Protection from False Teachers, Part 2 Jude 20-21

Protection from False Teachers, Part 2

Introduction

In verses 17-23 of Jude’s epistle, there are five commands given that show Christians how they can be protected from false teaching.

Remember what we’ve Been Taught

The first one, in verses 17-19, told us to remember what we’ve been taught. For Jude’s readers, they are reminded that they have always been told of the coming of false teachers. This should not be a surprise to them.

Keep ourselves in the Love of God

Let’s begin by having an understanding of what Jude means by his command to keep yourself in the love of God. What does that look like? What does it involve? The word “keep” is great word in the Bible. It is an active word, suggesting that believers need to on the watch for their life that they don’t let God’s love become assumed and eventually unimportant to them. While it is similar to Jesus’s command in to abide or remain in His love, here it carries with it the idea of the Christian’s responsibility to do something. It means that we are going to be engaged in activities that strengthen and keep our attention on God’s love for us. That is where the rest of the verbs (action words) help us in how we can do just that.

It is important for us to remember that the Lord is our keeper, as the psalmist says in . Jude has already made this clear in verse 2 where he says that Christians are “kept” by Jesus Christ, and he concludes the epistle with the idea that God is able to “keep” us from stumbling. Here we see that we also have a role in this keeping process. Three action words are given the means by which we can obey this command. Here is the question to answer in this study: What behaviors are found in those who are keeping themselves in the love of God?

Growing: Get stronger in your faith

“building yourself up in the most holy faith”. Jude uses some figurative language that is familiar to those who have been around churches for awhile. It’s the figure of a building project that pictures the Christians’s life as being built up. Sometimes we use the word “edified”, but it means that the person is being built up so as to be strong. In this picture, it is being strong in your holy faith by growing.

How does that happen? Of course, we are instructed throughout the New Testament about being taught and served through the ministry of the local church, but in this verse, we see that you are to build “yourself” up. This suggests it is more than just hearing sermons or going to Bible studies. You should be doing things for yourself to get stronger, such as reading, studying, meditating, as well as practicing what you learn. That’s how you get stronger.

Praying: Get dependent on God in by praying

“praying in the Holy Spirit”. Prayer is another important behavior for keeping yourself in God’s love. Perhaps it is best to understand this to be the part of prayer where there is worship, praise, adoration, rather than what we often do when we pray: ask for things. Not that we should be asking, but we should also spend time speaking to God about His greatness and His provision. Using the Psalms for this type of prayer can be very helpful.

Expecting: Get excited about the return of Christ

“waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life”. Another way of saying that we are waiting anxiously for Christ to return is to say we are looking forward to it. When we look forward to something, we are sure to keep ourselves alert and desirous of what is coming. This is not just passively sitting around waiting for something to happen, but actively getting involved in the Christian life so that the blessed hope becomes real to us so that our lives are changed, as Paul describes in . We need to live with eternity in view!

Conclusion

The behaviors that help you to keep you in God’s love, which is one of the keys to protecting yourself from false teaching, are not the behaviors that have been described for the false teachers. We do well to keep these before us at all times. Always growing. Always praying, always expecting.

Application:

Which behavior is a weak link in your life? How will you strengthen it?