“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
It is not sinful for humans to make plans. God planned and purposed the salvation of sinners before the foundation of the world and predestined that those who answered the call of the gospel would become His sons and heirs (Ephesians 1:4-5).
It is sinful for humans to make presumptuous plans—to determine a certain course of action without acknowledging dependence upon God for life and/or acknowledging His right to veto or amend our plans as He knows best. To believe our plans about the future are superior to God’s providence when the future becomes the present is arrogant, foolish, and evil (James 4:13-16).
As Jude’s epistle was in the planning stage, he envisioned it to be a treatise about the glorious salvation common to his readers and him. However, by the time of its composition, Jude had to change his plans.
This is a persistent challenge to your faith—to live your life purposefully by making plans and then willingly adjusting your intentions to accept and trust in God’s benevolent providence as tomorrows become today.
Because of Jude’s willingness to change his plans so to providentially address the vital spiritual needs of the hour, we have an epistle which challenges us to contend earnestly for the faith.
