Sermon Tone Analysis

As we come to the last verses of the letter of Jude, we reach not just the conclusion of this great epistle, rather this is its main point, the thrust of the letter, the very height of all Jude has to say.

The last two verses of Jude are some of my very favorite in the entire Bible—they stir my affections for the Lord in a way that few things do.

I pray your affections for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are likewise stirred as we take a moment to open His Book and listen to what He has said.

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to Jude.

If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word: the eponymous letter of Jude, beginning with verse 17:

May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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The letter of Jude is short, but, man does it pack a punch.

In verses 1-4, Jude opens his letter; addresses his audience, and explains to them why he is writing—Jude wants his readers (Christians) to contend for the faith, to fight for the faith if necessary.

And necessary it is.

Jude identifies those who oppose, though he doesn’t name them.

Even though they aren’t named, it should be clear to those Jude is addressing who they are.

These people—these ungodly people—have snuck into the church, crept right in alongside actual believers.

They’re able to fool people into believing they’re Christians; they disguise themselves very well (both outwardly and inwardly).

This, sadly, speaks to the naivete (cluelessness) of the church in that day (and possibly in ours).

There are Christians in every age who are not thoughtful or discerning enough to catch the imposter.

They merely think: “Oh yeah, that guy’s good; let’s give him an old basketball stadium and then, and then, let’s put him on TV!”

It’s scary on both sides: 1) the sheer number of false teachers plaguing the church, and 2) the sheer number of Christians who accept them.

These people—identifies those who oppose, though not identified by name.

They’ve crept in among the church—sneaking, able to fool, to disguise.

And this speaks to the naivete of the church: “Oh yeah, that guy’s good; let’s put him on TV!”

If you ask the average person to distinguish between genuine, biblical Christianity and that which is taught by, say, Mormonism (a cult), most will be lost trying to distinguish between the two.

Sadly, most Christians would be similarly lost.

The need—the absolute necessity—for us to contend for the faith is very real; there are far too many clueless Christians and even more clever charlatans/imposters/false teachers.

“Give an answer”

—>In verses 5-16, Jude reminds us to remember; he opens up the history books and shares some stories from the past—stories from the Exodus, from Sodom and Gomorrah; stories about Cain, and Balaam, and Korah.

Clueless Christians—clever charlatans

The point is that we are to learn from the past.

The things written before were written that we might learn from them.

It’s good to know history; some trivia might come in handy while you’re watching Jeopardy!.

But to have learned what happened in the past and to have learned from the past—well, that’s the whole idea.

Jude tells (in verse 7) that Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns…serve as an example.

We must learn from the examples, lest we become examples ourselves.

Some of you have been wearing that rubber band on your wrist all week as a reminder to remember, as a reminder to learn from these examples, as a reminder to turn from ourselves and run to Jesus! It’s so important to remember.

In verse 17 (part of our text this morning as well as last week; a little overlap there)—in verse 17, Jude once again reminds his readers to remember what the apostles spoke, what they foretold.

We have a record of what they spoke, of what they foretold.

It has been inscripturated for us, preserved all these years for our benefit, for us to read.

Let us pay attention and take heed; let us remember.

As we accept the Bible for what it is, we

Accept the bible as the one word of the one true God about the one way of salvation through the one mediator, Jesus Christ.

You need to remember that it was prophesied that this kind of opposition would come upon us: ungodly people, taking people captive.

You must remember what happened in the past.

—>Jude writes, urging his readers (us!) to contend for the faith, pleading with us to remember the past and learn from it.

And now, in these last verses, he comes to what is his main point, the thrust of the letter, the very height of all Jude has to say.

Verses 20-25 could be summarized with two words: Keep On

The privilege of a gathering like this is being able to say to each other: “Come on, now.

Let’s just keep on!”

One of the most remarkable things is not simply that God has brought us to Himself, but that He promises to complete the work He’s begun in us.

We who belong to Him are amazed at the grace of God (or at least we should be); the tenses of salvation are alive in us (whether or not we realize it’s so):

We have been saved from sin’s penalty,

One day we will be saved from sin’s presence,

And in the mean time, we are being saved from sin’s power.

The privilege of a gathering like this is being able to say to each other: “Come on, now.

Let’s just keep on!”

Daulton Morock, my High School youth pastor spent all kinds of time with me; he’d pick me up in his old, beat-up, gifted-to-him pickup.

We’d listen to bad Christian ska music all the way to Kwik Shop where we’d dine on one of the greatest culinary creations of all time: the cheddarwurst (it’s a hotdog with cheese inside).

We’d talk for hours, about everything under the sun, encouraging one another in the faith.

For my graduation from High School, Daulton gave me a book entitled, “Walking with Christ in the Details of Life.”

Inside the front cover, he wrote a message.

Part of his message reads: “I believe that you will continue faithful in your relationship with the Lord.”

This was an encouragement and call from Daulton for me to ‘keep on.’

Keep on growing, keep on serving, keep on worshipping, keep on living for Christ.

“Keep on,” says Jude.

There’s a good chance, however, that “keeping on” is going to be difficult.

The apostles said we live in the last times: the time between Jesus’ death and Jesus’ return are the last times.

In these last times, the entire period of waiting (that is, the age in which we live) will be marked by scoffers who divide, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

These people that form the opposition to the Church:

These people that form the opposition to the Church:

These people are constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit.

They are not Christians.

constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit.

They are not Christians.

These people that form the opposition to the Church: constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); and these people are devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit.

They are not Christians.

constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit.

They are not Christians.

Living as we are in the last times, living among the scoffers, living among the ungodly people who pervert the grace of God, who deny that Jesus Christ [is] our only Sovereign and Lord, Jude has made his case for why we ought to contend for the faith.

Living as we are in the last times, living among the scoffers, living among the ungodly people who pervert the grace of God, who deny that Jesus Christ [is] our only Sovereign and Lord, Jude has made his case for why we ought to contend for the faith (the faith, the faith, t-h-e faith).

Now, well, now—in this final section of six verses (vv.

20-25)—Jude tells us how to contend, giving us three necessary steps to take if we are going to contend for the faith.

We must keep on as we are kept for and by Jesus.

We must KEEP ON checking ourselves (vv.

20-21)

We must keep on checking ourselves (vv.

20-21)

This is absolutely essential; this is about ensuring that we are correctly centered on God and His gospel.

Jude speaks here to his dear friends.

He calls them beloved.

Jude is speaking as one who loves his fellow Christians.

He knows they need encouragement to keep on.

The call for us is that we make sure to watch out for ourselves.

There’s a proper order here.

Part of our responsibility as a Christian—as a follower of Christ—is to look out for, take care of, and carry the burden of our fellow Christian.

But we can’t very well help another if we ourselves are headed down the wrong path.

It’s like when you fly on a commercial airplane.

The instruction, in case of an emergency where cabin pressure is lost, is to grab the oxygen mask that has dropped down in front of you from overhead, put on your own mask first, because if you don’t “you ain’t gonna be no help to the person next to you!”

It’s like when you fly on a commerical airplane.

The instruction, in case of an emergency where cabin pressure is lost, is to grab the mask that has dropped down in front of you from overhead, put on your own mask first, because if you don’t “you ain’t gonna be no help to the person next to you!”

We should be concerned for the other, concerned for our friends, concerned for our brothers and sisters in the faith, for certain.

But our first thought shouldn’t be: “Boy, I wish she could have heard that sermon today.”

Our first thought should be: “How does this speak to me?

What part of my life, what area of my life does this need to work on?”

“Peter, do you love me?” “Yes.”