Mercy Mixed with Fear

Jude 22-23

Be merciful to those who doubt, snatch others from the fire and save them, to others show mercy mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Show mercy mixed with fear...

I work with youth and I love this council--both as advice to them and as advice to me in relation to them. Show mercy...Don’t judge people; leave that to God. Rather, show mercy. 

Love them.

However, it should be mercy mixed with fear. Even as I show mercy to others, I am also to guard myself from the traps that have ensnared them.

Showing mercy does not mean that I should accept evil as tolerable or consider it less than what it is: disobedience to the One who gave everything.

I think here mercy means recognizing that I am also a sinner. 

Jesus didn’t wait until I was righteous to love me and save me. He died for me while still a sinner. I need to show the same mercy to others.

Mercy does not, however, mean that sin is okay. Jesus showed incredible mercy to the woman at the well. He loved her, and out of his love he instructed her, “Go and sin no more.”