Jude 1:21 (LSB)

Passage

keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

Nearby Context

Jude 1:19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, not having the Spirit.

Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Jude 1:21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

Jude 1:22 And on some, who are doubting, have mercy;

Jude 1:23 and for others, save, snatching them out of the fire; and on others have mercy with fear, hating even the tunic polluted by the flesh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "keep", "yourselves", "love", "waiting", "lord", "jesus", and "christ". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "keep", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "But you beloved building yourselves up on..." into verse 22's "And on some who are doubting have...", so "mercy" and "keep" belong inside that flow. In Jude context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mercy" and "keep" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.