A Special Benediction
(No. 2412)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S DAY, MAY 12, 1895.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 12,
1887.
"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: mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied." Jude 1,2.
THOSE were troublous times in which Jude wrote this very forcible
Epistle. The first early days of Christianity, with all the springtime
of the singing of birds and the blossoming of flowers had passed away.
There had come times of trial for everyone, but worst of all were the
troubles within the Church. Unawares, evil men had been admitted into
membership. The human mind, always acting like leaven, had begun to
corrupt, even, the Truth of the Gospel, so that where there had once
been an unadulterated, unmingled preaching of the Cross of Christ,
there had come in a savor of Gnosticism and other philosophies of the
day. And with all the error there had also come a tendency to tone down
the high spirituality, the deep sanctity of Christian life. So the
children of God who truly cared for Him and walked with Him, were very
sad at heart. I suppose that Paul had gone home to His reward. John
still lingered and, perhaps, James and Peter, also, but when the time
came for Peter to write his second Epistle, the day was darkening
down–and when Jude took up his pen and wrote this short Epistle, the
times were getting darker and darker and great foreboding of evil were
in the hearts of God's servants–foreboding which were only removed by
their joyous faith in Him who had gone from them and who would,
by-and-by, come again without a sin-offering unto salvation!
This Epistle, therefore, seems to me to fit our times, which are not
altogether unlike those of which I have been speaking, and the Apostle
might have been writing yesterday, so appropriate are his words to the
evils of the present age! If Jude were living, now, he might have to
deal with a different form of evil, but, at the bottom, it would really
be the same evil as that of which he wrote, the same mischievous root
of bitterness which, springing up in our days, troubles us and,
thereby, many are defiled.
I thought, as I read this Epistle through, that Jude seems to take the
right view of things, namely, that the proper way of meeting evils in
the Church is by dealing with the Church, itself–dealing with the
truly faithful members of the Church and speaking to those who really
are "sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and
called"– stirring them up to seek the highest degree of spiritual
strength and pleading for them that mercy and peace and love may be
multiplied to them. If you have to visit infected places, it may help
you to ward off disease if you, yourself, are vigorous and full of
health. The best protection against surrounding evil will be the
cultivation of a right state of heart and life, a continual growth in
Grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. That wind which may upset
yonder boat with its butterfly sails, may do no mischief, whatever, to
the boat which is well ballasted and fitted to weather the gale. Be
yourself right–listen to the Word of Wisdom which says, "Take heed
unto yourself, and unto the doctrine"–and when these two matters are
as they should be, then every wind of error which blows here and there
will but little affect you.
Such I take it is the run of this Epistle and the opening verses are a
fit preface thereto. I am going to speak of these two verses under
three heads. First, here is a special man–"Jude, the servant of Jesus
Christ, and brother of James." Next, the Epistle is written to special
persons–"to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved
in Jesus Christ, and called." Then, thirdly, it contains a special
benediction–"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied."
I. First of all, it seems to me that the Apostle who wrote this Epistle
was A SPECIAL MAN. Jude evidently wished to set himself apart from the
general mass of those who were apostatizing and to make it known that
he, himself, was strong in the faith and remaining faithful to his
Lord.
To me, it seems as if every word of his own title has a specialty about
it. There is something special in his name. He begins his Epistle with
his own name–"Jude." Among the members of a certain denomination that
I need not name, there is a practice of using initials when they write
a book. I never find any instance of that custom in Scripture. "G.B."
did not write an Epistle! And neither "A.B." nor "X.Y.Z." has favored
us with any book of Holy Scripture! Names, however, are not always
used. We have no name at the commencement of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, for no writer in the Old or the New Testament gloried in his
own name. Still, they were not ashamed of their names and since they
were bound to make an open confession of their faith, it is as well
that they used their names at the beginning of their writings.
This Epistle was written by Jude, that is to say, by Judas, but not
Iscariot, and herein lies the specialty of his name. This Judas was not
the son of perdition, but a true son of God, a sincere and
earnest-hearted Believer. Yet, when he wrote his own name down, Judas,
which we pronounce short as, "Jude," I think that the tears must have
come to his eyes as he remembered that other Judas–with the same name,
yes, and by birth with the same nature. If left to himself, he might
have proved a traitor to his Master, like the other Judas–but Grace
had made him to differ from the man who betrayed his Lord. If it had
been your case, or mine, I am sure that we could not have written down
that name without reflecting upon our obligations to the Sovereign
Grace of God which kept us from being sons of perdition!
"There goes John Bradford but for the Grace of God," is a saying often
quoted–and there would have gone this other Judas but for the Grace of
God that restrained him! You remember how particular the Holy Spirit is
that we should not mistake this Judas for Judas Iscariot, for when he
asked of Jesus, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself unto
us, and not unto the world?" the Holy Spirit records the name of the
questioner as, "Judas, not Iscariot." No, "not Iscariot." What a mercy
for you that though some other of your name may have fallen into gross
sin, you have been preserved! But as you remember your own name and
remember how often that name has been defiled by others who at first
were your companions in your childhood, thank God that He has kept you
from falling. Do not think of your name without thinking of that name
which is above all names, by which your name has been rescued from the
Stygian bog and placed in the Book of the children of God among those
whose names are written in Heaven! So, you see, there was something
special, even, about the name of Jude.
There was something equally or still more special in his office.
"Jude–Judas–the servant of Jesus Christ." Our Revised Version very
properly puts in the margin "bondservant of Jesus Christ," and it is
very beautiful to see how, in the original, these servants of Jesus
Christ delighted to set forth the completeness of their service and to
declare how perfectly they belonged to Christ. They were not servants
that could come and go at their own pleasure, but they were
bondservants of Jesus Christ. Though there were no free men on earth
more truly free than they, yet these servants of Jesus Christ delighted
in wearing chains of love which were soft as silk yet stronger than
steel! They rejoiced to feel that they had no liberty to run away from
Christ–their desire was to have their ear bored to the doorpost of His
house, to be His servants through their whole lifetime and throughout
eternity. This is what the Apostle meant when he wrote, "Jude, the
bondservant of Jesus Christ."
You know how persons came to be bondservants in the olden time,
according to Jewish practice. They were bondservants by purchase. When
anyone had bought a slave with his money, the poor man was reckoned as
belonging to him. So, we are not our own, we were bought with a
price–we were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and
gold, but with the precious blood of Christ–as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot. The fine gentry in the ministry of the
present day turn up their noses at this Truth of God and say that it is
a mercantile idea. So it is, and we are not ashamed to have it so! "You
are bought with a price," wrote the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, as
if to make it clear beyond all question that it was really so! And you
and I feel that we, too, have been bought and paid for, and that is one
reason why we belong to Christ. We henceforth feel that we have no
ownership rights over ourselves, yet we rejoice that we have that which
is much more valuable, for we can, each one, say, with Thomas, "My Lord
and my God." Henceforth we have no claim over ourselves, but give
ourselves over to Him who has bought us with His blood, for we are His
bondservants by purchase.
Then there was another method by which a man became possessed of
bondservants, that was by birth. Under the Law of God, the man born in
the priest's house or bought with the priest's money, might eat of the
holy things. There were some who were born under gracious influences.
David makes mention of this when he says, in the 116th Psalm, "O Lord,
truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, and the son of Your
handmaid." Having a godly mother, he reckoned that he was born into the
service of God. Even so, you and I, the twice-born, the really
regenerate, have been born into the household of God and our
regeneration binds us to the noble service of Him whom we call Master
and Lord henceforth and forever! As naturally as the old nature rebels,
the new nature obeys! And as naturally as the old Adam within us will
have its own way, so naturally the new Adam bends to the will of
Christ, for we possess another life than that we used to have–we have
been born into a new world wherein dwells righteousness! Old things
have passed away and all things have become new–and now we surrender
our members, which once were instruments of unrighteousness–to become
instruments of righteousness and we rejoice in being permitted to enter
the service of our God.
Look again at this man, Jude. He does not even call himself an Apostle.
Paul did, because with some it was a matter of dispute as to whether he
was an Apostle or not, and it was necessary for him to assert his right
to the title. But Jude, having no question upon that matter, takes the
lower-higher title–for lower and higher are one in the Kingdom of
Christ–and calls himself, "the bondservant of Jesus Christ." My dear
Hearer, can you, also, take that title–a bondservant of Jesus Christ?
Let the freethinker be free to go his own way if he will–you are a
Christ-thinker and you wish to go Christ's way! Let the man who loves
himself and seeks to please himself, do what he will! Henceforth you
will love your Lord and seek to please Him, for you are, by purchase
and by birth, the bondservant of Jesus Christ! Sometimes, also, men
became bondservants by indenture. They entered into bonds of servitude
for a set time and you and I have freely surrendered ourselves to
Christ. We have entered into a covenant that we will be His forever.
Paul wrote as if he had been branded with Christ's mark and I doubt not
that Jude might have done the same. "From henceforth," says Paul, "let
no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."
He belonged undoubtedly, irrevocably, eternally, to the Lord Jesus
Christ and he gloried in that fact! Dear Friends, will you not, also,
glory in this if it is true of you?
Then Jude added another part of his title showing that he was special
in his relation– "and brother of James." This expression seems to me
to place Jude in a very pleasant light. He felt as if he was an
especially favored person because he had for a brother that famous
servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, James the Less, known among the Jews
of old as James the Just, who had a reputation, even among the outside
world for the great holiness of his life. This man was Jude's brother.
Christianity teaches us to value brotherhood and we highly esteem those
with whom we are joined in relationship, especially in the
relationships which are of Grace. I like that any man should feel glad
of his brother, thankful for his brother, and I am glad that Jude, when
under Divine Inspiration, does not forget to say that he was, "the
brother of James."
Some of us owe a great deal to our brothers and all of you have reason
to thank God that you are the son of such an one, or that you are the
father of such an one, or the sister of such an one, or the brother of
such an one. There is a special mercy, probably, in your domestic
position, and if there is, do not cease to praise God that He has given
you to be associated in life with those who are associated with Him!
May our children be His children! May our friends be His friends! May
our brothers be our Brothers in Christ!
II. Now, secondly, let us think of THE SPECIAL PEOPLE to whom Jude
wrote this Epistle. In this instance, the marginal reading of the
Revised Version is, I doubt not, the more correct translation–"To them
that are beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ, being
called." I shall take that as the best version, believing it to be
strictly accurate.
The special persons to whom Jude wrote were, first, beloved and
sanctified–"To them that are beloved in God the Father." O child of
God, in times of darkness and of doubt, above all others, cling to the
faith once delivered to the saints, because, according to it, you are
beloved in God the Father, or, as our Authorized Version puts it,
"Sanctified by God the Father," which means that, by reason of His
eternal love to you, He set you apart unto Himself. To His spiritual
Israel the Lord still says, "You only have I known of all the families
of the earth." "They shall be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts, in that day
when I make up My jewels." Before the earth was, or sun or moon or
stars began to shine, the prescient eye of God was fixed on His beloved
and He sanctified them unto Himself, "for the Lord's portion is His
people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance."
And because He had thus set them apart unto Himself, in fullness of
time He redeemed them unto Himself, redeemed them from among men.
"Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it," and in consequence
of that love of His, He determined that those whom He had redeemed
should be the instruments of His gracious working among the sons of
men. They were to be vessels meet for the Master's use! They were to be
the lamps in which His Light should be carried, the salt by which His
preserving power should be made manifest amidst the putrefaction of the
world! He set them apart for Himself and His service according to those
ancient words, "This people have I formed for Myself; they shall show
forth My praise."
Out of this love and this separation there came a sanctification of
another kind, namely, that of cleansing, for we were heirs of wrath
even as others, polluted like others, but the Spirit of God fulfils the
Divine purpose of separation– brings us out from the world, even as He
brought Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees–and puts us in a separate path
that we may be sojourners with God as all our fathers were. Then He
washes us in the precious blood and in that water which flowed with the
blood from the side of Jesus, that mystic Fountain opened on Calvary
for the sin and uncleanness of the house of David and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem.
This is what is meant by being, "sanctified by God the Father." If you
take the other translation, "beloved in God the Father," it comes to
the same point, for love has a separating influence upon its object. If
the love of a man is fixed upon one woman, he calls her his bride and
he looks upon her as different from all other women on the face of the
earth. She is always in his thoughts and in his heart, and her praise
is often on his lips. He lives for her. Even so has God taken unto
Himself a people who are His, alone.
In addition to being beloved and sanctified, they are also "preserved
in Christ Jesus." This is a very sweet expression and conveys a very
true meaning, but the exact translation is, "kept for Jesus Christ." To
my mind, this is a most delightful Truth of God–it makes my eyes
sparkle to think of our being kept for Jesus Christ as jewels that He,
alone, must wear. "A garden enclosed is My sister, My spouse; a spring
shut up, a fountain sealed." "Kept for Jesus Christ." I wish that we
all carried out this Divine purpose. What have I to do with idols? I am
kept for Jesus Christ! What have I to do with seeking the things of
this world? I am kept for Jesus Christ! What have I to do with living
to myself, or to win the applause of men? What have I to do with the
judgments of those who would be thought wise? What have we to do with
anything but this–"Kept for Jesus Christ"? Our heart should be a cup
from which no lip but His shall drink, a chalice consecrated to Him who
has given Himself for us. Therefore let us have no eyes but for Jesus,
no ears but for Jesus, no tongue but for Jesus–let us be always, only,
all for Him!
"Kept for Jesus Christ." You must not touch that treasure–it is set
apart for the King! You must not meddle with that man, you must not
seek to engross the love of that woman–they are kept for Jesus Christ.
It is to such people that Jude writes his Epistle. Others may be filthy
dreamers, but these people are kept for Jesus Christ! Some may be
wandering stars or trees plucked up by the roots, but these people are
kept for Jesus Christ–kept by Him, kept in Him–but especially kept
for Him. May the meaning of this precious Word of God be written upon
all your hearts, beloved in Christ!
Then Jude adds, "and called." Do you not see the specialty running
through all this description? Those who were beloved, sanctified and
preserved, were also called! There is a call in the Gospel which comes
to all men to whom it is proclaimed, yet all men are not "called" in
the sense meant here. Brother, do you remember that day when you were
called? The Gospel had called you many times and, up to that time, it
had fallen upon deaf ears. But that day you were called! Just as
Lazarus came forth out of the grave because he was called by Christ, so
was it with you. You had been lying asleep, wrapped in the arms of
sin–no, like Lazarus, you were actually dead–but that day there came
a voice to you out of the excellent Glory! It was not a voice that you
heard with the ears but, better than that, you heard it in your very
soul and it was as clear a call from Christ to you as when He called
out of Heaven to Saul of Tarsus, and said, "Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute Me?"
I remember distinctly when the Lord first called me and I recollect it
all the better because He has called me many times, since, for that
blessed call continues and is often repeated! He called us, first, from
death to life, then from darkness to light, then from a lesser light to
a brighter one–and He has called us to go up, step by step! Not even
the angels go up Jacob's ladder with a flight–they ascend it step by
step–and every day and all the day there is a call that comes to some
of us, "Friend, come up higher." When we are half inclined to sit down
on the step of life and admire the golden way up which we have, up to
now, ascended, we hear a voice that says to us, "Higher"–and there is
our gracious God at the top of the ladder, still beckoning us to
ascend, and saying to us, again and again, "Seek you My face," and
making us respond, "Your face, Lord, will we seek."
Those who are the beloved of the Lord are called. They have heard a
voice which worldlings have not heard. They have seen a face which the
blind men of this world have never seen. They have touched a hand and a
mystic hand has touched them, which those dead ones who still lie in
the Wicked One have never felt. They are the called–they are called by
Christ to come out from among the ungodly, to be separate from them, to
follow Him and to keep following Him till, at last, He bids them enter
into His Glory to be with Him forever!
O Beloved, the blessings of the Gospel belong to men and women such as
these, who have been set apart by Divine Love, who have been held apart
and consecrated to Christ and who have been taken apart by effectual
calling and so made to dwell apart to the glory of Christ, alone, and
for His use only! Shall any Belshazzar drink out of these golden cups?
God forbid! Shall Satan come and take away these crown jewels of the
Prince and bedeck himself with them? God forbid! When I see professedly
Christian men seeking worldly amusements and worldly honors, and thus
giving themselves over to Belial, what can I think or say of them? God
grant that it may not be so with any of us, but may we be "kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time"!
III. Now I must close by noticing, with brevity, A SPECIAL BENEDICTION
which Jude wished to these people, and this is to be the very pith and
point of my sermon. It is, dear Friends, my special desire and prayer
to God for all who are separated unto Him, that mercy, peace and love
may be multiplied unto them.
Beloved, may you have mercy! You will always need it, for even a saint
is still a sinner. May you have the mercy that will continue to forgive
your sin, the mercy that will continue to wash your feet from the
defilement of the way! May you have the mercies of Providence that will
supply your need, the mercies that will sustain you under trial, the
mercies that will lead you on from strength to strength! May you have
much mercy, for you will need it and, blessed be God, "He delights in
mercy."
Then, says the Apostle, he wishes that we may have peace. Oh, may you
have it! The man who is at perfect peace with God, who is at perfect
peace with his own conscience, who is at peace with all his fellow men,
who especially cultivates peace by behaving himself aright in the
household of God–this is the man who is strong in the midst of unrest
and turmoil! This is the man who will stand firm when others flinch,
for he can say, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will
sing and give praise." May you have this peace, Beloved!
Jude next wishes that we may have love. That is to say, first, a sense
of the love of God shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit, a
ravishing realization that God loves us with that everlasting love
which knows no measure, nor change, nor end. May your heart dance at
the very thought of the infinite love of God which He displays towards
you! And then may you have love towards men, loving your neighbor as
yourself with that compassionate love which is pictured in the parable
of the Samaritan, that love which does not say, "Be you warmed and be
you filled," but which proves itself to be real by deeds of charity and
acts of kindness! May you abound in love to God's people. May your love
be exceedingly abundant to those who are your Brothers and Sisters in
Christ, whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life! I wish,
dear Friends, that you and I could be suffused with love. One said of
Basil that he was a pillar of light–I do not so much care for that
comparison as to be a pillar of love. Look at holy John next to his
Master, surely, and chiefly so because he abounded in love.
The benediction of the Apostle is this–that this mercy, peace, and
love may be multiplied to you. Is not that a beautiful word,
"multiplied"?–not merely increased, but multiplied! You know what it
is to increase–you add one to two, that is three–but when you
multiply, you say, "Three times three, that is nine." Multiplying is a
quick way of growing! Oh, that you had all these blessings
multiplied–that, if you have had mercy, you might have ten times as
much mercy– that, if you have had peace, you might have a deeper,
fuller, richer, more abiding peace, multiplied peace, peace upon peace,
"the peace of God, which passes all understanding"–and that, if you
have had love, your love might be multiplied, squared, cubed! May the
biggest figures that can be found multiply your love, for never did any
man, yet, have too much love to God, or too much of the right kind of
love to his fellow men! May the Lord make us to grow in Grace, to be
filled with Grace, to have these three Graces multiplied unto us!
Now I come back to where I began. It was a dark time when Jude wrote
this Epistle, but instead of saying to the Christian people, "You see
that all these people have gone astray, the cause is in danger–go
forth and fight with them"–he says, "mercy, and peace, and love, be
multiplied unto you." The Graces of Christians will be the defeat of
the enemy! If you need to improve a dark night, give us brighter stars,
and if we need to enlighten a Dark Age, let us have brighter
Christians! If there is mischief abroad in the world, the fault, dear
Brothers and Sisters, is, to a great extent, in ourselves. If we lived
wholly to God, people would better know what Christians are! I believe
that the short way to the conversion of sinners is the sanctification
of saints. If we had more faith, we would preach better. If we had more
believing prayer, we would see more souls converted. If we lived nearer
to God, it would be better for the far-off ones. Is it not written that
when a man receives this Water of Life into himself it, "shall be in
him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" and, "out of
his belly shall flow rivers of living water"? God make you to be such
reservoirs of Grace!
I have not spoken hardly a word to the unconverted, you see, because I
want you professors so to live that your lives shall preach sermons. It
is all very well to preach with the mouth, but the best sermons in the
world are preached with the legs, with the life, by the walk and
conversation of God's people! If there is piety at home, if there is
uprightness in business, if there is a burning zeal for God in your
common conversation, then the ungodly will say, "What does this mean?"
And they will want to know more about it. How earnestly I wish that
every person here who cannot be described as, "Kept for Jesus Christ,"
might long that it were so with him, and before he goes to bed,
tonight, might pray that he may belong to Christ! Then, giving himself
up to Christ by faith, he may, this very night, know that sweet peace
of which I spoke just now. So may it be with you all, for the Lord
Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.
Verses 1, 2. 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: mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
Our holy faith breeds in us the best wishes for others. As we desire to
find mercy, ourselves, so do we long that others, also, should find
mercy and, as we rejoice in the peace and love which the Holy Spirit
works in us, we desire that others may partake of the same spiritual
benefits. Hence the Apostles usually begin their Epistles with these
good wishes which are not mere wishes, but earnest prayers and Inspired
benedictions. May we breathe such petitions wherever we go! Let us wish
no man any ill, even in the most exciting and trying times, and under
the greatest provocation, but let us still breathe out this prayer,
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied."
3. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common
salvation, it was necessary for me to write unto you, and exhort you
that you should earnestly contend for the faith, which was once
delivered unto the saints. These godly men, though they wrote under
Divine Inspiration, yet stirred themselves up that they might be in a
right condition of mind and heart. Even though the pen does not, by
itself, write, yet it is well that it is not corroded, lest it answer
not to the hand that uses it. So Jude says, "I gave all diligence to
write unto you." All the diligence of Jude, by itself, could not have
written this Epistle! Still, while depending upon Divine guidance, he
was no mere passive agent–he gave all diligence to the accomplishment
of his task. Jude wrote of "the common salvation," for there is but
one. He was writing a general Epistle, a catholic Epistle, to all sorts
of persons all over the world and he, therefore, wrote of "the common
salvation." There is but one salvation–there cannot be another. There
are some who trouble us, as some troubled the Christians in the
Apostles' day, by preaching "another Gospel, which is not another," but
there is only one salvation. "It was necessary," says the Apostle, "for
me to write unto you." And oh, how necessary it still is to preach the
Gospel and to warn men against defections from it! Jude continues, "It
was necessary for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should
earnestly contend for the faith which was once for all" (that is the
correct rendering) "delivered to the saints." The faith is not a
growth. It is not an evolution. It was once for all delivered to the
saints and the great business of the saints, the holy, the saintly
among men, is to defend, if necessary with their lives, the faith once
delivered unto them! We are put in trust with the Gospel, we are
trustees of a Divine deposit of invaluable Truth. And we must be true
to our trust at all costs. It was necessary for Jude to write as he
did, for he had further to say–
4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old
ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the Grace of our
God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord
Jesus Christ. These are two vital points in which many have
erred–either separating holiness of life from orthodoxy of belief–or
denying the Divinity and the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing could more discredit the Gospel than the first error, that of
turning the Grace of God into lasciviousness. And nothing could more
injure the Gospel than the second error, that of "denying the only Lord
God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."
5. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this,
how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed them that believed not. So you may get in among the
spiritual children of Israel, you may share their privileges, you may
sing the Red Sea song of triumph and yet, after all, if there is not
real living faith within your soul, God will as surely destroy you as
He destroyed the unbelieving Israelites! Those myriads of graves in the
wilderness are as sure a token of God's hatred of sin as the drowning
of Pharaoh's chariots and horsemen in the Red Sea! Beware, then, of
having a form of faith which does not purify your lives, a profession
of belief in Christ which allows you to live in sin with impunity, for
if you have this, however near you may seem to be to the people of God,
even if you are counted in with them, yet God will not reckon you as
His, for He is the same Lord who "afterward destroyed them that
believed not."
6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
the judgment of the great day. The angels–think of how high they stood
in their first estate! If sin could drag an angel from the skies, it
may well pluck a minister from the pulpit, a deacon from the Communion
Table, a Church member out of the midst of his Brothers and Sisters! It
is only perseverance in holiness which is the token of eternal
salvation! If we forsake the Lord and turn back to our former evil
ways, it will be the evidence that we never really believed in Christ
and that there was no true work of Grace in our hearts.
7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like
manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange
flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal
fire. Whatever the new gods, newly come up, that some preach, nowadays,
may be or may not be, "our God is a consuming fire," our God is one who
takes vengeance upon iniquity and who will by no means spare the
guilty! He is as terribly just as He is Divinely gracious–let us bow
before Him.
8. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise
dominion, and speak evil of dignities. What a strange thing it is that
such evils should spring up in the nominal Church of God! I suppose
that out of the professing Church, there have come more monstrous evils
than have been nursed in the world, itself! Why, even in these days, we
have had those who have professed perfection, who have given themselves
over to abominable evils and who have even taught them as a part of
their perfection! Ah, me! To what depths of infamy will not men go!
Under the very guise of holiness, the most loathsome iniquity has been
practiced. Unless the Grace of God prevents, that which is best rots
into that which is worst. You could not make a devil except with an
angel for the raw material–a Judas Iscariot could only be produced out
of an Apostle of Jesus Christ–and it was into the nominal Church of
God that these filthy dreamers of whom Jude wrote had come. They were
also, according to the Apostle, those who "despise dominion, and speak
evil of dignities," those who quibble at everything that is right and
good, and seek to pull down everything that comes to them with
authority, especially everything that is of Divine authority.
9. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, when he
disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a railing
accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you. I do not know when that
happened, yet I believe it, because it is here. When we are called to
dispute–whether it is about the Law of God, which might be regarded as
the body of Moses, or about the Gospel, which is the body of
Christ–let us use no railing accusations, for the wrath of man works
not the righteousness of God. Let us be satisfied with hard arguments
and soft words–and when we feel that our own rebuke will be useless,
let us simply say, "The Lord rebuke you."
10. But these speak evil of those things which they know not. Very
generally it is so–those who revile Holy Scripture are usually persons
who have not read the Bible. They "speak evil of those things which
they know not."
10-12. But what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things
they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way
of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and
perished in the gainsaying of Korah. These are spots in your feasts of
charity. You seem to be sailing smoothly along over the placid waters,
but these men are like hidden rocks–that is the expression used by the
Apostle rather than, "spots."
12. When they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. At the
love feasts in the Apostles' day, these ungodly men feasted without
fear, just as some do at the Communion Table now. The absence of holy
fear is a damning mark in the souls of unholy professors! That religion
which has no awe in it–which never makes us tremble before the Most
High–is not the religion of genuine faith, for there is a fear which
even perfect love casts not out, but it rather increases and deepens
that holy fear which is the very essence of true piety.
12, 13. Clouds they are without water, carried about by winds; trees
whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the
roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering
stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Such were
in the professing Church in Jude's time, so we must not be surprised if
we meet with men like them in the nominal Church today!
14, 15. And Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these,
saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to
execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among
them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and
of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against
Him. When Enoch thus prophesied, we do not know. That he did so was
revealed to Jude and he, here, tells us of it. It was profitable for us
that so pointed and plain a testimony of Enoch should not be lost.
16-18. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts;
and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men's persons in
admiration because of advantage. But, Beloved, remember the words which
were spoken before of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that
they told you there should be mockers in the last time who should walk
after their own ungodly lusts. Jude gives a summary of warnings uttered
by Paul, Peter and James.
19. These are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the
Spirit. They know nothing of the Divine Life and of that Divine Spirit
who dwells in the bodies of the saints as in a holy temple.
20. But you, Beloved, building–Is this the way, then, to prevent our
falling into sin? Yes. To prevent doing wrong, do right–"You, Beloved,
building"–doing good, substantial, solid work, building–
20. Up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit!
He has told us about the one Foundation, now he bids us build
thereon–"Building up yourselves on your most holy faith." "Praying."
That is the next thing. There is no preservation like that which is
given by God in response to believing prayer. "Praying in the Holy
Spirit." There is a kind of praying which is without the Holy
Spirit–and it speeds not. There is a praying which is the breath of
God in man, returning from where it came–this will keep us from
falling and bring us untold blessings
21. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. While you thus carefully watch
over yourselves, have great love, also, to others, and seek to bless
them, especially your fellow Church members.
22. And of some have compassion, making a difference. They may all,
apparently, sin in much the same way, but there may be circumstances
that make a difference between them. There may not be the same
willfulness, or the same continuance in the sin in some as there is in
others–there may be, in some cases, greater temptation and, therefore,
more excuse for them. "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. Loving the sinners, but hating
their sin.
24. 25. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the Presence of His Glory with exceeding
joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion
and power, both now and forever. Amen.
The Lord bless the reading of His Word to our profit! Amen.