five verses together, I'm sorry. We're going to Jude, the only
chapter, and we're going to verse 20, and we'll read through to
verse 24. That stumbled me there. Jude, chapter one, verse 20. But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. and of some have compassion
making a difference, and others save with fear, pulling them
out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. Jude believed in sovereign grace. At least that is the implication
of his question, the question that this disciple asked the
Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 14. That question is the only recorded
statement in the Gospels that Jude actually made. The Lord had been speaking in
John chapter 14. Remember, that chapter is the
chapter that begins, let not your heart be troubled. You believe
in God, believe also in me. And he was speaking to his disciples
about his imminent death and departure. And the Lord said
to his disciples, yet a little while, and the world seeth me
no more. but ye see me. Because I live,
ye shall live also.' And Jude was perplexed. And with modesty,
and let me suggest, a degree of humility, he enquired of the
Lord. How is it that thou wilt manifest
thyself unto us and not unto the world? That was his question.
The only thing, the only thing that Jude said, apart from his
little epistle at the end of our scriptures, the only thing
that he said that is recorded in the Gospels to the Lord as
one of his disciples is, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest
thyself unto us and not unto the world? Let me paraphrase that if I may.
He said, how is it we can see you when others can't? How is it that we can see you
when others can't? Why will you distinguish between
them and us? when we are no more worthy, when
we are no more eligible or deserving than they. Jude, you see, understood from
the state of his own heart and the neat of his own soul how
that grace alone and the unconditional favour of Christ, and Christ's
sovereign will and pleasure, only grace could explain the
gospel blessings and privileges being granted to him and the
other disciples in the very moment in which it was being withheld
from others. He knew that there was no difference
between them as men because they were all sinners. And so he understood
the sovereign purpose of God in Christ to reveal himself to
some and deny himself to others with this discriminating gospel. I trust we all know that we do
not see Christ because we are better than others. I trust we
all know that we do not deserve to see him while others don't
deserve to see him. I trust we know that it's not
because we want to see him while others do not want, as if there
is some innate and inherent desire in us that the Lord honours.
We see Christ because he gives us faith to see him. eyes to
see him, ears to hear him and a heart receptive to his will
and his promptings. We see Christ only by faith and
faith is a sovereign gift from God by which men and women are
quickened and made alive to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. And in looking to him, in seeing
him when others do not, in seeing him when the world does not,
seeing him as he truly is, made a little lower than the angels
for the suffering of death. This is distinguishing mercy. Jude understood and the Lord
explained it to his disciples on the occasion of Jude's question. And I mention this because I
want us to be clear. Jude in these verses before us
today is not implying by what he says in today's passage that
men and women, even believing men and women, have the ability
in themselves to build themselves up in the faith or to keep themselves
in God's love. Despite what many preachers preach,
Jude is not implying creature ability in spiritual matters. He knew better than that. He
knew better than that in John chapter 14 and he has not forgotten
his lessons. Christ told him then, my peace
I give unto you. It was distinctive, it was discriminating,
it was particular. My peace I give unto you. I give
peace and grace and love and mercy and I will never withdraw
it. James, Jude's brother I think,
had written, This is speaking about God's
covenant purpose. It's speaking about His eternal
will and sovereign desire. It's speaking about the fact
that He has a people foreknown, foreloved, preordained, predestinated,
elect from before the foundation of the world to whom he bestows
his blessings and his grace and his mercy. And these good gifts
come down from the Father of Lights and he will never take
them away. Consequently, there is no spiritual
growth or development in a person except as Christ bestows according
to his goodwill and pleasure, except for what he gives out
of his mercy and his kindness to his people. Our Lord first
creates a need, creates an appetite, creates a hunger and a thirst
in his people and then he supplies that need. He satisfies that
appetite out of his goodness and out of his bounty. It is
Christ who keeps his church. It is Christ who builds up his
church with all spiritual blessings through the ghost. Our only role in this
matter is to be active as spiritual men and women to attend the established
means of grace. If the Lord gives us a gospel
ministry, hear it, listen to it, If he gives us a burden for
prayer, exercise it. If he teaches us his gospel of
free and sovereign grace, embrace it wholeheartedly, believe it
unreservedly, contend for it, says Jude, earnestly. I want to spend the rest of the
time that we have together today just looking at three phrases
mentioned by Jude in these verses. Now, the first one is the mercy
of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The second one
is the compassion that makes a difference. And the third one
is what it means to save by fear. And I will tell you that the
division of my time over these three points is not equal. So
the biggest one is number one, so don't worry when I say, and
here's number two, because we'll be spending most of our time
on the first point. But here's the first point. I
want us to think about the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life. Jude's usage of this phrase here
is quite distinctive. He is leaving us in no doubt
that eternal life is a work of mercy and he expressly directs
us to look to Christ for it. Indeed, I tend to think that
all of Jude's directions here, in this little section, he's
come to the end of his declamations against these evil workers and
now he's got a more pastoral, a more comforting and encouraging
little portion as he comes to the end of his letter. And I
tend to think that all of Jude's directions here are pastorally
intended to reassure believers of the certainty of the eternal
life that lies before us. the certainty of the eternal
life, the eternal glory, the heavenly blessings that lie before
us. He's encouraging us to embrace
and enjoy the prospect of everlasting life in Christ, the prospect
that comes as an act of Christ's mercy. And when he speaks of
building ourselves up in our most holy faith and praying in
the Holy Ghost and keeping ourselves in the love of God and looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jude's words are similar
to and of a kind with such admonitions from other apostles and the Lord himself
indeed, where we are told, seek first the kingdom of God, or
patiently wait for Christ, and study to show ourselves approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. These verbs that he uses, the
build and the pray and the keep and the look and the seek and
the wait and the study, they don't merit heavenly glory. for the church, for the Lord's
people, but they direct us to the gospel in order that we might
understand what Christ has done for us in the covenant of grace
and peace. They teach us substitutional
atonement. at the cross. They teach us reconciliation
with God. They teach us what it means to
be justified and made righteous and holy before God. And they
tell us what He shall yet do for us in terms of our entrance
into the enjoyment of eternal life in heaven. These verbs, these doing words
are all designed to increase and strengthen our faith and
establish our hope and reassure us as we face the trials and
temptations and the challenges of life. Now hear me, hear me here. Soon,
you are going to have a heart attack. or a stroke, or get cancer, or
dementia, or something else. And you will lie alone on a bed
in the wee small hours of darkness. And you need to know that Christ
loves you with an everlasting love. You need to know he betrothed
you to himself in eternal union. You need to know that he undertook
to pay every debt and fulfil every obligation and face every
foe and deliver every blessing. You need to know how in time,
in the incarnation, he took on himself the nature of a man and
joined himself eternally to our flesh for the salvation of our
souls and bodies. You need to know that. You need
to know that having saved us, he intercedes for us in heaven,
that he provides his spirit for our comfort on earth, that he
gives us our daily bread and that he never forsakes us. You need to know that he is with
you always. You need to know that he's coming
back for you, likely very soon, perhaps in death, perhaps for
some by appointment in the air. But you need to know You are,
right now, just one breath, just one heartbeat away from eternal
glory. All these accomplishments are
the product of Christ's mercy. And we discover them, we learn
about them, we know these truths. For our spiritual help, by faith,
by trusting Christ, and by believing what He has revealed in His Word. All that God has revealed of
Himself in Scripture, all that Christ has accomplished by His
death, and all the Holy Spirit ministers to our souls under
the Gospel, all of it points us to the great promise of eternal
life. and it confirms our faith in
time and it comforts our heart in this present evil world. And that is why Jude is pointing
us to these doing words. Jude has called on the church,
you and me, you and me who believe, he has called on the church earnestly
to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. both
for our own sakes and for the sakes of our brothers and sisters
in the Lord. And also, let me say, for the
sake of subsequent generations. Some people like to think that
they will leave a legacy in this world when they pass, some body
of work that they will leave behind them when they die, some
monument to their memory. The finest legacy that a believer
can leave to the Church of Jesus Christ, and indeed to the world
at large, is his faithfulness to the Gospel of Christ during
his lifetime, and the fact that he earnestly contended for the
faith. Such a believer faithfully passes
on the true body of gospel truth that was committed to him, to
the next generation. That is our privilege to pass
on and leave behind. Next, Jude is going to tell us
practically to prepare ourselves, to exercise ourselves, to equip
ourselves to be ready to stand fast in our own evil day and
how we are to fight the good fight of faith for the history
of redemption and the doctrine of grace, for the building up
of the church and the salvation of sinners in this gainsaying
world. The church is to be prepared
and equipped to serve as good soldiers, honest, serving men
and women. And Jude directs us now in these
verses to some methods and approaches of service. He says, exercise
the compassion that makes a difference. So this is our next point. What is this? Compassion that
makes a difference. And how do we exercise that in
the context of what Jude is telling us here? Well, this compassion
that makes a difference is the attitude and the manner in which
we serve the Lord and minister to those around us. And I do
think that compassion is such a good word to describe this
attitude. Yes, we are to love the brethren. Yes, we are to love our neighbours.
Yes, we are even to love our enemies. All of which we can
do only if Christ loves us and we love him. But compassion is
a good word too, it incorporates sensitivity and empathy and understanding,
even pity for the needs of those around us. And let me tell you
that I am speaking very much to myself as I think about these
things. These are deficiencies in many
of us and I speak for myself. Compassion is being kind and
kindness makes a difference in people's lives. One of the most
attractive aspects of the Lord's ministry was his constant kindness. He cared. He helped. He healed. He was gentle, compassionate
and generous. He was as much exercised to acts
of kindness amongst publicans and sinners as with his own disciples. he consoled the grieving, he
strengthened the weak, he encouraged the downcast, and he gave hope
to the hopeless, as well as healing the sick and raising the dead.
And whether we think of our brothers and sisters in Christ, or whether
we think of unbelievers who are heedless and careless of their
own soul in the world, we who know the truth should be heedful
and careful for their souls in spite of their own negligence. Making a difference, this compassion
that makes a difference, making a difference does not mean that
our actions and attitudes will convert a sinner to Christ. That's God's work, we know that.
It does, however, mean that we treat people differently. We are sensitive to their needs
and their predicaments and their condition, and we endeavour to
act appropriately. We cannot make a Christian, but
we can make a friend, and often friends get a hearing when a
stranger will not. And if, like the Apostle Paul,
we know whom we have believed and are persuaded that he is
able to keep that which we have committed unto him against that
day, then we shall have something to say to those people whose
paths we cross in the providence of God. We cannot tell who are the Lord's
elect before there is an outward evidence of regeneration and
conversion. And even then, sometimes we are
disappointed. But we can extend a helping hand
to all that we encounter who are in need. It is what the Lord
did for many. And no doubt, it is what someone
did for us. So let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. And let us endeavour to share
that compassion that makes a difference. The third point that I want to
leave with you and then we're done is this. What it means to
save by fear. It's our final thought. Jude
speaks of saving some by fear. Now again, it is not our gift
to save anyone. But nevertheless, taking Jude's
words at face value, we may be instrumental. by faithfulness
to the gospel, by commitment to the truth, and a willingness
even to rebuke a false teacher, to bring such a one under a degree
of conviction and remorse for his error. Now, There's a danger
in this. Such an approach is very likely
to harden a reprobate against us and make him an enemy twice
over. But so be it, God knows. And God's elect, on the other
hand, though in serious error on a particular matter, Will,
under the influence of God's Holy Spirit, receive a rebuke
given genuinely for the cause of Christ and learn from it? And again, let us look to our
own experience. Have we not all been corrected
at one time or another in a way that caused us to tremble both
at the majesty of God and our own stupidity? Let me round these thoughts off
like this. Not one of the Lord's elect will
fail to be brought to conversion and to experience grace in their
lives. Every elect child of God, everyone
encompassed by God's covenant purpose, will come to saving
faith in Christ. And how the transformation takes
place in the soul is God's business. How conversion unfolds in a particular
individual's experience is God's business. Nevertheless, he uses people
like you and like me He uses his church, he uses his preachers
and the circumstances of providence to accomplish his saving purpose. We have a powerful message. It is the message that Jude says
we are to contend for. It is the message of sovereign
grace and Christ's effectual salvation for his people on the
cross. Sometimes it has to be declared
sharply and directly. Most often it can be spoken compassionately
and kindly. Either way, when the Lord is
merciful, he will bring his wayward and wandering sheep to himself. May he enable us to serve him
faithfully and with compassion to the glory of his name and
the salvation of sinners. Amen.