"But ye, beloved," living amongst these careless ones, shall be a little flock, known to their Father, and their Shepherd, and their Guide, marked out in strong contrast to the children of the world. Their rule is the will of One who is invisible; they walk not by the sight of their eyes, nor by the hearing of their ears. It is these persons whom redemption binds with its threefold cord of power, love, and wisdom.
I. "But ye, beloved." These men are the objects of love, not from the world, but from the Father. God looks on them with perfect approval. Not that they are perfect in themselves, but that they are united to His beloved Son, in whom He is perfectly pleased. They are the salt of the earth, keeping it from ruin. And what lesson may these, God's servants, learn? "Building yourselves up in your most holy faith." There is but one foundation other can no man lay and that one is already laid by God. But every man must build thereon; and the building which he is to rear is himself.
II. But what are the various steps and details of this holy work? The question is answered by following the text. (1) "Praying in the Holy Ghost." The life of these men is a life of prayer. (2) They keep themselves in the love of God. There is but one thing that can separate us from the love of God, and that one thing is our own will, our own act and deed. And how can we keep ourselves? Let us watch and pray, and use all means of grace, that we fall not from our place in Christ, for thus only can we forfeit the Father's love. (3) The believer has also a hope full of immortality: "Looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Dwelt in by the Holy Spirit, received into and kept in the perfect love of the Father, they shall be endowed with eternal life by the mercy of the Redeemer. Thus the three Persons of the Trinity cooperate in the work of saving man, enter into and abide in the believer's soul.
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons,vol. i., p. 395.
How to Keep in the Love of God.
I. Consider this central injunction, the very keystone of the arch of a devout Christian life: "Keep yourselves in the love of God." The secret of all blessedness is to live in the love of God. We may dwell at rest, like the inhabitants of some deep, sunken dell, which is all still, without a breath to move the thick blossoms on the loaded tree, even whilst winds are raving and waves thundering away on the iron-bound coast. "Keep yourselves in the love of God."
II. Further, notice the subsidiary exhortations which point out the means of obeying the central command. (1) The first means of securing our continual abiding in the conscious enjoyment of God's love to us is our continual effort at building up a noble character on the foundation of faith. (2) "Praying in the Holy Ghost." Such prayer is the true help for the builder; his right attitude is on his knees.
III. Notice the expectation attendant on the obedience to the central commandment: "Looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." The consciousness of Christ's present love is the surest ground for the hope in His future mercy.
A. Maclaren, The Unchanging Christ,p. 170.
Reference: Jude 1:20; Jude 1:21. E. Garbett, The Soul's Life,p. 354.