“Keep yourselves in the love of God,
looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
(Jude 1:21)
Perseverance in the faith is an imperative for every believer. Scripture urges God’s children to “keep yourselves in the love of God”—to abide in it, to cling to it, to walk in the light of its truth as a safeguard against the many threats to faith in this fallen world.
The Bible is filled with sober warnings about apostasy. Paul saw it rising in Corinth, in Galatia, and even in the churches overseen by Timothy and Titus. Jude, stirred by the Holy Spirit, found it creeping in unnoticed, twisting grace into license and truth into lies. Such evils remain with us as Satan continues to labor with relentless malice. As John Owen rightly observed: the devil does not rest. He deceives, inflames, distorts, tempts, counterfeits, and corrupts without ceasing. He is always actively working to make a shipwreck of the soul.
In light of these realities, we must fight for truth. But even as we fight, we are told to remain in love. Jude’s counsel is not to retreat or rage, but to be kept in the love of God. Because it is in that love where strength is found, where joy remains, where faith is fueled, where apostasy dies before it takes root.
To keep ourselves in the love of God is to walk in a way pleasing to Him. It is to delight in His Word, to resist ungodly counsel, and to meditate day and night in His truth. It is to love the things He loves, hate the things He hates, and focus our affections fully on Him.
Keeping ourselves in the love of God involves an ever-increasing devotion to Christ as well. Our heart should yearn for Him more today than it did yesterday. Indeed, we are to be so constrained by the love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14), so seized by His grace that every rival affection fades and we live each day fully committed to Him.
To “keep ourselves in the love of God,” as Jude encourages, is to love one another in truth… to love the brethren as Christ loved us. So to love with the love of God requires that we remain steadfast in His love as Christ, who loves us with an everlasting, unchanging love.
We are completely unable to “keep ourselves” by our own strength, which explains why Jude ends his epistle by lifting our eyes to the God who is able to keep us from falling. But we must not neglect the means. Actively and attentively live in such a way as to remain in the love of God—and He Himself will keep you to the end.
Contemplations:
- The threat of falling away. Lord, I know that many have wandered, drifting into spiritual ruin. I also know that I do not remain because I’m strong but because You hold me. Still, You call me to keep myself in Your love. Help me take this seriously and never presume upon Your grace. Keep me spiritually alert. Guard me from coldness and from compromise, that I may not fall away from the truth I have embraced. “Almighty and everlasting GOD, I praise and bless thee, from the bottom of my heart, that of thy infinite goodness, thou hast preserved me this night past, and hast (with the impregnable defense of thy Providence) defended me from the power and malice of the Devil, and kept me both in Soul and Body from all his devices and snares…”[1]
- The glory of divine love. You are love, O Lord. Not a vague feeling, but a blazing, holy, redeeming love shown in the cross of Christ. That love has been poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit. But I confess, I do not treasure it as I should. Let the love that sent Christ to bleed constrain my will, order my days, and stir my heart to praise. I want to dwell in that love and live as one shaped by it.
- The light of the gospel. I praise You, Lord, for the light of salvation that broke through my darkness. You did not leave me in sin but chose to show me mercy. You are shaping within me a new creation. But I know the work is not done. So I ask You to continue purging sin from my life and keep drawing me toward obedience and worship. Prepare my soul daily for eternal life with You.
- The danger of coldness. Lord, have I grown spiritually dull to Your voice? Have I let love fade into duty, delight fade into ritual? Help me realize if I am near the edges of falling away in heart and wake me from slumber. Let my love for You be real. Let repentance be deep. Let my soul be kept in the warmth of Your presence, never content to wander into the danger zone of apathy.
Prayer (confession):
O merciful Father, I confess that I am far too prone to wander. Though I have tasted the sweetness of Your grace, my heart drifts toward lesser things. You call me to keep myself in Your love, but I often occupy myself in distraction, in pride, in fear, and in the shallow comforts of this passing world.
Forgive me, Lord, for delighting in the counsel of the ungodly. Forgive me for choosing the easy path over the righteous one. Forgive me when I have sought the approval of men more than communion with You. You are worthy of all my heart, yet I have divided it. You are the fountain of life, yet I have looked to broken cisterns that hold no water.
I confess that I have not pursued a growing love for You as I ought. Too often I let routine replace wonder, formality replace fervency. My love has cooled when it should have burned. I have been quick to speak of doctrine, but slow to weep with joy over the Gospel. I do not love You as I should.
I confess that I have not loved my brothers and sisters in Christ with the same love You have shown me. I have withheld mercy. I have been slow to forgive. I have measured others with a scale I would never want used on myself. You gave Yourself for the church, and I have not always treated it with reverence and tenderness. I have failed to reflect Your heart.
But You, Lord, are the One who keeps. You are able to preserve the weak and restore the wandering. You do not grow weary of forgiving. You do not cast away those who return. So I come again, not in pride, but in sorrow. I ask You to search me, cleanse me, renew me.
Keep me in Your love. Hold me there. Do not let me fall. Increase my hunger for Your Word. Fill me with fresh joy in the Gospel. Stir up affection for Christ that cannot be quenched. Let my love be true, my walk sincere, my worship pure. Let me love You more today than yesterday, and more tomorrow than today.
Finally, let my life be shaped by this one desire—to remain in the love of God that my heart may be kept by the power of Your Spirit until the day I see You face to face.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further references for Jude 1:21:
Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; 2 Peter 3:12; 2 Thess. 3:5; Rom. 5:5; 2 Cor. 13:14.
[1] Lancelot Andrewes, Holy Devotions, with Directions to Pray (London: Printed for A. Seile .., 1663), 154–155.
