At the end of his letter, Jude encourages believers to continue persevering amid the increasing godlessness of the first century. Jude’s audience was not only experiencing an onslaught of spiritual trials but was also witnessing moral degeneration both inside and outside the church. Such an experience can make one feel hopeless and question the purpose of enduring such agony.
Not wanting believers to become demoralized and waver in their commitments, Jude offers hope by exhorting them to remain in God’s love. He does not want them to become distracted and lose sight of a promised victory that was to come. However, the language that Jude uses is not that of passivity. Jude tells them to “keep [themselves] in the love of God.” In other words, there is an element of intentional action that demonstrates a level of persistence. Jude recognizes one’s personal responsibility and effort to remain in God’s love. To be clear, Jude is not referring to losing possession of God’s love. Instead, he writes about losing sight of God’s love, especially when one’s situation appears hopeless.
Jude then gives two specific ingredients for keeping one’s focus on God’s love. First, we are to build ourselves up in holy faith. In other words, we are to “preach to ourselves.” These are those messages that we speak to ourselves to remind us of God’s character and the faithfulness he has demonstrated to us so many times before. When it feels like we are sinking, it is easy to become overwhelmed and forget how many times God has rescued us previously. Jude’s letter reminds us not to forget.
Second, Jude reminds believers to pray in the Holy Spirit. There are two elements for praying in the Holy Spirit: 1) insightful purpose and 2) incredible power. When we pray in the Holy Spirit, we pray for what God already intends to accomplish. God reveals his purpose to us, and thus, we rightly know what we should pray for. Additionally, because we are praying for the right things—those things that God already intends to do—and our righteousness is secured by Christ, we find that our prayers have immense power. The culmination of understanding God’s purpose and experiencing his power furthers our recollection of God’s love for us and restores our confidence in his faithfulness.
Finally, Jude focuses his audience’s attention on their attitude during their perseverance. He writes that they should demonstrate an attitude of expectancy for the mercy of Christ Jesus. With such a perspective, confidence meets contentment in the life of a believer. The believer wants nothing because they are confident that they already possess everything—the love of God in this life and throughout eternity.