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save with fear, pulling them out of the fire: hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Jude v22-23 Jude is giving us very good advice in dealing with our fellow man. Some people are easy to evangelize and some require some force. People who are lowly and meek we bring to Christ through compassion. People who are battling fleshly spirits we are to save with fear. We cannot treat all people the same way, sugar-coating the gospel and expect positive results. Some people need to hear a strong message because they are dealing with significant issues of the flesh. These people will not be made free simply by sharing the love of God. We need to pull them out of the fire: hating even the garment spotted by the flesh, telling them in no uncertain terms that the wages of sin is death(Rm6:23). When a Spirit filled Christian begins to experience discernment about those who seek salvation but are oppressed by fleshly spirits, their initial response is to be repelled by the dirtiness of those spirits and may wish to avoid them rather than confront them. We may wish only to evangelize and help the meek and lowly rather than working through our own uncomfortableness to help those who are caught up in the flesh. But if we are sensitive to the Spirit and are led to help the person in spiritual bondage, we will be compelled to love them too and to deal with those spirits in a firm and strong manner which will bring fear to the person in bondage. Jude is very clear. We must build ourselves up in the Holy Ghost. We must look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and we must pull them out of the fire. If we do this we will save a soul from hell and accomplish what our Lord has called us to do. Unless we ourselves have crucified the flesh and have mortified the deeds of the flesh, we will have no power to minister to those in need. Because so many Christians are not free themselves, they have no power to deliver those in spiritual bondage nor do they have the gift of discernment to recognize and cast out evil spirits. As the Christian moves further and further into the light, darkness becomes more and more apparent, our need to deliver more urgent, and the ability to cast out spirits more effective. If you have never experienced what hating even the garment spotted by the flesh is like, you are still in need to work on your own spiritual life because the Holy Spirit will make you sensitive to spiritual issues once you have overcome the flesh yourself. If you are Spirit filled and Spirit led, do not dismiss those in fleshly bondage. Pray for wisdom to exercise the gift of faith and be at it for God. Jude is exhorting the Christian to be strong, to battle heresy, and to save the lost. So get a move on! amen |