A Praising Apology....

We come to the final section of the New Testament apologetics book -- the short 25 verses of Jude. These last 2 verses are really the benediction or closing by the author; however, they are very instructive for apologetics.

Verse 24 and the first part of verse 25 reveal to us a tremendous description of who our God is: (1) He alone has the strength and power to keep us from sin, (2) His presence is of substantial glory that further highlights His worthiness and our worthlessness, (3) He is our Savior indicating that we cannot defend ourselves from the penalty of sin, and (4) He is the true and sole source of wisdom in the world.

This description of God reminds me of I Corinthians 1:18-31. In this passage, Paul tells the church at Corinth that the "message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" but for the saved, "it is the power of God" (verse 18). The delineation here is in the nature -- the unsaved have no desire to change their ways while the saved have a new system of wants, in that, they wish to remain pure before God. He also says that God has made "foolish the wisdom of this world" (verse 20); and if that is the case, then the only true source of wisdom, then, is God. Paul continues in verse 25 by saying that "the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men." This statement, along with the general flow of the passage, showcases His value is infinitely more than our own. Paul's conclusion is the same as that of Jude: "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (verse 31).

While apologetics has a piece where we learn more about the evidence for our faith and are always ready to answer the questions of others, there is another element to its study -- we gain a more clear understanding of just how great our God is and just how much we need Him. John Piper has said: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." That statement perfectly fits here! When we are totally satisfied in this world because of the peace that only God can give, the unsaved world marvels at the Source of that contentment.

The last few phrases of Jude 25 reveal to us what our response to this knowledge should be: ascribing to Him "glory and majesty" and "dominion and power." With these 2 couplets, let's break them apart. The first one - glory and majesty - is where we share what God has done for us and highlight those two features of His character. He is supremely worth while we are not, and His love is so far beyond ours due to His sacrifice for us even when we were not deserving of that gift. The second couplet - dominion and power - is where we yield our lives totally to His will. D.L. Moody said: "The world is yet to see what God can do with one man wholly committed to Him." When we surrender our lives to Christ, we often try to hold on to something; and that act inhibits the brightness of His glory shining through us. Give Him your all because that is what He did for you.

To conclude this short study of apologetics, I hope you see these end results:
(1) A Christian must study and know the Word of God in order to share their faith. This witnessing to others is both by example and by direct conversation.
(2) A Christian in sharing their faith must share the whole truth in love, even risking the possible offense of a person. Political correctness waters down the truth, thereby minimizing its effect.
(3) A Christian will encounter false teaching and should be able to discern truth from error because they know the truth so well. Christ told us to expect this event, so we must be prepared to address it.
(4) A Christian that studies the Word for apologetic purposes will gain a better picture of how great our God is. That realization will be life-changing and should lead to a life more in control of the Savior.

My prayer is that you have found these thoughts over the past few weeks as challenging as have I. "To God be the glory....great things HE hath done!"