“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 1:20-21
Named among the brethren of the Lord, in Matthew 13:55; and Mark 6:3, Jude or “Judah” authors the letter in which faith, love and mercy characterize the ones targeted to receive his exhortation. And what is his reason for calling them near? He is imploring them to earnestly contend for the faith. Which faith? — the one delivered unto them at a particular point in time.
“The reference here, of course, is only to contention by argument, by reasoning, by holding fast the principles… and maintaining them against all opposers. It would not justify “contention” by arms, by violence, or by persecution.” Barnes
The occasion for this urgency has come about because, ” …certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. ” v.4 ESV
Beloved, the grace of Our Lord has no outcome of promoting sin. That would be preposterous. Instead a person who discerns God’s grace becomes one who builds their faith up, prays in the Holy Spirit, keeps in God’s love, and looks for mercy, particularly at His coming return. The end-product, the faith/love person, has compassion on unsaved ones, and also a fervent and sacred reverence for God Word. He or she does not shun to speak to outsiders of the dangers of eternal damnation.
Jude 23b calls us to, “Hate even the garment spotted by the flesh.’
Christians who received at baptism the white garment in token of purity, are not to defile it by any approach to what is defiled. JFB We are to “be holy, (be separated unto Him.)
Tzuetan Todorov tells a story of caring in his book “Facing the Extreme.” It illustrates a real life situation.
” …a Young girl, Fania Fenelon, looks around her at the women asleep in her Auschwitz barracks and says, I look at them and a protective tenderness unfolds inside me, a tenderness that rises from the darkest past , and I wonder where this feeling could possibly come from, since I am one of the very youngest.
Transferred to Bergen-Belsen, Fania strikes up a friendship with a doctor named Maria. The two are talking one day when a Polish prisoner comes to Maria for help. She is not sick – she is about to give birth. At first Fania and Marie panic.”
Though this is a story of human nature facing extreme conditions, a lesson can be learned here. What we face in life can find a penetration into the deepest parts of our being. Panic may shake us here, perhaps severe doubt. We may opt for a fleshly way of escape, rationalizing that it is too much to ask. We can justify our fleshly response.
“The story continues, “but then they collect themselves and have the woman lie down on a table. Silence is imperative, so the woman, “teeth clenched, uttered not a moan. She knew the fate that awaited children at the hands of the SS. ” Fortunately the child arrives quickly. There are no scissors, Maria cuts the cord with her teeth. There is no water, Fania rips the lining out of her coat, fashions a crude version of swaddling clothes, and wraps up the baby, still covered with blood. The woman who has not yet said a word, (gets dressed) and takes the child in her arms in a wonderful gesture of possession and protection.” “Mother and child survive.
The story, in dire circumstances, paints for us a picture of often experienced occasions in our own lives that require a choice. In these times perhaps we are not built up in faith. We are not prepared, but must be. Early morning, before the day begins we mull over the Scriptures. We touch the Holy Spirit’s leading, guiding us into all truth. We build our safety net of doctrine, absolutely essential to the Christian life.
Now, we pray in the Holy Spirit, Psalm 119 is a guide, “Quicken me, Strengthen me, fill me, turn away my eyes from beholding vanity, stablish me, enlarge my heart, etc.
Next, we fellowship again with God’s love, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ” 1John 4:10 John 3:16 is also good here, and Jeremiah 31:3
Then we solidify the future, we look for the mercy of eternal life, or, the immanent return of our Savior.
Lastly, we continue in His Word, and it leads to our being set free, as in John 8:32-36. In this freedom from our flesh, from our senses, from ourselves, is God’s love, compassion for others, a constraint to share the gospel to lost souls.
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