“But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” Jude 1:20-23 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/jud.1.20-22.CSB

How do we grow or, as our text says, build ourselves up in our most holy faith? This is the expectation of God, for it is His goal for us to become fully like the firstborn Son, Jesus the Lord. This is why we must become holy, for He is holy, and we shall live forever with God as a holy people on the new earth. This passage gives us four means for growing in our faith. First is prayer. The most effective prayer is the prayer that is reflective of God’s will found in Scripture. Prayer is not asking God whatever we desire, like a four-year-old with Santa. Prayer is a servant coming to his Master seeking direction for doing His will. The Master’s will is found in His word that we should diligently search for His ways and petition Him for wisdom in executing in our lives. His ways are the reconciliation of the world to Himself through Jesus, of Whom we are to be His ambassadors, seeking and saving the lost. To win them to Christ, we must have patience with those we share the gospel with as they wrestle against spiritual forces of darkness that have long lied to them, clouding their thinking about eternal life. These are the wavering people with whom we have mercy until they come to faith. Meanwhile, we share the gospel consistently; some are ready today to receive Jesus as Savior. These are those who are snatched from the fires of hell, awaiting every person who denies Jesus as Savior and Lord. By consistently offering the gospel to people, we will see people come to saving faith. Others have confessed Jesus as Savior but still live worldly lives, compromising His truth by disobeying His commands. We encourage these to repent and obey patiently awaiting their allegiance to Christ, understanding that we still struggle to obey everything Jesus has commanded. We do not participate in their sins, though they claim to be our brothers; instead, we lead by word and example our brothers to walk in all godliness, for each of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Those who have worked hard at holiness will be found to be pleasing to their God when they see Him face to face.