Jude 1:23 Commentary and Bible Study

Others have gone further. Fear for them, ‘pulling them out of the fire,’ before it destroys any hope of recovery out of their worldly state. It is a figure that comes from the Zechariah 3:2: ‘Is this not a brand plucked from the burning?’ The picture is of a stick in the fire on the verge of being burnt up. Every moment that it remains where it is will increase the danger that it is completely consumed. Urgency is called for, because the burning process is going on right now. The brand is pulled out of the fire and the burning end is put out. It has been rescued but only just in time.Here is the pillar of faithfulness, even if we are doing the difficult work of trying to rescue somebody from near apostasy – ‘hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.’ There are any number of guesses where the language comes from. It may come from the Old Testament, the warnings given in the days when ceremonial purity was so important to the people, touching dead bodies. It may be a warning against touching the clothing of a leprous person in ancient times. But what it means is this – that if people are not worshipping and following the Lord, then they are involved in all sorts of fleshly and carnal pursuits. You cannot get involved in those. So the fourth pillar for faithfulness is beware of danger, do not get involved in worldly things at all.