Commentary - Jude 1:17-23

Bird's-eye view

In this dense and urgent portion of his letter, Jude pivots from describing the apostates to exhorting the faithful. Having laid out the grim reality of those who have crept into the church, he now turns to the beloved saints and gives them their marching orders. The passage is a potent mix of remembrance, diagnosis, and prescription. He calls them to remember the apostolic warnings about the last days, which serves to frame their present troubles not as a surprise, but as a fulfillment of prophecy. This is not a time for panic, but for preparation.

The core of the exhortation is a call to robust spiritual health. Jude stacks up four participles that form the foundation of a secure Christian life: building, praying, keeping, and waiting. This is not a passive affair; it is active, strenuous spiritual work. The goal is to keep oneself in the love of God, which is both the atmosphere in which the Christian lives and the fortress that protects him. Finally, Jude turns the church's attention outward. A healthy church does not simply circle the wagons. It engages in a form of spiritual triage, showing mercy and snatching souls from the fire with a holy fear and a hatred for sin. It is a call to be discerning, courageous, and compassionate in the face of apostasy.

Outline

Context In Jude

Jude has spent the bulk of his short letter sounding the alarm. False teachers, whom he compares to everything from unmarked reefs to wandering stars, have infiltrated the church. They are licentious, rebellious, and destined for judgment. After this blistering denunciation, verses 17-23 mark a significant shift in tone and purpose. The address changes from "these people" to "you, beloved." The focus moves from condemnation of the wicked to the edification of the saints.

This section is the positive counterpart to the preceding negative description. It answers the implicit question: "In light of these dangers, how then shall we live?" Jude's answer is not to run and hide, but to stand and build. The warnings were necessary to create a sense of urgency, but urgency without direction leads to chaos. Here, Jude provides the direction. The commands are intensely practical, grounding the believers in the foundational realities of the faith while simultaneously commissioning them for the difficult work of ministry to those ensnared by error.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

17 But you, beloved, must remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jude begins his exhortation with a term of endearment, "beloved," which softens the harsh warnings that have preceded. He is not writing to scold the faithful, but to arm them. The first line of defense is memory. The church is not meant to be a think tank for new ideas, but a storehouse for old truths. The apostles, the authorized representatives of Jesus Christ, had already laid down the doctrinal railroad tracks. The contemporary crisis was not unforeseen. A church that forgets its apostolic catechism is a church that is asking to be taken over by charlatans. To "remember" here is not a passive recollection, but an active, intentional bringing to mind of the authoritative teaching they had received. This is a fundamental spiritual discipline. When confusion reigns, the first thing to do is go back to the blueprints.

18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”

Here is the content of what they are to remember. The apostles had forewarned them. The phrase "in the last time" refers to the entire period between Christ's first and second comings. We are living in the last days, and have been for two thousand years. So, we should not be surprised when the characteristic sins of the last days show up. The primary characteristic of these men is that they are "mockers." They scoff at the moral law, at biblical authority, at the promise of judgment. Their theology is not driven by exegesis, but by their appetites. They are "following after their own ungodly lusts." Doctrine, for them, is a wax nose to be twisted into whatever shape is necessary to justify their sin. This is the headwaters of all apostasy. It begins not with an intellectual problem, but a moral one. They want what they want, and so they invent a god who wants it for them too.

19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, not having the Spirit.

Jude provides a three-fold diagnosis of these mockers. First, they "cause divisions." While they preach a false unity of tolerance and inclusivity, their actual fruit is strife and schism. They separate themselves from the apostolic faith, and in so doing, they separate the sheep. Second, they are "worldly-minded." The Greek word is psuchikos, which refers to the natural man, the man governed by soul-ish appetites rather than by the Spirit of God. Their horizons are entirely horizontal. They think in terms of earthly power, pleasure, and prestige. Third, and this is the root of the other two, they are "not having the Spirit." This is a stark and final assessment. For all their religious posturing, they are unregenerate. The Holy Spirit is not in them. This is why their wisdom is earthly, their desires are ungodly, and their effect on the church is destructive. They are spiritual corpses.

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Again, the contrast is sharp. "But you, beloved..." While the apostates are tearing down, the saints are to be building up. The Christian life is a construction project. The foundation is "your most holy faith." This refers to the body of apostolic doctrine, the objective truth of the gospel. It is "most holy" because its source is the holy God and its effect is holiness in us. Upon this foundation, we are to build ourselves up. This is active, corporate sanctification. This is not a solo project. You build yourselves up, together. The first tool for this construction is "praying in the Holy Spirit." This is not a reference to ecstatic utterances, but rather to prayer that is prompted, guided, and empowered by the Spirit of God. It is prayer that is in alignment with the will of God because it is the Spirit of God praying in and through us. A church that is building must be a church that is breathing, and prayer is the breath of the church.

21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

This is the central command of the passage. "Keep yourselves in the love of God." This strikes some as a contradiction of grace, but it is nothing of the sort. It is the necessary interplay of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God's love for us in Christ is a fixed and settled reality. But it is possible for us to wander out of the experiential enjoyment and security of that love through sin and neglect. We are to keep ourselves in it, to remain within the boundaries of His loving discipline and fellowship. How? By the means just mentioned: building on the faith and praying in the Spirit. And we do this while "waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ." Our security is not ultimately in our grip on Him, but in His grip on us. Our keeping is nested within His keeping. We wait with eager expectation for the final installment of His mercy, which is our glorification and entrance into eternal life. The Christian life is lived between the foundation of faith and the future hope of mercy.

22 And on some, who are doubting, have mercy;

A healthy, well-built church does not exist for itself. It turns its attention to the casualties of the spiritual war. Jude outlines a strategy of spiritual triage. First, there are the doubters. These are not the hardened mockers, but those whose faith is wavering. They are confused, unsettled by the claims of the false teachers. The prescription for them is not a harsh rebuke, but "mercy." We are to be gentle, patient, and compassionate with those who are struggling with genuine questions. We should remember that a faith that has never been tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. We come alongside them, hear their struggles, and gently point them back to the foundation of the most holy faith.

23 and for others, save, snatching them out of the fire; and on others have mercy with fear, hating even the tunic polluted by the flesh.

This verse describes two more groups, and the approach is more severe. For some, we are to "save, snatching them out of the fire." This is a picture of a dramatic, urgent rescue. These are people who have gone beyond mere doubting and are actively entangled in damning sin and error. There is no time for gentle persuasion; an intervention is required. It is an act of violent love, like pulling someone from a burning building. The third group requires a different posture: "have mercy with fear." These are individuals who are so deeply enmeshed in sin that engaging with them is spiritually hazardous. We are to show them mercy, yes, but to do so "with fear" a holy caution, a recognition that we are dealing with something contagious. We must maintain a fierce hatred for the sin itself, symbolized by the "tunic polluted by the flesh." This is a call for radical separation from the defilement of their sin, even as we seek to extend the mercy of God to them as people. It is the difficult balance of being a medic in a plague ward, seeking to heal without becoming infected.

Application

Jude's instructions are as relevant to the modern church as they were to the first-century church. We too are beset by mockers who tailor their theology to their lusts, who cause divisions, and who are plainly operating without the Holy Spirit. The temptation is either to panic or to compromise.

Jude calls us to a third way: the way of faithful construction and courageous compassion. We must first ensure our own house is in order. Are we actively building ourselves up on the foundation of apostolic truth? Is our prayer life empowered by the Spirit? Are we diligently keeping ourselves within the warm confines of God's love, looking forward to the mercy of Christ?

Only a church that is spiritually robust can effectively engage the world. And our engagement must be discerning. Not everyone who is struggling is a hardened enemy. We must learn to distinguish between the doubter who needs a gentle hand, the straying brother who needs to be snatched from the fire, and the deeply compromised individual who requires us to show mercy with a healthy dose of fear. We must love souls without ever growing soft on sin. This is the hard calling of a faithful church in the last time.