Him by the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. It is God who works within us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. The second part of verse 21 reminds us to be "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." This word "looking" is hardly sufficient in the English to give us a graphic picture of what Jude really has in mind. It means to "peer intently," "to wait for in eager anticipation." This is what Paul tells Titus, "Look ing for that blessed hope in the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Verse 22 gives a description of those who need to come to an acceptance of Jesus Christ as Sav iour. We are told, "And of some have compassion, making a differ ence." Have you noticed that we are not very compassionate people today? Who has time to be both ered with the needs and concerns of others? If someone offered you or me $10,000 for every soul we were able to win to Christ, would we try to do more for the Lord? I made a phone call the other day and dialed the wrong number. An obviously elderly woman an swered and asked me what num ber I was calling. I chatted with her briefly and then said, "You will have to excuse me — I am sorry I dialed the wrong nmber." She hur riedly broke in and said, "No, no, please don't feel that way. I was just so glad to hear someone's voice. It is so lonely." What tre mendous opportunities are before us to have compassion on those whose paths we cross each and every day! The world today is in desperate need of a demonstra tion of Christ's love through His believers. Page 47
having not the Spirit." Luther, in his commentary, describes them as being those who make factions, those who divide up the Christian brethren. They are simply sensual. They are only natural men who have never been redeemed, or born again. Notice the dark words used to describe them as "having not the Spirit." GROWING IN GRACE Jude has taken 19 verses, up to this point, telling us about the problems of apostates, those who have fallen away from God's truth. Now he begins, in verse 20, to give a hearty and appreciated word of encouragement and exhortation for our own lives. He says, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." We are urged to grow in grace and in the knowl edge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord," Paul says, "so walk ye in Him." It is a day-by-day experience. We need to take the spiritual vitamins which are allotted to us in the Word of God. There is a great deal of activity going on in the world today but it does not necessarily mean that it is for good or for God. And as we grow in the Lord we are to be in prayer. This is the key to fellowship with our Lord. The Holy Spirit takes our pe titions and passes them along to God, making them meaningful to Him (Romans 8:26, 27). Next we are told, "Keep your selves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." This does not say that we are to keep God loving us. It is just the opposite! God gives us the power to love
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