How Do We Contend Against False Teaching? (Jude 20-23)

Jude closes out his brief letter with an even briefer plan for staying on the right path in the face of false teaching and false teachers. He lists seven things that believers can be doing. 

Grow in the faith (1) and pray in the Spirit (2). The first two things Jude mentions are somewhat overarching activities. Basically, as we are growing and praying as an ongoing habitual practice, we do the other things as well. So, growing in the faith and praying are foundational. And this is something that anyone advising a person on how to be a better follower of Jesus will tell you. You need to stay connected to the teaching of God’s Word to be growing in faith—trust and obedience—and you need to stay connected to God through daily, constant conversation with Him. 

The next two items are the other two legs of a stool that we see so repeatedly in the New Testament, we must conclude that this was a core of the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. We are to “remain in God’s love” (3), “awaiting on Christ’s mercy” (4). Paired with the faith in verse 20, this is the love and hope completing the thought. Faith, Love and Hope are the core of the life of a disciple and of the church. We grow in a relationship with God (faith). We practice and experience the love of God with each other (Love). And we stand firm, awaiting the coming salvation as we share that message in the world (Hope). 

The last three activities are all postures we take towards others in this fight against false teaching. We have mercy on doubters (5). We snatch others out of the fire of false doctrine (6). And we show mercy with fear, hating the hint of “the flesh” (7). The ways of reading these two verses are many and it is difficult to choose a best approach. However, one possibility is as follows: We need to be merciful and patient with people who are being affected by false teaching. We can deal with them in love and help gently guide them back to a solid foundation. Others, who have gone beyond grappling with a false teaching and are flirting with accepting it, or maybe even starting to embrace it, need to be snatched back from the fire they are playing with. Finally, we need to have enough respect for the danger of the false teaching, that some who have completely embraced it need to be let go so that they do not contaminate others.  

In another analogy, we might consider false teaching as a precipice. To those who are approaching the edge, we caution and gently call back. We want them to get away from the edge, but not accidently push them closer. To those who are already on the edge and teetering over, we act fast and grasp them away. As they are about to fall anyway, we are less cautious and pull them back as best we can. But to those who have already fallen beyond the edge, we cannot help them anymore. Engaging with them or pursuing them past the edge will only endanger us or others.