Sermon Notes from "Jude to Those God Called: Mercy, Peace, and Love to You." Sermon by Mitch Chase.

[This past Lord's Day evening at Kosmosdale Baptist Church, Mitch Chase began a series on the book of Jude. Below are my notes from his first sermon in this series.]

I. Introduction

A. Reasons why Jude is often neglected:
1. Brevity;
2. Content (some seems strange);
3. Quotations of non-biblical sources.

B. Background:
1. Probably written in late 60s;
2. Recipients unknown;
3. A general epistle.

II. Opening Greeting

A. Significance:
1. NT epistles fill typical letter greetings with theological substance.
2. NT letter greetings foreshadow the content of the letter.

B. Author:
1. "Jude:" from "Judas" or "Judah;" in the NT, there were several men named Judas.
2. "A servant of Jesus Christ:" this title has an OT background in which some are referred to as servants of YHWH.
3. "Brother of James:"
a. One James-- the half-brother of Jesus, who Paul calls a pillar of the Church-- is more prominent than any other (Matt 13:55).
b. This is the only place in the NT in which a figure identifies himself by his relationship to his brother, rather than his relationship to his father.

C. Recipients:
1. Jude describes his readers theologically rather than geographically.
2. "Called" refers to the sovereign call of God.
3. "Beloved" refers to God's effective love.
4. Jesus Himself preserves us (24; Isa 42:6).

D. Greeting:
1. "Mercy, peace, and love" refer to the gospel.
2. "Mercy" directly leads to "peace," the fruit of which is "love."
3. This gospel is at stake, being under attack by false intruders.