“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.Continue Reading
