Jude 1:23

Others save with fear. The text here is also uncertain (cf. on v. 22), but it is clear that Jude exhorts his readers to exert themselves on behalf of others. Also, they are to be under the constant stimulus that comes from a realization of the fate awaiting the unsaved and from a recognition of their own inadequacy in view of the magnitude of the task that confronts them.

Pulling. Gr. harpazō (see on Phil. 2:6).

Fire. The figure is possibly suggested by Jude’s own previous reference to fire in connection with the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 7) and with that of Korah and his company (v. 11; cf. Num. 16:35). A similar figure is used in Amos 4:11; Zech. 3:2.

Hating. This expresses the loathing the Christian feels for the contamination caused by sin, even while he lovingly cares for the victims of sin.

Garment. Gr. chitōn, the inner garment worn next to the skin (see on Matt. 5:40) and the one most likely to be contaminated by contagious diseases.

Spotted by the flesh. Jude may have leprosy in mind, a disease commonly considered typical of sin, or he may refer to the “flesh” as typical of man’s sinful desires (cf. on Rom. 6:19; 8:3–5). His figure points to the abhorrence the converted man feels for all manifestations of sin.