What's possible meaning #2? KEEP YOURSELVES in the love of God -- that would never be said unless there was a possibility of NOT keeping.Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
If you take that as admonition than it is a contrast and distinction of them from those that Jude speaks about in vs. 4,8,10-17,19, that is your call, and it is so with you then.
Our being reconciled is conditioned on "continuing in the faith steadfast, and not being moved away from Jesus".<<<...the possibility of not-keeping is clearly in view...>>>
In your take perhaps. But I don’t see that at all in the writings of Jude there.
“But you” (hymeis de) in vs.17 & 20, is a comparative phrase. And I take it like so.
Let me quote the passage to see exactly what it says:
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul was not speaking about the Christian's personal conduct, but about his or her position in Christ.
You quote 2Cor5:17 -- but verse 20 plainly says, "We beg you to BE reconciled to Christ!"<<<We are reconciled through Jesus IF WE CONTINUE in the faith firm ...and not be moved away from Jesus! Why do you think Paul wrote that?>>>
"If" introduces a condition that qualifies what he said for it to be meaningfully true, that, reconciled to God. Paul by it, assumed his readers would do what he described in v.23 because such is normal for genuine believers (see 2 Cor. 5:17; Phil. 1:6; 1 John 2:19). For it is what they made to be, now already a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Why bother? What's the consequence?Paul wrote that so that the true believers may know their position in Christ and what it is that is expected in them.
It doesn't say impossible; it says "powerless/impotent". The Greek uses "present active participle", crucifying. Robertson comments, "This is the reason why renewal for such apostates is impossible. They crucify Christ."Nope. It is not what empowered their disassociation, that is the question. Hebrews 6:4-6 as I pointed out clearly tells us of the impossibility of being renewed to repentance. In other words, there is no such thing as a saved person unto eternal life, being unsaved and being saved again.
They crucify Him to themselves anew each time they sin and don't repent; one who walks in repentance, only sees one crucifixion of Jesus.