Jude 1:3
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints — Jude's original intention was to compose a theological treatise celebrating 'our common salvation' (tēs koinēs sōtērias hēmōn), but an urgent crisis has forced him to shift his pen to polemical defense of 'the faith once for all delivered to the saints' (hapax paradotheisē tois hagiois). The phrase 'faith once for all' (hapax) suggests both the finality and sufficiency of apostolic teaching, ruling out supplementary revelations or revised doctrines. The call to 'contend earnestly' (epagonizesthai) employs athletic or military language, casting the struggle against false teaching as a rigorous, demanding engagement requiring the community's full energy.