By Christopher Dryden
But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
Jude 1:20-21 NLT
This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.
Revelation 1:20-21 NLT
The situation is critical. The police are on their way, and you know what will happen next. They will arrest you and possibly torture your family. They will threaten to take you to court, already likely to side with them, and order proceedings to confiscate your property and goods. The only thing that might give you and your family a chance is if you turn your back on your faith and pledge your allegiance to the system.
That sounds like a nightmare scenario, and many of those in Western countries who make a nominal reference to a Christian heritage might find it an odd scenario to consider. Yet, throughout history and around the world, there have been regimes that place that level of pressure on individuals to forsake their faith in Jesus. With certain cultural and social trends happening even in Western societies, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for followers of Jesus to find themselves in a similar state.
This comes as no surprise to the real Ruler of the Universe. Throughout God’s story of engagement with His people, those who represent Him have endured opposition, violent resistance, and persecution—even from those who are supposed to be a part of the Covenant. In these times, God commends those who persevere. As the writer of Hebrews noted to his readers when listing those who have lived by faith, many did so in perilous situations, dying without ever seeing their hope realised.
Jude’s words are to an audience that may be tempted to slacken their grip on the gospel of Jesus Christ and follow false teachings. The way to overcome these temptations is the heart for how believers persevere today. There are four aspects of what Jude says that’s worth exploring.
Build yourselves up – perseverance is not a solo activity. Building ourselves is about encouragement in the word, it’s constructively commenting so others can focus on what’s important.
Pray in the Holy Spirit – as well as get support for each other, it’s crucial that we maintain communication with God through His Holy Spirit. Prayer in the Spirit sees us engage in communication from the Father back to Him as we voice what’s on His hearts to shape our praise and our requests as we listen out for His words of counsel, correction, and consolation.
Keep yourselves in the love of God – this marvellous instruction applies our focus to action. We stir each other to love and good works. We maintain our focus on that; we remind each other to return to that whenever we might stray into aggressive activism or passive anxiety. We know the love God has for us; we return that to Him and, express to ourselves and display it for others to experience.
Wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ – as we carry out the loving activities spurred on by Spirit-fuelled prayers that helps us build each other in the most holy faith, we’re doing so with a goal in mind. We do so waiting for what’s been promised. This mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ is not temporary relief from the persecution. This is eternity spent with His rule, wiping out all that’s opposed Him and opposes us for His sake.
We apply these things to actively do what we are supposed to and thus exercise the perseverance that is called for. An endurance that will make us wary of the wicked one’s efforts to draw us away from our Saviour. Those efforts underpin the warning we’re given in Revelation 14. To avoid that which would send us to the lake of fire, we patiently endure by applying those four points that Jude instructs.
Whether the pressure is overt or subtle, we should be aware of it and decide to keep going and growing in the faith that matters.
Ask: Why is Jude so insistent that those who read his words pay attention and act?
Seek: Are you aware of the efforts of the wicked one to turn you away from what matters to Jesus? How do you maintain your relationship with God in those challenging circumstances?
Knock: Read Jude's four points in verses 20-21. Write them as headings on a piece of paper and list three ways that you will action each along with a brother or sister in the faith.
