This morning the passage that we're going to look at is from the little book of Jude in the New Testament. Jude is such a small book, it doesn't even have any chapters, it only has 25 verses. And you can find this book at the very end of your Bibles. It's the book right before you come to Revelation. And if you are using one of the Pew Bibles, which you're welcome to use, the back rack of the Pew in front of you, I think you can find it on page 1027. We'll be looking at Jude verses 24 and 25. So, Jude verses 24 and 25. Let's hear the Word of our Lord this morning. 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. Would you pray with me, please? Holy Spirit, we pray that you would instruct us this morning to know you better. to worship the Heavenly Father with greater hopefulness and joy, and to see Christ, our Savior, more clearly. And so we pray that you would apply your word to our hearts, that we would believe and that we would keep on believing. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Our passage this morning, just two little verses, has its own little category of what you would call it when you come to passages like this in the Bible. This is what we call a doxology. Verses 24 and 25 of Jude is a doxology. It's one of those words you use in the church that you may not use Monday through Saturday when you're hanging out with your friends or going to work, whatever it is that you do. And so you may wonder, well what exactly is a doxology? A doxology is a verse of praise. It's a verse of worship. And often when you come to doxologies like this one in the Bible, you find that they're kind of placed at sort of this high point or crescendo in the passage where you receive from the writer warning and instruction. How do we live our lives? What are we to believe? And then the writer tends to work himself up into sort of a frenzy, to a point where the author of the text himself is worshipping God, and we find ourselves worshipping God going through this instruction. And for us, we follow this text. If you know the book of Jude, you know that there are a number of warnings. Though this is a little book, there are admonitions. But we're going to conclude, or this book concludes, and where we find ourselves this morning, to this place of praise, this place of worship. And we are reminded of the glory of God. That's what I want us to remember today. It's pretty simple. As we leave this building this morning, I want you to remember God is glorious and He is worthy of our worship. And so because that is true, we press on in our faith. We press on. We keep moving forward. We do not get discouraged. Again, this little letter from Jude. was written to a church to encourage that church to keep fighting, to keep fighting for the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There were problems of false teaching coming into the church, and our verses end not with this down note and saying, don't you dare, but saying, let us worship God. Praise. These verses are praise that serve, in a sense, as a battle cry of courage for us when we find ourselves personally just out of resources, when we are working and living in the midst of a fallen world. And not that this is the case here, but there are churches, and you may have had this experience of being in a church where there's just strife and division, and it becomes really hard. Be in church with other people. What do we do when division is brought into the midst of God's people? Jude here gives us a doxology. And you wonder, well, how does a doxology help us? Remember, what do I want us to do? And remember when we leave this room this morning? I want us to praise God. To worship Him. Because this doxology, this instruction from the Lord to us, it refocuses our attention upon God. And it does that in two ways, and this is the outline for this morning. First, it reminds us. It reminds us of what God has accomplished. And then secondly, it reminds us of what God is to receive from us. what God has accomplished, and what God is to receive from us. So let us consider what it is that God has accomplished. Look with me at verse 24. It tells us that God has accomplished this. He keeps us from falling, and He presents us as blameless. Jesus keeps us from falling. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, or from falling. I want us, first of all, before we look and consider stumble, fall, what this means, actually to consider what he is saying. He's saying that we are kept. If you are in Christ, if you are a believer in Christ, you are somebody who is kept by Jesus. What that means is that you are not keeping yourself. It is God who keeps us. It is God who guards us from stumbling. The language here, it kind of brings out and provokes this sort of image of a horse race. And I don't know if you've watched horse races where they jump over fences and into mud puddles and that sort of thing. And you worry, is the horse going to fall? And yet here we see that Christ keeps us. As a sure-footed horse, Christ brings us safely and securely to the Father. Why do you need to know this? Why should you have this image in your head of how Christ keeps you? You need to know this And you need to understand that it is Christ who keeps you, because you need to know that you, my friends, are capable of falling. You are capable of stumbling. And a mature Christian knows this. The longer you go on in the faith, the more you grow in the gospel and the knowledge of God. The more you understand, it is not because I am so great and I am so sophisticated and I have such good plans that I do not fall. But it is Christ who keeps me. The mature Christian knows that he is more than capable of falling into sin. You need to know that about yourself. You are capable of doing far worse than you would possibly believe. And these words from Jude are important for us to remember. Again, it is the Lord Jesus. It isn't him. He is the one who keeps us. Now, you may fall into sin, you may sin, but for those who are regenerated in Christ, those who respond to the gospel with repentance and faith, those who are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we have this certainty, don't we? We heard the testament of coming into the Reformed tradition, and when you come into the Reformed tradition, it gives such relief, doesn't it? Those of you who have experienced being a Christian, and then later on, journeying into the Reformed tradition, and you feel this great comfort, wow, God is big. I'm small, but God is big, and I praise the Lord for that. Because I know that He who begins good work will finish it. I can know that I have a secure place in the hands of the Lord Jesus, because God is the one who is keeping me. And it is because of God who is keeping us that any of us are able to finish well. Again, I mentioned this earlier, but Jude is a letter that addresses the problem of apostasy in the church. Apostasy, again, is one of those words you don't normally talk about during your week, but what apostasy is, is essentially those who say that I am a Christian, but then end up leaving the faith altogether. Those who say, I belong, I am a Christian, but then fall away. And we see that, and we are curious about that, and we wonder how can this happen? And Jude, in verse 4, says that when this happened, it perverts the grace of our God. And so perhaps you've been made aware on social media in the last, let's say, two years of a growing movement of what's called the exvangelical movement. And you have these celebrity Christians, whether they're pastors who have published books that have sold millions of copies, or Christian musicians who play in some sort of band or what have you that people have looked up to, have now said, well, on Instagram or whatever, I've left the faith. I've abandoned the church altogether. I'm deconstructing my faith and I no longer can believe and be a part of the institutional church. And you see some of these people spending their time and making money seeking to deconvert other Christians. And you look at that and you can say, what am I supposed to make of this? Because you yourself, you might have your own doubts. You're in difficulties with assurance, and you might have your trials and temptations where you sin, and it's just, you get into some really low points in your life, don't you? And you look at that, and is there a pull? But I want you to know, dear friends, that this movement in the last two years is actually not a new movement. It's been happening since the days of Jude. And yet, Jude is convinced, in verse 24, that Christ will keep those who belong to Him. Jude is not discouraged. Jude has not lost hope. And so you wonder, how can he be so confident? How can he be so confident? We, too, have the words of Jesus. In John chapter 10, Jesus says, I gave them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Who can snatch you out of the hand of Jesus Christ? No one. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and so no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. God tells us that if you belong to Christ, if your heart is made alive in Christ, He will not lose you. He will not lose you. He's given us gifts as a part of that work of keeping. How are we kept? Well, we are kept by God's Word. We are kept by God's Word. God gives us His Word and that teaches us. He speaks to us through His Scripture. He tells us over and over again who He is. And then He reminds us of what He has done. His works of salvation. And He points us again over and over to His glory. He's saying, know me, remember what I've done for you, remember my glory. Again, throughout this letter of Jude, there are these reminders over and over again, remember what God did long ago. And we read the Bible and this happens again, over and over again, remember what God has done. Really, that's the job of the pastor, to pray and do these sorts of things and tell you, remember what God has done. Remember the cross of Jesus Christ. Remember what God has done. Remember who God is. And he tells us who he is and what he has done in his word. Again, Hebrews, the book of Hebrews, which is our series on Sunday morning, tells us that the Word of God is living. It's active. It works in us. It penetrates our souls. And it works for our sanctification, our growth to become more and more like Jesus. And so God speaks to us through His Word. And by speaking to us through His Word, He gives us life. And then He teaches us to live in godliness. So we're kept by the Word of God. We are also kept by the Holy Spirit. This is another gift. God gives to us a helper. He gives to us a companion, a friend. He gives to us a comforter. Just a few verses before this, in verse 20, it says, but you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. And you say, how do I build myself up in this holy faith? He says, pray in the Holy Spirit. It says, as you pray, as you seek to grow in faith, as you seek after the glory of God and go after Him, He says, I am with you. I am with you in this journey. God does not just simply drop us off at creation and say, okay, I'll be back at the second coming. God is not just out there aloof. He is with his people. He gives us his very presence and even helps us in our prayers. We are kept by the Holy Spirit and we are also kept through his church. Back in verse three of Jude, it tells us, well, Jude says, I find it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith as it was once for all delivered to the saints. He's telling that the church The people of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, are being called to strive together, to contend for and to fight for the same faith that God has given to you. You need to know God is not looking for one of us to be the hero to save the church. You are not the hero of the church and you won't be. You have much to contribute. So don't hear me saying you don't do anything. You have much to contribute. Part of the body of Christ, after all. But you and I are not the heroes of the church. Even Martin Luther was not alone in the Reformation. You see, we already have our one hero. That's Jesus Christ. God is saying, contend for the truth of Jesus Christ. He has called us to be faithful to Him. And that's what we do in our communion with one another, is we are brought together in Him. And I can tell you again, as a pastor, in my experience, that often, not always, but often, when there's some serious sin befalls somebody who's in the church, what often is underlying this sin is that they've neglected being a part of the church. You've neglected the fellowship of the saints. And when you cut yourself off, God says, I've given you communion with the saints, and this is a gift to you to keep you. We are ordered, told by God not to neglect the fellowship of the saints. God created the church for His glory, and He created it for your good. Do you see the gifts and the means by which God keeps us, by which Jesus keeps us? He's given us His Word and His Church and His Holy Spirit to accomplish that work of bringing us safely to God. Christ keeps us from stumbling. That's not the only thing He accomplishes. Christ also accomplishes this. He presents us before God. He presents us blameless before God. Do you see the second half of verse 24? He's able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. Isn't that amazing? to be presented as blameless before the Holy God. And it tells us that as Jesus does this, He does this with joy. With great joy in His heart. You see, we're not an unwanted chore to Christ. The Heavenly Father is not telling Jesus, you need to go clean up that mess over there at the Thomas household there. Do I have to? No, this is the joy of Christ. to sanctify us, to redeem us, to present us as blameless, to rescue us from the dominion of sin and wash us clean so that we can be standing before the heavenly throne room with confidence. We will not be cast out. What's it going to be like in heaven on the day of judgment? Do you ever think about Jesus' return? I used to think about this when I was a child. It terrified me. It terrified me. Because God's going to reveal everything. All is going to be revealed, and God's going to know everything that I've done. And it's going to be just out there, and it's going to be exposed, and I'm going to be judged. And you know, God is not someone who can be bribed. There's no amount of money in my bank account that I can give to God and say, God, can you hide this from me? And yet, because of what Jesus has done on the cross, for the believer who is united in Christ, on that day of judgment we will stand before God, blameless, without faults, This is the destiny for all of those who love Jesus Christ. And this is the ultimate goal for every Christian. To be in the presence of God, naked and unashamed, righteous before Him, holy, faultless. How can that be? Because we are united to Christ, the one who removes our filthy rags, and gives us His own purity, gives us His own righteousness. That's what Jesus does on the cross, that great exchange as it's called. It's good news, isn't it? You all know what you've done. You all know what you think about so-and-so and the things that you would hide from the rest of us, and you can't hide from God. And yet Jesus covers that with His righteousness. He washes you clean. This is good news, isn't it? It's the best news. No matter what you have done in the past, to come to Christ and He makes you clean. Final judgment holds no fear for the Christian because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And so, dear Christian, you can be comforted in your dark hours. Because if you are in Christ, you will be presented to God, and you will be welcomed by Him. It's what Jesus accomplishes for us. It's worthy of praise, isn't it? And that's what He is to receive from us. And verse 25 brings us to our second point, that is, what God is to receive from us. Verse 25, it says, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. You see, the truth that Jesus Christ keeps all of those who belong to Him will necessarily lead you to praise God. The Christian life, my friends, is not about you. Your life is not about you. Your life is about God. You may find it hard to praise anyone, except maybe yourself, or perhaps your hero on the football field, or what have you. Why would we ever want to praise God? When we find it hard to praise anyone else in this life, well, it's because God is worthy of praise. And He's worthy of praise and worship whether or not He's done anything for us. But then, if you are in Christ, if you've been redeemed, then you know what Jesus has done for you on the cross. He has forgiven you. He washes you clean and He presents you before the Father, holy and blameless. And when you know that, receive that, how can you not worship Him? How can you not worship God when you receive salvation in Jesus Christ? Your salvation, it commits you to love God. By way of illustration, to kind of further drive this point, in the days of Oliver Cromwell, when he ruled England, there's this story. It's made into a Victorian poem of a young man and a young woman who loved each other, and this young man had been arrested and put in jail. He was sentenced to die, and there would be a bell that would ring at curfew. Now the young woman who loved this young man, she begged the man who would ring the bell, don't, don't do it. Don't ring the bell. He said, I must, I have to do my job. And so she knows her beloved is going to be killed right then and there. And so what does she do? She climbs up the bell tower. And inside the bell, she holds on to the tongue so that when it's ringing, there's no sound. And so the bell doesn't ring, the sexton is there trying to ring the bell, and there's no sound coming out. And then Cromwell himself sees the young woman coming down, and she's bruised and battered and all that, and he understands what happens. And what does he do? He says, go, your lover lives. curfew will not ring tonight." She goes up there, beaten, bruised, bloodied. She saves the life of this young man. Now, imagine if you're that young man. How are you going to feel towards her after this? Her love, her act saved his life. How could he not be pulled towards her? the rest of His. Similarly, our salvation in Jesus Christ, it pulls us towards God in love and with commitment to Him. Praise is the natural result of our salvation. We're bound to Him due to our salvation, but He's also worthy of all our praise. Verse 25 tells us Jesus ushers us into the presence of the only God. So even if this point of salvation, you look and say, but there is no other God either. No matter what the bumper stickers on traffic tell me, do not be fooled by the spirit of our age. There are not more ways to God. There are not many ways to God. There are not many gods. There's only one God and he makes himself known and he provides salvation to us through the one way, Jesus Christ. And it's through Him that we're brought to the one God. What a privilege it is now to know the one, true, living God in Jesus Christ, and to know Him for eternity, that we could be caught up in worship of Him. God will receive that worship in fullness when Christ returns. He is the only God who, verse 25 tells us, has glory, majesty, dominion, and authority. These are pretty grand words, aren't they? We don't often speak of people in such ways. Consider these words and how they're used together. These are words that describe a king, no normal person. God has glory. He has glory. God is absolutely worthy, intrinsically of Himself. He is worthy of our honor. He is worthy of all your approval. But we are not to sit back and critique God. Why? Because He is the one who has all the glory. God has glory, He also has majesty. Which means He has every right to be worshipped. He is true and lasting greatness. His glory, His majesty, He has dominion. It means God is the one who has power. He has power over heaven and earth, over the church and over the world. Even those who would come into the church with the intention of distracting the church from the one true God. God has dominion and he has authority. That is, he has the right to rule. God answers to nobody. This, my friends, is the one and only God. The one who made you and the one who loves you. The one who has glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. These aren't some attributes that he picked up along the way. He's always been and he's always had these attributes. He did not achieve them or unlock them. He did not wait for us to give him glory. It all comes from him and it will never fade. Again, another reason for confidence for the believer. Our lives are filled with all sorts of moments. There's a lot of dull moments, everyday sort of moments, but there are days of great triumph. You graduate, and you get married, and you succeed in your career. Whatever it may be, we have these moments of great triumph that we cherish and remember. But we also have times of deep hardship and trial. in difficulty, and we struggle through these valleys. But I want you to know that these moments, the best and the worst, they will come and they will go. Your strength, your health, your beauty has its peak, and then it fades. But that is not so for God. His glory does not come and go. It has always been, and it always will be, and it is today. This is the God who is for you. This is the God who stands for you. And if God is for you, who can stand against you? Nobody. No one. There are times when I've imagined that the perseverance of the saints is really kind of like, you know, one of those weather reporters you see on TV in a hurricane. He's just trying to hold on and not get blown away. This doxology, this praise of Jude gives us a different picture. We have the God, the one true living God who is able to keep you, even you, from falling. and then presents you as blameless before the holy throne room. And our Savior, Jesus Christ, He does this, and He doesn't do it begrudgingly, but with great joy. Through Jesus Christ, you are presented blameless to the one holy God who has glory, majesty, dominion, and authority always. It's not just opinion, this is news, this is fact. What are you going to do with this news? You don't turn away from God. You don't turn away from Him. You worship Him. Do you know the living God? Do you know what He has done for you? Do you know who He is? If you know these things, how can you not turn your gaze away from everything else and direct your sights upon Him and Jesus Christ? and to praise Him. And if you're here this morning and if you don't know Christ, if you don't know God, if you don't believe in Him and you don't believe in the Word of God, I'm telling you, you're missing out. Not only I'm telling you you're wrong and you should convert and believe in Him, but you're missing out. You're missing out on the fellowship of the living God who will never lose His grip. Turn to Him. Bend your knee to Him and be forgiven of your sins and be made blameless by Jesus Christ. Trust in Him and Him alone. You find in the Bible that some of the harshest words are reserved for false teachers. Why is that? It's because they're seeking to direct your eyes away from God. But don't be fooled. Set your eyes upon God, and be encouraged to take every step, day by day, one at a time, unafraid of the world, confident in God. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, I pray that you would help us to see clearly the glory of our Father. Help us to know and be reminded of what you have done, and fill our hearts with worship, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.