Clinging by your fingertips?

You’ve got to hand it to Jude; we may not know much about him, but he could certainly could knock out a good doxology when he needed to. Sure, being inspired by the Holy Spirit has got to help, but of all the New Testament doxologies the one that Jude concludes his mini-letter with is probably my favourite.

For the next few editions of the end word we’re going to be looking at New Testament endings, beginning with Jude’s sign-off piece.

You only have to look at the word “doxol-ogy” to know that its roots are in an ancient, now dead language, and in fact it has its ori-gins in two such – ecclesiastical Greek and medieval Latin – and has a meaning that’s something along the lines of “words that glo-rify” or “a saying that gives glory”. They’re expressions of praise that give glory to God which often function as encouragements to groups of believers at the back end of New Testament epistles, and many of them have found their way into our (formal or infor-mal) liturgies for public worship.

I often use Jude’s doxology as a way of bringing a service to a close, and its exu-berant expression of praise flows nicely when it follows an upbeat hymn or worship song (what we in the business describe as a “banger”), but what’s surprising when you read it in its New Testament context is that it rounds off a letter that has been preoccupied with calling out and denouncing theological error and moral laxity among the group of believers that Jude is writing to. The author pulls no punches in condemning the purveyors of heresy and the perpetrators of unholy living who have infiltrated the church, equating them with a whole host of Old Testament bad guys as well as with rebellious fallen angels. From condemnation he moves to exhortation, calling on those who’ve remained faithful within the congregation to, having heeded the warnings of the past, hold firm in the present with an eye to the future.

With a neat little literary touch, the dox-ology that ends the letter circles round to the sentence that began the letter. Both the opening – verse one – and the closing doxol-ogy assert that it’s Jesus Himself who keeps the elect in their salvation, that it’s He who ensures their perseverance. They are “kept by Christ” (v.1), and “Jesus Christ our Lord”, “the only God our Saviour” (v.25) who can not only “keep them from falling” but will also present them before the Father “without fault and with great joy”.

Taken as a whole, and read through the lens of its doxology, Jude’s letter presents us with two truths that need to be held together in tension. Firstly, that discipleship is not passive, and in verses 17-23 he calls on his readers to persevere and instructs them in how to do so. Secondly, he reminds them that while they indeed must strive, contend, show mercy and practice spiritual disciplines, ultimately their perseverance and being kept in the faith from now until the Last Day is God’s business. As John Calvin comment-ed on these verses, “our exhortations and labours can do nothing except through the power of God accompanying them”.

So, if you feel that you’re clinging on by your fingertips and struggling to keep on keeping on, continue to hold firmly to the truths revealed to the saints, “build yourself up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit” (v.20) and remember that as you hold on you’re being held by the One to whom “be glory, majesty, power and author-ity, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”