Q. What Does "Fore-Ordained to This Condemnation" Mean in Jude 4?

A. Not that He fore-ordained their character, but their judgment, as foreseen to have this character.
People confound man's responsibility with what grace works in him. He is responsible to believe what God says to him, and to fulfill his duty with regard to it apart from all question of grace. He is not responsible to be born again. That is what God works in him, apart from his own, will altogether (John 1:13). He is responsible to believe because God has given His testimony with the fullest evidence that can be needed. The refusal to believe is always based upon moral grounds. " How can ye believe which receive honor one of another," etc.; believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness, refused the light, not were ignorant of it. So, " he that is of the truth heareth my voice," the Lord has said. In the case of the seed sown by the wayside (Matt. 13), where it lies on the surface of the ground till the birds come and take it away, it is still said " catcheth away that which was sown in his heart." So " the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that if thou shalt believe," etc. The word is already in the heart before it is believed. So again, " commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God" (2 Cor. 4:2). Upon this testimony thus approving itself to man's conscience man is called to believe and receive it. So, also, Christ died for all, and there is a general offer of the gospel. God would have all men to be saved. He would have gathered, and they would not. That is man's responsibility, but upon that ground all are simply lost; they are ruined by their own will, not God's; 'but then they have- this will universally. There is no difference. We who are saved are not better than they, and if God had stopped here, there would be no result of Christ's death for us, except added condemnation. The trouble is that what is true when applied to the lost (that they are ruined by their own will) has been applied equally to the saved, that they are saved by their owl] will. This is not true, for we are not born of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. For want of preserving this balance Calvinism becomes a rigid fatalism, which imputes man's ruin to God. Arminianism, on the other side, becomes self-complacency, which puts the goodness on man's side, instead of God's, and makes salvation to be of man rather than God. There is only one difficulty really at the bottom of all this question, and that is, "why does not God save all? " The only thing we can say here is we do not know; but, while we cannot fathom His ways, we know Himself, for He has given His Son, and I can trust Him, therefore. He expressly declares that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
If it depended upon our own will, merely, whether, we were finally lost or saved we could never have confidence how it would turn out with us; but the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. If we suppose that it depends upon ourselves we shall never be able to face honestly the truth of our condition. God's argument begins with Himself and His gift of Christ, and our arguments begin with ourselves, and some reach entirely opposite conclusions as to what He will be for us. Here it is God that justifieth. Who shall condemn? It is Christ that died and is risen again; who shall separate us from His love? This answers Satan in Zech. 3 " The Lord that path chosen, Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? "
Verse 38. " I am persuaded that neither death nor life, etc., can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." A good persuasion, truly. We ought to feel safe enough there. A person once said that no one but rash Paul would have said that. Blessed for us that it is the word of God, who cannot lie, for holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.