Jude 1:22

Having told his readers how to keep themselves, Jude now turns them outward toward others who are struggling. He calls for compassion, and for making a difference, that is, discerning the varied conditions of those in danger and responding with care suited to each. Not everyone caught near error is the same, and love pays attention.

Here is the heart of the matter: those who have been kept by God are not to grow hard toward the wandering but to feel mercy for them. The same grace that holds the faithful is meant to flow through them to others. Jude does not picture a community that simply guards itself; he pictures one that reaches back for those slipping away. To have compassion on the doubting, rather than contempt, is to walk in the very mercy of Christ, who sought the lost.