Sunday March 27, 2025
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling
and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory,
majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Jude 24-25
This morning we come to the end of Jude ‘s little letter which, it turns out, ends much more like a sermon than an epistle. Most New Testament letters end with a benediction like that found in Philippians 4:23, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” or 2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirt be with you all.” As you can see, a benediction is a blessing spoken before God, asking Him to give grace. A doxology, on the other hand, is an expression of praise declaring God to be great and worthy of all worship. A doxology is meant to provoke us to celebrate our faith with joy! So Jude ends with a doxology.
“Why,” we might ask, “does Jude end this way?” I think the simplest answer is that Jude wants to focus our attention on the greatness and worthiness of God in a way that strengthens our joy and secures our faith. Jude is wise enough to understand that warnings alone are not enough. So even though more than half of Jude is given to warning us about the influx of false teachers, he does not stop with a warning. He knows that beyond the warning we need worship! And worship is what a doxology is all about! It’s a reminder, dear church, that it’s never enough simply to know the truth with you mind. It’s not enough to beware of error so you can avoid it. You must learn to love the truth and the God who gives it with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Jude ends as he does in order to fix our eyes more fully on the God who is not only worthy of all praise, but also worthy of our trust now and forever!
To Him Alone be the Glory! Amen!
Pastor Scott Lee
