Keep Our Faith in a Fallen World
Keeping Our Faith in a Fallen World
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Jude 17-23
Jude concludes his short letter by reminding us that this world will become increasingly sinful as it abandons God's truth. Some will ridicule Scripture's teachings as archaic and judgmental, justifying their pursuit of ungodly lusts.
Yet, as we face a world of falsehood, Jude does not leave us hopeless. As he closes his letter warning of false teachers, he gives us the keys to maintaining our faith and remaining steadfast in our obedience to Christ. In these final verses, Jude gives five commands that form the foundation for growing in our faith. The first is found in verse 17, “Remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles.” Remaining strong in our faith starts with a firm grip upon the teaching of the Scriptures. The Bible is more than a historical record of the church; it is the foundation for life and living in a right relationship with Christ. In the face of all the information bombarding us and the rejection of Biblical morality in our culture, we must always return to the Bible as our basis for truth and life.
The second command is to “keep yourselves in the love of God” (vs 21). To live rightly, we must have the right center point of life. This center point is the love of God. In contrast to the false teachers who have abandoned God and rejected His grace, we are centered on His love. We are to keep ourselves within the circle of His love. However, the verse now only focuses on God’s love for us, but it can refer to our love for God. In other words, keep your love for God vibrant and growing. Jude points to three ways we grow in our love relationship with Christ. First, we do so by strengthening our faith and trust in Christ. Faith is not referring to the exercise of faith but to the content of our faith. In other words, we are to continually grow in the teaching and doctrine of our faith. Second, we keep our lives centered on God’s love by praying in the Holy Spirit. One commentator states, “Prayer is the vital factor in the Christian life which activates all the other departments of the Christian experience.” Last, we keep ourselves in God's love by focusing on the prize, which is eternal life.
The following two commands, “have mercy (vs. 22) and save others (vs. 23)”,” all point to our attitude toward others. Not only are we to remain steadfast in our faith, but we also need to be engaged in bringing salvation and freedom to others. We are to seek to communicate the truth to them so they might be delivered from the judgment of those caught in the web of false teaching.
The last command, “have mercy with fear (vs. 23)”, points to our attitude towards sin. This involves loving people while “hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” In other words, we do not love people by affirming their sins but by calling them to forsake their sins and embrace the holiness and righteousness of Christ. The old proverbial statement declares, “We are to love the sinner but hate the sin.” This requires us to love others “with fear.” This fear is not the fear of others or even the fear of God, but the fear of being contaminated ourselves with sin. To be faithful, we must develop a deep aversion toward sin so that we fear its presence and pollution in our lives. This prevents us from being complacent towards sin, which is the first step in becoming deceived by false teachers.
As you go through the day, ask God to reveal areas of sin contaminating your life. Then, ask him to give you opportunities to share your faith with others and deliver them from the snare of sin and false teachers.
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Jude 17-23
Jude concludes his short letter by reminding us that this world will become increasingly sinful as it abandons God's truth. Some will ridicule Scripture's teachings as archaic and judgmental, justifying their pursuit of ungodly lusts.
Yet, as we face a world of falsehood, Jude does not leave us hopeless. As he closes his letter warning of false teachers, he gives us the keys to maintaining our faith and remaining steadfast in our obedience to Christ. In these final verses, Jude gives five commands that form the foundation for growing in our faith. The first is found in verse 17, “Remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles.” Remaining strong in our faith starts with a firm grip upon the teaching of the Scriptures. The Bible is more than a historical record of the church; it is the foundation for life and living in a right relationship with Christ. In the face of all the information bombarding us and the rejection of Biblical morality in our culture, we must always return to the Bible as our basis for truth and life.
The second command is to “keep yourselves in the love of God” (vs 21). To live rightly, we must have the right center point of life. This center point is the love of God. In contrast to the false teachers who have abandoned God and rejected His grace, we are centered on His love. We are to keep ourselves within the circle of His love. However, the verse now only focuses on God’s love for us, but it can refer to our love for God. In other words, keep your love for God vibrant and growing. Jude points to three ways we grow in our love relationship with Christ. First, we do so by strengthening our faith and trust in Christ. Faith is not referring to the exercise of faith but to the content of our faith. In other words, we are to continually grow in the teaching and doctrine of our faith. Second, we keep our lives centered on God’s love by praying in the Holy Spirit. One commentator states, “Prayer is the vital factor in the Christian life which activates all the other departments of the Christian experience.” Last, we keep ourselves in God's love by focusing on the prize, which is eternal life.
The following two commands, “have mercy (vs. 22) and save others (vs. 23)”,” all point to our attitude toward others. Not only are we to remain steadfast in our faith, but we also need to be engaged in bringing salvation and freedom to others. We are to seek to communicate the truth to them so they might be delivered from the judgment of those caught in the web of false teaching.
The last command, “have mercy with fear (vs. 23)”, points to our attitude towards sin. This involves loving people while “hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” In other words, we do not love people by affirming their sins but by calling them to forsake their sins and embrace the holiness and righteousness of Christ. The old proverbial statement declares, “We are to love the sinner but hate the sin.” This requires us to love others “with fear.” This fear is not the fear of others or even the fear of God, but the fear of being contaminated ourselves with sin. To be faithful, we must develop a deep aversion toward sin so that we fear its presence and pollution in our lives. This prevents us from being complacent towards sin, which is the first step in becoming deceived by false teachers.
As you go through the day, ask God to reveal areas of sin contaminating your life. Then, ask him to give you opportunities to share your faith with others and deliver them from the snare of sin and false teachers.
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