They Are Not All the Same

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 22–23 (NLT)

Our mission field is filled with great opportunities while simultaneously confronting us with hazards and dangers. We need to see how important it is to keep our eyes on the Lord and draw close to him for our strength and support while we do our mission.

Never forget the importance of loving the sinner while avoiding sin’s contamination. It may seem like we are stating the obvious when we say that people are not all the same, but it is essential, for instance, to distinguish between those who are merely weak in faith instead of those who set themselves up against our faith. Jude recognizes three types of people as those in need of ministry.

The Doubters

The first group includes those people whose faith is weak. They are the “doubters.” These people would like to believe, but they are fearful. Jude tells us that we must show mercy to those people. It is safe to say that at one time or another, each of us has found ourselves in the place where we have asked ourselves, “Does God really care about me, or can I trust him completely?”

If you have ever had doubts, you are in good company. Just think of the disciples after Jesus’ death and resurrection; they were a bit lost and wondering what would happen to them next because they had not fully comprehended God’s plan and his purposes for them.

The Bible distinguishes between those whose faith is weak and those who deliberately ignore the evidence of the creator. These are not doubters; instead, they are skeptics, agnostics, and atheists. It is one thing to be like the man whose son needed a miracle, and when Jesus asked him, “Do you believe?” The man replied, “I believe, please help my unbelief.” In contrast to those struggling to find their faith, some doubters completely ignore the evidence.

The Scorched

The second category of people is the “scorched.” They play with fire. I have been asked many times, in essence, how close can we get to the world and still be saved. The bottom line is that the scorched want to get as close to the world as possible but still be covered by God’s grace. The scorched want the rewards of eternal life, but the world captivates them.

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. 1 John 2:15-16 (The Message)

Jude tells us that these are the people that we must snatch from the flames of judgment. The scorched must hear the truth straight out. We must make it plain to them that you cannot be a friend of God and a friend of the world. You cannot serve two masters; you will love one and will hate the other. The scorched need tough love.

When a child plays with fire, you take action, and in the same way, when people we love are playing with the fire of this world, we must do what we can to snatch them away from the flames and rescue them. With the scorched, you sometimes have to dispense with pleasantries and do what is necessary to save them. You snatch them out of the fire because of love. Your concern over offending the scorched must be secondary to their rescue.

The Dangerous

The third group is “the dangerous.” They are dangerous because not only are they wrapped up in sinful practices and ways, they are a great danger to those around them. It is one thing to be a doubter and know that you are a doubter; it is another thing to be recklessly playing with the flames of sin in this world, but the worst thing of all is you believe that wrong is right or that the rules don’t apply to you.

Cults begin like this. You convince yourself and then others that you have a new revelation from God and that the truth of the Bible does not apply to you. They take pieces here and there and put them together in a way that sounds good to followers not grounded in Scripture. The dangerous are motivated to gain authority and influence over others, but some believe their lies. Paul urges us to exercise great caution in dealing with people like this.

One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents. Romans 16:17-18 (The Message)

Jude urges us to show mercy to these people and, at the same time, exercise great caution because they are involved in sin that is very enticing but extremely dangerous to some.

The Right Balance

We must have the right balance in dealing with sinners and sin. We must ensure that we do not become judgmental and become like the Pharisees who placed burdens upon other men’s backs that they were unwilling to bear.

Nor do we want to go to the other extreme where we get caught up in this world’s standard of political correctness by becoming tolerant to the extent where we compromise God’s commandments. When dealing with sin and sinners, having the right balance of judgment and mercy is essential and crucial.

Finally, we can make a difference in people’s lives. It is a challenging, sometimes discouraging task that we do for Jesus. The calling is to rescue sinners, not only those who have never known Jesus as Savior but also those who have wandered away from the truth. We must maintain the right balance between judgment and mercy and not be judgmental of sinners or tolerant of sin.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13 (NIV) Remember,  they are not all the same.

Steve Ekeroth

Photo by Anna Shvets: