Grace and Peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in
the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
Last Sunday in
the Church Year (2009)
Fearful, But Not Despairing Rev. Toby O. Byrd
Jude 1:20-25 (ESV)
But you,
beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; [21]
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ that leads to eternal life. [22]
And have mercy on those who doubt; [23] save others by snatching them out of
the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by
the flesh.
[24] Now
to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless
before the presence of his glory with great joy, [25] to the only God, our Savior, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all
time and now and forever. Amen.
In these last days of the
church year we hear the frightening reports of the destruction of the earth and
the judgment of souls according to Holy Scripture. As fearful as these reports
are they simply remind us that as children of God we are not strangers to fear.
It is common for us to experience fear and anxiety as we are assaulted on all
sides because of our faith. During such times we should seek our heavenly
Father’s aide requesting faith inspired strength to overcome our fear. Holy
Scripture reminds us that our fear is nothing more than our corrupted human
nature rising to take control. Holy Scripture even shows that when our Lord or
one of His holy angels comes to our aid, we are usually overcome by fear; seeing
and recognizing a divine being leads men to tremble with fear. However, to
sooth rattled nerves and calm racing hearts, the divine visitor will say to the
fearful sinner; “Fear not!” or “Do not be afraid!”
Listening to all this talk
regarding fear the question arises, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of
the dark or of being alone? Are you afraid of going to the doctor or the dentist?
Are you afraid of growing old or are you afraid of the one inescapable conclusion
of humanity; our death? Even though we are felled with fear from time to time
we should never despair. Our heavenly gift; faith to believe in the promises of
the Gospel, puts us into a proper relationship with the living God to overcome
fear. Faith in our gracious God leads us to avoid sinking into the depths of
despondency, doubt, and despair. Therefore, our heavenly Father’s merciful
grace is the source of our strength to overcome fear. Thus, in our present
condition we find refuge and strength in our Lord. He is our very present help
in time of trouble, until we are able to experience the final victory that is
ours through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Fearful, but not despairing; summarizes the theme of Jude’s text in today’s
Epistle Reading. This one-chapter book of the New Testament, which is often
overlooked by students of the Word, contains some relevant and important
lessons for the church of today.
Jude was the brother of the
apostle James and therefore the brother of our Lord Jesus. However, in his
Epistle we find him referring to himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ” (v. 1).
We also see that he encourages his readers to “contend for the faith” (v. 3).
He is a rather conservative man of God, much like a confessional Lutheran, who
warns believers to stick to what they have been taught, to cling steadfastly to
the doctrine which stems from a proper understanding of Holy Scripture. Jude’s
concern centers on two major problems which faced the church in his day; immoral
teachers and heresy (it is the same today). False teachers, disguised as godly
men, had slipped into the fellowship of believers perverting or changing the
teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They were teaching that God, who is so
gracious and forgiving, would allow Christians to do whatever they desired.
Since they had been declared His children, they could sin however they so choose,
without consequence. Thus, they changed God’s grace into a license for sin, a
license for a very liberal interpretation of God’s Word. To them freedom was
not an emancipation from the consequence of sin but a license to sin as much as
anyone desired.
This teaching then led to a
second great heresy, namely, the denial that Jesus Christ was their only
Sovereign Lord (v. 4). Such an outcome was a natural consequence of their
teaching that sin had no consequence. If sin has no consequence then why does
one need a savior? Those who follow the whims and wishes of their own natures,
who listen only to the dictates of their own sinful flesh and heart, certainly
do not have room for the Lord in their lives. Their desire is to listen only to
their own voice while blocking out the voice of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, Jude calls the
child of God to be fearful of such immoral and false teachers. Be afraid, he
says, but do not despair; but rather be bold in your witness of the Lord!”
In today’s Epistle Jude
summarizes three different gifts that enable the Christian to contend for the
faith, to fight the good fight of faith, and, in the end, to receive the gift
and crown of faith; eternal life.
Addressing us as, “beloved,”
Jude encourages us to; “build yourselves up” (v. 20). We, who
are blessed with true faith, have that faith centered in Jesus Christ. Thus, our
first gift is a desire to build ourselves up in the faith by immersing
ourselves in our Lord’s teaching; learning of His life and ministry, and worshipping
Him as our sovereign Lord.
Since our faith is, “built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” with, “Christ
Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20 ESV), it is therefore a
faith built on a foundation that has already been laid. The uninformed mind is
easily deceived and captured by heresy and unbelief because it clings to
temporary and perishable things. As such, the uninformed mind is unaware of its
insecure position before God because it relies solely on the emptiness of man’s
reason. As has been said, “Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.”
Our faith is emboldened
through prayer; therefore, the second gift Jude speaks of is our desire to pray
and to pray constantly. Moreover, the Lord strengthens our faith as we pray for
wisdom to understand His Holy Will and as He answers our prayers for health,
healing, peace, forgiveness, and the gift of eternal life. Therefore, Jude reminds
us, “in
your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit” (v. 20).
The Holy Spirit is the
inward teacher of the child of God. In our moments of fear and dire need we
often seem to forget how to pray. In such times we do good to simply to utter
the words of the Kyrie, “Lord, have
mercy.” At such times we should rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us in
prayer and even to pray for us. It is the Holy Spirit who helps our spirit to
discern the deep things of God. He leads us into all truth and He brings about in
us a proper dependence on God while establishing a communion with the Father
that brings comfort and cheer to the troubled heart of the child of God.
Jude urges, “keep
yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
that leads to eternal life” (v. 21). To some this seems to be a strange
admonition. It would imply that ours is a do-it-yourself religion. However, on
the contrary, this command is a stern reminder that our desire to be faithful,
which is another of God’s gift to us, is in opposition to the ways of the
world. Moreover, the world is a ruthless and determined adversary. Thus,
keeping yourself in the love of God is not child’s play but calls for a
disciple’s determination never to let go or lose sight of God’s love. To keep
oneself in God’s love is to be constant in Word and Sacrament where daily we can
face our loving God who shines His face upon us and is gracious to us (Num.
6:25). To keep oneself in God’s love is to be where His promise of mercy is new
to us each morning (Lam. 3:23). To keep oneself in God’s love is to be in the
company of those who believe and confess that God loves us with an everlasting
love and that He will never leave us or forsake us. Thus, the consciousness and
awareness of a love that will never let us go is a shield against despair and
defeat and it is a certain assurance that He will keep us faithful until death so
we may receive the crown of eternal life. Thus, we wait for the mercy of the
Lord Jesus Christ that will give us the final victory (Rev. 2:10).
The third and final gift of
which Jude speaks is the desire of the Christian to live in a loving
relationship with his or her Christian brother or sister; especially toward
those who have erred and seem to be drifting away from the truth. Listen to the
almost evangelistic exhortation of Jude: “Have mercy on those who doubt; save others
by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even
the garment stained by the flesh” (v. 22-23).
Here Jude encourages the
child of God to be very patient and merciful to those who might have been
deceived by godless men within the Christian fellowship. He reminds us that we
are not saved merely to glory in our religion or to gloat over those who are
lost, but we are saved to serve that none may be lost. In the word and spirit
of the apostle Paul, we are to become “all things to all people” (1 Cor. 9:22
ESV) that by all means we might save some.
Martin Luther interpreted
the two classes of people in Jude 23 by distinguishing those who are savable
(by snatching them from the fire and saving them) and those who are beyond our
efforts to save but who still should be objects of our pity. He explains Jude’s
words as follows:
Let your life be so shaped that it shall allow you to have compassion
on these who are wretched, blind, and dumb; have no joy or pleasure over them,
but let them go, keep from them, and have nothing to do with them. But as to
the others, whom you can draw forth, save them by fear. Deal kindly and gently
with them, as God has dealt with you.
Moreover, recalling the
words of St. Paul, who warned the church in Rome, “I appeal to you, brothers, to
watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the
doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Romans 16:17 ESV). Again,
he warned Titus, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then
twice, have nothing more to do with him” (Titus 3:10 ESV). And again to
the church in Corinth He said, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be
a new lump, as you really are unleavened” (1 Cor. 5:7 ESV).
As we are made more and more
aware of the dangers that confront the soul and as we see what Satan is doing
to our brothers and sisters in the faith, we fear for their souls. We pray for
those who have strayed from the doctrine in the hope that some may be reached
and brought back to the truth before it is too late. Therefore, our love for
the erring should be so great that we would do all we can within our power to
reach out to them, to share the love of Christ, to witness salvation through
Christ, and to bring them the saving Gospel in the hope that none would be
lost. For we know and believe in the powers of the Gospel, for it indeed is “the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. (
Jude ends his epistle with a
benediction or song of praise and thanksgiving to God, “Now to him who is able to keep
you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his
glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and
forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25 (ESV).
In these words a child of
God is truly able to recognize God’s great blessings. Although we are
surrounded with great dangers that tempt us to despair, or tempt us to pervert
the grace of God or to reject the lordship of His only begotten Son, Jesus
Christ, we do not despair but we remain confident both in the power and the
mercy of God. When our earthly life is done, our heavenly life with Christ is
just beginning because we are still His. Moreover, as we stand before His throne
washed in His blood, He will bestow on us, “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil
of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of
despair” (Is. 61:3).
The power to present us before
the judgment seat of God as redeemed and forgiven children is made possible by
God’s loving mercy manifested through the sacrificial death of our Lord, Jesus
Christ on
Let us then rejoice in Him
who has given us the gift of faith and enabled us to remain steadfast in that
faith which He has entrusted to all the saints, so that in the midst of life there may be fear but never despair. Amen.
May the Peace of God which passeth all understanding
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.