Jude 20-23 Building Yourselves Up in Your Most Holy Faith

Jude 20-23 Building Yourselves Up in Your Most Holy Faith

Introduction

If someone wanted to steal your money, they would not say, “I am here to rob you.” Instead, they might sit across from you in a nice suit, call themselves a financial advisor, and promise to help you invest wisely. They would smile, assure you that your future is secure, and convince you that your money is in good hands. But in reality, they would not be multiplying your wealth, they would be draining it away.

That is how spiritual deception works. Jude warns that certain people have crept into the church unnoticed. They do not announce their intentions. They look trustworthy, they sound convincing, they claim to offer security, but they are siphoning faith away from Christ.

So Jude turns to the church and says, “You must be vigilant. You must build yourselves up in the faith. You must pray in the Spirit. You must keep yourselves in the love of God. And you must show mercy.” False teachers offer counterfeit security, but God calls His people to real strength and endurance.

The Christian’s Responsibility, Jude 20 to 21

Building in the Scriptures

Jude is not attempting to assert dominance over his readers. After showing that false teachers are active within the church, he puts the responsibility on believers to ensure that they are not deceived. If they are going to contend for the faith, they must be ready to stand firm.

The first pair of instructions is to build and to pray. These two belong together, but Jude begins with building. A natural question arises. How is this building to take place? The answer is through Scripture and fellowship, through the intake of truth that nourishes the soul. It is not enough to say we are spiritual. We must be filled with the truth about Christ that God has revealed in His Word.

Acts chapter 2 describes the earliest Christians. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42 to 47). These believers were not sustained by tradition or speculation. They were devoted to what the apostles taught. But what were the apostles teaching? If we read Peter’s sermon in Acts chapter 2 we see that he was proving from the Old Testament that Jesus is the promised Christ. Peter quotes Joel, David, and the Psalms to show that God raised Jesus and made him both Lord and Christ. See Acts 2:16, 22, 25, 30, and 36. From the very beginning, the apostles built the church by teaching Christ from the Scriptures.

Jesus himself did the same. On the road to Emmaus he rebuked his disciples for being slow to believe what the prophets had spoken. Then Luke tells us, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). Later that same day, as they reflected on the encounter, the disciples said, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures” (Luke 24:32). Jesus did not tell them to look for new revelation. He showed them that the Old Testament already testified about him.

The message is clear. To build ourselves up in the faith we must go to the Scriptures where Christ is revealed. We must not lean on church fathers, church councils, or cultural authorities. Those may have value in their place, but they cannot replace the Scriptures. Jesus pointed to the Word. The apostles preached from the Word. We must go where they went.

But we cannot do this by our own strength. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 that a veil lies over the heart when the old covenant is read. Only in Christ is that veil removed. “When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:16 to 18). Building ourselves up requires the Spirit to remove the veil and open our eyes to behold Christ.

Paul’s own life proves this. When Ananias prayed for him, something like scales fell from his eyes, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and immediately he began proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. See Acts 9:17 to 22. Paul had been blind to Christ in the Scriptures until the Spirit opened his eyes. Once he saw, he never stopped pointing back to those same Scriptures.

The same is true for us. Psalm 119 reminds us, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your word” (Psalm 119:11 and 15 to 16). Paul says in Colossians 3, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16). To build ourselves up means to be shaped by the Word, so that our minds and hearts grow in affection for Christ.

Praying in the Holy Spirit

Jude then tells us to pray in the Holy Spirit. Prayer is not a matter of our own will or power. Prayer is not self expression. Prayer is communion with God that depends on the Spirit.

Jesus promised in John 14 that the Spirit would teach and remind his disciples of everything he had said. “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:26 to 27). Prayer in the Spirit is prayer that is shaped by the words of Christ and guided by the Spirit of God.

Paul adds in Romans chapter 8, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26 to 27). This should both humble and comfort us. We are not strong in prayer. We are weak. We are not wise in prayer. We often do not know what to say. Yet the Spirit intercedes for us, aligning our prayers to God’s will. Our weakness does not stop our prayers. The Spirit joins us in them.

This means we do not need to be eloquent to be heard by God. There is no inspection process in heaven that reviews our words. When we pray in the Spirit, even in weakness, the Spirit himself carries those prayers into the presence of God. That is why Jude commands us to pray in the Spirit. Without him our prayers would be empty. With him, they are full of power.

Keeping in the Love of God

Finally, Jude says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 21). This is the purpose of building and praying. We are not filling our heads with knowledge. We are not performing spiritual rituals. We are seeking to remain in God’s love until Christ returns.

John tells us, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:1 to 3). Keeping ourselves in God’s love means holding fast to that hope. We are God’s children now. We are waiting for the day when Christ appears and we are made like him. That hope shapes how we live now.

Hebrews 11 reminds us that the saints of old died in faith, not having received the promises in full. They confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth, desiring a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God was not ashamed to be called their God, for he had prepared for them a city (Hebrews 11:13 to 16). Keeping ourselves in the love of God means living with that same longing. We endure now because we know what Christ has promised.

To keep ourselves is to grow strong in faith that Jesus is the appointed King. It is to walk in holiness while the world around us lives in wickedness. It is to wait for the mercy that Christ will bring when he returns.

The Christian’s Relationships with Others, Jude 22 to 23

After calling believers to build, pray, and keep, Jude turns to how they are to treat others. “Have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 22 to 23).

This section is often softened, but Jude is very direct. He names three kinds of people and shows how Christians should respond to each.

First, have mercy on those who doubt. These are people who have been deceived by false doctrine. They are wavering, uncertain, and confused. Jude does not say to condemn them. He says to show mercy. Doubters need patient correction, not harshness.

Second, save others by snatching them out of the fire. These are people living in sin, drifting toward destruction. Jude calls for urgent rescue. Mercy here is active intervention. The image is forceful. We do not stand back while someone walks into fire. We reach out and pull them away.

Third, to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. These are people who are openly rebellious, opposed to Christ. We are still to show mercy, but we must do it carefully, without joining in their sin. Mercy does not mean compromise. Mercy does not mean tolerance of evil. Mercy means offering the same grace we have received, while keeping ourselves separate from corruption.

This threefold call keeps us balanced. We must not be indifferent toward those in error. We must not be cruel toward those in sin. We must not be careless toward those in rebellion. Mercy must shape all of our relationships, but mercy must also be guarded by truth.

Conclusion

Jude’s instructions are weighty. Build yourselves up in the Scriptures where Christ is revealed. Pray in the Spirit who helps in weakness. Keep yourselves in the love of God as you wait for the mercy of Christ. Show mercy to doubters, to sinners, and even to rebels, but do so with fear.

The responsibility is ours. We cannot outsource this to others. We must take up the work of faith. But we do it knowing that God has already given us his Word, his Spirit, and his promise. We are not left empty handed.

Therefore, let us commit ourselves to the Scriptures. Let us pray in the Spirit. Let us remain in the love of God until Christ returns. And let us be lights of mercy in a dark world, pointing others to the Savior who alone can keep them from the fire.

Scripture Reference Index

• Jude 20 to 23 — Core commands to build, pray, keep, and show mercy.
• Acts 2:42 to 47 — The early church devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.
• Acts 2:16, 22, 25, 30, 36 — Peter proves that Jesus is the Christ by citing Joel and David.
• Luke 24:27 — Jesus shows that Moses and the Prophets speak about him.
• Luke 24:32 — The disciples’ hearts burn as Jesus opens the Scriptures.
• 2 Corinthians 3:16 to 18 — The veil is removed in Christ and the Spirit transforms believers.
• Acts 9:17 to 22 — Paul’s sight is restored and he proves from Scripture that Jesus is the Christ.
• Psalm 119:11, 15 to 16 — Storing up the Word, meditating on God’s ways, delighting in his statutes.
• Colossians 3:16 — The word of Christ must dwell richly among the church.
• John 14:26 to 27 — The Spirit teaches, reminds, and gives peace to Jesus’ disciples.
• Romans 8:26 to 27 — The Spirit intercedes for believers in weakness according to God’s will.
• 1 John 3:1 to 3 — We are God’s children now and this hope purifies us as we wait for Christ.
• Hebrews 11:13 to 16 — Saints live as exiles on earth while desiring a better country prepared by God.