Jude 17-25
Finishing Jude today… And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (vv. 22-23) Jude is listing three groups of people here. My take – the first group is new Christians or older Christians who may be leaning away from the faith, possibly led by those ungodly persons that Jude has been discussing in his entire letter. The second group is those newly saved Christians or those who are hungry to learn and are close to making a decision for Christ, but need to be pulled away from the influence of “the world” or those ungodly persons. Finally, the third group includes those who are “lost”, possibly fully in the clutches of “the world” and/or those ungodly persons. I think that to “show mercy with fear” means to be kind to those lost souls, but to be careful in interactions with them. My thoughts…
Jude draws a contrast in verses 19 and 20, an easy contrast to miss – those who are “devoid of the Spirit” in verse 19 and those who are “praying in the Holy Spirit” in verse 20. A full and clear contrast…! And so we close Jude.
Slava Bohu!