“Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” Jude verses 2-3.

This is likely one of the most contentious and controversial books in the Bible. It is filled with with God’s condemnation of the deceitfulness of the devil and of the sins of mankind in succeeding generations. It is a book which condemns most severely many of the practices which have been embraced and sanctioned by today’s society, including many of the churches.

Yet please notice what verse 2 says:”Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.”

I. BOYS AND GIRLS, THERE IS NOTHING MORE MERCIFUL, MORE PROMOTING OF PEACE AND MORE EVIDENT OF GOD’S LOVE THAN TO BE WARNED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN.

1. It is essential for us to know what is sin. We can not know what sin is except we are taught by the Word of God. “‭Therefore‭ by‭ the deeds‭ of the law‭ there shall‭‭ no‭‭ flesh‭ be justified‭‭ in his‭ sight‭: for‭ by‭ the law‭ ‭is‭ the knowledge‭ of sin‭,” Romans 3:20. (See also Romans 7:7) 

If we are to experience and enjoy the mercy, peace and love of God then we must be taught what it is we must avoid. As children we were all taught by loving parents to avoid the fire for it burns!

2. The chief reason for the very troubled state of our nation today and that of the nations of the world in general, is the ignorance and blindness of society to just what is sin. Because of that ignorance, people unwittingly engage in that which is arousing God’s wrath and bring His judgment upon them.

3, It is very necessary for God’s servants to plainly set forth the warnings of God. Of course this will not be welcomed by those who see no harm in these ungodly practices. It is for this reason that all too many ministers remain silent on these matters instead of following the example of the Lord Jesus and also the writer of this epistle, Jude.

Ii. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE PREACHING OF THE ‘COMMON SALVATION’ MUST BE SET ASIDE AND THE ISSUE OF MAN’S EVIL REBELLION HIGHLIGHTED.

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” There are times when doctors set aside their normal surgery duties ion order to attend to a serious sickness that has broken out amongst his patients. Recently, the ‘Covid’ outbreak was an example of this!

1. Jude was going to write to them of the simple gospel but it became ‘needful’ for him to address the need to stand up for the truth of the gospel.

2. Christians are required to ‘earnestly contend’ for the truth in days of apostasy.

3. As with all ‘wars’ there are difficulties and hardships to be borne by the soldiers. “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,” 2 Timothy 2:3.