Jude 1:11-25
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” p 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. e
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. [1]
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What struck me in today’s passage is Jude’s comment in verse 22 to be merciful to those who doubt.
This is striking because for the most part this is a rather harsh letter. Jude is merciless toward those who are opposing the kingdom and leading people astray. But here he calls his readers to show mercy to those who doubt.
Several times in His ministry, Jesus rebuked the doubt of His disciples – but He didn’t reject them. He kept teaching them. Matthew points out that when the disciples gathered after the resurrection, some of them doubted. This didn’t stop Jesus from giving them the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). John recounts Jesus’ gentle way of calling Thomas from doubt to faith as well. Jesus’ will in our life is also about increased faith, and yet the Word shows mercy toward those who doubt.
What does this mean? It means that when I have my own periods of doubt, God doesn’t reject me. And in the same way, I am to be patient and merciful with those around me who struggle with doubt.
The truth is that many are plagued by doubts at one time or another, or regarding one aspect of the faith or another. It’s kind of the big secret in the church because we rarely talk about it, lest we be looked upon as unfaithful. Instead we should trust that we will be looked upon with mercy.
So my prayer today is for those struggling with doubt, that God bless them by His Holy Spirit. I also pray that I will look with mercy on those around me are struggling with their doubts.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Jud 11–25). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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