True Believers: True Faith in Practice

Introduction:

Jude has made his final warning about the false teachers.

He has referred to them as:

divisive

natural

not proceeding according to the spirit - they are driven by their lusts.

One of the observations about our own time is that cancel culture, as it has come to be called, does not permit any errors.

All lack of conformity with the new ideology, no matter how far back, must be punished.

There can be no forgiveness, there can be no growth.

Contrast this with the admonitions given by Jude and the assumptions about what Christianity is in light of his admonitions.

Spiritual Growth and Prayer: Essential to Practicing the Faith.

Jude repeats his descriptor of his audience.

He calls them “beloved.”

The kernel thought is found in Jd. 21, “keep yourselves in God’s love.”

By this statement, Jude most likely means the same thing Jesus means in Jn. 15:10.

Based upon the context, Jude has in mind two basic ideas.

First, it is our responsibility as believers to keep ourselves in the practice of God’s love. Living as a disciple depends upon us remaining obedient.

Second, part of living in obedience to God is practicing love patterned after the love of Christ.

Others should benefit from our practice of the same kind of love toward them as Christ has shown toward us.

Now, the two previous participles establish two ways that we keep ourselves obedient and thus in the faith.

“Edifying yourselves in your most holy faith.”

The practice of the faith isn’t some sloppy emotionalism. It includes edification of one another (see Eph. 4).

Note the inherent contrast between “divide” and “edify.” We do not seek to tear down one another, nor do we wish to see one another’s faith fail. Showing proper concern for the weaker brother has always been important for believers/churches. Jude will explain with greater specificity what practices he has in mind with edification. But, at a minimum, the use of this word implies that what we do as a congregation, we do together. We build up one another. There is a strengthening that we engage in together. We help keep one another in the faith. That is part of contending for the faith.

We strengthen one another in our most holy faith. The superlative “most holy” suggests something separate and distinct from that which is human in its qualities. Note the contrast to “physical” in the previous verse.

This superlative also indicates the origins of this faith. It from God, not from man.

“Praying in the Holy Spirit.”

It also includes prayer (Lk. 18, 1 Thess. 5, etc).

Continuing to pray is a basic, minimum practice.

It is a gauge of spiritual health and of our assurance of Christ’s coming.

Love and Forgiveness: Following Christ’s Model:

We saw earlier that there seems to be two sides to the idea of “keep yourselves in God’s love.”

Now, we see the imitation of God’s own practice of love toward us.

This is made plain in Christ’s treatment of us.

What we expect from Christ, we extend to one another.

Jude could have in mind those weaker brothers who might have succumbed to the enticements propagated by the false teachers.

Living in anticipation of the coming of Christ, then, is not merely an accessory and an attitude that we affect for public consumption.

Instead, the mercy that we anticipate from him, by his coming, we then show to one another.

Specifically, Jude most likely has in mind those who found the false doctrine alluring. Upon its exposure to be false, instead of being harsh or overbearing toward them, Jude implores the recipients of his letter to exercise mercy toward them.

There appear to be three categories of people:

Some - this group has been made to question or doubt. They may even be contributing to the division that the false teachers has instigated.

Others - this group appears to be in the greatest danger. They have followed the false teachers the most. They are in the midst of the fire of the false teaching. Yet, they are not a lost cause.

Yet others - an unspecified group. The point is that we are to be cautious in our own approach. We are to hate the thought of being tainted.

Conclusion:

Contending for the faith is more than just recognizing the presence and practices of false teachers. It is to oppose error through the practice of the truth.

Our world needs us to demonstrate what Christianity is. It has forgotten. Have we?