Reflections on the Epistle of Jude
Table of Contents
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 1
There is no theme more blessed, more elevating, or more edifying to the Christian, when he is in communion with God, than the revelations of His love. And what can be more practically interesting than the means of enjoying and dwelling in that love? The short epistle of Jude, after speaking of the apostasy of Christendom, brings before us these important subjects. (See vers. 20, 21.)
1. “Keep yourselves in the love of God" seems to be the one grand, or main exhortation of the epistle.
2. The others which surround it, such as, " Building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, and looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life," seem to be introduced more as the means of attaining to the other. Faith, we know, is the means of our relationship with God; we are His children by faith in Christ Jesus; and praying in the Spirit, while looking for the Lord's return, must be the effectual means of enjoying and abiding in the divine favor. Thus the three Persons in the Godhead, as revealed in the economy of redemption, are brought powerfully before the soul.
Since finishing our papers on " Divine Love and its Fruits," our attention has been particularly drawn to the above passage in Jude as a kindred subject, and believing it to be, in its full application, the Christian's stronghold in a time of general declension, we gladly turn to it for a little. But before speaking particularly on this rich cluster of exhortations, we will briefly glance at the history of the apostasy as here developed by the Spirit of God. The contrast between those who have renounced, and those who are building themselves up in their most holy faith will be more manifest; and it may be well to know something of this epistle, as we are in the midst of what is there described, or rather, prophetically viewed, the preserved and the apostate.
Jude begins with that which is most precious and touching to every heart that feels the danger of the surrounding evil. We are apt to look at circumstances, and to think more of the snares which the enemy is gilding in every way possible for the accomplishment of his evil designs, and to tremble for their effect on those we love and care for. But Jude would rather direct our thoughts to Him who is above all, the only true source of security, even in the midst of the apostasy, whether ecclesiastical, political, or social. Thus he addresses those who are standing true for Christ, wherever they may be, and even every individual Christian, wherever he maybe: " 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."
Here we have a most blessed declaration of the faithfulness of God, and of His tender care over all those who are " earnestly contending for the faith which was once delivered to the saints." What could be more assuring, more rest-giving, to the heart that cares for the glory of Jesus, and is seeking to walk according to
His word? That which calls itself the church has become, in the hands of the enemy, a most successful means of drawing away the heart from Christ, and endangering the soul's salvation. It still owns His name, but denies His authority: it is little different on high occasions from a place of gaiety and worldly amusement. The gorgeous ceremonies of the middle ages are largely introduced, with modern inventions and innovations, and even with a mixture of heathen rites and festivities. Some parts of the ecclesiastical performance is little better than what may be called a pious paganism, and infidelity—worse still—is unblushingly taught by some of the principal actors. The music, decorations, and services, are fitted and intended to attract the natural mind, and to soothe and satisfy it, without Christ, and the knowledge of salvation through faith in Him. To follow some sections of the professing church now, would be to travel the darkest path in this dark world. And the imagination—especially of the young—is greatly wrought upon by such a ritualism, and we see multitudes drawn aside from the plain, simple truth of the gospel, and the path of a rejected Christ.
But, oh, how secure, how far beyond the reach of all such shadowy services, is the faithful witness for Christ and His finished work! " Sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ." What words are these! What words for the heart of faith! What marvelous grace on the part of God! But what is it to be thus sanctified? some may inquire. It is to be set apart for God, to God, and by God Himself. " By the which will we are sanctified." Relationship also comes in here, as " the Father." It is the place of privilege and power, as well as of security, in an evil time. It is like a strong tower, which not only affords safety, but gives the opportunity of watching the enemy's movements from its lofty summit. The beautiful language of the psalmist, as applied to the hill of David, the mount of royal grace, may here be used, only in a much higher and more spiritual sense. " Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God forever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death." Psalm 48
The whole passage in Jude is like an answer to the prayer of the blessed Lord in John 17, "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are." This is the class—the sanctified, preserved, and beloved—whom Jude addresses, and to whom the exhortations are given, although he keeps in view those who had openly renounced the ways of truth and holiness. By his wishing mercy to the saints, it is evident that he has not only Christians in general, but individual Christians, before his mind; or that the Holy Spirit would have every individual believer to see the importance of laying hold of the truth for his own soul. He has nothing on which to rest but the word of the living God, which can never fail. There is no portion of the professing church that is not outwardly in ruin, and however much we may value the communion of saints in Christ, we must be individual in heart before the Lord. Unity of thought, feeling, and action have no corporate existence now. Wherever the reader or the writer may be professedly, he is in and of the ruin, and anything like headships or schools in a community which have no head but Christ, must be most offensive to Him, and should be carefully avoided by us.
The evil of which Jude treats crept into the church, and corrupted it, in its earliest days; there it has been ever since, and there it will remain until destroyed by judgment at the appearing in glory of the blessed Lord. The later writings of the New Testament speak of this. Most solemn thought! especially when seen in connection with those systems which conceal the glories of Christ, by gathering around a mere outward cross, the superstitions of the darkest ages, and the sanction of a present evil world. But the voice of heaven still cries, " Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." When the day of reckoning comes, where will the heaviest stroke of judgment fall? Not upon the poor godless world, but upon apostate Christendom—upon those systems of religion that have found a common platform for the church and the world to unite—the attempt to make communion possible between Christ and Belial. May we be preserved from this awful sin of Babylon, and from the plagues that are coming upon her.
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 2, The Faith We Have to Contend For
A deeper apprehension, through the power of the Holy Spirit, of the prevailing evil in the professing church turns Jude from his original intention. He had purposed writing to the faithful of the salvation common to all Christians, but his heart was moved to exhort them to be faithful and earnest in contending for their most holy faith. " Beloved," he says, " when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you, that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." We must go back for the true ground of faith, not to the fathers, nor to the founder of our adopted system, but to the Lord and His apostles. The weight of antiquity, the authority of great names, and the influence of favorite teachers, are not enough to command our faith. We must have a revelation from God Himself. " Let that, therefore," says John, "abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning (the beginning of Christ). If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father." (1 John 2:24; 4:6.) This is what we are to contend for, and to contend earnestly for; not so much to attack what is false, as to contend for the plain, simple, unmistakable word of the living God. All theories, dogmas, and systems must be brought to this test; and if the connecting link with holy scripture is not found, they cannot be matters of faith, though sometimes they may be matters of instruction, either directly or indirectly. But it will ever be found that even sincere Christians contend more earnestly for a favorite notion than for the positive truth of scripture, the latter being quite capable of standing alone on its own basis, but the former requires all the ardor of our zeal to uphold it.
"Remember therefore," says the blessed Lord to the angel of the church in Sardis, " how thou hast received and heard." We must go back to the original to judge the present state. This is the ground of our responsibility—what we have received, and what we have heard. We must account for both—the grace we have received, and the truth we have been taught. Hold fast these, says the Lord, and repent; and, says His servant, earnestly contend, agonize, for them. And there is another saying of the Lord on this subject of the most solemn weight, which we have recorded in Luke 9:26: " For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." Few, if any, who profess Christianity would admit that they are ashamed of the name of Christ; but few, if any, could say, I have never been ashamed of His words. We know of no warning in scripture more deeply searching, more thoroughly sifting, or more detective of our unfaithfulness, than this passage—" Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words." The Lord had just said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." In how many instances we have failed to take up our daily cross, He only knows; and to neglect or avoid the plain force of His words, is to be ashamed of them. How far have they governed our actions, especially in defending the faith we hold, showing grace to our enemies, kindness to all around us, love to our brethren, and in the innumerable details of daily life? The words of Christ are often so directly opposed to the sanctioned maxims of society, that they are willingly overlooked, and consequently we are drawn into the smooth flowing current of things, and His words are treated as merely figurative or obsolete. We speak, of course, in general terms; every one must judge himself in the light of His sayings, which liveth and abideth forever: but we fear that the addition to His name, " and of my words," has not been sufficiently thought of; their depth and breadth are without measure.
Take two examples: one as to social life, and one as to ecclesiastical position. 1. The golden rule—" Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." (Matt. 7:12.) Surely we must all feel how far short we have come, how utterly we have failed, in carrying out the true spirit of this divine maxim. It would be out of place here to refer to particular instances, but they are the words of our blessed Lord and Master, and as His disciples we ought to allow them their due place and full weight in our hearts and ways. It is a rule of easy and of universal application. Are all my dealings with others, whether buyer or seller, master or servant, on the principle that I would like myself to be dealt with? The Lord would have His disciples to act, not according to the ways of men, but according to the grace of their heavenly Father. It is the spirit of this relationship He would have us to cherish. He had just said, " If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets."
It is not a mere principle or dry rule affecting our transactions with others, but it implies habitual communion with the God of all grace. It is a direct appeal to our spiritual feelings as the children of our Father which is in heaven, and as such knowing His ways in grace with the evil and the good, with the just and the unjust. " Be ye therefore perfect," says our Lord, " even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." This does not refer to the absence of sin in our nature, for as long as we live here below the principle of evil will be in us; but He calls upon us to be perfect in grace according to the perfect pattern which we see in our heavenly Father's dealings with His enemies now. This is the substance of the golden rule—perfect grace. It is supposed that we know the Father, that we know what His grace is to the evil as well as the good, and what will be well pleasing to Him on the part of His children, and that, whatever others may do to us, our business is to act towards them as becometh the children of such a parentage. What true dignity! What real nobility, both of birth and nature! How pitiful to see such high-born souls stooping to what is mean and selfish, and even questionable as to principle, in order to increase their earthly riches! Their spiritual condition must be immensely lowered by such a course. How can they walk in fellowship with the Father of mercies when their thought is, how can we save here, and gain there? and that without considering the welfare of others? Self is the ruling passion, not the honor and dignity of the heaven-born family. Great and eternal is their loss, though their riches may increase. They will be as rust upon the soul. Even the Jew under the law, that knew God and acted graciously, puts all such to shame, " for this is the law and the prophets."
There is one other passage to which we would refer under this head, as we fear it is also much lost sight of. "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." (Matt. 26:29.) This is the Nazarite vow. Christ separates Himself from the joys of earth till the Father's kingdom come. He takes the place of the heavenly Nazarite; and we, being associated with Him as the ascended Man, are under His vow, and ought to be true Nazarites during His absence. This is the Christian's calling—separation in heart and spirit, as well as in practice, from the pleasures of the world. Wine is the symbol of the natural delights of men; but Christ here says, "I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." That is, He separates Himself from joy with His people on the earth until the millennium; and if we as Christians are seeking the pleasures of the world, the joys of earth, the natural delights of men, He can have no fellowship with us) it must be Without Christ, He is a heavenly Nazarite.
Now we may see something of the immense weight and the extensive application of the words, or sayings, of the blessed Lord, and how important it is not to overlook them, or to suppose that they are not applicable now, times being so changed. " The word of the Lord endureth forever." If the golden rule is intended to be a guide and guard for us in all our dealings and ways in this world, the Nazarite vow should separate us entirely from its unhallowed pleasures. And when the conversion of the soul is real, and Christ known and enjoyed, this will be no hardship. It will be an immense relief. Like the spouse in the Song of Songs, every young Christian should be able to say from the heart, " Thy love is better than wine"—Thy love to me, my Savior and Lord, is better far than all the attractions and entertainments of this present life. In Thy presence there is fullness of joy, and at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 3, The Faith We Have to Contend For
2. Ecclesiastical position. As to our second example, are there not thousands of true Christians who would honestly shrink from the thought of being ashamed of the name of Christ, but who have never fairly considered His words, or the words of His apostles, as to their ecclesiastical position? Multitudes, without examination, remain in the religious systems in which they were brought up; others may make a choice according to their own opinion, for on this subject most men think that they may please themselves, just as they would do in choosing a business or a profession. They speak of essentials and non-essentials, and the constitution of the church is reckoned to belong to the latter. Still, the saying of the divine Master remains unchanged—" Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels." And has He not said, as to the principle of our coming together to worship, " Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them?" This passage clearly implies that the constitution of the christian assembly should be according to His revealed will, not mere human opinion or expediency. To constitute a church according to the opinions of men, or to make choice of such an one, is plainly to set aside the word and the authority of Christ, seeing He has spoken so plainly.
Although this is not the place to explain such a passage, as we have only referred to it as an illustration of the point before us, yet we may say that to be gathered together in the name of Christ must be with His approval, with His blessing, and under the sanction of His presence. " There am I in the midst of them." Here we find two things essential to the assembly of God: 1, Christ as the center; 2, a power that gathers believers to that center—the Holy Ghost. No room is left for human opinion; at the same time we are bound to examine, and prayerfully to weigh, the words of our blessed Lord. It is not said, where two or three meet, this would imply that the human will was at work; but where two or three are gathered, this implies that a divine power is at work in gathering.
This subject is fully developed by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, but we will only refer to one verse at present. "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." This is an exhortation not to form an assembly, nor to maintain the unity of our own spirits, supposing all to be of one mind; but to keep the unity of the Holy Spirit's forming—"the unity of the Spirit" This is the expression in principle of the body of Christ, the church of the living God. " There is one body, and one Spirit." Are we endeavoring to keep, to maintain, to exhibit, this unity in the bond of peace? Are we honestly desiring to do so? or would we be ashamed to be found in the place where these words would surely set us—outside of every human system, in company with a rejected Christ, and with those who have gone outside the camp to where He is?
How searching, then, Ο my fellow Christian, is this saying of our Lord, " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels." It weighs heavily and solemnly on the mind of the writer, and fain would he press its weight and importance on the minds of all his readers. May the Lord give us to be perfect in grace, separate as the Nazarite, outside the camp, and to contend earnestly for the whole truth of God, especially for the precious sayings of our Lord and Master, Christ Jesus.
We now return, after this long digression, to verse 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." Here we have the two great elements of evil that were introduced into the church by the instruments of Satan during the days of the apostles—the denial of the rights of Christ as Lord and Master in His own house, and turning the grace of God into a principle of dissoluteness; as many have said, in excuse of the grossest guilt, " Are we not as God has made us?" Thus was the way cleared by the enemy for the full indulgence of the human will, it was set free from everything that restrained it.
The history of the outward professing church, from the days of Jude down to the present moment, is the history of the operation of these two elements of evil under the fair name of Christianity; for although the authority of Christ is denied, His name is owned, to give weight and sanction to the pretensions of men. In one brief verse the parent evils that have afflicted and corrupted the church of Christ in all ages are here given. We see them at work in the present day on every side: where is it they are not to be seen, more or less? Infidelity, rationalism, and ritualism are abounding on every side. Yet God, in His infinite mercy, may use the very parading of the cross, and the sanctity that is thrown around the name of Jesus, to save precious souls. Many are saved through faith in that blessed name and His cross, though mixed up with much that obscures the plain truth of the gospel. "All that the Father giveth me," says Christ, "shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in nowise cast out." (John 6:37.) This word infallibly secures the gathering out of all such to Him, wherever they may be. Hence we find souls are converted in the most corrupt systems of men; but the ignorance in which they are found as to the mind of God, proves that the Holy Ghost who quickens them does not teach them beyond the system of which they are members. It is questionable if a person ever sees beyond what he is.
Jude now speaks of the character and judgment of apostasy. The Second Epistle of Peter, which is similar in various ways to the Epistle of Jude, has been spoken of by some commentators as the same, or as if the one borrowed from the other, but this is a mistake of unbelief; they are essentially different: Peter speaks of sin, and the reward of unrighteousness, and Jude distinctively of apostasy. " If God spared not the angels that sinned" says Peter; but Jude speaks of them as "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation." This is apostasy—departure from the first estate, from the place that the goodness of God had set them in. This is the solemn character of apostasy, not merely sin or unrighteousness, but abandoning the position in which the grace of God may place us at any given time. It may be individual; alas, how often it is so! and how completely both the testimony and the vessel that carried it are ruined. In place of the humility of faith, there is the pride of reason and the exaltation of man. The truth has no deadlier enemies than those who once professed to be its friends, when Satan has done his terrible work. But Jude is speaking of the moral corruption which characterizes the general state of Christendom, and cites several examples as solemn warnings to the professing church.
Examples Of Apostasy.
1. The case of Israel.—The Jews, typically, were a sacred people, yet fell in the wilderness, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. "I will therefore put you in remembrance [warn you], though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not." Unbelief was the root of their apostasy, their downfall, and their judgment. It was not a question of immorality and corruption, like Sodom and Gomorrah, but of abandoning the truth and the ways of God. This is the deadly evil which pervades the general mass of professing Christians. Their walk is blameless; they may even be charitable, and cover all their ways with a strong odor of sanctity. But the truth, the plain word of God, is rejected, the authority of Christ is denied, the operations of the Holy Spirit in the assembly are hindered, His presence as sovereign leader is not acknowledged, and the testimony, as established by God at the beginning, is corrupted; and, alas for the church! with every appearance of becoming reverence, there is full license for the will of man, which manifests itself in rebellion against God, by ignoring His word, and carrying out its own superstitions. And this is called human progress, or the universal progression of man; but all is ripening for the approaching judgments, and of this solemn fact Jude faithfully warns professing Christians.
2. The case of Angels.—Those spoken of by Peter sinned, these by Jude, apostatized. They departed from the position in which God had placed them, hence their judgment is spoken of in strong terms—they are "reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day."
3. Sodom and Gomorrah.—Immorality, in this case.
is the cause of judgment: but it is evident that it was excessive, and contrary even to fallen nature. Yet Capernaum, the most highly favored of places, falls under a heavier judgment than depraved Sodom. " And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." Most solemn thought for our highly-favored land, and for every mere empty professor! If there was one city in the land of Israel more favored than another, it was Capernaum; and yet the judgment of this city will be more unsparing than that of Sodom. And why? Not because they were guilty of grosser sin than Sodom, but because they refused to listen to the voice of heavenly wisdom; they believed not in Jesus, though most of His mighty works had been done among them. Theirs was the deeper and darker sin of unbelief. Alas, how little this sin is thought of, and even by those who could not tolerate the taint of immorality! They would be offended—and properly so—with the slightest impropriety, yet the most Christ-dishonoring unbelief may be cherished, and the word of God, as for all practical purposes, totally disregarded. Books of human composition have taken the place of the book of God, as to the regulation of all their christian services. The Lord is very merciful in view 0. all this, He is long-suffering, slow to wrath, but when He does rise up to judgment, who shall be able to stand? Oh that we could reach the ear of every mere nominal professor who is zealous for empty forms, but has no faith in Jesus, and no proper regard for His word! In the anguish of our spirit, knowing the state of multitudes, we can only cry to Thee, Lord. Raise up, qualify, send forth messengers, who will break in upon their soul-ruining delusion.
4. Dreamers, in whom there is no truth.—Contempt for authority, self-will, an unbridled tongue, speaking evil of v the apostasy common in our own day. M Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." Even the angels who excel in power and might rail not, but appeal to the judgment of God. How daring is man, and how prone to give license to the tongue!
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 4, Examples of Apostasy
5. The three leading characters of evil in Christendom.—" 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 Core."
Cain is the symbol of a very large class of professors. Indeed Cain and Abel divide mankind—the man of faith, and the man of the world. Still, Cain was a religious man, and a worshipper of the true God, but without faith to see his own sin and ruin, and without faith to apprehend God's judgment against sin; this is the state and character of multitudes who profess to worship the true God. He offered that which he had been toiling for in "the sweat of his brow." He "brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah." But though he was a religious man, he was utterly without conscience before God: he thought not of His claims nor of His rights. Self was his governing object. There was no love in his heart to God, and no faith in His word.
Abel came as a worshipper in the way of faith, acknowledging his ruined condition, and the judgment of God against sin. He knew he was not in paradise; sin had come in between God and him, and what was he to do? He could not approach God as he was; the wages of sin is death. He thus took the ground of a lost sinner, and placed by faith the blood of a spotless victim, judicially slain, between himself and the God of holiness. Faith never fails to see that " without shedding of blood there is no remission." " And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." Here we have death, blood, and the fat, or excellency of the victim, which typically represent the full forgiveness of sins, through faith in the precious sacrifice of Christ, and acceptance in the excellencies of the well-beloved Lord and Savior. This is God's perfect love to the lost sinner; to meet his desperate need He has spared nothing, not even His only-begotten Son. " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Cor. 5:21.) Hence the grand conclusion of faith: " He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Rom. 8:32.
We have the painful contrast of all this in Cain—natural religion, the world, and opposition to the truth. He had no faith in God. He came to Him as a worshipper in the way of nature, not of faith. Being utterly insensible to his own condition as a sinner, and to the character of God, he thought that by his own toil and labor he could produce something that God would accept. His offering must have cost him more pains and toil than that of Abel. But, alas, it was a bloodless offering! His worship was the denial of the condition he was in, and that the blood of the sacrifice was necessary, in order that he might approach unto God. He thought, as many do in our own day, that by his toil and labor, his liberality, his painstaking with his offering, he could find acceptance in the presence of God. This was the daring, the blindness, and the hardness of unbelief. He believed not the testimony of God as to all the great things that had just happened, with their effects and consequences. This was his sin—the root of his false worship, of his estrangement from God, of his hatred of the man of faith, and of his reckless ways in the world. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord; and we learn that he used all his efforts to make the world, in which he had been made a fugitive and a vagabond, a pleasant dwelling-place, without God. But here we have chiefly to do with Cain as a worshipper—a professed worshipper of the true God, yet denying the testimony of God as to his own ruin, the only way of salvation, and the character of the God he had to do with. This was the greatest and worst of all Cain's sins, although there is no reason to believe that he was insincere; but human sincerity is a poor thing when the ways are contrary to the mind of God, and formed chiefly to please ourselves. Saul of Tarsus was sincere when he was a blasphemer and a persecutor.
How little this is thought of, that a man's religiousness may be his worst sin in the sight of God! Man feels uncomfortable at the thought of God coming near to him, and, Sunday after Sunday, he goes to his place of worship, willingly goes through a form of religion, carries his offering to the altar as a duty, and all for the express purpose of appeasing God, and keeping Him at a distance. He cannot trust God, he would do anything to hinder Him from breaking in upon his repose. Like Cain, he has settled himself down in the world; he may have surrounded himself with the sweet sounds of music, and the cunning work of artificers; he is doing his utmost to make himself happy, and the world a beautiful, a delightful, place, without God. A millennium without the Lamb, was Cain's idea, and is it not the idea of every natural man today? Man's boasted progress is not one step in advance of Cain's character—and this goes on, goes on, till death and judgment overtake him. Yet withal he is a most religious man, after the order of men, and liberal in his offerings; but he is an enemy to the true testimony of God, sets aside the work of Christ, and greatly dislikes His faithful witnesses.
Balaam, the covetous prophet. His name stands before us here as the type of ecclesiastical evil, selling his services for reward, and one of the darkest features of the apostasy. We cannot think of a character more sad than Balaam's, or of iniquity worse than his. His heart was set upon money—" he loved the wages of unrighteousness." He was the hired instrument of the enemy to preach or prophesy that which was contrary to the mind of God, and against His people. But he wished to do all in a religious way, with a certain owning of the power and intervention of God, that he might have the credit of His name. He was going to seek enchantments—the inspiration of Satan, yet professing to get his light from the Lord. Nothing could exceed the wickedness and perverseness of this miserable man. Yet Jude refers to a certain class in Christendom who partake of his character. " Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward"—teaching error for reward, and knowing all the while that it is so. But God will in due time vindicate His truth, and preserve His people. His history is a solemn warning to all professors, as well as to all teachers, to beware of covetousness, which is idolatry.
Core, the leader of the revolt against the true servants of the Lord, Moses and Aaron; and typical of the open rebellion of apostate Christendom against the authority of God in His true King and Priest at the end of this age, and also of the terrible judgments that will speedily follow. Of the melancholy history of Korah and his company, it does not fall in with our object to say anything. In Cain we see natural wickedness; in Balaam, religious corruption; in Core open infidelity, or audacious rebellion, which brings destruction. " Jude treats of results, and the end reserved to the corruption and the corrupters of Christianity. The gainsaying of Core is a revolt against the authority of Christ, and the necessity of His priesthood—a revolt excited by a man who, occupying the position of a minister, pretends that God can be approached without this priesthood.....
" At the end of a dispensation based on any knowledge of God, when faith is lost, and profession retained, this last obtains a renown of which men glory, as now, of the name of Christianity, " This is not only true, manifestly true, at the present moment, but it is truly the history of the professing church in all ages; nevertheless, the people of God—true believers—are preserved in Christ Jesus, and will be presented in due time faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 5, The Dark Features of the Apostasy
The following statements of Jude are more than sufficient to account for the saying, that " The annals of the church are the darkest on record." The evil was at work in the apostle's day. But the small mustard-seed has become a great tree, and the little leaven has permeated the mass. These early elements of evil were introduced into the church by the enemy to pervert its energies, and corrupt all its spiritual ways. " These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear." They were, as we would say, in fellowship, breaking bread, and taking part in the love-feasts, which were meant to be the happy expression of brotherly love, but without a particle of conscience before God, or the least sense of their own sin and shame before men. But this state of things, in the early days of Christianity, is here viewed by the Spirit of God as that which would result in the full-blown apostasy of its closing days.
These instruments of Satan appeared in the midst of the saints, and feeding themselves at their pious feasts without fear. Hardened and blinded by the enemy, we doubt not they were most pretentious, forward, and active in the assembly of the faithful. " Raging waves of the sea [turbulent and violent against all who opposed them] foaming out their own shame." But they are described and denounced by the Holy Ghost with an energy strikingly peculiar. " Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, 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."
Clouds without water, darkening the heavens, but containing no refreshing showers: trees without fruit, as if blasted by the withering curse of God, and rooted out of the garden of the church, being doubly dead, by nature and their own apostasy. "Every plant," says the Savior, " which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." (Matt. 15:13.) Wandering stars, who had left their original position, and were unsteady in their course; to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Many, alas! who have assumed the position of stars never were in the Lord's right hand, wandered from the Shepherd's path, were unsteady in their course, and a stumbling-block to thousands who blindly followed them.
What must the state of Christendom be in the sight of the Lord, we may well exclaim, seeing it contains all these elements of evil, and in fearful activity! And still more solemn the thought, if possible, there is no hope of improvement. We are plainly taught by the Spirit of God, through the prophecy of Enoch, that the evil which had crept in among the early Christians would not cease, but continue, until the Lord returned with myriads of His saints to execute judgment upon the ungodly. Evil men and seducers in the professing church are spoken of as waxing worse and worse, until destroyed by judgment at the appearing of the Lord in glory. "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh 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 them. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage."
As the judgment here spoken of will not be executed until the Lord returns, attended by all His saints, the wicked must be left behind when the faithful have been caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Most solemn thought for all Christendom! The rapture of the saints leaves behind for judgment every false professor within its vast limits. There will be no conversions among such after the church is gone, and whatever may be the first feelings of those that are so left, they will speedily fall into the hands of Satan, and under the power of the strong delusion, being utterly rejected by God, " Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." As they persisted in rejecting the truth of God, they are judicially doomed to believe the lie of Satan, with its awful and eternal consequences.
Such will be the fearful end of multitudes who once formed a most respectable part of the company of Christians. But though members of churches, or even office-bearers, they had never broken with the world, they had never really come as lost sinners to the Savior, they had never really and truly been converted to God. And were the Lord to come for His church today, how many such would be left behind? And how many who had never once thought of ever being left behind to perish with the openly and vulgarly wicked? What! they may exclaim, we were Christians, we have always been religious, we were in office, we were full members of the church, and have always done our duty—and not to be accepted!
Nothing can be more awfully solemn; but Cain, the founder of their system—natural religion, was a worshipper, and thought he had done his best. But he cared not to think of the nature and being of that God with whom he had to do, nor of his own condition as a lost sinner. The sweat of his brow should have reminded him of the judicial consequence of sin, and that his family had been driven out of paradise. But he was guided by his own opinions, not by God's word. And what should we think of a man now who hoped he would get to heaven by acting sincerely according to his own opinions, by contributing largely to the cause of religion, and being regular in his attendance at his place of worship? This is all; there is no faith in the blood of Christ, no subjection of heart to His will. And are there not thousands, and tens of thousands, all around us in this state? Blinded to the character of God, without conscience as to the judgment of sin, and their own condition, just as Cain was.
But again, we repeat that to be religious, a worshipper, without faith in the precious blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin, is a solemn mockery, and a practical denial of the whole truth of God. Only those who have been washed in the blood of Jesus, shall enter that cloudy chariot, and be caught up to the Father's house of many mansions, and be forever with the Lord.
May the God of mercy grant that my dear reader, if not already a true believer, may lay these things to heart. The door of mercy stands wide open now, and whosoever will may enter in. All who come are welcome, received, and blessed forever. " Him that cometh to me," says the blessed Jesus, "I will in no wise cast out." Surely this word of grace from His own lips is enough to create faith in that blessed Savior. And then love to Himself and willing obedience are sure to follow. But there must be personal exercise, personal faith, personal repentance, personal confidence in the Lord Jesus, and in His word. This is the one thing needful; everything else, compared with this, dwindles into utter insignificance. Oh, then, my dear reader, as thou wouldst escape the awful disappointment of being left behind, the awful deception of the strong delusion, the awful judgment that will be executed upon all such by the Lord in Person, and in His full manifested glory, accompanied by all His saints in the same glory, and perfectly conformed to His image—forget not that the disappointment, the judgment, the separation from that glory and those glorified ones, must be forever. In the dark prison-house of hell, the brightness of His glory, the celestial happiness of those who now share that glory, when remembered by thee, must deepen its gloom, and increase thy misery. Hadst thou not seen the Savior in His beauty and glory, and the happy myriads around Him, thy agony would have been less intolerable. But now thine eyes have seen both, and their heavenly brightness can never be forgotten. But what a scene to remember in hopeless woe! Oh, what can I say to induce thee to give thy heart at once to Jesus! Escape! oh, escape! flee from the direful consequences of unbelief, however correct thy outward life may be. Salvation is by faith alone, without deeds of law. Nothing in the vast universe can keep thy soul out of the flames of hell but the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Without the shedding of blood is no remission. But that precious blood cleanseth from all sin—all who believe are cleansed and whiter than snow. Heb. 9:22 John 1:7; Psalm 51:7.
We would only further add, with reference to the apostasy, that another of its characteristics is the way that certain persons are looked up to and believed in, in place of looking to the Lord, and believing in Him alone. With this class we are all familiar. " Having men's persons in admiration because of advantage." Favorite ministers or leaders may be idolized, and all they say received as pure truth, though opposed to the word of God. The former they admire, the latter they do not respect: or Jude may refer to the tendency of ministers to flatter the rich, and overlook their faults, in order to gain advantage by them. But there is a class of persons in the church "who separate themselves"—who consider themselves more holy, more sacred, more spiritual, and their persons more inviolate, than the rest of mankind; in every way superior to the laity, as if they were a higher order of beings, and made of a different material. Nothing is so plainly written on the pages of history as clerical assumption. " These be they," says the Spirit of truth, " who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit." They are like the Pharisees, and practically say of others, Stand by, come not near me, for I am holier than thou. Yet they are without the Holy Spirit.
(* In the September number, page 244, bottom line, for " sacred people," read saved people.)
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 6, The Love of God and How to Abide in It
With unfeigned delight and good-will we now turn from the history of the apostasy to consider the practical exhortations addressed to the preserved remnant in Christ. This is happier work; though God has seen it good to foretell, at the commencement of the history of Israel and of the church, what their end would be, This, no doubt, is for the guidance, if not for the warning, of the faithful, and that they may not be surprised, however grieved, at the coming in of evil. Besides, the character and doom of the ungodly in all ages are plainly revealed in the writings of both the Old and the New Testament. But the grand object of the ascended Savior’s gifts unto men is the blessing of His believing ones in divine fullness. "And he gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Next to the glory of their exalted Lord, this was to be their great work. And even when led to speak of many things which seem to have no direct bearing on their main object—as Paul in his second epistle to Timothy—it was never lost sight of. "Therefore," says Paul, "I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." 2 Tim. 2:10.
It never was the intention of the christian ministry to depreciate and censure the saints of God in general terms for the lack of this and because of that.
True, there is always plenty to mourn over, but the style is not apostolic.
Here Jude found it needful to turn aside from his main design, and warn the " beloved" saints against departure from original standing, and to exhort thorn to hold fast their most holy faith, and, above all, to " keep themselves in the love of God." This is the great object of his epistle. The faithful are happily assured, in the first place, of that which is well fitted to nourish this personal confidence and delight in the love of God. " To them," he says, " that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied." If we have fairly taken in what is here declared, we will have found our own proper sphere of thought and action outside the increasing evil, and will have little difficulty in believing ourselves to be the special objects of His love, as also of His tender care. Here it is strictly individual; it is no question as to the church. " Keep yourselves in the love of God." And surely, if I believe that God, in His faithful love, has thus shown His care for me in an evil time, I can have no difficulty in believing that I am a special object of His love, and that I am to make His love the object of my special, supreme, unceasing delight.
KEEP YOURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD.
But some may inquire, What are we to understand by " keeping ourselves in the love of God?" Just, we think, what is here stated—personal, conscious, enjoyment of the love of God as our sure portion, whatever may be the abounding evil around us. It implies the knowledge of God as He has revealed Himself unto us in Christ, and communion with Him as thus revealed. It is the soul's refuge as the darkness thickens, and troubles increase. Nations may be quarreling and fighting; the cry of war may be coming from all quarters; the professing church may be passing through the several stages of apostasy, as " the way of Cain, the error of Balaam, the gainsaying of Core;" but the soul's hiding-place from the strife of nations and the divisions of the church, is the love of God—the unchangeable love of God; and faith can add, without a question, This is His love to me, for whom He spared nothing, not even His own Son, that I might be cleansed from all my sins, possess eternal life, and be brought into the cloudless enjoyment of His perfect and eternal love. Whatever may occur in the history of the church or of our brethren, He is unchangeable; and the individual soul that remains true amidst the general failure, will find no change in his " safe retreat"—the changeless love of God.
But first of all we must know God to know love. "For love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:7, 8.) The divine nature is love, and the believer is a partaker of that nature. We must possess the nature that loves in order to know what love is. " Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth him." A son must be the same nature as his father. This is true of all that are born of God. We are partakers of the divine nature morally—love, grace, peace, holiness, mercy, patience, long-suffering, kindness, &c. This is the grand truth to be familiar with if we would know the love of God as our refuge and delight. Let my reader give special heed to this immense prerogative, which flows from the whole doctrine of the epistle. The eternal life which was with the Father has been manifested, and has been imparted to us; thus we are partakers of the divine nature. The affections of that nature, acting in us by the power of the Holy Ghost, in communion with God, who is its source, place us in such a relationship with Him, that we dwell in Him, and He in us. The actings of this nature prove that He dwells in us. We know at the same time that we dwell in Him, because He has given us of His Spirit.
When these truths, so profound, so marvelous, so rich in blessing, are understood, we shall see the force and value of Jude's exhortation—" Keep yourselves in the love of God." What can be conceived so near to God as dwelling in Him, and He in us? And this is what the apostle proceeds to explain, or set forth, in the following verses of chapter. But we will only notice verses 9, 10 as their grand foundation. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Here we have our first lesson—the perfect manifestation of divine love to sinners as such. There is no mention of anything required of them; nothing said about law or commandments, but the simple fact that they did not love God, but that He loved them. Here, as lost sinners, we learn that God loved us when we were in our sins, and when we did not love Him, though we ought to have done so, as the law demands. And now, as a believer, I further learn—and can I speak of this without being deeply affected by it?—it was not anything good in me, but my need that drew forth His perfect love, and that in a twofold way—as life, and as propitiation. Being dead in sin, I needed eternal life, a new nature, and I have it in Christ; being guilty, I needed the forgiveness of my sins, cleansing from all defilements, and I have it in Christ, even according to the claims of the divine glory. God never separates these two blessings, life and forgiveness, and neither does faith, but unbelief is ever prone to disconnect them. They are the inseparable heritage of every child of God, and that too as the simple fruit of faith in Christ. We might also add righteousness, for we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. Thus we have a divine title, a divine fitness, and a divine capacity for communion with God, and the enjoyment of His love forever.
But on this foundation-truth there must be no mistake, no misgiving, or we shall fail to enjoy this love. Were it possible to have Christ as life, and not as propitiation, we should be perfectly miserable. To know God in His holiness, and as the Judge of sin, and not to be sure of the forgiveness of all our sins, is misery enough, as many a quickened soul has experienced. This is where doubts and fears come in as the fiery darts of the enemy. Many a truly converted soul has remained long-ignorant of God’s full judgment of sin on the cross, in the precious sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently exposed to the attacks of Satan, and great anguish of spirit. But we must ever hold fast this plain, all-powerful truth, that God, in His love, who gave Christ to be our life, gave Him also to be the propitiation for our sins. It is one of the strange inconsistencies of unbelief for a person to believe the ninth verse, and not the tenth of 1 John 4 It is perfect peace to know Christ as our life, righteousness, and propitiation, and the only way of enjoying God and dwelling in His love.
We have also to beware, at this point, of becoming occupied with our own feelings in place of the truth, or in seeking proofs of our love to God, and our possession of the divine nature in ourselves. This would lead to the greatest confusion and uncertainty. The obvious design of the Spirit in this passage is to fix our attention on the true object of faith—the Son of God. " In this was manifested the love of God towards us." How? In what way? Because we feel a change within? No, just the opposite; "Because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." We are assured of His love, not by our own feelings, or any change in us, however real these may be, but in its manifestation towards us in that He has given His only Son, that we might have eternal life, and the full, free, and everlasting forgiveness of all our sins.
Much light is thrown on the exhortation before us in the words of our Lord, in John 15 " As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." By walking as man—the path of the perfect Man on earth—according to the whole mind and will of His Father, He abode in His love. Communion was maintained; He dwelt in the Father's love. The disciples, in this way, by following His example, and keeping His commandments, would dwell in His love. " As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you," are wonderful words for the heart. When we have well weighed and understood them, we shall be prepared for what He asks, " Continue ye in my love." That He should desire such a thing, what grace! Abide, dwell, keep your-selves in my love!
The commandments of Christ, so frequently spoken of by John, must not be confounded with the commandments of the law. They are entirely different. The law was given to man in the flesh, with the promise of life if he kept it. The commandments of Jesus are His words, sayings, graciously given to the disciples for the direction of the new life which they possessed. Hence the unspeakable importance, as we have already seen, of attending to the words of Jesus. It is in this way that we dwell in His love. " He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.....If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
Thus we have in the words of our Lord a beautiful exposition of the exhortation, “Keep yourselves in the love of God;" and in His own experience, while He dwelt on earth, a beautiful illustration of the important truth it conveys. May we walk in His path, abide in His love, and enjoy uninterrupted communion with Himself!
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 7, Building Up Yourselves
We now come to consider one of the principal means by which the saint is maintained in the conscious enjoyment of the divine favor.
"Building up yourselves on your most holy faith."
No christian duty, or rather, no distinctive christian privilege, is more nourishing, more strengthening to the heart, than this holy building. It evidently implies progress in the knowledge of the truth and that by the believer's diligent study of the word. We are not called to rest merely on the true foundation but to build upon it. " The faith once delivered to the saints," finds a place not only in the sacred writings, but in the heart of the growing Christian. The word "faith" here means, not the Christian's act of faith, but the truths which he believes—it is the object, not the act of faith. This also is the way, the sure way, of keeping ourselves in the love of God, in communion with Him.
Bui why is it called not only "faith," but "our most holy faith?" Because they are the words of the thrice Holy One who reveals them, and the heart is purified by faith. When we are built up by this faith we must be made holy. " As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Pet. 1:15, 16.) It is also holy faith, inasmuch as it separates the believer from the overspreading evil which may be more or less developed in his day. " Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world: looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:12, 13, 14.
The apostle Peter in the commencement of his second Epistle introduces a line of truth, which, while exceedingly valuable in itself, forms the best commentary we can have on the exhortations of the apostle Jude. " According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.י י Here the Christian is said to be " called," as in our kindred Epistle, but not to keep himself in the love of God, or to build himself up on his most holy faith; but to that which will accomplish precisely the same objects. He is " called to glory and virtue;י' glory as an object, and virtue, or moral courage, by which difficulties are overcome, the old nature kept in check, victory gained over the enemies of our faith, and communion with God maintained.
This expression, so important to be understood, " Is really not to glory and virtue," says one, " but by his own glory and by virtue" What serves to make it plain is this:—" Adam was not called' when in paradise. When innocent, he was not called by God's own glory and by virtue. What Adam was bound to do was just to stay where he was. That is, he was responsible to do the will of God, or rather, not to do what God prohibited in his case.... Our calling is by God's own glory. The whole principle of Christianity is just this. It takes the believer out of the place in which he naturally is; and therefore it is spoken of as a calling.
The christian " calling" supposes that the gospel, when received, deals with the soul by the power of the Spirit of God; and that he who receives it is called out of the condition in which man is plunged by sin; not put back again into the position of Adam, but taken into another position altogether. It is no longer a question of man on earth; he is called by God's own glory and by virtue. It is by God's own glory, because if God saves, He calls to stand in nothing less than that glory."
And observes another, " Thus we have the call of God, to pursue glory as our object, gaining the victory by virtue—spiritual courage. It is not a law given to a people already gathered together, but glory proposed, in order to be reached by spiritual energy. Moreover, we have divine power acting according to its own efficacy, for the life of God in us, and for godliness. Now in connection with these two things—namely, with glory and with the energy of life, very great and precious promises are given to us; for all the promises in short are developed either in the glory or in the life which leads to it. By means of these promises we are made morally partakers of the divine nature. Precious truth! Privilege so exalted, and which renders us capable of enjoying God Himself as well as all good."*
Such is the call of divine grace; and here, all is strictly individual. Each believer is called to walk according to this new standard, the glory of God, and this new energy, moral courage. The effect of sin is to rob God of His glory, as it is written, " All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." But the effect of the call of grace by the gospel of Christ, who glorified God on the earth, is to place the believer in the unclouded beams of the divine glory, in all the moral fullness of Christ Himself, and there to find his home and rest forever. What a prospect! What a future! And for such feeble failing ones as we now are! Need we wonder at the apostle saying, in view of this, " We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord?" 2 Cor. 5:8.
But blessed beyond expression as all this is, it is not enough practically for the believer. Jude says, " Build," build an edifice as it were for the service of the Lord and the glory of His name. Peter says, " add," add to all this, to what? These exceeding great and precious promises, whereby ye are partakers of the divine nature, with all its privileges and blessings. " And besides this," as he says, " giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue." This is the most important addition and gives reality to all the rest. Without this difficulties are not overcome, and communion with God is interrupted. " And to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 1:3-8.
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 8, Keep Yourselves in the Love of God
When the sinner first receives the message of the gospel, and bows by faith to the name of Jesus, under a sense of his sin and guilt before God, the Holy Spirit, we know, is at work in that soul. There is repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a child of God, though, for a time, there may be great feebleness of faith as to the completeness of the work of redemption, and as to his forgiveness and acceptance, in virtue of that finished work. But when he has learned these further truths by divine teaching, he rests in that work, he has peace with God, he knows he has eternal life, and joy fills his heart. Now he is not only quickened as a sinner, but scaled as a believer.
There must at least be a moment of time between quickening and scaling. The one follows the other; as saith the apostle, " In whom also after that ye believed, ye were scaled with that Holy Spirit of promise," And again he says, '' Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.יי The Christian is now indwelt by God the Holy Ghost, in whose power he prays, subject in heart and conscience to the word of God, and by whoso indwelling he is united to the exalted Lord in glory.
This is the distinctive truth of the present dispensation, the believer's practical security against the evils that surround him, and most subservient to the one grand exhortation of the apostle, " Keep yourselves in the love of God."
The Mercy Of Our Lord Jesus.
The coming of the Lord Jesus is the grand future of the faithful. Though they may be endeavoring to keep themselves in the love of God; to build themselves up on their most holy faith, and to pray in communion with God through the power of the Holy Spirit, the end of all is, looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus unto eternal life—for a life of eternal, unmingled blessedness, with our God and Father in the presence of His glory. The coming of the Lord to take us up to be with Himself, is here viewed, not as His love and faithfulness—though unchangeable in both—but rather as a mercy, for surely it will be a great mercy to be taken away from the presence of such mere formalism and abounding wickedness. The apostle Paul, in referring to the kindness of Onesiphorus, speaks of the Lord showing mercy to those who had been faithful in a time of trial. " The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day; and in how many things he ministered unto mo at Ephesus, thou knowest very well" (2 Tim. 1:16-18.) The special truth here is, the coming of the Lord for His saints, which is looked at as a mercy. The ungodly will be dealt with, and the unrighteous judged with all the workers of iniquity at the appearing of the Lord with His saints in full manifested glory.
Discipline.
Grace and wisdom are especially needed, in such times as the apostle speaks of, to distinguish between those who may be drawn aside. The " difference" hero spoken of is no doubt a divine principle, but great spiritual discrimination is necessary in dealing with such cases. A more manifest judgment must be expressed against a leader in evil, than against some who may have been led away. But these are matters for local investigation, and for the spiritual judgment of the humble, who wait on God for His divinely given wisdom and grace. Many have mistaken what may be called a human opinion of a case in question, for a spiritual judgment, and thereby widened the breach in place of healing it. The opinion oft repeated, may so prejudice many minds that a happy settlement of the question can never be attained. It is the spiritual judgment of the saints—of the lowly—not the opinion of an influential brother, which will tend to heal, to humble, to restore communion, and to receive the sanction of the Lord. "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."
The Doxology.
The heart of the apostle, as he turns to God and thinks of the blessed portion of the faithful, overflows with praise. This is characteristic of all the apostolic doxologies. God having so revealed Himself in His grace and goodness to the spiritual understanding of the sacred writers, they usually wind up their communications with a burst of intelligent praise.
We see this beautifully exemplified in the case of the apostle Paul, especially in his epistles to the Romans and the Ephesians. At the close of the eleventh chapter of his epistle to the Romans, after glancing rapidly at Israel's past history, their present blindness, their future restoration, the thought of the Deliverer coming out of Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob, his heart overflows with adoring wonder, which finds its expression in language so rapturous and sublime, that everything is lost sight of but God Himself. "0, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen."
In his other doxology at the close of the sixteenth chapter, we have an entirely different order of thought. There the apostle speaks as if the welfare of the saints was everything, though it is in view of the power of God, who only is able to do all for them. His heart deeply and tenderly anxious for their stability in the faith, he commends them to God according to the gospel with which he had been entrusted. The inspired salutations may have awakened in his heart the deep sympathies of fellowship, and brought the saints before him in a special way. "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen."
in the epistle to the Ephesians, the great object of the apostle, or, rather of the Spirit of God by the apostle, is to make known the heavenly relations and blessings of the church in Christ—its position in heavenly places in Him; and with this agrees his brief but magnificent doxology at the close of the third chapter. " Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above ail that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." It is evident that the soul of the apostle was greatly curried away, indeed lost in adoring wonder as he was made the intelligent channel of such rich communications to the church at Ephesus, and through the same epistle to the church in all ages. Unlike the prophets of old who had no personal interest in their revelations, he tasted, he drank deeply, of the sweetness of those living waters which proceed from the throne of God and the Lamb—the eternal counsels of God in Christ, according to which the church is blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Hence the apostle could say, " According to the power that worketh in us." It was thus the language of a heart that felt deeply what it uttered, and the intelligence of a mind that beamed with heavenly light. This is the immense advantage which the Christian has over the prophets of old with reference to divine communications. Thus we read with reference to the latter, “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.” 1 Pet. 1:11.
This is the true principle of all the doxologies: 4 'According to the power that worketh in us;" not merely by us, but in us. And as Paul says, in writing to the Galatians, " When it pleased God.... to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen not even to me or by me, but in mo. It is the effect of the Holy Ghost in us, making good to the soul the divine revelations of the person and work of Christ, together with His present position in glory and the bright hope of His return. " Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he shall show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you.... At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." John 14; 15; 16
It is from this great principle—distinctive and characteristic of the present period—that we expect to find great fervency and earnestness in teachers and preachers of the word of God. It is their privilege to enter by the power of the Holy Ghost into the nature and character of their message. This gives true spiritual feeling, which ought to rise to the height or descend to the depth of their discoveries of the truth of God. Surely nothing can be more inconsistent, more unseemly, than for those who have the Holy Ghost in them, to minister the word or preach the gospel as if they did not feel the weight and reality of their message, or enjoy its sweetness. Can such be in communion with God as to their subject? Can we discover or feel the unction and power of the Holy Ghost, as we listen to a clear but cold didactic manner of address? Was not the soul of the apostle rapt in admiring love when inspired to communicate to the children of God the previously hidden mystery? He prays that they may be rooted and grounded in love: that they may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; but he does not say of what; he found himself at a center of blessing, which has no circumference; but though overwhelmed with the vastness of the divine communications, he falls back on the well-known love of his Savior and Lord. " And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." What a filling, what an overflowing of the vessel must this be! " With all the fullness of God." Such is the happy privilege of those to whom the Holy Ghost reveals the mystery, not Christ merely, not the church merely, but Christ and the church. "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Eph. 5:32.
Again, we find the same apostle in 2 Cor. 5 often speaking of the judgment seat of Christ, and thinking of unconverted men who must stand before that tribunal under a responsibility entirely their own, in a state of mind bordering on the most desperate earnestness. " Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." It would appear that his appeals, his warnings, his entreaties, founded on the terrors of the judgment seat, were of such a character as to expose him to the rude and uncharitable remarks of others, as he says, " For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we be sober, it is for your cause." But he cared little for this, as everything was so real, so present, to him. The words of his testimony burned in his heart, and on his lips, and he earnestly desired that they might burn in the hearts of others, whether by tongue or by pen.
Reflections on the Epistle of Jude: Part 9, The Doxology
We now return to the doxology in our epistle. The apostle, as we have seen, is not occupied in this epistle with the great outlines of truth, or with the work and efficacy of redemption, as Paul in the Epistle to the Romans; or with the nature and unity of the church of God, as in Ephesians. Nevertheless, he finds that in his communications which fills his heart with the most sweet and comely praise. It is really the manifestation of what God is Himself, and in His marvelous and gracious dealings with man, that fills the Christian's heart with wonder and adoration. The Christian is expected to sing praises with the heart and with the understanding, and that continually. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto his name." Heb. 13:15.
Having traced, in the most energetic style, the crafty devices of the enemy, the corruption of the church, the apostasy and judgment of false professors; and having also pointed out the narrow path for the faithful, and the plain duty of every individual believer, our apostle now turns to God, in whom all his confidence is placed, and his heart rises in gratitude and praise as he contemplates His faithful love and tender care. " 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 ever. Amen."
While it is quite true that the people of God in all ages will be surely brought to heaven, and dwell in the presence of His glory forever, we believe there is a special promise of blessing in this passage to those who are waiting for Christ to come and take them up to be with Him where He is. The christian character can never be fully formed without this hope. Hence the mighty difference, both as to inward blessedness and outward development of christian character, when this hope rules in all things. "Every man," says John, "that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure." Not that he is pure as Christ is pure, but Christ is his standard, and he purifies himself as He is pure. What is to govern the affections, what is to subdue the will, what is to wither up the glory of this world, if the Person and return of Christ are not before the believer as the very sum and substance of his Christianity? The believer that thinks the coming of the Lord means nothing more than His coming for us at death, can scarcely rise above the hope of being saved at last, and is often afflicted with doubts and fears. Besides, the scriptures speak of Christ coming " a second time," whereas, if He came for believers at their death, He must have come millions of times.
When Christ, risen and glorified, is before the soul as its all-governing object, the Holy Ghost feeds and nourishes that soul as with the marrow and fatness of the truth of God. By the teaching of the Holy Spirit he sees that blessed One in the glory as his life and righteousness in the presence of God. And if Christ be his righteousness there, absolute perfection is his; he must be presented without blame before God. And if Christ be his life, he has a divine capacity to enjoy those things which are above, where Christ sitteth, and not only with joy, but with exceeding joy. Conscious union with the Head will also be a present result of the Holy Ghost in us, and a desire to walk consistently therewith.
"It is important to observe," says one, " the way in which the Spirit of God speaks, in the epistles, of a power that can keep us from every fall, and unblameable; so that a thought only of sin is never excusable. It is not that the flesh is not in us, but that, with the Holy Ghost acting in the new man, it is never necessary that the flesh should act or influence our life. (Compare 1 Thess. 5:22.) We are united to Christ, He represents us before God, He is our righteousness. But at the same time, He who, in His perfection, is our righteousness is also our life; so that the Spirit aims at the manifestation of this same perfection, practical perfection, in the daily life. " He who says, I abide in him, ought to walk as he walked.' The Lord also says, "Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. "
Thus Jude winds up his brief epistle by bringing before us our present position of security and blessing, and our future of joy and glory, in full conformity to the image of the blessed Lord Himself. " We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Oh, that these precious words, with which Jude closes his epistle, may challenge every heart that reads them! Am I thus waiting for Christ? Am I rejoicing in the hope of being presented faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy? Am I keeping myself in the love of God? Am I building up myself on my most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, and looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life?
May the Lord bless His own word to our souls, keep us from every kind of failure, enabling us to glorify Him in our walk and conversation, so shall we ascribe unto Him the glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.