BY RONALD HUMPHREY

JUDE 1:20 be ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.

JUDE 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Consider the mooring or anchoring, of a ship which is designed to ride out the roughest storms. As long as those anchorings are set in the right place that ship will remain. But let those anchorings be lifted, let them be substituted by some untried device, and the ship may begin to drift.

This not only presents a great danger for that ship, but if others for some reason are depending on that ship for their being, it presents an even greater danger for them. The ship may be able to correct it’s course, but what about those who seek for it in the time of a storm, looking in vain for the one thing they felt they could depend upon?

We live in the most eventful day of the church. The unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon all flesh alone marks it as such. Never before has it been heard that 78,000 received the baptism of the
Holy Ghost in one day. What a great time!!! Yet what a tremendous pull a world gone made with lusts and liberties of sins has upon sinners caught in the flow of its currents, and upon those who have fallen from God’s Grace.

God is also pouring out His Spirit upon the ranks of those who do not preach, teach or, in some cases even understand the true message of the Oneness of God or of Jesus’ name baptism. This leaves the Church that
is -called by His name” with a great responsibility. Where do those who do not know the Truth turn when God is dealing with them as He is today? Will they gravitate to the groups who refuse to accept Truth?
Where will they turn if there is no church that is “keeping itself’ in the love of God’?

Jude knowingly said. “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.” He knew what he was going to say to
the church was of the utmost importance. There were those among them that would have no reservations about speaking evil of dignities if it would prove to benefit their ambitions, and they would pervert and
change things to suit themselves if left unchecked.

He said, “Keep yourselves in the love of God,” knowing full well that it would require more than just a casual attempt to accomplish this task. Over the years too many Christians have read these words either
skimming right over the top of them or taking them entirely too lightly, never analyzing the formula for success that Jude had given.

Jude indicated that the fault that had overtaken those who would separate themselves from the church was that they had become “sensual,” and had given in to the desires of their flesh. He then firmly pointed out that the answer to this problem, and the power to contend for the faith was to “build up yourselves on your most holy faith” by “praying in the Holy Ghost.”

Some would say, “…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.,” and that is true. But even Paul said that in order for those who do not understand Truth to “hear” it or .,accept” it. there must be
those who are “sent” Those, no doubt., are the ones who have “kept themselves in the love of God” by “praying in the Holy Ghost” Not even the church will “hear” the Word of God unless we are regular at
“praying in the Holy Ghost:’ Jesus said seven times in Revelation chapters two and three: “He that hath an ear. let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Our ear is tuned in to the Spirit through our prayer life.

Somebody made a statement that “The children are the hope of the Church and the Church is the hope of the children.” How true that is; and if true of the children, what about the sinner and the backslider? If the
lost have a chance it will come through the church’s keeping itself in the love of God. Backsliders expect the church to hold true. not to drift with them. If the church drifts with the backslider and sinner, they have no gauge to mark where they are in their relationship to God; Jeremiah said to those who would direct the backslider to God; “…set ye up waymakers. make thee high heaps … “He said “…they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” Jeremiah 31:16-21

Jude dealt with this as smoothly as the ink of his pen flowed when he instructed the Church that he would remain in the love of God to have compassion of some: making a difference, and others (backsliders) save
with fear, pulling them out of the fire.

I believe that the Church not only can expect to see a great revival and harvest of sinners, but a recovering of backsliders. We must let them know where to come. We must “keep ourselves in the love of God”

Oh, by the way, John said:

I John 3:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments-, and his commandments are not grievous.

THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS PUBLISHED BY TRUMPET, APRIL 1996, PAGE 13. THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY & RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.