Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
In verse 20 Jude was directed to write the solution to the apostasy that God was warning about. The same solution is the only way to guard against being led astray. No man can stand on his own.
I Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
Peter needed to learn this lesson when he was walking with Jesus. He assumed he was strong enough to face any challenge that either he or Jesus would face. Jesus warned him that this was not the case. Peter learned the hard way that Jesus Christ is always right.
Jesus addressed seven local churches in Revelation 2-3. Those churches that were lacking needed to get back to the truth. That is the answer. Carelessness has been the flavour of much of modern day religion. Much of modern day Christianity is not Biblical Christianity. It is not enough to claim to be a Christian. It is not enough to claim to be a church. Jesus told Nicodemus: “ye must be born again.” Those who are born again have been changed from the heart to pursue godliness.
In verse 3 God directed Jude to speak of the “faith once delivered unto the saints”. In verse 20 God directed Jude to write about “your most holy faith.” This is not talking about all the fluff about the pope being in Canada right now and supposedly going to help the “healing” among the native people. He is called the holy father, but he is a wicked imposter who is under God’s wrath as have been all the popes.
The holy faith is that pure faith that is the Word of God. We see also that we need to be praying in the Holy Ghost. Notice it does not say we should pray “to” the Holy Ghost. We pray in the Holy Ghost. We need to be directed by the Holy Ghost to pray as we ought to pray. All true prayer is directed to God the Father in Jesus’ name.
John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
In every one of these references Jesus taught the importance of asking the Father in His name. Those who pray in the Holy Ghost will follow Jesus’ teaching. The Holy Ghost will never lead a person contrary to the Word of God.
It is also important to note that praying in the Holy Ghost is not praying in “tongues”. That is the false teaching of the Charismatics. Praying in the Holy Ghost is being led by the Holy Ghost to pray according to God’s will.
We see in verse 21 that those who are saved need to keep themselves in the love of God. When a person is saved, they are held in the Father’s hand. A saved person cannot lose their salvation. However, a saved person can get out of fellowship with the Lord. God chastens His child because He loves him. God would rather have His child choose to walk in obedience to His Word and not need to face chastening.
The word translated as “looking” has the meaning of “awaiting or anticipating”. The true child of God does not try to live as close to the world as possible and then look for the mercy of God. As we have already seen, the true child of God keeps himself in the love of God and in that place, trusts in the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep him or her unto the day they leave this earth and enter into that eternal home in heaven.
The true Christian has so much to look forward to. There is no need to be discouraged. True Christians can walk with confidence and they are privileged to serve the Lord because they have a sure hope.
In verse 22 we see that we need to respond to those who are slipping into apostasy, with compassion. Notice that he speaks of “some”. Some people are intent on being apostate. They are lost and they are stubbornly going to remain that way. Others are not convinced that apostasy is the right way to go, and they are also not convinced that God’s way is the right way to go. In our witnessing to them, we need to be firm and speak with conviction, but we also want to give them some room to consider God’s truth. If they will allow for it, we will revisit them to give them further truths that can help them to make the right choice.
I spoke with a couple yesterday who are lost, but they seemed very interested in the truths I gave them. They seem to be a couple that would be open to further information and further words from God. It is important to use Scripture in our witnessing. That is where the power is. We can make a difference in people’s lives if we will walk in the Spirit and not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
In verse 23 we see that there are others that we need to be more aggressive with. These would be like the Pharisees and their type. These are lost individuals who are leading others astray. Jesus loved the Pharisees as much as He loved anyone else. He spoke to them differently than He did to the woman at the well or the woman who they accused of being caught in adultery. He used words that showed these false teachers just who they were and that they were in grave danger.
Those who are saved need discernment in our witnessing. We need to understand that we have been saved to be a help and a blessing to others who are headed for hell. Notice here that we do not hate the person, but we hate their garments. We hate what they have cloaked themselves in. We want no part of that and we make that very clear to them as we witness to them.
Some years back I met some J.W.’s on the street and I witnessed to them. I tried to give them some good literature and the one person jumped back as if I had a knife and was going to harm him. The other person took the literature and I had further opportunity to witness to him. He did not get saved, that I know of, but he certainly had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
Those who are saved need to listen to the words God directed Paul to write:
Philippians 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
We don’t need those bracelets and necklaces that were so popular some years back with the letters: WWJD. We know what Jesus would do because we have the Word of God and we know what He did. He will guide us through the Holy Spirit to respond properly to each situation if we are walking in the Spirit. That is the challenge for those who are saved.
We welcome those in our area to join us in person for our services today where you can learn God’s truth and know His peace. Our live streaming is available for those who are not close at hand and are do not have a true local church in their area. The goal of all true saints is to be in a true local church where you can grow and serve the Lord.
Pastor Bartel