The book of Jude is one of the smallest books in the Bible, and it is often overlooked. I admit I didn’t know much about the epistle’s content besides the popular verse on contending for the faith. So when Thomas Coutouzis promoted his book Agonizing for the Faith: A Biblical Exposition of Jude, it piqued my interest. And I must say, the book exceeded my expectations.
About the author
Thomas Coutouzis is an author and blogger from North Carolina who is passionate about teaching the Bible expositionally. He is also the author of the fantasy book Athanasia: The Great Insurrection.
About the book
Agonizing for the Faith is a detailed commentary on the epistle of Jude. In this book, Coutouzis dug deep into Jude’s epistle and unleashed its truths verse by verse. The book initially began as a series of blog posts he wrote while teaching through Jude at a church.
And his goal was, “to equip the saints to “agonize” (ἐπαγωνίζομαι) for the faith against the false teaching that is so pervasive in our culture and around the world.”
There is an epidemy of false teachings in the church today. False teachers are so widespread and influential that they have become the face of Christianity. The primary reason why these wolves so easily masquerade as sheep and deceive many is ignorance of biblical truths. The Word of God has a lot to say about false teachers, and Jude almost exclusively addresses this issue.
Therefore, Coutouzis diligently labored through Jude to provide us with the knowledge we need to discern false teachings and earnestly contend for the faith. He accomplishes it by showing us the distinct features of false teachers, their character, modes of operations, and how to deal with those who are under deception.
My thoughts
Coutouzis did an excellent job of exegeting Jude’s epistle. He went through every verse of the epistle and unpacked their meaning through a careful exegesis of the text. He provided a lot of historical background, word studies, and cross-references to further our understanding of the Scriptures.
My favorite feature of Agonizing for the Faith— and one its greatest strength, is the definitions of various words in their original Greek. I love word studies, and I frequently do them on my blog and personal study, so I tremendously enjoyed seeing them throughout the book. Such inclusion of the original language added depth to the meaning of the text.
Moreover, Coutouzis explained them in a way that even people without a Greek heritage like him can easily understand.
I appreciated Coutouzis’s in-depth explanations of the various metaphors and imagery throughout the book of Jude, such as hidden reefs, unreasoning wild beasts, etc. It made me understand the text more profoundly.
And lastly, I liked that Coutouzis presented the different train of thoughts on some controversial passages in Jude before defending his position. I was a bit perplexed when he said every commentator he read disagreed with his interpretation of Jude 22-23. When I learned hermeneutics, I was told that if I came up with an analysis of a text that no one else has, it was most likely wrong. However, Coutouzis defended his position with Scriptures, and his reasoning seemed accurate to me. So I didn’t know what to make o that.
Besides that moment of confusion, I thoroughly enjoyed Agonizing for the faith. It was easy to read, incredibly well researched, and it adequately equipped me with tools to contend for the faith.
My recommendation
I highly recommend Agonizing for the Faith to all Christians because we must guard ourselves against false teachers. And the information in this book provides valuable information to help us with that.
*The author graciously provided me with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review*
Favorite quotes
If we speak only truth without grace, we will bludgeon those whom we desire to help, pushing them further away. We must point out errors because we love those people and want to see them no longer enslaved to sin.
Introduction
Beloved, if you do not contend for the truth of God, then error will abound and a Christianity that is not Christian will prevail.
Chapter 1: Contending for the faith
If your interpretation of Scripture is wrong then your application will be equally wrong. Study the Word to guard your heart.
Chapter 2: False teaching in the early church
Anyone that believes the grace of God exists to allow them to sin more is not a believer, rather they are unregenerate.
Chapter 2: False teaching in the early church
False teachers look for opportunities to corrupt both believer and unbeliever alike. They are actively looking to defile any and all of God’s creation.
Chapter 3: Apostasy of the past
Don’t hitch your wagons to false teachers or they will drag you down into the mire and bring God’s chastisement upon you.
Chapter 7: The hall of shame
Like the foam of the ocean which washes up onto the shore and deposits the refuse of the sea, so too is the apostate who pollutes the hearer with heresy.
Chapter 9: The savagery of apostates
The false teacher’s words will tickle the ears of the nominal Christian, leading them to a non-biblical, me-centric, unholy, false Christianity that will lead to their destruction in Hell.
Chapter 11: Remember the words spoken beforehand
“Praying in the Holy Spirit” is just a simple call for one to submit to God in prayer, because the purpose of prayer is to find the will of God.
Chapter 12: Have mercy on those ho have been deceived
