Jude 23-25 “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 Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”
To keep and to present almost sounds like a marriage vow. Jude reveals the dangers of the last times but closes the book on great promises for us. We serve one who is able to keep us from falling and present us faultless to the Lord. That’s why we need Jesus now more than ever. We all battle with the good fight of faith in staying true to the Lord. To keep and to present means more than meets the eye. It informs of us things we need to stay aware of but offers consolation at the same time.
Jude begins his book by saying we need to earnestly contend, or fight, for the faith in the “common” or the one and only salvation that’s available to us. It’s available to all who believe and comes with dangers that are constantly before us. In facing them, we learn that we don’t have to be a victim. It’s a spiritual danger, and no matter how much we know or how far down the Christian road we’ve traveled, if we’re careless we can fall. We’re still in the flesh and as such the devil wants us to let our old Adam nature rule over our spiritual nature we received when we accepted Jesus as our Savior. I’m so thankful we can look ahead into verse 25 and see that God our Savior has dominion and power, both now and forever.
Consider the danger we’re in of falling away. Consider our faultiness. At the same time remember to consider the safety we have in his ability to keep us and present us blameless to God. Keep and present is what Jesus does. It’s who he is. He was our Savior when he saved us; he’s our Savior now. Once saved, always needing a Savior. Only he can keep us from falling because he’s the only one able to do it. He’s the only one with the power to do it. If we had to be a Christian on our own, we couldn’t do it. Without Jesus we’d quickly fall. He didn’t save us and turn us lose. He’s around to keep us.
Parents are always concerned about their children. We have a Savior who is like that. He’s concerned about us and watches out for us. We need to realize we’re capable of error. Fault is a responsible guilt. We live in a free sinning society. People feel they can believe anything or anyone. They believe they can do anything and everything. They think as long as they believe in some kind of higher power, they will go to heaven. It doesn’t work that way. Many today are always ready to blame someone else when something goes wrong. It’s so easy to use excuses, but the Bible says we’re faulty. We sin everyday and come short of the glory of God. If we confess our sins, John said God is “faithful and just to forgive us.” We have to do that. We can’t present ourselves faultless. We can’t keep ourselves in our own ability. We may feel in control sometimes, but if we’re honest with ourselves we know that those times are few and far between. The church at Ephesus was told in Revelation that they had left their first love and was fallen. We need Jesus. He has to be in charge. He’s the ONLY GOD. God wins the victory for us while we trust him. All glory is the Lord’s. Continuing to trust in him keeps us from falling.
When we are grounded and settled and continue in that, we’re not moved away from the hope within us. There are many things to trip us in this old world, but HE is able to keep us. It gives me a picture of when I was growing up. Who made sure we were presentable to go to school? Mommy always checked us out before we left home.
We must believe God and give credit where it’s due. We need to renew our trust in him. We need to realize we will always need a Savior. In every area, we need Jesus. Without him we will fall. In every way we need him to keep us presentable. He’s the only one who deserves our trust. He’s the only one with the ability to keep what we trust to him. He’s the only one who can present us faultless to the Lord.
“To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 