At times you must turn the other cheek, yet at other times you must fight for the faith.
Read / Listen to the chapter:
Read the chapter in an outlined format
Previous DIG DEEPER posts on Jude
Jude Summary
Jude intended to write a letter to fellow Christians about our common salvation, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was compelled to urge his readers to contend [literally: fight] for the faith (v3).
This was necessary both then and now because the church was being infiltrated by ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord (v4).
We need to pay close attention to this short letter, because immorality is being defended by more and more 'Christians' at all levels of our society, including in our denomination.
Dig Deeper
Verses 20-23 contains the imperatives you must live by in order to follow this letter's command to contend for the faith (v3):
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Notice how you're not just told what to do, but also how you are to do it:
Keep yourself in God's love BY:
building yourself up
praying in the Spirit
as you wait for Christ's return
Show mercy & save others BY:
snatching them from the fire
hating sin
AAA Prayer :
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is able to keep you from stumbling
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to strengthen you to build yourself up in faith and prayer to keep you in His love (v20-21)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
