By Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up 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. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” –Jude 20-23 NKJV
ANSWER: Jude wrote his brief epistle to fellow-Christians – persons who have individually trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Every believer can speak of Him as “the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). The Son assures us, “the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (Jn. 16:27). Many other Bible verses also show that God loves us.
The exhortation, or encouragement, to keep ourselves in the love of God is more than a statement of assurance; it is an exhortation to pursue – a command to follow. It is the core of the sentence in which it occurs, for technically the other three clauses in that sentence describe ways by which we can keep ourselves in the love of God. These ways, along with two others in the passage, are:
1. “Building yourselves up on your most holy faith”
We are in an ungodly world – a world of self-seekers in rebellion and at enmity against God. It is needful to occupy ourselves with the Word, meditate upon it and give time to studying it. By this we see what God in His grace has for His own. We learn the riches of His grace and are drawn closer to His loving heart.
2. “Praying in the Holy Spirit”
Our hearts respond to Him in prayer. Not just a “give me” kind of prayer, but worship and praise and thanksgiving for who He is and for what He has done. We think of His interests and purposes in this wicked world and of the needs of others, bringing these matters to God in intercession. We enjoy fellowship with our Savior and with God our Father.
3. “Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”
As we contemplate this world in which we live – its rebellion against God and its self-seeking – our hearts long to be with the Lord. We think of His promise and long for its fulfillment, for His coming to take us to Himself. What a mercy it will be to be taken out of this world to be with Him forever! But there’s still more.
4. “On some have compassion, making a distinction”
As we appreciate and enjoy the love of God and the riches of His grace, we will want others in this poor world – loved ones, friends and neighbors – to share in these things too. We’ll feel their emptiness and need, and we long to see them saved and blessed as we are. We will seek to reach out and share what we have with them.
5. “But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh”
There are many round about us whose wickedness and corruption are obvious. We avoid them for we don’t feel comfortable among them, instinctively shying away from them. There’s no fellowship between the light we have been given and the deep darkness they are in. But they also need the Savior, and the Lord has died for them too. While fearful and afraid of being defiled by contact with them, we feel their tremendous need and want to draw them to our Savior whom they so desperately need.
All these are essential if we want to keep ourselves in the love of God. We especially need the first three for our own personal, spiritual gain. The final two are the outflow toward others in need. May God help us in all these ways to keep ourselves basking in the enjoyment of His love!