Gospel Bible Baptist Church

Exhortation to the Beloved

Jude 20-23

Introduction

 We talk a lot about the Apostates but here in the four verses, we are exhorted or encouraged. There were five things we have to do as a safeguard against apostasy

1. Building up yourselves on your most holy faith (Jude 20)

1. True believers have sure foundation (1 Cor. 3:11) and cornerstone (Eph. 2:20) in Jesus Christ.

The pictorial illustration here is just like building a house

B. The truths of the Christian faith have been provided by the teaching of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20), so that Christians can build themselves up by the Word of God (Acts 20:32)

C. Personal edification (“build yourselves up”, strengthen) comes from progressing in the knowledge of “your most holy faith.” This “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (v. 3) was the teaching of the apostles now recorded in the Scriptures, to be studied (Acts 20:32; 2 Tim 2:15).

We must continue to build upon it, as Peter expressed it:  “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”   – 2 Pet.  3:18

1. We must diligently study and learn the Word of God.
2. To build yourself suggests personal responsibility
3. You must exert the effort of studying God’s word. Jude 17-19
4.  We must daily spend devotional time in the Word, seeking the mind of God. We must also study the Word regularly, in a disciplined way, so that we better understand what it teaches. The gifted Chinese preacher, Watchman Nee, used to read through the New Testament once a month. This becomes apparent when you read his books, for you are struck with his wonderful insights into God’s Word. The members of the Chinese church used to have a saying, “No Bible – no breakfast!” If we followed that motto, I wonder how many Christians would go hungry.

D. Your most Holy Faith is that Faith once delivered

1. It is the body of doctrine which our personal faith is to rest

2. It is the body of faith that has been revealed. The truths of the Christian Faith that was taught by the apostles and the prophets (Eph. 2:20). So that the Christians can build themselves up by the Word of God (Acts 20:32).

3. The faith of Christians is a most holy faith; holy in its principles, holy in its pattern, holy in its encouragements and rewards.

4. Our most holy faith is the means of purifying our hearts and making us live a holy life in opposite of the apostates who are worldly, carnal, evil.

II. Praying in the Holy Ghost

A. It means to pray according to the leading of the Spirit. It has well been said, “Prayer is not getting men will be done in heaven – it is getting God’s will done on earth.” This agrees with 1 John 5:14-15.

1 John 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

1 John 5:15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

B. As Christians, we may pray in solitude (Matt 6:6), but we never pray alone,- the Spirit of God joins with us as we pray (Rom 8:26-28) because He knows the mind of God and can direct us. He can give us wisdom and knowledge from the Word (Eph.  1:15 ff). He can also help us approach the Father through the access we have in Jesus Christ (Eph.  2:18). We worship God “in the Spirit” (Phil.  3:3), and the Spirit motivates us to pray, for He is “the Spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zech.  12:10). When the believer is yielded to the Spirit, then the Spirit will assist him in his prayer life, and God will answer prayer. (Rom. 8:26-28, Eph. 2:18, Phil. 3:3, Zech. 12:10)

C. it enables us to pray in faith and love, with sincerity and persistence. The prayer that is not sent up through the influence of the Holy Ghost is never likely to reach heaven.

D. Spurgeon says praying in the Holy Ghost means: (Spurgeon morning/evening devotional)

1. Praying in fervency (Heat of mind; ardor; eagerness, warmth of devotion)

2. Praying perseveringly

3. Praying humbly

4. Praying in faith

5. Saturated with love to our fellow saints

6. This “building process” in the Christian life involves the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and prayer.

III. Keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21)

A. Abiding in God’s love (Jude 21). He did not write, “Keep yourselves saved!” because he had already assured them that they were “preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1). He wrote, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” Our Lord made a similar statement recounted in John 15:9 – “Continue ye in My love.”

B. To love God means much more than to enjoy a special kind of feeling. Of course, as we grow in grace, we do experience deeper fellowship with the Father (John 14:21-24), and we do have times when He seems very near.

C. There must also be obedience and mutual concern. “But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected” (1 John 2:5). “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love” (John 15:10). We grow in our love for God as we listen to His Word, obey it, and delight in doing what pleases Him That is how we keep ourselves in God’s love.

D. God’s love is a holy love; it is not shallow sentiment. “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil” (Ps 97:10). To love God is to love what He loves and hate what He hates! We please Him by doing those things that He commands. It is the dedicated, separated Christian who enjoys the deepest fellowship with the Father in the family (2 Cor 6:14-18).

E. We build our Christian life on the foundation of faith and through the motivation of love.

IV. “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

A. We must anticipate the Rapture

B.  The believer’s eyes must be lifted heavenward. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:12).

C. The word translated “looking” (Jude 21) means “earnestly expecting.” It describes an attitude of life that is motivated by the promise of our Lord’s return. The apostates can only look for judgment, but God’s people are looking for mercy. Not only is our salvation from sin the gift of God’s mercy, but so also is the deliverance of His church from this evil world. In His mercy, He will come for us and take us to Himself.

D. We have already noted that looking for the coming of the Lord is a great encouragement to Christian living. It makes us want to keep pure (1 John 3:3) and to avoid the things of the flesh and the world (Phil.  3:17-21). Our hope in Christ is like an anchor (Heb.  6:19) that holds us in the storms of life, and Like a helmet that protects us in the battles of life (1 Thess 5:8).

E. The three “Christian graces” of faith, hope, and love enable us to grow in our spiritual walk. We are able to build on a solid foundation with materials that will not decay. Mere profession with the lips will not suffice. “Not everyone that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matt 7:21). The Parable of the Two Builders (Matt 7:24-27) makes it clear that to obey the Will of God means to build on a foundation that cannot fail.

V. Being Merciful to Others (Jude 1:22-23)

A. Because the words of the apostates were confusing, probably many believers were in doubt (sincere doubters) as to whether to follow them. Such persons, Jude wrote, should not be slandered or criticized. They should be dealt with in love and mercy – Have compassion; treat them gently and tenderly the same way in which the Lord dealt with them (cf. v. 21). They needed encouragement, not criticism. They needed to be built up, not torn down.

B. Others – those who are unsaved – were about to fall into the fire, the eternal fire of hell (cf. v. 7). Jude exhorted his readers to snatch them from the fire and save them.

C. To still others, a third group, believers should show mercy. But they were to do so in an attitude of fear, that is, caution, lest they become contaminated by the sin of “the most abandoned heretic” (Michael Green, The Second Epistle General of Peter and the General Epistle of Jude, p. 188). Such persons are so corrupt that the stench of death has polluted them and even their clothing, as it were, reeks with the odour of corrupted flesh.

VI. Conclusion:

In these last days, we are called to build up our faith, pray in the Spirit, abide in God’s love, anticipate Christ’s return, and extend mercy to others. These exhortations are not optional; they are essential safeguards against apostasy.

Let us stand unwavering, discerning the times, and preparing our hearts for the Lord’s return. Now unto Him who is able to keep us from falling—to Him be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)