JUDE, LETTER OF

brief New Testament letter written to a general Christian audience by one who called himself Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James; the author's identity is uncertain. The letter appeals to Christians to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints and to be on their guard against ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. The cultivated Greek style is notable for numerous figures of speech and references to both the Old and New Testaments and to other sources. References to apocryphal literature, however, may have contributed to a 3rd-century dispute about the letter's authenticity, but its canonical status in the early church is nonetheless well attested. The letter was probably composed, at an unknown place, during the first quarter of the 2nd century.