To others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
Jude 23
When you reach out to others in ministry, you need to be very careful that you do not end up falling into sin yourself. Jude uses the word “fear.” You need to have a healthy fear lest you fall into the same sins as somebody else you are reaching out to.
The Bible speaks of two kinds of fear. There is an unhealthy kind of fear. You should not be afraid of your enemies or of danger or of those who kill the body, but there is also a healthy kind of fear. You should fear God and you should fear being stained by the corruption of this world.
This fear of falling into sin arises from a healthy scepticism about yourself. If you have understood the Bible rightly, you will be fully confident in Jesus Christ and deeply sceptical about yourself. Our culture gets this backwards. We are confident in ourselves and doubtful about Christ. That is why we don’t have the fear of falling into sin.
Notice the beautiful balance of Scripture here. In verse 24, Jude says that Jesus “is able to keep you from stumbling.” We have a Saviour who is able to protect us from the devil and to keep us from falling into his snares. But, at the same time, Jude says that we must watch ourselves. We need to be on our guard so that as we live in this world, we do not become conformed to it.
If you don’t watch yourself, don’t expect Jesus to keep you from falling. This truth is like a bicycle with two wheels. You need both, and if you lose either one, you won’t make much progress.
In your daily life are you more conscious of your need to watch yourself or of Jesus’ ability to keep you from falling?
