in the book of Acts is consistent with this pattern. Even if every “step” is not explicitly mentioned, each one is implied. We can be sure of this because it was consistent with the message Jesus commissioned His apostles to preach:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
“Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47).
In those passages, we find the same pattern of hearing the gospel, believing in Jesus, turning from sin, and being baptized into Christ.
Also, notice what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans about their obedience to the gospel:
“Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:16-18).
Previously, the saints in Rome were slaves of sin, but they were freed (saved) from sin when they obeyed the gospel. Paul described this as “obedient” to a certain “form of teaching.” The word form means a model or pattern. As Paul explained earlier in the chapter, the pattern they followed was the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ:
“Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).
This also is consistent with what we noticed in the preaching of the apostles and the Great Commission given by Jesus. These brethren heard and believed the gospel (which is implied), repented by becoming dead to sin and walking in newness of life, and were baptized into Christ. Paul also mentioned confession in his letter to these brethren (Romans 10:9-10), which is the verbal affirmation of one’s faith. We can see from Jesus’ words and the apostles’ teaching that these are the things one must do in order to obey the gospel.
This Is Common for All
Now that we understand what salvation is, where the message of salvation is found, and what it means to obey the gospel, let us return to Jude’s statement about “our common salvation.” What does it mean that salvation is “common”?
- Salvation is available to ALL – “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Titus 2:11). The fact that salvation has been brought to all does not mean all will be saved (cf. Matthew 7:13-14; 25:46; et al.); instead, it means that the way of salvation is open to all who will take advantage of it. Peter told the household of Cornelius, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35).
- Jesus died on the cross for ALL – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus’ sacrifice was for the benefit of everyone, not just for a select few as Calvinism erroneously teaches. Remember what Peter said when he taught about the promise of salvation on the day of Pentecost: “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself” (Acts 2:39). Who does God call to Himself? Notice the next point…
- The gospel calls ALL to be saved – “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). The message of the gospel was to go to the whole world and encourage everyone to “be saved” (Acts 2:40).
- Salvation is for ALL who obey the Lord – “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9). We noticed earlier that all who “do not obey the gospel” will be lost (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Likewise, those who do obey will be saved. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21).
In other words, no one is excluded from the call, the hope, or the promises of salvation. Anyone who believes in Christ and obeys His word can be saved. No one is excluded from this invitation.
Conclusion
It is necessary for us to “contend earnestly for the faith” because of the threat of sin and error. While those need to be addressed – often in a timely manner – we do not want to neglect what the New Testament teaches about “our common salvation.” We must never forget the hope offered by Christ and revealed in the gospel. Instead, let us take advantage of this salvation and share the message to those around us who need to hear it.
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*For more on the topic of the spiritual warfare, see the following articles:
