Jude 23 — save others, snatching them out of the fire…
Soul willing, by definition, must be urgent. The urgency comes not just from the method but from the reality of the spiritual state of men. Time is short and all those who die in their sins will perish in hell under the unrelenting and righteous wrath of God. All who die in Christ, forgiven and righteous in His merits, will enter life and spend eternity in blissful joy and worshipful delight dwelling in God’s presence. But while you are here, you and I are called to be urgent. We must be urgent in soul-winning. Man-fishing is the charge that Christ has given to His followers. We are to get up and go out and call all to surrender to Christ as Lord and as Savior.
Here’s an explanation of soul-winning in a few ways.
1. URGENCY
The book of Jude calls the believers to save others and to be snatching them. To save and to snatch speak of important, urgent, preeminent realities. To snatch means to forcefully carry someone away. It is as if we are grabbing someone by the shirtcollar, with respectful tact, and pleading with them with compassionate urgency to flee from the wrath of God which surely is to come. Christian living always should have the smell of urgency to it. Our conversations should have the spark of tenderness and urgency in our demeanor. Our prayers and evangelism and confidence in proclaiming the gospel to the lost should be fueled with urgency, fired with passion, and firmly resting on God’s sovereignty to save His elect. And with this confidence in God’s work, we urgently go!
2. CERTAINTY
Cast your eye upon that little phrase “out of.” We are to be saving and snatching souls out of the fire. There is a real joy in proclaiming to sinners headed for eternal destruction that there is a certain way of escape. It’s sure. It’s possible. It’s free. It’s real. So certain is this hope in Christ that we can proclaim to sinners that if they trust in Christ alone they will be saved from the wrath of God! What joy to urgently, joyfully and tenderly plead with sinners and summon them that they can have the certainty and the confidence of escaping hellfire if they come to Jesus Christ alone in saving faith.
3. ETERNALITY
No one spoke of the eternality of hell more than Jesus Christ Himself. God wants us to grasp the undying nature of eternity. Heaven and hell go on forever and ever -- for endless ages to come. In 10 billion years, no more time will have been lost in eternity. It shall have no end. And your job and my job is to snatch sinners from the fire. The fire refers to the judgment. Jesus Christ spoke often of the eternal fires of hell (Matt 13:40, 42, 50; 25:41). O let us go toward sinners with urgency and courage and summon them to life eternal with Christ and warn them of everlasting doom under His wrath if they perish remaining in their sinful unbelief.
4. AVAILABILITY
The fact of the matter is this: there is still time to get right with God! God’s patience continues. He has not shut the door of opportunity yet. Now is the day of grace. Today is the acceptable time. The command in Jude still applies to us. We are to save and snatch sinners out of the fire. Let the example of Christ minister to us as He pleaded with sinners to come to Him while there is still time: “Come to me!” “Whoever is thirsty, let him drink.” “Whoever beholds the Son has life!” “Enter through the narrow gate”! O let us gain an intolerable burden while recognizing the moment of availability that God still graciously gives to hellbound sinners! Let’s go to them, with the gospel, with loving urgency, and summon them to forsake their sin, flee to Christ, follow Him, and find life!
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