Jude 1-4, 20-25 (ESV)
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
24 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, 25 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.
Sermon quotes and References:
This wonderful heaping up of praise is due to God for one great reason, the reason that has shone through Jude’s letter from start to finish – our God is the only God our Savior. He is the only God there is, and He acts toward His people as our Savior. It is such a small word & has been so abused and trivialized in much Christian thinking. But when the mighty day of God comes, more terrible than we can imagine – when we see for the first time who it was we rebelled against; how perfect His standards are; how ghastly our sin is; how seriously He meant all the warnings of judgment in His Word – then we shall see what a mighty work the cross of Christ was, and is, and shall be forever. The fact that God himself has acted on our behalf to rescue us from a judgment which we so thoroughly deserve means that the heavens will echo forever with our shout of praise: Amen. – Christopher Green