Now, back to the book of Jude. We will try to study verse 20
down through verse 25. This study through the book of
Jude has been a joy and a delight to me personally, and I trust
it has been to you. I have gained much by the study
of it and then meditating upon it. reading the message, reading
the words. And as we read this book, if
we keep in mind, this is God's truth, His word to your heart. That's special, isn't it? It's
His love letter unto His children. And we've learned some valuable
lessons in this one chapter epistle. We've learned some valuable lessons,
how we are as believers to contend for the faith once delivered
unto the saints. We have also learned that we
are to avoid those who speak evil of the gospel and of His
glory. Thirdly, we have been made aware
of those who are mockers of the gospel, who walk after their
own ungodly lust, who have not the Spirit of Christ, and how
we are to be aware of them and know that there are false prophets
among us today. And then the last lesson, what
we have today, the blessings that we enjoy in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we have been abundantly blessed
with spiritual blessings, all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies,
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice in our text we left
off last week, verse 19, these be they who separate themselves. Those who are mockers of the
gospel, they are sensual, that is, they are natural and carnal
men, and they have not the spirit of Christ. Now that's a good
description of what we are by nature, what we are by nature. But you, beloved, now who has
made us to differ? Who has made us to differ? You
see, but God who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith
He loved us even when we were dead in sin. But ye, beloved,
we are loved of God. We are loved of God. Herein is
love, not that we loved Him but that He loved us and sent His
Son to be the sacrifice for our sin. Building up yourselves on
your most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves
in the love of God, looking for that mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ unto eternal life. Now he mentions four things there
in those verses. But you, beloved, the apostle
gives us instructions of what every believer should strive
about or to work about His salvation by the grace of God, by the will
of God, he mentions four things found in verse 20 and verse 21. The first one he says here is
building up yourselves, building up yourselves. Now he's not talking
about being puffed up, being built up with pride, building
up yourselves on your most holy Now there's only one foundation
that we can build upon and holy faith is built upon that one
foundation and that one foundation is that foundation that God has
laid in Zion and we know that foundation is a person, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Building up yourselves on this
most holy faith. I tell you what holy faith does,
it humbles us. It humbles us. And this faith
is called holy faith because it's the gift of God. He said,
without faith it is impossible to please Him. For those that
come to God must believe that He is. and that He is the rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him. Building upon the only foundation,
and that's what faith does. Faith builds upon one foundation,
and that foundation is Christ, and that foundation is revealed
in the Word of God. Now why is faith called holy?
Why isn't it called just natural? Well, because faith comes from
God who is holy. Faith is the gift of God. It
is bought with His precious blood. That's why faith is called precious. Precious. You have obtained like
precious faith through the righteousness of God, our Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Why is faith called holy? Because
it's the sovereign gift of God. It is a perfect gift of God,
isn't it? Every good gift and every perfect
gift comes from God. If you have the faith of God
the elect, it is holy faith. It is precious faith. And it
always has one object. And that one object is the Lord
Jesus Christ. Hold your place here and find
Colossians 2. Colossians chapter 2, he talks
about this faith of God's elect that worships and honors the
true and living God. Colossians 2, 6. the Lord Jesus Christ, walking
in him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith,
as you have been taught, and abounding therein with thanksgiving."
Established in the faith, rooted and grounded in the Lord Jesus
Christ. This faith, it is precious faith,
has one object. And we know that is Christ. We
also know from studying 2 Peter 3 that this faith that is holy
faith grows, grows in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. It grows because it's living.
It's the living gift of God given unto us. So that's the first
thing. Build up yourselves on your most holy faith, number
one. Number two, praying. Praying. Building and then praying. Praying always and praying in
the Holy Spirit. That is according to the will
of God. Praying always, asking our God
to bless us for grace, to help in time of need, not because
we're Worthy, because He is gracious. Lord, bless us for Christ's sake.
Praying always in the Holy Spirit. Remember from our study in the
book of James, if any man lack wisdom, let him do what? Ask of God, and He giveth. He
giveth generously. And then we're instructed in
the Word of God to rejoice evermore, Pray without ceasing, and everything
give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you." And then, I'll have you turn and read this one with me,
but you'll find Ephesians chapter 6, when he talks about putting
on the whole armor of God, remember? Ephesians chapter 6. having your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, verse
16. Above all, taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall
be able to quench, able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked,
Ephesians 6. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying
always. Praying how? Always. with all prayer, supplication
in the spirit, watching them too with all perseverance and
supplication. And then the Apostle Paul said,
pray for me. So praying always, praying always and everything
give thanks. Back to the text. So building
up yourselves on your most holy faith. Faith is a precious gift
of God. Secondly, praying always, praying
always. What should we pray? Lord, thy
will be done. Not my will. Thy will be done. Praying always and then the third
one is found in verse 21. Keep yourselves. Keep yourselves
in the love of God. In the love of God. Keeping yourselves in this love
of God, which is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank
God for this scripture. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember
Romans chapter 8. And we love Him. We love Him,
we do. only because He first loved us.
Keeping yourselves in this love of God, keep loving Christ, and
you know what? Every believer will by His purpose
and by His grace. You remember the Lord asked Peter
in John 21, Peter, do you love Me? Peter said, yes, yes Lord. Feed my sheep. Peter, do you
love me? Lord, yes. Feed my sheep, feed
my lambs. They asked him a third time,
and Peter a little bit put out and said, Lord, you know all
things. You know that I love you. Now, it reminded me of something
John Newton, I read by him years ago. He said, believers
do love the Lord. Not like we want to. Oh, to love
Him like we really should. Not like we should. Not like
we want to. Not like we should. Not like
we will one day. One day we'll love Him without
any sin distraction." But by the grace of God, Newton said,
believers do love the Lord. And we only love Him because
He first loved us. Believers serve the Lord. not out of fear of punishment,
not out of promise of reward. Believers serve the Lord Jesus
Christ out of love, out of gratitude. You see, the love of Christ constrains
us, doesn't it? You see, we are bought with a
price, therefore our desire is to glorify God in our body, soul,
and in our spirit. So, you got the first three,
beloved? Beloved, behold what manner of
love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
sons of God, building up yourselves on this most holy faith, praying,
praying always unto God, giving thanks, asking to know something
about His will, praying that His will be done, and then keeping
yourselves in this love of God. And then fourthly, he mentioned
looking, looking. Remember what the Lord said in
Isaiah 45? Look unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth. I
am God, beside me there is no other. Looking for the mercy. I'm looking for mercy. Aren't
you? I'm going to take my place before his sovereign throne as
a mercy beggar. I'm looking for mercy. Mercy. Looking for mercy. Remember the publican cried in
the temple? What did he cry? Lord, be merciful to me, the
sinner. I'm looking for mercy. And you
know what the good news is? The Lord delights to show mercy.
See, it's not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according
to His mercy. He saved us. I'm looking for mercy. He said,
come boldly unto the throne of grace that you may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. God delights to show
mercy unto His people, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And you know where this mercy
leads unto? Look what it says there in the
last part of that verse, eternal life. eternal life. That eternal life is in Christ. You remember back in 1st John
chapter 5, this is the record that God had given to us, verse
11, eternal life, and this eternal life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
does not have life. Now aren't those good instructions?
That's just a blessing, and I love the way the Lord instructs us
there. Now, verse 22 and verse 23. He tells us here to be a help
to others. To be a help to others. And of
some, have compassion. Have compassion. As the Lord
has shown you mercy, be you merciful to others. As the Lord has forgiven
you, Forgive others who have sinned against you. And if some
have compassion, make a difference. Making a difference. And if others
help them or save them and do it with reverence, try to help
those knowing that apart from His grace, you do the same thing.
You see what he's saying here? And if some have compassion,
making a difference, praying for them, helping them. And if
others, saved with fear, pulling them out of the fire, out of
that fiery temptation, out of the fiery darts of the wicked
one, hating even the garment spotted by this flesh, and the
flesh is nothing but sinful. Now, there are some believers
who have gone astray, or who have been led off course, or
off track from the gospel. We should do our best to help
them, to instruct them, to encourage them, to love them, pray for
them, forgive them. Don't write them off. Don't write
them off. Don't be so quick to cut them
off. Turn over here, hold your place here, find Galatians, the
last chapter of Galatians. That would be chapter six, wouldn't
it? Galatians chapter six. Verse 1, Brethren, if a man be
overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a
one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest you
also be tempted. Galatians 1, Galatians 6, verse
1, bear you one another's burden, and so fulfill the law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? Forgive
one another, even as God has forgiven you. Bury one another's
burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man thinketh
himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let's try to help one another
with compassion, knowing that we're all sinners saved by God's
grace. Perhaps they've been influenced
by false teachers, or perhaps overwhelmed through some temptation
in the flesh, we are to seek to help them, not to discard
them, putting ourselves in harm's way to help recover them from
the danger that they are in. Now, I thought about this illustration,
and we can all relate to this, the fireman puts his life on
the line to rescue those in need, doesn't he? When he comes to
your house and the house is on fire, he just doesn't stand out
there and say, well, have a good day. He's going to go about trying
to put out the fire and trying to be a help and to rescue. He'll put his life on the line.
He'll run into that burning building. to try to save someone. That
ought to be our attitude toward those who have gone astray. Let
us not, with this warning, hating even the garment spotted by the
flesh. Let us not compromise the gospel
in seeking their recovery. Now we can't do that. Hating
even the garment, that is, despising that which is contrary to the
gospel of God's grace. But love them, forgive them,
that's what we're taught in scripture. To love one another, to forgive
one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven us.
Now we come to the last two verses. In the book of Jude, verse 24
and 25. Now, now unto him. Now unto him. Everything is relative
unto him. In Him we live and move and have
our being. In Him, Paul said, oh, that I
may win Christ and be found in Him. Everything in the gospel
spiritually is relative to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now unto Him
that is able. Able. Our God is able. That is, He has all power in
heaven and earth to accomplish His will, to accomplish His purpose. He is able. This letter started
on a high note, remember? We're sanctified by God the Father,
preserved in Christ Jesus, and called. But it ends on a higher
note. It ends on a doxology of praise
unto our great God and Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ is able
to save us by His grace. If you would look up sometime
just this word, able, and see in Scripture what God is able
to do. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him. He's able. I can't save the flea. You can't save yourself. But
thank God, He is able to save to the uttermost all that come
to God by Him. You see, we are kept by the power
of God's grace. The Lord Jesus Christ is able
to save us by His grace and to keep us by His power. And then
another one that I often quote is found in Romans chapter 4,
where it said that Abraham was fully persuaded, remember? Of
all that God had promised, He was and is able to perform all
things He had promised. He's given us these exceeding
great and precious promises of the gospel. They're all found
in Him. In Him are all the promises of
God. Yes, and in Him, amen, and to
the glory of God by Christ Jesus. He's able to perform all that
He had promised. I like what Solomon prayed. You
remember when he prayed at the temple? Of all that God has promised,
not one word has failed. And that's true. Nothing will
fail that God has promised. He's able to perform all things
for us. Psalm 57 verse 2. Not only does
the Lord save us, the Lord keeps us. Now unto him that is able
to keep you from falling, you would fall without his power
to keep you. He is able to keep you from falling. He is able to keep us. All that
the Father giveth to me shall come to me, and those that come
to me I will never cast them out. He said, My sheep, hear
my voice. I know them, I've given to them
eternal life, and they shall never perish kept by His power. Not only does the Lord save us,
but He keeps us. Not only does He save us, able
to save us, able to keep us from falling, and then watch this,
He presents us. How does He present us? He presents
us faultless, and He presents us faultless before the presence
of His glory, God's glory, and He does so with joy. Isn't that
amazing? This is an amazing verse. able
to present us before the Father without fault, without sin, justified
through His blood. Let's read two references. Find
the book of Colossians one more time. Colossians chapter 1, Colossians
chapter 1, 282, page 282 if you have the Cambridge that I've
got. 282, page 282, Colossians 1, Verse 19, for it pleased the
Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, having made peace
through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things
unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes
alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath
He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death to present
you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight." This is amazing
grace. He is able to save us, He is
able to keep us, and He presents us faultless. Turn back a couple
of pages back to Ephesians. Look at Ephesians chapter 5.
Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25, Ephesians 5, 25. Husbands, love
your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself
for it. He said, no man takes my life,
I lay it down. That he might sanctify it and
cleanse it with a washing of water by the word, that's the
power of the gospel. that he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having a spot, not having a wrinkle,
or any such thing, but it should be holy and without blemish,
without spot, without defect, without sin. How cleansing is
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! He cleanses us from all our sin. The psalmist put it this way,
who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand
in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully. How can that be said of any sinner?
In Christ we are holy, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight. Only in Christ. We not only have
no sin, But we are also made the righteousness of God in Christ. You see, God sees us in Christ
Jesus. As He is, so are we in this world. And the Lord does so with joy. He does so with exceeding joy. That is, as we read in the book
of Hebrews, He is not ashamed to call us brethren. He said,
Behold, I am the children. He presents us to the Father,
holy, unblameable, unapprovable in His sight, who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising His shame,
and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God, and
we are seated in Christ in the heavenlies. Now, verse 25, back
in our text. Now, who gets the glory for all
this? Who gets the glory? To the only wise God. He is almighty and all wise. He's the only wise God and He's
our Savior. He's the only just God and Savior,
isn't He? To Him be glory To Him be majesty,
to Him be dominion, to Him be power both now and how long is
He going to have power and dominion and glory? Forever. Forever. And I love the way it ends. Amen. Do you say amen to that? Glory
means honor and praise. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive all honor and glory. Majesty is greatness. No greater
than God, only just God and Savior. Dominion means His sovereign
rule and reign in heaven and earth. Whatsoever the Lord please,
that did He in heaven and earth. And then He has all power, all
power. The Kingdom of God is not in
word only, but in power. David put it this way, not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name, give glory for
thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. And we say amen, don't
we?