Last 5 Days
Stand Firm and Remain in His Love
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
The letter of Jude wrote much about false teaching and false teachers. However, more than just denouncing false teachers, Jude was writing to faithful Christians, whom he addressed as “beloved” (verse 3 and 17). Jude had appealed to past teaching to make his point (verse 17) and urged his beloved friends to build themselves up in their most holy faith (verse 20). And it is this posture Christians should take in response to false teaching.
This last passage of Jude included three aspects: (1) That the apostles themselves had predicted that there will be false teachers who will cause divisions and worldly people, devoid of the Spirit; (2) Jude’s readers are to devote themselves to their faith and their spiritual growth, and to keep themselves in the love of God; (3) Jude’s readers are to have mercy on those who doubt, reaching out to those who have yet to believe as well as to those who had been affected by the false teaching.
Particularly, in asking Jude’s readers to make sure that their own faith is securely established, these Christians were commanded to: (1) Build themselves up in their most holy faith; (2) Pray in the Holy Spirit; (3) Keep themselves in the love of God; (4) Wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude is asking his readers to keep in the love of God. This love is reciprocal in that God had promised to keep His children, but Christians have the responsibility to persevere in their faith by keeping themselves in His love. This, too, was mentioned in John 15:4, where Jesus told His disciples to abide in Him, and He in them.
Dear beloved children of God, today, we are living in a world that captures our attention and takes our focus away from God. We continue to meet people who give false teaching and who teach half-truths. How do we stand against these false teaching? Only if we remain in God’s love. Just as Jude had written, we are able to remain in God’s love through obeying His commandments, which we are able to know through our reading of the Word of God, and in growing in our fellowship with Him. It is also through prayer that we learn to be dependent on God and to know His will and desires. Furthermore, we are to keep that hope of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and to prepare ourselves for the time when He is to come again.
Dear brothers and sisters, remaining in God’s love does not just stop at looking at ourselves. Growing in our faith also means teaching the truth, reaching out to those who are lost, and bringing them back to Christ, for this is not just God’s commandment, but also His commission.
Dear beloved children of God, knowing all these is not enough. More importantly, brothers and sisters, would you take active steps to abide in our Lord and remain in His love? Would you be willing to commit to bringing the good news to people around you? May the grace of our Lord guide us, and may our Lord help us to extend mercy to those around us.
