This brief but hard-hitting letter was written to warn true believers in Christ to resist false teachers who were liberal. This means that they took full liberty to do as they pleased since they did not consider themselves bound by fixed rules or laws. They taught that since spiritual salvation is a result of God's grace, they were not obligated to obey even the moral standards of God's law. As a result, they promoted sin without fear of judgment. Many believed that it did not matter what they did, particularly with their bodies, as long as they believed the right things. These were "godless" men, who change the grace of God into a license for immorality. In addition, many of these deceivers scornfully denied the true and original revelation about the person and nature of Jesus Christ. All of this false teaching caused division in the churches over what to believe and how to behave.
Four major features characterize this letter. 1. It contains the New Testament's most direct and dynamic passage of condemnation of false teachers. It clearly emphasizes for all generations the seriousness of the threat that false teaching always poses to genuine Christian faith and holy living. 2. It repeatedly uses triads (series of threes) - three Old Testament examples of judgment, a three-part description of the false teachers and three Old Testament examples of ungodly men to make his points. Under the full influence of the Holy Spirit, Jude freely refers to various written sources: Old Testament Scriptures, Jewish traditions and 2 Peter, quoting directly from 3:3 which he acknowledges as being from the apostles. It contains the most majestic New Testament benediction (or closing blessing or praise.)
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