The Response to Corrupted Culture

Jude 20-21

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."

Jude is a small book with a big agenda. The first part of Jude (Jude 1-16) talks about how many people have rejected the truth of God, and how they will surely bear the punishment of the Lord. However, the second part of Jude (Jude 17-25) provides encouragement to true believers that are surrounded by those who reject the truth of God.

The verse quoted above appears directly after Jude's description of the unbelieving, and provides us with the response we ought to have. Rather than giving up in troubled times and letting the unbelieving culture overcome their thoughts, Jude encourages his audience to build themselves up in faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. He seeks to show his readers that when the culture is corrupt, our faith is to be fought for by building and praying.

What about us? Certainly we live in a culture full of unbelievers, as well as those who "profess to know God, but...deny him by their works" (Titus 1:16). How are we to respond? We ought to respond as Jude commands us to: by "building ourselves up" and by "praying in the Spirit." We ought to first and foremost add to our faith (2 Peter 1:5) by seeking the things of God. We must seeks to desire him more than the world, and take hold of his promises. This is our part in our sanctification. Secondly, we must pray in the Spirit. Spirit-driven prayer is one of the biggest weapons of a believer (Eph. 6:18) that is often the least used. However, we ought to pray lest we have our thoughts corrupted by our culture.

Therefore, seek to build up your faith and pray in the Spirit so that you may "keep yourself in the love of God" in a corrupted culture.

***Note: Starting tomorrow, I will be slowly wallking through the book of Romans in my devotionals--feel free to join with me in reading it!