So we are going to Jude chapter
one. There's only one chapter, I keep
saying. Jude chapter one and verse 24
and verse 25. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise
God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. Amen. Amen. Our final study in the
Epistle of Jude brings us to what is sometimes called the
doxology. The doxology is just a statement
of praise to God's glory. And that's what this is. It's
why it has and bears that name of a doxology. It is a precious
statement from the Apostle Jude in praise of God's glory. And while all the persons of
the Godhead are to be praised and all are involved in our salvation,
it seems to me in this passage, to be especially Christ's glory
and Christ's praise that is being celebrated by Jude, his apostle. And we will remember, of course,
that these apostles in their writings were bringing the message
of the Lord Jesus Christ and bringing the teaching and the
doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ to these young churches, these
young believers that were being established through the preaching
and the ministry of the gospel. And so here is Jude drawing attention
to the Lord's people of his own age in that still first generation
of believers, to the things of the glory of Christ. It is as
though he is teaching us the way to think about the Lord Jesus. even perhaps the words to use
when we speak of him and worship him, which is one of the reasons
why I frequently go back to this doxology as I bring our services
to a close. It's not the only one that I
quote from, but it is one of those little passages of scripture
that just seemed to beautifully, delightfully bring a service
of worship and praise to a suitable conclusion. Using the very words
of the apostles in praise of the Lord Jesus Christ and his
work of salvation. And Jude is speaking of the risen
Christ. He is speaking of the risen Christ
seated in glory at his father's side. And the list of attributes
that Jude supplies reveal our Saviour's true divinity, his
supreme majesty, and his sovereign dominion. And I want us just
to note that. I've already mentioned that Jude
is supplying to us both the way of thinking about Christ and
perhaps even the words to use concerning Christ. And I make
that point because many today speak about Christ, I believe,
with a frivolousness that is undeserved and inappropriate. Many today speak of what Christ
wants to do but can't or would do if he were permitted to do
so. And Jude knows nothing of such
language. With Jude, it is all dominion
and power and glory that is attributable to the Lord Jesus Christ. That
having saved his people in redemption, Christ is now able to keep them
secure and to keep them holy and that he can deliver them
safe and sound into his Father's presence in accordance with his
covenant obligations. That he is able to do all this
because he has all wisdom, because he has all glory, all majesty,
all dominion and all power. He is God. He is man and the
God-man is our saviour and our friend. Let's just briefly recap for
a moment or two. Jude told us in verses one and
two that he was writing expressly to God's elect. He addresses
his readership. These were the blessed people
on whom divine mercy, peace, and love had shone, to whom it
was freely bestowed. A chosen, numbered, named, and
known people, set apart in eternity by God the Father, under the
terms of the covenant of grace. And Jude also told us that these
people were being preserved by God the Son, chosen and sanctified
by God the Father, preserved by God the Son according to the
decrees of the everlasting council, and that they would be effectually
called to faith in time by God the Holy Spirit. This is the
content. I'm simply rehearsing, restating
the content of verses one and two. So we have seen all of this
previously. And what Jude is doing in these
two final verses, for our comfort, for the comfort of God's elect,
and for our joy, The joy of the redeemed of the Lord is unpacking,
explaining, and confirming what he has said before in verses
one and two regarding what it means to be preserved by Jesus
Christ. That's what he's doing, but he
is using that as the platform for his praise and worship of
Christ. And I'm going to suggest to you
that he makes four points, and they're very straightforward
and they're very simple. He says this. In support of the
statement that he made concerning being preserved by Jesus Christ,
he tells the Lord's elect that our Lord Jesus Christ keeps us
from falling. That's number one. Our Lord Jesus
Christ keeps us from falling. Secondly, he keeps us holy. Thirdly, he fits us for his presence
And then finally, he keeps us happy. And we're going to take
these four thoughts one by one and quickly move through them
and see if the Lord will give us some sweetness from them. Here's the first one. Our Lord
Jesus Christ keeps us from falling. It's a great encouragement to
God's people to know that Christ keeps us from falling. It is
a great encouragement because we are aware how prone we are
to fall away and how powerless we are to prevent that. It is vital that there be one
who is both willing and able to hold our hand and keep us
from falling. And Christ is such a one. He is to be trusted as such. We are to place our trust in
the Lord Jesus Christ because he is the one who can keep us
from falling. The Lord Jesus Christ keeps his
people from falling despite the temptations of Satan. Now this does not mean that we
won't be tempted. We shall be really and truly
tempted. But we shall not sink under Satan's
temptations so as to be destroyed by him or by them. Paul tells the church at Corinth,
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. It is a great blessing
from Christ that we are caused to feel both our temptations
and our weaknesses. I say it's a blessing from Christ
to feel these things, though they may be contrary to our felt
wellbeing, because awareness of being tempted provokes us
to cry out for God's help. and encourages us to search for
that promised way of escape. And since Christ is the one who
upholds us, then it is Christ that we are searching for in
the midst of our trials and temptations. Someone might say, what if we
succumb to temptation? What if we do indeed fall into
sin? Well, I say to you upon Jude's
authority, the Lord Jesus Christ shall not permit us finally to
fall by sin either. Though once again, this does
not mean that we do not sin, because sinning is the passion
of the natural man. What it does mean, however, is
that sin will not have dominion over us, nor shall we perish
by it. In the heart of a believer, sin
no longer rules. It has been dethroned. Now certainly
it will rise up again. It will counter attack us. It will gain some victories due
to the weakness of our flesh, but it shall not prevail. And
a believer shall have no peace until sin is confessed and the
cleansing efficacy of Christ's blood has been applied to our
consciences again. Nor shall believers long be guilty
of denying Christ or demeaning the success of Christ's sacrifice. This was the persistent sin of
the ungodly men who had crept into the church. They had trodden
underfoot the Son of God and counted the blood of the covenant
an unholy thing. But Christ's people will be kept from such a sin. Christ's people will not persist
in Christ-denying errors. such as universal atonement or
free will-ism or works righteousness. Regenerate men and women will
learn the meaning of grace. They will believe the gospel
of God. They will acknowledge God's sovereignty
and salvation. They will confess Christ's truth
in the day of his power. and by such means the Lord Jesus
Christ will keep us from falling from salvation. So this is the
first thing that Jude tells us with respect to the praise and
worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, that Christ keeps us from falling. Another thing that Jude tells
us in these two verses is that The Lord keeps us holy. And once again, not many of us
feel holy. And yet holiness is a characteristic
of Christ's redeemed people. And here, a distinction is to
be made. We are not holy in our flesh. we are sinful in our flesh. We are fallen in Adam and our
flesh, which is our Adam nature, must perish and be destroyed. Though not finally, because even
our flesh will one day be reclaimed by Christ as his property. Nevertheless, it must go to the
grave. It must go to that decay and
corruption because it is what it is by dint of the fall. However, our souls, our spirit
in God's sight are holy and without blame before him in love. In our spirit, by faith, we are
in Christ. And it is Christ's holiness,
it is Christ's purity and perfection, it is Christ's righteousness
that is our portion in the renewed man, in the new man. Just as
we are sinful in the old Adamic nature, so we are holy and pure
and righteous in Christ. We are in Christ, dead to sin
and alive to Him. We are a new creation. Paul says,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away. Behold, he says, it's an exclamation
mark, Behold, wonder of wonders, all things are become new. And Peter tells us of the hidden
man of the heart and says of him, he is not corruptible. The hidden man of the heart is
not corruptible. Not only is he not corrupt, he
is not corruptible. such as the purity, such as the
perfection, such as the holiness with which Christ keeps his people
safe. If this seems unbelievable, it
is because we do not see as God sees. In the covenant of grace,
God set his elect apart in Christ. He set them apart to be holy
and without blame in Christ, in our surety and in our substitute. Christ took responsibility for
all our sins. Christ bore all our sins. He has taken them away so they
no longer are seen as on our account, but rather his righteousness
has been imputed to us. We are justified in the sight
of God and Christ has borne and carried away our sin. In Adam's fall, the church being
comprised of sinful men and women became sinful in its human nature. Nevertheless, God always looked
upon the Church as sanctified in Christ, justified before Him
in love, holy and blameless in the sight of God. By dying in the Church's place,
By bearing her sins, by making them his own, Christ has redeemed
his people from all iniquity, taken away our filthy garments,
clothed us in righteousness, and perfected forever them that
are sanctified. God the Father sees us as holy
in Christ. God the Son has made us holy
by cleansing our souls from sin and covering us with divine righteousness. And God the Holy Spirit, in his
role within the covenant, applies Christ's blood to our conscience
in time, teaching us that we were ransomed, healed, forgiven
when our sin was laid on Christ. So that the Lord Jesus Christ
keeps us from falling, keeps us holy, and now thirdly, fits
us for his presence. Jude tells us too, how that being
holy, or he calls it faultless, Christ's redeemed people will
be maintained in this state. Having been cleansed, having
been forgiven, having been born again, Christ's people are safe
and secure for time and eternity. No one can pluck us out of his
hand. Nor can we jump out of his hand,
as I once heard an Arminian say. Having been fitted for heaven,
we shall surely enter that blessed dwelling place of God, where
our mansions are prepared. And our brothers and sisters
who have gone on before are waiting for us. and where our reward
with Christ is certain and sure. Yes, we have sinned in Adam. Yes, we are guilty and corrupt
in our nature. Yes, we are prone to backslide.
Yes, we are full of doubt, tried, battered, and weighed down with
sin, even after conversion. and consequently this body of
sin and death must be carried to the grave. Nevertheless, we
shall at last be presented by Christ in perfect holiness, complete
righteousness and shining garments of glory. It's not our obedience
that makes us fit or keeps us fit. for the presence of God. It is Christ's blood and righteousness. It is he who is able to keep
us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence
of his glory. And fourthly, he keeps us happy. The exceeding joy of which Jude
here speaks is certainly the joy of heaven and there are no
tears or sadness in heaven. But does not the gospel of grace,
the blessings of faith, the gift of life and holiness, does not
the certain promise of soul preservation. Does not this bring us joy in
this world also? In this world as well? The angels
said as much when they announced the incarnation of Christ. And despite the weakness and
temptation that we feel and the sadness that we encounter in
this sick, sinful, depraved, condemned world, The wonder of
the coming resurrection and the reuniting of body and spirit
and our transformation into glory is surely a source of joy on
earth to the people of God, surely a pleasing prospect of heaven
for us. Many amongst us at this time
have illness and trouble and yet we have good hope that in
a very short time to be absent from this body will be to enter
the presence of the Lord with exceeding joy. And I like to
think that we are entering it with exceeding joy. It's not
something we're going to heaven to get. we will enter it with
our exceeding joy. For in that moment we will see
all that we have longed for, all that we have hoped for, all
that we have anticipated, all that we've been promised is a
living reality. And while others will No doubt
mourn our passing, we will enter into his presence with thanksgiving
in our hearts and hymns of praise upon our lips. We will enter
his presence with joy. because Christ is able to keep
us, because he is able to present us faultless and bring us to
himself through all the dark passages of this life's experience. What a source of happiness Christ's
company holds for us. Scripture speaks of the joy of
the Lord and of everlasting joy. Our everlasting joy, like our
everlasting life, begins here. Paul tells the church at Philippi,
rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. So let us, let you and me, let
us take these promises as they are delivered to us by Jude. They are dependable, and they
deserve our trust, for they arise from one who is, says Jude, all-wise,
glorious, majestic, dominant, and powerful. This is our Saviour
Jesus Christ. The Saviour is rightly to be
praised for these attributes. Hence this doxology, hence Jude's
writing these things to the church. And as we've seen, they clearly
speak of Christ's divinity and sovereignty, his power and his
glory, his dominion and his majesty. Though these attributes had been
scorned by ungodly men during Christ's earthly ministry, and
though they continue to be denied by ungodly men in our own age, whether they go by the name minister
or not, they warrant our confidence and our hope because we receive
them by faith. Christ the God-man is on his
throne. He is arrayed in glory, majesty,
dominion, and power. And we can relax, and we can
rest, and we can trust our case to our all-wise, all-loving,
and all-powerful friend. I do not know a greater source
of comfort for a troubled soul than that. Let not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. I go to prepare a place for you,
and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. These attributes of divine power
cause the Lord's people to rejoice in their Saviour. They exemplify
the fitness of the Lord Jesus for all our needs. Though we are sinful, he is glorious
and he gives this glory to his people. Though we are weak and
poor, he moves with divine majesty to come to our aid. Though we
are fallen and helpless, he exercises dominion over every enemy and
foe, suppressing their influence, restricting their effect. and he does so wisely and tenderly
and lovingly and conclusively. He does it for you who trust
him, saying, fear not, little flock, it is your father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom. Let me close with an Amen. Not mine, not yet, but Jude's
Amen. As we've seen, amen is a word
used in scripture to reinforce assertions and confirm God's
statements as true. We say amen at the end of our
prayers and the gospel writers wrote amen at the end of their
gospels and the Lord Jesus Christ used the amen also. And we can take the whole of
Jude's epistle, all 25 verses that he has written to them,
we can take them with that appended Amen as being true. We do believe that Christ is
the only wise God our Saviour, to whom glory and majesty, dominion
and power is rightly and uniquely ascribed, now and forever. We believe that, we believe that. But there's something even more
glorious than that. Amen is also one of the distinguishing
names that the Lord Jesus Christ takes to himself. And we see
that in Revelation 3, verse 14. There we read, these things saith
the Amen, the faithful and true witness. It's not only Jude that
was faithful and true in writing what he wrote. It is Christ himself
who is faithful and true to his church and to his people. In
writing to the Church, Jude has been a faithful and true witness,
for which we give him our thanks. In setting before us the success
of the Saviour in his life and death, in his redemption and
resurrection, in his glory, majesty, dominion and power, Jude has
shown us that Christ himself is the faithful and true witness,
the great Amen to his church and his people. upon whom our
faith is founded for eternal life, upon whom our faith for
eternal life is properly fixed. Amen. May the Lord bless these
thoughts to us today.