Starting Is Important. Finishing Is Better.
It is one thing to begin the Christian life with passion, excitement, and zeal.
It is another thing entirely to finish faithfully.
During the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Tanzanian marathon runner
John Stephen Akhwari was injured during the race. Long after the winner had crossed
the finish line and much of the stadium had emptied, Akhwari entered the stadium
and completed the race anyway.
When asked why he continued, he explained that his country had not sent him
thousands of miles simply to start the race. They had sent him to finish it.
Jude closes his short letter with a similar challenge.
God did not save us merely to start the race.
He calls us to finish it faithfully.
Bottom Line
Stand firm, because God is able to keep you.
Jude Shifts His Attention
Earlier in the letter, Jude focused heavily on false teachers—how they quietly
entered the church, distorted grace, rejected Christ’s authority, and used people
for themselves.
But beginning in verse 17, Jude turns his attention toward faithful believers.
The question changes from:
How do we recognize false teaching?
to:
How do we remain faithful when false teaching surrounds us?
1. Remember the Warning
In Jude 17–19, believers are told to remember what the apostles had already warned:
scoffers would come, people would pursue ungodly desires, divisions would appear,
and some would claim spiritual authority while lacking the Spirit of God.
False teaching should not surprise us.
Jesus warned about false prophets. Paul warned church leaders that dangerous teachers
would arise even from within the church. Jude reminds believers that these warnings
were always part of the biblical picture.
That means false teaching is not evidence that Christianity has failed.
It is evidence that Jesus and the apostles told the truth about the world
in which His followers would live.
Someone else’s unfaithfulness does not give us permission
to abandon our faithfulness to Christ.
A church leader may fail. A friend may walk away. Someone we once respected may
embrace false doctrine. Someone may begin deconstructing the faith they once professed.
Their failure may hurt deeply, but it does not change the faithfulness of Jesus.
Remember the warning—and keep running.
2. Respond Faithfully
Jude does not tell believers to spend all their time becoming false-teaching detectives.
Discernment matters, but faithfulness requires much more than identifying what is wrong.
Jude 20–21 gives several positive practices that help believers remain faithful.
Build One Another Up in the Faith
Faithfulness does not grow accidentally.
We need Scripture. We need sound biblical teaching. We need Christian community.
We need brothers and sisters who encourage us, challenge us, pray for us,
and call us back when we begin to drift.
The more deeply we know God’s Word and the gospel, the better prepared we are
to recognize ideas that do not belong.
Pray in the Power of the Holy Spirit
Jude calls believers to pray in the Holy Spirit. This is prayer shaped by
dependence on God—coming before Him with humility and asking for wisdom,
strength, discernment, and power to obey.
The absence of prayer reveals the presence of pride.
Prayerlessness quietly says, “I can handle this myself.”
Prayer says, “God, I need You.”
Wait Expectantly for Christ
Jude also tells believers to await the mercy of Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Christians are called to live with eternity in view.
When Christ’s return shapes our perspective, everyday decisions begin to look different.
We remember where history is heading and who is coming again.
Finishing Well Also Means Caring for Others
Jude does not picture the Christian race as something we run alone.
Faithful believers watch out for one another.
Show Mercy to Those Who Are Wavering
Jude 22 tells believers to show mercy to people who are struggling.
A difficult question, painful experience, loss, conflict, or confusing teaching
may shake someone’s faith for a season.
Our first response should not be condemnation. Come alongside them.
Listen. Search the Scriptures together. Point them back to Christ.
Rescue Those Who Have Been Deceived
Jude 23 describes others who need a more urgent response.
Some have moved beyond questions and begun embracing destructive teaching.
Jude compares helping them to rescuing someone from a fire.
False doctrine is dangerous because of where it leads.
A false gospel eventually points people toward a false Christ and a false assurance.
Engage With Compassion—and Caution
Jude also reminds believers to take spiritual danger seriously.
We help others with mercy and courage while remaining aware that none of us
is beyond temptation or deception.
Difficult conversations require humility, biblical conviction,
compassion, and dependence on God.
3. Rest in the One Who Keeps You
After everything Jude has said about spiritual danger and our responsibility
to remain faithful, we might still ask:
Can I really finish well?
Jude 24–25 gives the answer.
God is able to keep His people.
Jude closes by praising the God who is able to keep believers from falling away
and who will one day bring them into His glorious presence with great joy,
blameless because of the work of Christ.
We do not finish well because we are strong enough.
We do not finish well because we are wise enough.
We do not finish well because we never struggle.
We finish because God keeps His people, strengthens His people,
gives wisdom to His people, and brings His people home.
When we are tired, God is able to strengthen.
When we are confused, God is able to give wisdom.
When we are tempted to quit, God is able to keep us.
Standing Firm When the World Drifts
Church history gives us many examples of believers who stood firm when the culture
around them moved in another direction.
One was Athanasius, who lived during the fourth century when Arianism was spreading
throughout churches and the Roman Empire. Arius taught that Jesus was not truly God,
but a created being.
Athanasius understood that this was not a minor theological disagreement.
If Jesus is not truly God, the gospel itself begins to unravel.
Standing for the biblical identity of Jesus cost Athanasius greatly.
He was forced into exile multiple times, yet he continued holding to the truth.
He became associated with the phrase
Athanasius contra mundum
Athanasius against the world.
Yet Athanasius was not the hero of the Christian story.
He was able to stand firm because someone had already finished the race before him.
Jesus Finished First
On the cross, Jesus did not simply announce that His life was ending.
He announced that the work the Father had given Him to accomplish was complete.
Jesus did not merely finish His life.
He finished the work of redemption.
Jesus lived in perfect obedience, died in the place of sinners,
and rose again victorious.
Because He finished His mission, those who trust Him are forgiven,
receive the Holy Spirit, become children of God, and are given everything
they need to follow Him faithfully.
We can stand firm because God is able to keep us.
Life Application
Take One Step Toward Finishing Well
Faithfulness is rarely built in one dramatic moment.
It is usually built through ordinary choices repeated over a lifetime.
This week, choose one area in which you need to become more intentional:
-
Spend consistent time in God’s Word.
-
Set aside focused time for prayer.
-
Encourage someone whose faith is wavering.
-
Remove a spiritual influence that is leading you away from biblical truth.
-
Live one decision this week with eternity clearly in view.
Take the Message Further
Read • Reflect • Discuss
Take a few minutes to read the entire
book of Jude (Jude 1–25).
Since Jude is only twenty-five verses, reading the whole letter helps us see how
the warning against false teachers leads into the call to remain faithful
and the promise that God is able to keep His people.
For Personal Study
Personal Reflection
Ask God to use Jude’s words to reveal where you need encouragement,
correction, greater dependence, or renewed faithfulness.
-
What is one area where I am most vulnerable to drifting spiritually?
-
Am I regularly building myself up in God’s Word, or am I mostly relying on what I already know?
-
What does my prayer life reveal about my dependence on God?
-
Is there someone whose faith is wavering that I need to encourage this week?
-
Where do I need to trust more deeply that God is able to keep me faithful?
Around the Table
Family Discipleship
Read
Jude 20–25
together, then talk about what it looks like to follow Jesus faithfully for a lifetime.
-
What does it mean to “finish well” in following Jesus?
-
Why do we need God’s Word and other believers to help us stay faithful?
-
What should we do when someone we know is struggling with their faith?
This Week
Choose one family habit that helps you stay close to Jesus.
Read a short passage together, pray for someone who is struggling,
or begin memorizing
Jude 24–25
together.
Family Prayer
Father, help our family know Your Word, depend on You in prayer,
encourage people who are struggling, and remain faithful to Jesus.
Thank You that we do not have to finish the race in our own strength.
Help us trust You and follow Jesus faithfully. Amen.
Finish Well
Keep Running. Keep Standing. Keep Trusting.
Faithfulness is built through ordinary days spent knowing God’s Word,
depending on Him in prayer, caring for His people, and keeping our eyes fixed on Christ.
God is able to keep you.
Bible Shorts • Jude
Watch or Listen to the Full Message
Walk through Jude 17–25 and discover how believers can remain faithful,
care for those who are struggling, and rest in the God who is able to keep His people.
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