LOVE & MERCY – Jude 16-23

Jude's admonitions to the church continue toward his goal of equipping true believers to identify and oppose any who would seek to diminish or deny the glory, majesty, dominion, and authority of Jesus Christ our Lord. This equipping involves discernment sharpening, and faith building. Jude supplements his brief letter with references and allusions to greater scripture – both Old and New Testaments. In this context, the depth of his writing is better appreciated, thus we will seek to enhance our understanding of his words with several cross references. For the last couple sermons, our series in Jude has been organized according to 2 columns recording his descriptions of the ungodly and his admonitions to the holy in verses 16-23. Placing these references side by side, we find the contrasts are helpful in understanding our calling to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Whereas the ungodly are scoffers – the holy keep themselves in the love of God and whereas the ungodly follow their passions – the holy wait for the mercy of Jesus. In verse 18, Jude uses the phrase: “in the last time” as a reference to the societal context of a world in the post-incarnation side of history. This reference echoes Peter's use of “the last days” in II Pet 3:3. Given this understanding and corrective against an exclusively 'yet future' application of these texts, it nevertheless stands to reason that their relevance for the church has only increased since the time of their writing therefore let us listen with all the more rapt attention.