When the going gets tough... #2
Yesterday we looked at Jude's advice for Christians in troubled times as they face the threat of false teaching. His advice comprises 7 points that can be consolidated into three groups:- Personal Devotion
- Loving Perseverance
- Compassionate Outreach
We'll start with "Personal Devotion."
The big danger we face when dealing with false teachers is that they can become "the moon that eclipses the sun." We can spend so much time looking at what is wrong, that we forget what "He who is right and good" looks like.
So Jude offers advice for the head and the heart.
The head needs to "Build itself up in your most holy faith". The word he uses for "build" is a construction word and it is a participle in the present tense - implying it is a present continuous ongoing process. Paul uses it in 1Cor.3, Eph.2 and Col.2 and it is accompanied by words like architect, foundation and cornerstone. It implies a systematic, orderly and thorough building process. "Faith" is qualified in two important ways: "your" and "most holy". The "your" implies ownership, connection and loyalty. The adjective "holy" is in the superlative form and is thus translated "most holy". Our faith in God is precious. It is sparked by the Holy Spirit and should be nurtured by us with "awe and wonder". Just think about it - we have the privilege of a faith-based (not fear-based) relationship with the Creator of Heaven and Earth!
The heart needs to "Pray in the Holy Spirit". The verb also implies a continuous and ongoing process. Some think that "praying in the Spirit" means praying in tongues or prayer that is accompanied by various "ecstatic" rituals and practices. But if we look for the phrase "in the Spirit" or "in the Holy Spirit" we see that we can pray in the Spirit, love in the Spirit, have joy in the Spirit, go in the Spirit and just "be" in the Spirit. On the basis of this I think it is best to simply understand that "in the Spirit" means empowered, inspired, guided and assisted by the Spirit on the basis that He will do whatever it takes to help us with prayer, love and service. The important thing here, in contrast to the gnostics who turned prayer into a self-help-monologue ("C'mon I can do this..."), is that prayer is a dialogue with our loving God prompted by the Spirit.
And so we have the head that needs to build up in faith, through faithful study of the Scriptures and a devotion to learning and the heart that needs to deepen the relationship with the One who walks beside us on the road (for this is what one of the Greek words for Spirit "paraclete" means.)
| But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (Jude1:20-23) |
