We must learn to build ourselves up in our most holy faith in Christ Jesus. Doing this will help us withstand what the Lord Jesus has warned us about in Matthew 24:4-13:
"Jesus told them, 'Don't let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah.' They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don't panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
These things sound like the movies, but we have to understand that because Jesus said these will come, they will come indeed. Jude gives us an important encouragement and reminder – that we should build ourselves in our most holy faith in order to face these things well.
Here are some ways to build yourself in the most holy faith.
1. Pray in the Spirit
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit..." (Jude 20)
Praying in the Spirit greatly helps to build us up in our faith. When we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit will help us pray. He prays in an unknown language, praying for our needs when we don't even know them yet (see Romans 8:26-27).
2. Fully trust the Lord
"...keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life." (Jude 21)
Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to "trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." We need to couple this trust in the Lord with constant devotion to reading and understanding His Word, and then applying it into our lives. It's only through the Word of God wherein we will understand His good, pleasing and perfect will (see Romans 12:2).
3. Cultivate Christ's heart
"And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire..." (Jude 22-23)
Christ Jesus Himself was able to rescue all of us by going into the world with all its filth and unholiness. We Christians need to have that kind of love for God and the people God loves. Think about it. We need to love God above all, and in loving Him also grow in love for our fellow believers who doubt and those who don't know God yet (see Matthew 22:37-40).
We can't be afraid of being "contaminated" by the world. We need to love our holy God and strive to have the heart of Christ – holy, set apart and fully dedicated to the Father's will alone (see John 6:38).
4. Have the fear of God
"...to others show mercy with fear..." (Jude 23)
In our drive to rescue others from sin, we still need to be careful not to fall into sin ourselves (see Galatians 6:1). Instead, we should cultivate the fear of the Lord in our hearts and minds (see Proverbs 9:10).
5. Hate sin
"...hating even the garment stained by the flesh." (Jude 23)
We should learn to hate sin in the same way God hates it. If we are followers of Christ, we should strive to hate sin and despise its passing pleasures.
