Jude v 17 - 25

Jude's final words contain encouragement, promises and warnings. It is clear that his heart was with them and that he was concerned for their wellbeing. He reminds his readers that God is in control, that prophecies demonstrated this and that they should put themselves in the hands of the living God and trust Him. Not only should they make every effort to preserve their relationship with Jesus Christ, they should also be active in reaching out to those who were struggling. This is always fraught with difficulties as the very things we are aware which are causing fellow believers to waver are also often the very things which we have been often tempted to get caught back up in. We are vulnerable to particular temptations, because they are attractive to us and when we seek to support someone else who is being dragged down by those temptations it is difficult not to find ourselves being dragged down too. When we lived in the village in Somerset, we often took our children to the nearby beaches at Weston-Super-Mare. Now you may know that at low tide the beaches there are enormous, but the tide has the second biggest difference between low and high tide in the world! When the tide begins to come in, it catches people out and very quickly bathers can find that they are literally stuck in the mud with the water getting higher around them. Great care has to be taken by those who seek to rescue them lest they get caught in the mud themselves! This image is a good way of reminding ourselves of the dangers of supporting another believer who is struggling. Jude tells us here to do so with great caution and to keep reminding ourselves of how much we hate the sin and how much damage it has done to our lives. The last two verses of Jude are the most well-known as they are often used as the blessing at the end of church services. It is the grand theme, our eyes lifted up to see the Majesty and the power of Almighty God to protect us and bring us eventually into His presence.