Jude, Fear Of Burning

Jude 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Now we come to the second camp of people. In verse 22 we are instructed to have compassion on some, showing a distinction; that distinction being that there are those honestly doubting who just need loving, prayerful support to help them in time of need. Then there is another camp who needs to be saved with fear.

The Greek term for fear in this verse is, “phobos.” It literally means fear, dread or terror. It is associated with the notion of flight, due to being scared of or by something.

This is the opposite of the Greek term found in Jude 12, translated, “without fear.” It is, “Aphobos,” and it simply means just that: lacking the fear, dread or terror that would cause one to take flight from a perceived danger.

The notion here then is that when witnessing to this camp, the element of fear might be necessary. As the old saying goes, they may need the fear of God put into them. Now this is not to say that the Christian witnessing is to be brutish, cruel or unnecessarily detailed about what is being said. But some, like these false teachers who were, unfortunately, without fear, some need to hear the dire consequences of eternity apart from God and the endless and terrible hardships that will be theirs to inherit forever, see Jude 13. So when Jude commends saving such people with fear, he means leveraging fear as a tool to break through the bluster, bravado and ignorance of their position to permit them to glimpse how tenuous, fragile and ephemeral their current state is when weighed against the backdrop of eternity and the angry, wrathful God who will punish those that do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we do not receive God as Savior, we must receive Him as the judge that inflicts judgment upon the wicked; this is the dichotomy the Bible presents regarding God and our eternal state, see Malachi 4:1, 2, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10.

Jude says that the believer witnessing is pulling such a soul out of the proverbial and spiritual fire. I would say literal fire, but the fire of Hell and the Lake of Fire do not seem to be a physical fire, but spiritual torment, as was demonstrated in Luke 16:23, 24. Jesus our Lord spoke of the Devil and his angels who would be cast into the Lake of Fire prepared for them in Matthew 25:41. Since these angels are spirits, the idea of the fire being physical makes no sense. Fire burns, a proxy image for the endless, rapacious, devouring torment of the spiritual flames those consigned to it will endure forever. We are to pull people out of this destiny. Christ said we will be made fishers of men, Matthew 4:19. In this instance, our fishing is for the benefit and betterment of those ensnared. And none of this is accomplished by human industry or effort. No, the Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer by faith will enable us for ministry. It is He, God the Holy Spirit, that convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come, John 16:8-11, Acts 24:25.

The saint is to hate even the garment defiled by the flesh. Whatever entangles someone and makes them unwilling to respond to the gospel of their salvation is an object of contempt and hatred. We all suffer our vices. Some are overt and obvious like chemical/substance abuse, pornography, sexual escapades, gambling, etc. Others, no less insidious (or perhaps more so because of this) hide in plain sight from human perception. Anything defiled by the flesh, that is used for our sinful, carnal lusts, is to be despised. That does not mean the object itself is evil; it means that what we have chosen to use it for is. James writes, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed,” James 1:14.

Alcohol, for instance, is not evil of itself. In fact it is spoken of in Scripture in several places and seen to be used in its proper place. Christ Himself attended a wedding feast in Cana and did not lambast the guests for having celebratory drinks, John 2:1-11. Paul commended wine for Timothy for a stomach ailment, possibly due to contaminated water in the area, 1 Timothy 5:23. The Psalmist wrote, “Wine that makes glad the heart of man,” Psalm 104:15. In Judges 9:13, Jotham told a parable involving a verse that declares that wine “cheers both God and men.” So a drink of itself is not evil. I understand that there are advocates in Christendom that say total abstinence is what the Bible teaches. But after a thoughtful reading I can honestly say I can not reach that same agreement. I personally abstain from drinking any alcohol, but neither do I lord my faith over other saints who do not agree. My step father, for instance, enjoys having a beer. Pornography shares a similar trap. Sex in marriage was designed to be pleasant for the married couple; what we have done with sex warps its intended purpose well out of God’s parameters.

Again, it is when we are tempted by the weakness of the flesh to make an object an outlet for sin that it is to be hated. Not for what it is of itself, but what we personally have turned it into. It is a petty god now, lording over our lives and bringing us into captivity. This is the essence of what Paul meant when he wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any,” 1 Corinthians 6:12. There is a hint of caution in Paul’s liberating declaration. We are free, but we must practice discernment as God’s saints. Not everything is helpful to our walk or faith. And some things have the ability to bring you under their power, enslaving you if you begin using something in a  manner God did not design us to explore. We expose ourselves unnecessarily to danger, and risk shipwrecking our faith and witness on the rocks of liberty abused, 1 Timothy 1:19.