Thinking in 3’s - Jude 22,23 - Have Mercy

Thinking in 3’s - Jude 22,23 - Have Mercy

Typically, when we hear the phrase “Have mercy,” it sounds like the petition of a poor believer to God for help and relief. That is an appropriate prayer. But that is not what we have here. Here at the end of this letter letter called Jude, we are twice told in a list of three that we ourselves are to “have (show) mercy” toward others.

Jude ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

We do not live in a merciful time. We live in a time of accusation and condemnation. The rules are changing almost daily about what one is allowed to say and not to say. People are becoming supposed experts at defining the motives of others, though they could not possibly know for sure.

And yet the Bible says what it says. Christians are to be different from the world. And one of the ways that we are to be different is to show mercy.

“Have mercy on those who doubt.” We might wonder why people can’t be more settled in their faith. Why can’t they just take God at His Word? We can go on and ascribe spiritual weakness and immaturity to such people. Well, perhaps they are weak and immature. And that is exactly the kind of people to whom God instructs us to have mercy. That is how family works. That is how the church family works. We are not to be a community of condemnation. Sure, we want to help weak Christians grow stronger and become more mature. But we do not do it by scolding and condemning. Rather, we feed, we build, we encourage - and we show patience. We have mercy. 

The second phrase says that we are to “save others by snatching them out of the fire.” We do not ordinarily think of ourselves as saviors, since Jesus is the only Savior. So I would take this reference to be to seek to extract a person from an immediate peril, probably a moral peril, into which they have fallen, or over which they are teetering. Pull them out of the pit, or drag them back from the edge. You have not saved their soul. But you may have assisted in giving them an opportunity to get things straightened out in their lives. Sometimes people don’t need a slap in the back of the head. They just need some time, one more opportunity to do the right thing rather than the wrong thing.

And then, thirdly, we come back to mercy. “Show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” This seems to have two parts to it. First, don’t isolate yourself from the “stained” person. That would be easy to do. Just keep separating yourself from sin, and from obvious sinners. But that is not what God says to do. To show mercy means to get involved with people who have sin-problems. But with regard to the second point, do so with fear. I believe this entails fear for your own self, for your own purity, that you not get caught in the temptation which dragged down the person you are trying to help. Galatians 6:1 seems to make this same point: 

Gal. 6:1   Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Thinking in 3’s - Isaiah 30:9-11 - Melting the Message

Thinking in 3’s - Isaiah 30:9-11 - Melting the Message

In our Summer Sermon Series, we have been examining just a few of the many instances in the Bible where we are presented with “the things that sinners say.” Isaiah 30:10 is one of them. “(They) say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right.’” Surrounding these quotes, we have two grouping of 3’s: a description of those who make these demands (v.9); and the instructions that they give to their preachers (v.11).

“For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD;  

who say to the seers, “Do not see,”

and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;

speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, 

leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”” (Isaiah 30:9–11 ESV)

We can safely say that the human population has been in some stage or intensity of rebellion ever since the first sin. Once the serpent tempted Eve to follow its own sin in wanting to be in the place of God, we all have wanted that same thing. Of course we don’t want to be in charge of everything. Just things that pertain to our own concerns, according to our own wills. If I could link this phrase or characteristic with the first element of the 2nd set of 3, a rebellious person would want for his/her pastor/teacher to leave the way, that is, stop following the ancient paths, but rather, take a new tack; get with the times; try to be more relevant.

The rebellious people are also called lying children. They tell lies because they have believed lies. Further, they want their lies that they have been told and that they are telling, to be confirmed by those who are charged with delivering the truth to them. They want their pastors and teachers to parrot the lies that they themselves have attached themselves to. And so, we see in the 2nd set of 3 that they preach to the preachers that they should turn aside from the path. Don’t keep doing what you have been doing. Do not challenge my point of view. Don’t disagree with me. Join me in this new line of thinking.

The rebellious people, also called lying children, are also designated as children unwilling to hear. These three all go together, and form a difficult combination of characteristics. They, in their persons, have constructed a solid defense against Biblical truth. They are “set” against God. This is not to say that every pastor/teacher is always right. But the Bible is - “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true;” (Psalm 18:30 ESV). And though we do make mistakes of interpretation or application, the Bible is abundantly clear if we would be humble and patient, and if we would seek the mind of the Lord, which entails setting aside for a moment the things that our own minds tend to scream at us. In the end, these people just come out and say it: “Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” They have closed their ears, and thus are now turning their backs, not just to the pastor/teacher, but to the Lord.

So what is the seer or prophet, the pastor or teacher, to do? Well, do what you were called to do. The seer is to see the things of God, and pronounce them to the people. The prophet is to receive the words of God and speak them to the people. Don’t give up just because some happen to fit this description. God has an amazing way of turning stubborn people to Himself. You and I can’t do it, but He can. So let’s do our part, and we will let God do His.

In the Last Days . . .

What a weird world we live in. Many churches announced early in the year that 2020 was going to be the year of vision (get it?, 2020?) But God seems to have a sense of humor. We don’t have a clue about what comes next. We were planning a missions trip to Costa Rica this summer. Now we aren’t sure if we are allowed to travel to Ohio. School was let out, and we don’t know if students will be let back in. 

This summer I have been preaching about living in a world full of lies. We are to be people of the truth, and yet we are surrounded by lies. On some subjects we aren’t sure what is a lie and what is the truth.

And, in these last days, the rules keep changing. We have found that you can be held accountable for something you may have said 40 years ago. CEO’s and journalists are resigning their positions because someone found their high school yearbook. A person can be fired from a corporation, not because they did anything illegal, or even unethical. They can be fired because something they believe, and have admitted to believing, is found to be offensive to some aspect of the consumer marketplace. Oh, it wasn’t offensive two weeks ago, but someone decided that it is offensive now. 

So what does this mean for Christians? It means that, if we talk openly about what we believe, we will soon be accused of all manner of hatefulness and bigotry. Let’s just review a few of things that Bible-believing Christians (is there any other kind of Christian?) believe.

• Jesus is the only Door and Shepherd to heaven (John 10). “Neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12).
• After death, there is judgment, and we will assigned to eternal life, or eternal death; to heaven, or to hell (Dan 12:2; Matt 25:46)
• God is the Creator and Designer of heaven and earth. He created humans as male and female (Gen 1:27). He designed marriage as a relationship between a husband and wife, to be lived out “so long as you both shall live” (Matt 19:4-6).

Let’s remember, we are God’s ambassadors, commissioned to speak the Gospel of grace that we have heard from Him, and we are not responsible if the world approves of our (His) message.

Thinking in 3’s - Jude 19 - Don’t Be Destructive

Thinking in 3’s - Jude 19 - Don’t Be Destructive

We like positive and encouraging descriptions, but the Bible is also quite direct and honest with us about the wrongs to avoid. This list of three in Jude 19 is one of those collections: three phrases that help us understand what to avoid, and point us then in the direction that we ought to go.

¹⁹ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 

Although the word in the text, translated “cause divisions,” is used only here in the Bible, the idea is quite common. You would know that, because the practice of causing divisions is common in our world today, and we know that it is not new. The serpent sowed seeds of division between Adam and Eve, on the one hand, and God, on the other. Cain, clearly, caused a division between himself and his brother, Abel. Murder tends to do that. And you can continue to read through the pages of the Bible and see it again and again, as when one of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas, sells him out and betrays him.

The Bible word that stands in contrast to “cause divisions” is “edification.” It is not a word that we use often, but it means “building up.” It is being constructive rather than destructive. Now admittedly, there is a stage of clearing, of destruction, that often precedes a building project. Perhaps and old edifice needs to be torn down and taken away before something new is built. But the goal is generally known. This is a building project.

But in relationships, and sometimes in churches, we can meet people whose sole purposes is clearly to do damage. Whatever the motives, and there could be many, they want to bring others down. The Bible says it is wrong.

The second element says that they are “worldly people.” And division is one of the things that the world does well. Someone has said that the world eats its own. It will use you up and spit you out. And, if you are worldly, you will treat others that way as well. As we have noted before, to be worldly means that you are not godly. That is, a godly person sees God as central to all of life, while a worldly person sees God as peripheral or absent to most of life, probably because one’s own self has occupied the central spot.

And, thirdly, this person who causes divisions and is worldly-minded is also devoid of the Spirit. Which means, they are not Christians. They may participate with Christians, and they may engage in any number of religious activities, but they are not Christians. Why? Because we know that when a person trusts in Jesus as his/her only hope of salvation, they are saved; they become Christians. And, they immediately receive the Holy Spirit who will communicate and facilitate this new, abiding relationship with Jesus to the new believer. Faith in Jesus and the presence of the Spirit go together, and they cannot be separated. Oh yes, a believer can depart from walking according to the Spirit, and walk instead according to the flesh, but a true believer is never devoid of the Spirit.

And so, having looked at these three negatives, what should we do? Well, the opposite. 

• We should build, not destroy. 
• We should occupy ourselves with God and His Word and will, not seek to live independently and autonomously from Him. 
• We should “pray in the Spirit” as it says in the next verse, which means to pray in the faith of Jesus, seeking the assistance of the Spirit, as has been promised to believers. That is, we should pray and live as those who are not seeking to do their own thing, advancing their own self-centered agendas, but to look for the Spirit’s leading in how we do the things that we do, both the planned and the unplanned.

The Basis of Unity

The basis for unity is obviously a common agreement of what is the truth. If people would just believe the Bible, there would be unity.

Others might say that the obvious basis for unity is love - just love one another. If you do that well enough, then the differences will disappear.

In churches like ours, we have typically opted more for option #1 than #2 - truth matters, and so does love. But we lead with truth. According to John 17, I’m not sure that that is right. Oh, I’m not saying that the truth takes a back seat. Jesus says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” But He also desires that “the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (v.26). 

Think of it in terms of your own kids. You love them, but you are not always on the same page. You are concerned about healthy/unhealthy habits; or levels of (ir)responsibility; or how they are conducting relationships. But you love them. So you don’t say anything, right? Well, that might be the wise course of action in some cases, but if you really want what is best for your child, then there needs to be some tough conversations, even disagreements, that may even threaten unity. Why? Because you love them, and you want what is best for them. 

This is a big subject, too big for a one-pager. We cannot live our lives for one another, or take away the responsibility of making choices from our children. But love, which at times keeps silent, cannot always keep silent. Otherwise, you don’t have unity, just a false peace with many sleepless, worry-filled nights.

Now the trouble with leading with truth and then love is that Biblical agreement is never 100%. That’s why we have so many denominations. Some of that difference is due to sin, and things like ego and pride. Some of it is honest disagreement about what the Bible teaches. In the latter case, love acts as a healing balm, a restorative lubricant that allows people to worship and serve together in unity even when there is not total agreement.

So how should we say it? Truth and love? Or, love and truth. In light of John 17, as Jesus prays for His disciples - as He prays for us - He wants us to experience a kind of unity that befits God’s children, walking in truth, but bathed in love.

Thinking in 3’s” Two States Contrasted

Thinking in 3’s” Two States Contrasted

Last Sunday I used North and South Carolina to illustrate the link and difference between the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. Those are not the states that I’m referring to here.

The two states from Jude 4 are radically different from one another. To move from one state to another requires a change of heart that can only be accomplished by the power and grace of God. That is, we cannot change ourselves so completely. We can perhaps achieve some cosmetic of stylistic changes - but here we are considering a true restoration into the image of Christ, the Head of God’s new, redeemed humanity. 

Jude writes to warn believers of “certain people (who) have crept in unnoticed. Here is his description of them: “ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (v.4)

“Ungodly” is the opposite of “godly.” To be godly is to have one’s life oriented around God, with God at the center. The opposite of “godly” is “worldly.” To be worldly is to have pushed God to the periphery of one’s life, so much so that He does not (seem to) matter. So, to be “ungodly” means to be “worldly.”

“Ungodliness” or “worldliness are not on a continuum with “godliness.” It’s not like “partly cloudy” or “mostly sunny.” In its pure form, these two states are radically divergent. They will have different views of self, of life, of meaning, and of destiny.

Jude also says that these people “pervert the grace of God.” Rather than living in gratitude for the life-changing difference wherein a person is transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, these people do whatever things they do, even in the realm of religion, for the sake of their own senses, or sensuality. They are not driven by God’s Spirit, but by their own senses.

Jude also says that they “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” To use “Master” and “Lord” together is rare in the Bible. It seems that Jude is intent here on showing that this Jesus is to be the authority of a believer’s life. And these “creepers” have specifically rejected that authority. They may use religious words, but they really only care about what they care about, since they are the the sole authority of their own lives, or so they think. Jude makes clear that this will not last.