As Jude brings his short epistle to a close, he encourages believers to build themselves up in the faith, by praying in the Spirit (Jude 1:20). This is in sharp contrast to the previous verse, which points to the false teachers who, rather than building themselves up in the faith, separate themselves (Jude 1:19)! The picture I get here is one who is dismantling the building of God by pulling out a stone here and a stone there (Galatians 2:11-13). In other words, the false teachers defile the Temple of God (cp. 1Corinthians 3:16-17; 1Peter 2:5), as they seek to destroy the effects of the Gospel. The work of the Gospel is fulfilled by praying in the Spirit (Jude 1:20), while the works of the false teachers are sensual, wanting to be admired by their listeners, they use great swelling words with an end to profit their sensual goals (verse-19).
Jude continues by telling his readers to keep yourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21, while the false teachers mock the Gospel and those who trust in its power (cp. verse-18). The word Jude uses for mockers in verse-18 (G1703) is used only here and in 2Peter 3:3, where they are called scoffers in the KJV. Peter elaborates more on these false teachers, saying they ask: “where is the promise of his coming?” (2Peter 3:4), for the New Covenant writers all claimed Jesus would return in that generation to which they preached. If the disciples preached that Jesus wouldn’t return for 2000 years or more, the scoffers argument wouldn’t make any sense, because they mocked at the fact Jesus hadn’t returned yet, meaning up to the time of the ungodly men, who spoke against the Gospel (Jude 1:15) to mock at the faith of the believers. So, it was in this context, the presumed failure of Jesus to return up to that time, that we can understand their separating themselves (Jude 1:19).
Paul also wrote about men who had separated themselves in Galatians 2:12. They were the men claiming to have come down from Jerusalem from James. In the context related by Paul, they separated themselves from the brethren, because they kept the kosher laws and the tradition of the elders or the Oral Law (cf. Mark 7:3-5). We know that they separated themselves, because Peter, Barnabas and the other Jews in Galatia were, themselves, drawn away from the believing gentiles in the church of Antioch in order to fellowship with them, the separatists or “men from James” (Galatians 2:12-13). It was due to this type of men that both Peter and Jude wrote: “Keep yourselves in the love of God,” looking for the mercy of Christ (Jude 1:21); rather than looking for the approval of the mockers who separate themselves from the brethren (Jude 1:18-19) in order to fulfill the demands of the sensual doctrines of men.
Addressing those believers who are strong in the faith, Jude said to have mercy on those whose faith is weak in so far as they continue to express doubt, perhaps even disputing with the faithful. In such a case, the faithful need to be convincing, but merciful (Jude 1:22). On the other hand, some ancient manuscripts exclude the command to be merciful, indicating that these men are not simply doubters, but, rather, are the false teachers who are causing divisions among the believers. In this context their arguments need to be confronted in a convincing manner by men and women strong in the faith.
On the other hand, men whose faith had been overcome by the false teachers and who had become their followers, Jude says to be merciful (cp. Galatians 6:1), pulling them out of the fire (cp. Amos 4:11), i.e. out of the coming judgment of God, which came upon the world of the first century AD in the Jews’ war with Rome (cir. 66-70 AD; cp. Revelation 18:4). This they must do, not hating the brother, but the garment spotted by the flesh, meaning only that which was contaminated by the false teacher (Jude 1:23).[1]
In closing Jude pointed to the Lord who is the only one who holds up the believer. So the faithful had no reason to boast, except in the power of Christ (Jude 1:24-25; cp. 2John 1:7; Colossians 1:27). Only he is able to keep the believer from falling and to present him faultless before himself (i.e. the Lord).
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[1] One’s clothing was often used in Scripture to indicate in metaphor one lived (cp. Ephesians 4:22-26; Colossians 3:9-10).
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