Judges we are not, but rescuers we are

“And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.” Jude 1:22-23 NLT

The small New Testament book of Jude containing only one chapter is a must read for every Christian as is all the Bible, but Jude in particular. Jude, our Lord Jesus’ brother, is warning us of false teachers who claim being saved by grace give us license for immorality. The thought is our sins will not be held against us, which is true, and we won’t lose our salvation which is also true, but sin is sin and evil in God’s sight. What Jude had written to the early Christians he could have written specifically to us today. “I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.” (Jude1:4a nlt)

Many Christian churches today are succumbing to pressure compromising the truth with voices that contradict Scripture. Some Christians are easily swayed especially if it is presented in a way that applies to our current day and culture. Accepting these new norms will confuse a new Christian and will prove disastrous for the church. False teachers seem so eloquent, reasonable, loving, knowledgeable, persuasive, and most of all seem to be telling the truth. Jude writes, “In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.” (Jude1:8 nlt) We must be aware of the progressing influence of those who want to deny Biblical truth.

There will be those among us in our church family who will fall into this trap and begin to live out and support those involved in the social norms of society that contradict Scripture. Jude encourages a gentile approach to those who are confused. “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.” (Jude1:22 nlt) We are not to jump all over our Christian brothers and sisters but take an approach that rescues them from judgment. The consequences of sin including God’s judgement on what He hates should be presented in a gentle manner. Most importantly, the rescuer must be in a right relationship with God and living righteously with sin confessed. We all sin daily whether we think we do or not.

Paul, the apostle also gives us advice on rescuing others from coming judgment, “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” (Gal.6:1 nlt) Let us be on the alert. There is enough of temptation to sin in the world without having false teachers who ignore or put their spin on God’s Words deceiving even the very elect of God.