Books of the Bible

The Book of Jude

New Testament · General Epistles · Genre: Epistle · Author: Jude, a brother of James · Chapters: 1

Jude is a short, urgent letter calling believers to contend earnestly for the faith against false teachers who had crept in. It warns sternly of judgment on the ungodly, urges the faithful to build themselves up and show mercy, and ends with one of Scripture's most glorious doxologies.

Start reading: Jude chapter 1

A key verse

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,Jude 1:24 (KJV)

The setting and background of Jude

Jude is one of the General Epistles, a brief but forceful letter written by Jude, who identifies himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, and so most likely another brother of Jesus. Its tone is urgent, for ungodly people had crept unnoticed into the church, and Jude felt compelled to write a warning.

Jude had intended to write about their common salvation, but instead he appeals to his readers to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. He warns vividly against the false teachers, drawing on examples of judgment from the past, and then calls believers to build themselves up in faith, to keep themselves in God's love, and to show mercy to those who doubt.

Jude was written to defend the faith against corruption from within and to remind the church that grace is never a license for sin. In the sweep of Scripture it shares much of its content with the second chapter of Second Peter, and its closing doxology to the God who is able to keep us from falling and present us faultless is one of the most magnificent in all of Scripture.

The story and structure of Jude

Jude is a brief but forceful letter, written by Jude, who identifies himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, and so most likely another brother of Jesus. Its tone is urgent, for a serious threat had arisen: ungodly people had crept unnoticed into the church, and Jude felt compelled to write.

Jude explains that he had intended to write about the salvation they all shared, but that circumstances forced him instead to appeal to his readers to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. The faith was under attack from within, by those who perverted the grace of God into a license for immorality and denied the Lord.

He warns his readers vividly, drawing on examples from Israel's history and beyond, that God judges the rebellious, the immoral, and the false, however long judgment may seem delayed. He describes these deceivers in a string of memorable images, as hidden reefs, waterless clouds, fruitless trees, and wandering stars, marking them out as empty and doomed.

Jude reminds his readers that the apostles had foretold that such scoffers would come in the last times, so that their appearance should not shake anyone's faith but rather confirm the reliability of what they had been taught. The presence of the ungodly is not a reason for despair but a call to vigilance.

Yet the letter does not end in warning but in comfort and worship. Jude calls believers to build themselves up in their most holy faith, to pray in the Holy Spirit, to keep themselves in the love of God, and to show mercy to those who doubt, snatching some from the fire. He closes with a soaring doxology of praise to the God who is able to keep them from falling and to present them faultless before his glory with exceeding joy.

The great themes of Jude

Key passages in Jude

Jude in the sweep of Scripture

Jude, though brief, stands as a vigorous defense of the faith against corruption from within, and it shares much of its content with the second chapter of Second Peter, addressing similar dangers. It reminds the church that truth must be guarded and that grace is never a license for sin. Its closing doxology is one of the most magnificent in all of Scripture, and its call to contend for the faith while showing mercy to the doubting has guided the church in holding firmness and compassion together.

Where Christ is in Jude

Jude closes with praise to God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. It is Christ who keeps and preserves his people through every threat, so that the same Lord whose faith Jude urges us to defend is the one who guards us to the end.

How to read Jude well

Read Jude to take both error and truth seriously, letting its urgency remind you that the faith is worth contending for and that grace is never a cover for sin. Guard yourself against teaching that would loosen the moral demands of the gospel, and build yourself up in faith, prayer, and the love of God. Show mercy to those who doubt rather than despising them, and let its closing doxology assure you that God himself is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless with exceeding joy.

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