He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
My title today comes from the famous sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 where Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” The reason is because in Jude today our passage makes an emphasis of mercy. We are told to be merciful (v22) and to show mercy (v23). Mercy is a theme for Jude. He saluted them in verse 2 with mercy in abundance, and he told them in verse 21 that they were waiting for the mercy of Jesus to arrive at his coming.
Mercy basically means to help someone. It can be in a material way where you try to help someone with food or clothing or something like that.
- “Son of David!” the blind man shouted at Jesus, “have mercy on me!” What did the blind mean mean? By “mercy” he meant “alleviate my suffering and heal my blindness!” Which Jesus did.
- At the judgment of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 Jesus says to those who will enter the kingdom that they did for the least of one of his brothers they did for him. All the things he says they did are all acts of mercy: give a cup of water, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter, the homeless visit in prison, care for the sick.
- The Deacon Fund is a great example of this kind of mercy. If you donate to the Deacon Fund then you help widows and families and individuals who may be in need. There have been so many quiet, behind the scenes instances of help that have been a real blessing to people. And to know we have a fund like that so we’re in a position to help is also a real blessing: it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Then there is mercy of an emotional and spiritual kind as well. Maybe this was part of what the Lord meant when He said, “A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Isa 42:3; Mt 12:20) This kind of mercy is seen in coming alongside someone who is grieving, or troubled over painful circumstances, and mercy would be being there for them. “Mourn with those who mourn” from Romans 12 says – which is an instruction for mercy. Job’s friends sat mercifully with him for 7 days.
When there is someone in our church who has lost a loved one or is going through a trial and you participate in the meals ministry, or send a card, or send a gift, or call or visit them, or give any gesture of thought and love you are showing mercy. Doing this we alleviate the suffering or hurt someone else is going through.
But there is also the kind of mercy that is judicial, a mercy where someone who has done wrong is pardoned. The tax collector of Luke 18 stood in the temple, far back, because he was ashamed to come near to God prayed, “Oh Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” He left the temple justified.
Then there is the master in Matthew 18 who forgave the huge debt of his servant. After that servant was caught choking someone who owed him money the master said to him, “You wicked servant! I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”
Perhaps the most extraordinary display of this kind of mercy is Jesus while nails are being driven through his body, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
MERCY FOR US (v2, 21)
Before we see how we are to be merciful let us see how Jude says we are recipients of mercy. Verse 21 says, “…as you wait for God’s mercy…” We are expecting mercy from Jesus when Jesus gets back. We have received mercy in the past when we believed on Jesus for salvation. We are also still expecting mercy in the future. This thought really stands out to me because the coming of Jesus is so characterized by judgment of His enemies. But since we are not his enemies we will not be judged adn we have no fear of His judgment. We know mercy is what He will show us.
But Jude also shows us that mercy is ours right now, in verse 2 he says, “Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” Mercy is ours right now – and abundantly. Jesus said I came to give life, life more abundantly. Here we see the mercy He gives is also in abundant supply.
APPLICATION: Walk in the abundant mercy that is available to you through Christ. Psalm 25 shouts, “Great O God is your love and your mercy.” Or as Psalm 103 proclaims, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”
APPLICATION to the APPLICATION: Walk in God’s mercy so that you can be a witness to God’s mercy. Does Psalm 89:1 express our heart: “I will sing of the LORD’s great mercy forever!” Or do we enthusiastically nod when we hear Lamentations 3:23, “His mercies are new every morning.” Can Charles Wesley’s verse possibly be improved on: ‘Tis mercy all, immense and free; For, O my God, it found out me. Walk in God’s mercy so you can tell of God’s mercy – and sing of God’s mercy! “
Now, none of that is why I began with this point. I actually just wanted to make the point that we are to have mercy on others just as God has had mercy on us. “Be merciful,” Luke 6:36 says, “as your heavenly Father is merciful.”
Our text gives us three people to show mercy towards: hesitators, lost, and contaminated.
MERCY FOR HESITATORS (v22)
Verse 22 says, “be merciful to those who doubt.” Doubt is a word that has various meanings, like to separate or oppose. These meanings have the idea of two conflicting sides of something, like when the Jewish believers criticized Peter for going into the house of Gentiles (Acts 10), the word “criticize” is the same Greek word as doubt here in Jude.
But there’s another related meaning of the word, which is doubt as “hesitation” or “wavering.” You’re not certain in a situation. You could say you have “two minds” about a situation – one that believes and one that doesn’t. You’re wavering between the two and hesitating.
- God told Peter in Acts 10, “Do not hesitate to go with the men..” The word “hesitate” is the same Greek word. In other words: Don’t have doubts about whether you should go with them.
- Romans 4:20 said about Abraham, “He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God…but he was fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Waver. Hesitate. Uncertain. Doubt. Notice the contrast in that verse, that rather than hesitating Abraham was “fully persuaded” of God.
- This kind of hesitating is seen in the father of the demon possessed boy in Mark 9 when he said to Jesus, “IF you can help, please help.” Jesus said, “If?! Anything is possible for those who believe.” And then the father, very conflicted blurted out, “I believe – help my unbelief!” Hesitation. Uncertainty. Wavering. Doubt.
And yet Jude says to have mercy on those who waver, or hesitate. Meet their need. After all, Jesus went on to heal that father’s son. Jesus modeled for us what Jude tells us to do: he was merciful towards a man who was wavering.
APPLICATION: Let us all ensure that we are the kind of people where others can come to and ask hard questions about the faith. We are all supposed to be able to give the reason for the confidence we have (1 Pet 3:15), and we should all also be able to help someone else know the reason for the confidence they’re supposed to have.
We’re not so insecure that we can’t let others ask tough questions lest our own faith be shaken. How can I know the Bible is not just written by men? How can I know the bible we have today is what was originally written and it hasn’t been corrupted? How can I know Jesus really existed? How can I know he was resurrected? Isn’t the story of Jesus just like other pagan myths? Hasn’t science refuted the Bible? Let’s step into those struggles someone has and be confident there are answers that give us great confidence – because there are!
So we aren’t so insecure, and we aren’t so conceited that we look down on someone who may be struggling with believing something that we’re confident in. No, we all need to show mercy to those who hesitate and waver in various ways in the faith. And if mercy means feeling compassion and helping someone then that is exactly how we should feel: compassion. And that is exactly what we should do: help.
It may be listening sympathetically. It may be opening the bible and helping them see the reason for confidence in the area they’re struggling. It may be admitting you don’t have an answer to that question they’re asking and still being confident enough in your faith to affirm them for asking the question and then having the integrity to want to find out the answer for yourself and making it a journey of two with that other person. But lets not walk away from someone who has confided some of their struggles of the faith going “We’ve lost Joe” or “What a weakling Andrea is” or “How can Don struggle with that – that is so easy to believe?” As Jude says, “be merciful towards those who doubt.”
APPLICATION to the APPLICATION: Don’t stay in doubt. If you are wavering in some way, then you need to grow in confidence in that area. Mercy is extended to me when I am hesitating in my faith, but that mercy is God’s provision to help me move out of my hesitations into confidence. Don’t stay in doubt.
APPLICATION: Doubt will prevent answered prayer. James 1:6 uses the same word for doubt when it talks about prayer. Turn there with me. This is another perfect example of what a “hesitator” looks like. “God I’m praying, I don’t know if you care, if you can, or if you will, but, I’m just gonna fling up this prayer and hope that you’re there and maybe you might do something – if you can.” That is the opposite of faith as Hebrews 11 defines it: “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see.” Then it says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those that earnestly seek him.”
If you doubt then seek God in your doubt. Ask him with a sincere heart for an answer. Jesus said, “Ask, seek and knock. Whoever asks will be answered, whoever seeks will find and whoever knocks the door will be opened.”
CONCLUSION:
Have you truly considered the mercy God holds out to you? Ephesians 2:1-5 tells us….
We are about to come to the table for Communion. Let each of us first make sure that we have come to Jesus Christ for mercy – mercy for all our sins. After all….
He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
Be found out by the mercy of God. Find the mercy of God. Its in Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters lets come together at this holy table. We’ve all met at the cross for God’s mercy. Let us meet now at the table to remember.