The Epistle of Jude is a brief but urgent letter, likely written in the late first century, at a time when the church was facing internal threats rather than external persecution. Jude originally intended to write about the believers’ shared salvation, but something urgent compelled him to change direction. Ungodly individuals had quietly infiltrated the church, distorting the truth of the gospel. This urgency shaped the purpose of his writing.

Jude is remarkably direct in his letter. In Jude 1:3, he urged believers to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” He recognises that truth is being diluted and that the danger is real.

Jude points to familiar biblical examples, the unbelieving Israelites and Sodom and Gomorrah, both of which ended in destruction. Although we know these stories well, our hearts can grow dull with familiarity. The stories no longer pierce us as deeply as before. In the same way, moral relativism. where personal judgment replaces biblical authority, have become so normalised that we may gradually lose our sensitivity to their spiritual danger.

This is not unlike our experience with COVID. At the beginning, people were vigilant—masks, distancing, quarantine. Over time, as infections became widespread and unavoidable, fatigue set in. We learned to live with it. Will this be our attitude toward false teaching? 

Do we actively challenge moral relativism that dominates society today? Even within the True Jesus Church, some no longer believe in the oneness of the true church, and others doubt that Christianity is the only way to salvation. If such ideas go uncorrected, they can quietly influence the faith of others and lead them astray.

In Jude 1:12, Jude uses a striking image. Some translations describe false believers as “spots” or “blemishes” at the love feasts, but other translations such as ESV and NASB render the word more vividly as “hidden reefs.” This translation captures the danger more accurately. Reefs are not visible on the surface. The sea may appear calm, yet beneath the water lies something capable of tearing a ship apart. When these dangers are ignored, faith can suffer shipwreck without warning. 

Significantly, Jude stands just before the book of Revelation—a book centred on judgment and the last days. As we draw nearer to the end, do we share Jude’s awareness of spiritual danger?

Jude opens by addressing believers as those who are “called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1), and he closes with the assurance that God is able to “keep you from stumbling” (Jude 1:24). Yet we still witness members of the church, even the ministers fall away. Why does this happen?

Those who fell failed to remain within God’s boundaries. 

• The angels did not keep their proper domain. 

• Sodom and Gomorrah rejected God’s moral design. 

• False teachers went beyond the teaching of Christ. 

Faith, therefore, cannot be passive. Unguarded faith will eventually suffer shipwreck. Hence, Jude calls us to action: to build ourselves up in our most holy faith, to pray in the Holy Spirit, to keep ourselves in God’s love, and to wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:20–21). We are also called to show mercy with discernment—rescuing some from danger, while remaining spiritually vigilant ourselves (Jude 1:22–23).

When we do this, we can rest in this assurance: the God who calls us is faithful. He is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 1:24).