Jude 1:1  Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
2  Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

There is much speculation as to who this Jude is. To eliminate that speculation we must stick with the facts we are given. We are told here that Jude was a servant of Jesus Christ. The word translated as “servant” means “slave”. It is used to speak of one who gives himself in subjection to another. We have already noted that the Biblical definition in this sense is not that of a servant who is less than a hired man and who is not privileged to be involved in discussions with his master as to what the plan is. That servant is simply told to go and do a certain task, but is not told how that task fits into the bigger picture.
Jude was a servant of Jesus Christ. He had willingly submitted himself to Jesus Christ as his Lord. That is the relationship that every born again Christian must have. We must understand that Jesus Christ is the One Who saved us and we are bought with a price and belong to God. This is not a dreaded fact. This is a blessed fact. It is important to be directly related to the God of Creation and to the Saviour of mankind in this way.
Jude also tells us that he is the brother of James. We are not told which James this is and we can assume, but that will not give us any certainty. God chose to leave Jude’s identity in somewhat of an ambiguous place and we are wise to leave it at that. We know that Jude was a saved man and we also know he was one of the “holy men who were moved by the Holy Ghost” to speak and write God’s Word.
We are also told in verse 1 that Jude was told to write to them “that are sanctified by God the Father”. To be “sanctified” is to be made holy. It is to consecrate. The true child of God has been set apart by God in salvation. We see again the contrast here to what is commonly called “Christianity” today. I was speaking with a person this week about “promise keepers”. I do not know how popular that movement still is, but it was quite popular some years back. Promise Keepers is one of the many tools that the devil used to deceive men. It is an ecumenical venture that teaches men that holiness is not important and that Jesus is whoever you want him to be. The Jesus of that movement is not the Jesus of the Bible. It is important to understand that.
As we will notice in the short book of Jude, he is directed to write about apostasy. Apostasy is defined as an abandonment of religious or political belief. I suppose I could be called an apostate when it comes to my views with regard to politics. I do not hold the views I once held and I do not hold the views that are commonly held with regard to politics. Politics is corrupt to the core and far removed from God’s design for government. I will continue to pray for those who govern us and seek to help them to know the true God, but I will not hold my nose and go to the polls to select one of the corrupt people who are offering themselves up to further deceive us. The Bible declares that God puts leaders into position and He removes them and leaders need to understand they are accountable to God. They certainly do not believe they are accountable to man. They will lie and cheat to try to advance themselves, assuming that their subtilty is winning the day for them.
Back to our text, Jude was writing to those who are “preserved in Jesus Christ”. It is a blessing to know you have been preserved in Jesus Christ. It is also important to understand that the true Christian’s preservation is in Jesus Christ. This is always important to know, but seems to be lacking in some who profess to be saved. Professing Christians have lacked discernment and chosen to enter into the panic that has overtaken the majority of the world and they have believed the coercion of officials who have demanded that we get tested and take the shots. The tests have been proven to be extremely unreliable and the shots have been proven to be deadly and debilitating.
I trust we can learn from the power of deception that we have witnessed over the past two years and those who are saved will grow in our discernment. The deception is becoming more pervasive and the threats being used are becoming much more intense. By the grace of God those who are saved can make wise decisions because we are preserved in Jesus Christ.
Jude also tells us that he is writing to those who are called.

John 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

What a blessed privileged to be called by Jesus Christ. How important to hear that call and respond favourably to it. Every true child of God has an important task to fulfill in the short time we have on this earth. We need to know that. As mentioned, Jude was directed to write to these people and warn them of apostasy — of the turning away from the truth of God’s Word. We will see that as we move further into this book.
In verse 2, Jude is wanting those mentioned in verse 1 to know the mercy, peace, and love of God. God wants that to be multiplied in the saints.
Mercy is that divine compassion that God has towards His children. That is the context here. It is not directed toward all people. It is directed to those who are saved. We are dependent upon God’s mercy to walk with Him. We need that mercy in our lives to govern us in our attitude and actions toward others.
God’s peace is an important gift of God that He gives to His children. It is important to be at peace with God. It is important to know that our sins are forgiven. It is important to know that we can be at peace with our fellow man as well. True Christians are not “trouble makers”. True Christians are not “talebearers”. True Christians are designed by God to seek to help others to know His peace and blessings. We can only do that when we are at peace with God.
Love is that quality that shows itself as kindness. It is that genuine care for others. God’s people need that love and they have that love because it is part of God’s character and He gives it to the saints. That is what motivates the true child of God to reach out to his fellowman with the Gospel. We know that not all will be excited and happy to hear the Gospel. We know the world hates true saints. However, true saints are motivated by the love of God to preach the Gospel because they understand that the Gospel is what will set the captive free.
Notice in our text that God wants these three qualities to be multiplied in the saints. We can never have too much of God’s mercy, peace and love. We need that to function properly as His child.
Jude was directed to lay this foundation for this book. Now we will see how God directed him to build upon that foundation. It is this foundation that gave him the authority to speak the words that follow. It is this foundation that motivated him to speak the words that follow. It is this foundation that will motivate every true child of God to respond favourably to the words spoke in this epistle.
Pastor Bartel