JUDE 24-25 – Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
THEME OF THE DAY. HE WILL COMPLETE IT. The eternal security of a believer is the most precious of Biblical truths. God’s gift of salvation to us is one that will never be taken back. A born again person cannot become “unborn again”. We rejoice greatly knowing that our salvation and eternal well-being are certainties because of God’s amazing and sovereign grace. And it is easy to sing aloud of this truth when we are enjoying seasons of relative peace in our lives. When trials are manageable, temptations defeated regularly, and the spiritual seas in our lives are fairly calm, a life of worship over God’s great love isn’t too difficult. But that isn’t the Christian life. We don’t sail to heaven free of storms. Just the opposite, we journey to heaven through stormy lives of spiritual conflicts with the devil, the world, and the flesh. And in regards to the devil, one thing he works diligently to do is discourage us and forget this glorious truth . . . “He that began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). So to defeat the accuser of our souls in his attempt to discourage us in our walks with the Lord, even to the point of thinking we just cannot fight another day and won’t hang on till the end, let’s consider three things from Jude’s words in today’s scripture to help us see, we will make it home.
First, we are not sustained in the Christian life by our own power, personal resolve, or self-discipline – “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling.” We did nothing to get eternal life (defined as knowing God) and we can do nothing to keep possession of eternal life. The Christian life is a spiritual work demanding a spiritual power outside of ourselves. Granted, we are responsible to obey the Lord as evidence of having eternal life, but even the power to obey comes from Him. And the glorious truth is that God who is not only able to keep us keeping on but is willing to keep us keeping on in the good fight of faith all the way to heaven.
Next, God’s character is at stake if we don’t persevere to the end – “to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy.” God has to complete the work He started in us. God must keep His promises to save us to the end and present for all the heavenly inhabitants to see the completed work of salvation in us. If He doesn’t, He is not true to His Word. When times get hard and we struggle, plead His promises. Abandon ourselves to His promises. I believe God takes great pleasure as His children pray and rely upon His promises. And they will be fulfilled. God’s character demands it.
Finally, our salvation is not about us but the glory of the Lord Jesus – “to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Just like God’s character is at stake if His promises fail to come true in presenting us blameless before Him, so is the glory of Jesus Christ at risk. Yes, Christ will be glorified at the execution of His wrath upon unrepentant sinners, but the other side is equally true; He is glorified when His redeemed children are before Him in glory. Remember, God has given us, His elect children, as trophies of grace to His Son. If we fail to make it to heaven; it will be lost trophies to the Lord Jesus.
Friends, what God starts, God finishes. And that includes the work of our salvation. When the Christian life gets hard, and it will, rest in the solid and unchanging truth that the work of God begun in us will be completed by Him in us.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your Grace that will complete the work started in me on the Day of Your Son.”
QUOTE: “The security of the believer is such that we will not lose our salvation but it will also be completed”