Keep Yourself in the Love of God

Jude exhorts us: “Keep yourselves in the love of God”
(v. 21). This seems like a strange injunction. If you don’t
read the entire context, you could easily misinterpret it.
How can we keep ourselves in the love of God?
Looking back at verse one, however, we find that Jude
is writing to those who are “preserved” or kept in Jesus
Christ and have been ”sanctified” and “called” by God.
Jude shows throughout this short letter that some have
begun in fellowship with God, but have failed to keep
themselves in the love of God. Thus, they haven’t
achieved the full potential of God’s plan for their lives.
They failed to keep themselves in that place where God
could bless them.
Jude writes about the children of Israel who, though
delivered out of Egypt, perished in the wilderness (v.
5). They didn’t enter into the full blessing God had for
them, because they didn’t keep themselves in the love
of God. Though they had experienced deliverance, they
didn’t come to the full benefits of God’s work in their
lives. They failed to keep themselves in the love of God.
Jude also describes certain angels who once were in
fellowship with God and abode in His kingdom, but
they “kept not their first estate” (v. 6). They didn’t keep
themselves in the love of God and were cast out of His
kingdom. Now they are reserved for the day of
judgment.

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah, who lived in that
well-watered area of the plain, had many blessings
from the hand of God; yet, they certainly didn’t
appreciate them (v. 7). They didn’t keep themselves in
the love of God and, thus, failed in their purpose for
life.
Jude mentions Cain, who killed his brother; Balaam,
who enticed the people of God to sin; and Korah
(“Core” in the Greek translation), who rebelled against
the authority of God and was destroyed (v. 11). With
this background the writer exhorts us, “Keep
yourselves in the love of God.”
What did he mean by that? First of all, we know what
he didn’t mean. He didn’t mean to keep yourself in
such a way as to make God love you. He didn’t mean
for you to do nice things for God’s love. God’s love is
unsought, undeserved, and unconditional. You cannot
get away from the love of God. God loves you just as
you are. You may be in the midst of rebellion against
God today, but He still loves you. God isn’t persuaded
to love you because you’re an especially good person.
The text doesn’t mean that – because you cannot put
yourself outside of the love of God!
John 3:16 begins, “For God so loved the world” The
world that God loved wasn’t seeking His love, nor did
it deserve His love. Yet God did love it. God didn’t
impose conditions on the world. He didn’t say, “Now, if
you fulfill these conditions, I’ll love you.” God loved the
world as it was, in the midst of rebellion against His
order and His government. He loves it still.

We can lose that first glow of having our hearts aglow
with God’s love and of desiring nothing else but Him
by not keeping ourselves in His love.
God, because He loves you, wants to demonstrate that
love by bestowing His blessings upon your life. Jude
points out three attitudes in verse 11 that can restrict
God’s blessings. Cain hated his brother. Balaam was
mastered by greed, thus he enticed the people of God to
sin. Korah was envious, which led to rebellion against
the government of God. You may be thinking, “Oh,
you’re talking about murder, enticing people to sin, and
rebellion against God’s established order. You’re not
talking about me.” But Jesus in His Great Manifesto
said,
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not kill;… but I say unto you, That
whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment (Matthew 5:21-22).
John stated, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a
murderer” (I John 3:15).
Cain killed his brother after coming home from offering
a sacrifice to God (Genesis 4:3-8). Cain had just been to
church! Yet, his heart was filled with hatred toward
Abel and he murdered him. Hatred is not in harmony
with love. Keep yourself from hatred.

Balaam enticed the people of God to sin, because he
was filled with greed (Numbers 22-24). He desired the
rich reward that Balak the king had offered. Though
Balaam couldn’t curse the people of God, he enticed
them into a trap that brought a curse upon them. He
did this right after uttering one of the most beautiful
prophecies in the Old Testament! It was an anointed,
inspired prophecy concerning the people of God. Then
Balaam betrayed the people by telling the king how to
entice them into sin, so that God’s judgment would fall
upon them. Greed is out of harmony with the love of
God. Keep yourself from greed.
Korah was filled with envy because of Aaron and the
appointed priesthood (Numbers 16). Korah was a
leader among the people and a leader of a popular
movement. He was a minister of God and offered
services unto God, and yet he was envious of the high
position of others. So whatever he had was taken away
from him. Envy is out of harmony with love. Keep
yourself from envy.
Keep yourself from hatred, greed, and envy, for these
things are out of harmony with love. If these things fill
your life, you cannot enjoy the fullness of the benefits
that God wants to bestow upon you. Those rich
blessings cannot be given to you if these evil things are
hindering what God wants to do. Keep yourself in the
love of God. This warning is needed, because
sometimes we’re in danger of losing that first bloom of
love. We can lose that first glow of love when Jesus
came in to our lives and washed away all our sins. We
can lose that feeling of having our hearts aglow with

His love and of desiring nothing else but Him – by not
keeping ourselves in His love.
Jesus wrote to the church at Ephesus:
I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and
how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou
hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not
and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have something
against thee, because thou hast left thy first love”
(Revelation 2:2-4).
The first bloom of love had gone! The glow of fresh
love wasn’t there anymore. Jesus warned them of the
inevitable consequences of leaving that first love. He
said it would ultimately result in the candlestick’s
removal from its place – the loss of the consciousness of
the presence of Jesus Christ.
If that love of the Lord isn’t burning brightly in your
heart, one day you’ll even lose the consciousness of
God’s presence. The Bible says, “In thy presence is
fullness of joy” (Psalms 16:11). But with the loss of the
consciousness of His presence comes the loss of the joy
in your life. You wonder, “What’s happening to me?
Where is the blessing I once knew? Where is the joy I
once had?”
Your problem is that you haven’t kept yourself in the
love of God. You have allowed hatred, greed, or envy
to come in. It has robbed you of what God wants to do
and what He already has done. Only by keeping
yourself in God’s love can you blossom into the full

potential God has for you – and for which He’s drawn
you out from the world and the bondage of sin.
Grace doesn’t act independently of responses. Though
God’s grace is extended toward you, you must respond
to the grace of God if you’re to benefit from that grace.
Privilege brings responsibility – and responsibility not
acted upon can destroy you.
God’s Word is searching your heart right now, and, if
you’re in His love, then respond to it. Put away all that
is contrary to the love of God – any bitterness, any
hatred, any impurity – and keep yourself in the love of
God!
Q: How can I keep myself in the love of God?
A: Right here surrounding our text Jude gives us three
steps for keeping ourselves in the love of God.
1. “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your
most holy faith” (v. 20). As we read this epistle, we
realize Jude is talking about faith in Jesus Christ as the
Messiah, the Savior of the world. In the beginning of
the letter he warns about those who will even deny our
Lord Jesus Christ (v. 4). So, building up your faith in
Jesus Christ is the first and foremost means of keeping
yourself in the love of God. Jesus Christ is the
foundation upon which we build.
Peter said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it

unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say
also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church (Matthew 16:16-18).
What is the “rock” that Christ builds His Church upon?
The fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
God, the Savior of the world. This is the foundation
upon which to build your faith.
Paul the apostle said, “For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I
Corinthians 3:11). Build your faith upon this
foundational rock of Jesus. For Jesus Christ was with
God, He is God, but He became flesh and dwelt among
us (John 1:1-2,14). He went to the cross, carrying upon
Himself all our sin and guilt, and He died in our place –
but He rose again the third day. He ascended to heaven
to the Father where He lives today, making intercession
for you and me. This is the foundation. Now build on it
in faith!
2. Jude 20 continues, “praying in the Holy Ghost.” What
does that mean? “Praying in the Holy Ghost” means
that your prayers are directed by the Holy Spirit. So
many of our prayers are directed by our own needs, by
our own intellects, or by our own wishes and desires.
Jude is encouraging us to pray in the Holy Ghost.
If that love of the Lord isn’t burning brightly in your
heart, one day you’ll even lose the consciousness of

God’s presence.

In Romans 8, Paul talks about one of the weaknesses
that we have as Christians:
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we
know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).
One of our weaknesses is that we don’t always know
how to pray. But the Spirit, he said, will make
intercession, because He knows what the mind of the
Father is, and intercedes according to His will.
How can you pray in the Holy Ghost? You can pray in
the Holy Ghost when, out of your deepest being, you
can no longer adequately express yourself to God.
Savonarola, a 15th century reformer, said, “When
prayer reaches its ultimate, words are impossible.” You
move from the realm of the intellect into the realm of
the Spirit, and you let God interpret your prayer. It may
come forth in soft weeping or as a groan. Your praying
may be totally unintelligible to you, but it is
communion with God in the deepest sense. Through it
God washes, purifies, and cleanses your soul and keeps
you in His love.
Paul declares,
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth,
but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I

will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the
understanding also” (I Corinthians 14:14-15).
The obvious reference in praying with the Spirit is
when we’re praying in an unknown tongue. Such
praying in the Holy Spirit keeps us in the love of God.
3. The third way to keep ourselves in the love of God is
to look “for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life” (v. 21). We keep ourselves in the love of
God by looking for the return at any moment of Jesus
Christ. The consciousness that Jesus might come today
makes me very concerned with what I say, how I
preach, and how I relate His truth.
If you’re witnessing with the realization that this might
be the last opportunity to share Jesus Christ with this
person, you’ll be very careful about how you witness to
him. If you realize this might be your last day to serve
the Lord, you’ll be careful about how you serve Him.
You’ll want to do it in such a way that you’ll be in full
harmony with His love and His Spirit. There’s nothing
like the expectancy of the return of Jesus Christ to
channel the Church into holy, righteous living.
Jesus warns in His Word,
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon them” (I Thessalonians 5:3).
Jesus is coming at any moment! “Unto them that look
for Him shall He appear the second time” (Hebrews
9:28). Be looking for the return of your Lord. Don’t get
caught up in the “Lord delayeth His coming”

syndrome. Don’t get caught up in the things of the
world.
Live in harmony with God’s love, so that you can
become the full recipient of all the blessings, grace, and
goodness that come from walking in fellowship with
God and in His love. Having begun in the love of God,
don’t depart from the love, and thus, miss the full
benefits of it. Don’t wander in the wilderness when you
can be resting in an oasis, enjoying the fullness of God
in your life. “Keep yourselves in the love of God.”
Jude began his epistle by addressing those who are
kept or preserved in Jesus Christ. He ends his epistle by
praising, “Him who is able to keep you from falling and
to present you faultless” (v. 24). The chief injunction of
the epistle is: keep yourselves in the love of God.
You cannot get away from the love of God. God loves
you just as you are.
One day Christ will present you faultless before the
presence of God’s glory. But you must respond to that
grace of God. You must keep yourself in that place
where God can bless you and use you. Keep your heart
from hatred, greed, and envy – those evils that would
choke out God’s work in your life. Keep yourself in the
love of God – and He will keep you unto that day!

Does God Still Love Me?

A little boy asked his Sunday school teacher, “Does God
love bad little boys?”
The teacher answered, “Oh, no. God doesn’t love bad
little boys – just good little boys.”
But this reply is wrong. In fact, it’s blasphemous. God
loves bad little boys. God loves bad little girls, too. He
loves everyone! Somehow, we think, “Well, because I’ve
been bad, God doesn’t love me anymore.” That’s not
true! God loves you just as much when you’re bad as
when you’re good – for God’s love is unconditional.
Though you may have wandered from God, grieved
God, or even forgotten God, His love is still reaching
out toward you.
So, why does the Scripture say, “Keep yourselves in the
love of God”? You must keep yourself in a position of
harmony with God’s love, so that you can receive and
enjoy its full benefits and blessings. Though God loves
the world today, much of the world receives no direct
benefits of His love. Indirectly, everyone benefits from
God’s love. For example, everyone enjoys the sunshine
– those who love God and those who don’t. We love
God, but not everyone does. We’re in harmony and
fellowship with God’s love, but others are not.
Today, you may be living beneath the full, rich benefits
that God has for your life. The Israelites wandered in
the wilderness for forty years, as a result of their
rebellion against God and the rejection of His love. But
the prophet Isaiah tells us, “His hand is stretched out

still” (v. 12). They spited the love of God, but “His hand
is stretched out still” (v. 17).
Just as the children of Israel, you may have been
delivered out of Egypt, but may still be wandering in
the wilderness. You haven’t entered into the full
benefits of God’s promises. Though this glorious
inheritance is waiting for you, you may still be a
spiritual pauper.
The full benefits of God’s love cannot be manifested in
your life if you’re not keeping yourself in the love of
God. You dwell in the love of God, but only when you
live in harmony with the love of God will you begin to
experience the abundant richness and fullness of that
love.