Let me turn this thing off so I can get all wired up. I have a lot of fond memories here at this place, and this church will always have a special place in our hearts for all that you've done for me and my family over the years. I know most of y'all were wanting to see Jackson instead of me, but I'm sorry you're stuck with me today. But I will say this, Jackson is, he's turning out to be a fine young man. He loves school. He is chomping at the bits to get back to school. We start August the 14th will be our first day back. But he's growing up, growing up, and he eats like a dadgum horse. And so it's a challenge to keep that boy fed and clothed. We cannot keep him enclosed. But anyways, I wish he could have been here and hopefully maybe we'll just make a surprise visit and just pop in and we'll let y'all see him. But anyways, it's always a blessing to come to Coedah. And it's good to see you all here today. If you have your Bibles, if you would, turn with me please to the book of Jude. And I'll let you pick out which chapter you want. The book of Jude. We're going to look at three verses of Scripture. And on the surface, you might look at that and say, that kind of looks like a contradiction. I assure you there are no contradictions in the Word of God, and if it looks like there's a contradiction, you need to get down and start studying, and you'll find out there is nothing like that. But in Jude, we'll look at verse 21, and then we'll drop down to verse 24 and 25. I want to speak to you today on the perseverance and the preservation of the saints. Jude verse 21, here he writes, and he says, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. So he tells us something we are to do. Then look at verse 24, 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 ever amen one talks about the perseverance of the saints the other talks about the preservation of the lord You know, all of the doctrines of salvation are absolutely essential and are profoundly precious to the redeemed, but the doctrine of eternal security, also known as the perseverance of the saints, stands out as one of the great teachings of Scripture. The truths in relation to the other aspects of biblical salvation, such as predestination, and regeneration, justification, adoption, and glorification. All that could not be fully appreciated if salvation were not forever. And without the confidence and assurance of eternal security, the life of a Christian would be filled with doubt, with worry, and fear. And because of the doctrine of eternal security, we as believers can rest assured that nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And it must be emphasized that every doctrine must have its foundation in the infallible Word of God. And the idea that a true child of God who has been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and has been sealed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, can somehow lose the Lord's salvation, become a child of the devil, and ultimately perish in the lake of fire. Beloved, that is foreign to the teachings of Holy Scripture. In fact, such an assertion, I believe, is blasphemous. Why is that? Because it casts reproach upon the very character and the work of a holy God and the unfailing promises of His Word. You know, the Bible is full of passages that teach and that prove that the saints of God persevere only because and by the power of a gracious God, of whom it is said in Psalm 31.23, it says, The Lord preserveth the faithful. Psalm 37.28, For the Lord forsaketh not his saints, they are preserved forever. Psalm 97.10 says, "...the Lord preserveth the souls of his saints." Psalm 145.20 says, "...the Lord preserveth all of them that love him." And even Proverbs 2.8 tells us that, "...the Lord preserveth the way of his saints." Beloved, it's easy to conclude from such passages that God does preserve His people, but it must be clearly understood that God's preserving power over His people guarantees that His people will indeed persevere in the faith. You cannot have one without the other. God's preservation of His elect and the saints' perseverance in the faith. If perseverance is taught without the power of God's preservation behind it, then what you do, you end up with a teaching that a believer can lose his salvation. Beloved, that is rank Arminianism. On the other hand, if preservation is taught apart from the believer's responsibility of perseverance in true faith and holiness, then you end up with what? You end up with the teaching that says, well, since you're saved by God's grace, and since you can never lose your salvation, then you can go ahead and live in any way that you want to. that is rank antinomianism. And beloved, both teachings are heresies in the first degree. The doctrine of perseverance and preservation are both necessary. Perseverance emphasizes, you see, the activity of the believer. Preservation emphasizes the activity of Almighty God. And I think in order to illustrate how these two truths are necessary, to one another, you will find many biblical exhortations, I should say, emphasizing the need for the believer to persevere in the faith and experience God's power of preservation in the very same context of Scripture. For an example, In Jeremiah chapter 32 and verse number 40, we have an interesting verse of scripture there, and this is the Lord speaking. He says, And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts And they shall not depart from me. Now it's interesting, here we see that God says He will not turn away from His people on the basis of His covenant love. Beloved, that's preservation. And He says that His elect people will not depart from Him because He has put His fear into their hearts. That's perseverance. So thus we see that God preserves His people by ensuring and by enabling them to persevere in holiness and obedience. Then we're most familiar, probably all of us are familiar with the teaching of John chapter 10. In John chapter 10 and verse 27, the Lord compares Himself as being the shepherd of the sheep. And He says this in John 10, 27, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all. And no man, He says, is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. So what do we see there? The true sheep, he says, not only hear the voice of the Good Shepherd in that effectual call, but they also follow Him, he says, in perseverance. They have been given the gift of eternal life, and they are secured in the finished work of Jesus Christ and the eternal love of their Heavenly Father. The sheep persevere by following Christ, But at the same time they are preserved, he says, in the hand of the Father and the Son who are one. So to believe and to declare that one of God's sheep can apostatize, that is, lose his salvation, That's to call Jesus Christ a liar and at the same time declare that the Father's hand is not a safe place to abide. I don't know about you, I want to be in the Father's hand. And I also will tell you this, it's not your hand holding you, it's His hand holding you. And that's the way it always will be, that's the way it's always worked. Philippians chapter 2 is another example in verse 12 and 13 where Paul says, wherefore? Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out, not work for, there's a difference. He says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Now there you see Paul exhorts the believers to persevere in their salvation. Verse 12, working it out. But then he goes on to explain that the power behind their ability to persevere comes from God. That's verse 13. He says, it's God that works in you, to will and to do. So, both elements, perseverance, preservation, must be at work in order to have a proper, balanced view and understanding of the eternal security of the believer. A lot of Baptists take a lot of flack from a lot of other religious denominations because, oh, they say, oh, you're one of them Baptists that believes in the eternal security of the believer. And, beloved, you should say, yes, sir, I am. because that's what the Bible teaches, period. And we're familiar with 1 Peter, are we not? Chapter 1 and verse 5, where Peter talks about, we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. What is that? That's preservation, right? But few verses later, in verse 14 and 15, what does he say in 1 Peter 1? As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. That's perseverance. You see, if a professing believer Now listen to me carefully. If a professing believer does not manifest the spiritual fruit of holiness in his life and in his behavior, then beloved, such a person cannot really have any assurance that God is keeping him by his power. True Baptists have always believed and taught that we do not teach in the perseverance of sinners in sin, but we teach in the perseverance of saints in holy living. And that's what Peter here is talking about here. Now back in our text in the book of Jude, Jude exhorts the believers in verse 21 to do what? He says, keep themselves in the love of God. That's perseverance. All the while, all the while realizing, in verse 24, that it is God who is able to keep them and to preserve them, he says, until how long? until the day when all of God's people will be presented before Him in the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Now, on a practical level, keeping oneself in the love of God, what in the world does that mean? What does that mean? That means that we are to live lives of obedience to the Lord where we can be in that place and position to receive His abundant blessings. Jew tells us that because God is perfectly faithful, because God is supremely powerful, because God is infinitely loving, He will not allow His children to fall away, to apostatize, to lose their salvation. He will not allow His own to defect from the gospel so as to be lost again in their sins. And not only is the Lord willing to preserve believers, He is also able. He is able to preserve them to the end. But the phrase there that Jude used here, now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling. That word keep is a very interesting word in verse 24. It was actually a military term that simply meant to guard or to watch over. In other words, what is he saying? God is at his post. He is standing guard over believers to ensure their safety. He is the one who keeps us from falling into apostasy. And so the doctrine of eternal security, listen to me, it does not mean that people can live in patterns of unrepentant sin and still be assured of heaven. Listen, eternal security is not a license for sin. It's not. It's not a license for sin. And many people, some folks don't like this, but many who profess to be backslidden Christians, I'm afraid, are not backslidden at all, but they're still lost in their sins. You see, when I meet people who profess with their lips, but they lie with their life, I stand in doubt of their so-called salvation." You say, preacher, you're not their judge. You know what? You're exactly right. I am not their final judge. But what did Jesus say? He said, by their fruits you shall know them. And the Bible exhorts us, you, me. 2 Corinthians 13 verse 5, it says, to examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye not that your own selves, how that Christ, excuse me, that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be, and what's the word? Reprobates. It says, unless Christ is in you, you're a reprobate. What does that mean? The word reprobate means one that has been proven to be false. He's a fake. That's what it means. He's a fake. The bottom line is, beloved, if you have God's salvation, you will live out that salvation in your actions and in your attitude. It is not, and please understand what I'm saying here, it's not the responsibility of any preacher to give assurance of salvation to those who are preserving in sin and wickedness regardless of how loud a religious profession they may have made. Those who make a profession of faith and then continue to live a lifestyle of sin and wickedness and debauchery, what are they doing? They are revealing their profession of faith was never really genuine to begin with. and those who have been truly born again, those who have been saved by the grace of God and are made new creatures and they're given a new nature that loves to obey God and to live for the Lord and to serve the Lord and to glorify the Lord. In other words, a true believer will persevere in the faith. He will do it. Now, try to wrap all this up by saying this, I think there were three fundamental truths as presented in Scripture that guarantees the perseverance of the saints. And we're going to look at those very quickly this morning. And we're going to look at, first of all, the purpose of God. Then we'll see the perfections of God. And then last of all, we'll notice the promises of God. But I want you to consider with me the purpose of God. How does that help us in regards and understanding the perseverance of the saints? Well, the Bible has a lot to say about the purpose of God. In the book of Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11, Paul writes and he says this, "...in whom also we have obtained an inheritance." He says, being predestinated according to the what? The purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. God has a purpose. In the book of II Timothy, chapter 1 and verse 9, he brings up this subject again. II Timothy 1.9, who has saved us, he says, and has called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own, what's the word? Purpose. His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now, these passages of Scripture and others makes it clear that the entire plan of salvation was carefully ordered by God even before the world began. And by His own wise decree, by His own sovereign good pleasure, God determined to save a multitude of sinners out of Adam's fallen race. And His purpose His purpose included what? Their election, their redemption, their regeneration, their preservation, and their glorification. You see, those who teach that a man can be genuinely saved and then lose his salvation, they must acknowledge that they believe that the purpose of God and the will of God is something that which is fickle, inconsistent, changeable, and is dependent upon the actions of men. Beloved, such a belief is false. in light of Scripture. The Bible reminds us in Daniel chapter 4 and verse 35, it says that all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he, speaking of the Lord, doeth according to his will, his purpose, his plan. He doeth according to his will, where? In the army of heaven. and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand, or hold back his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Listen, if God's purpose to save and preserve His elect, if that could be overthrown, then we might as well believe that God Himself can be overthrown. If the purpose and will of God can be defeated, then God Himself could be defeated. Such are the logical conclusions one must subscribe to if you believe that the saints of God can apostatize. Jesus affirmed that all of the elect will be preserved according to the unchangeable will of God. You remember in John chapter 6 and verse 40? He says, and this is the will of Him, speaking of the Father, this is the will of Him that sent me, that, and I'm glad this phrase is there, everyone, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life. Now, how many is everyone? Everyone. everyone of everyone. That's what it means. And He says, and I will raise him up at the last day. That's God's purpose. God's purpose. Then let's look at the perfections of God. You know, all of the divine perfections or attributes of God, I believe, are gloriously displayed in the perseverance of the saints. You know, the very nature of God Himself demands that He keeps and preserve all of His elect. For example, think about God's power. We just mentioned it. The power of God ensures us that not one of the saints will finally perish, according to 1 Peter 1 and verse 5, which says we are kept by His power through faith unto salvation. Now let me ask you the question, does God have enough power to carry out His purpose of grace and to protect His children from apostasy? Paul believed he did. You remember this? When he wrote in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 12, he says, I am persuaded that he is able to keep. I am persuaded he's able to keep. How can anyone deny that the God who upholds all things by the word of his power, Hebrews 1.3. How can they believe that such a God would not have enough power? then to preserve his children. Jude did not doubt for a moment the Lord's ability and power to uphold his children when he wrote, and we read it a while ago, verse 24, Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling. What about the immutability of God? The fact that God never changes assures those whom God loves with an everlasting love will never perish in their sins. God is unchangeable in His love for His sheep. It has been fixed. It has been unalterable throughout eternity. Malachi 3.6 states, For I am the LORD, and I change not. Listen, to say that God could fix His love upon an individual by saving them and then giving to them all the benefits that flow from Christ's redeeming work and then reverse that love and turn it into wrath, and cast them, cast that person into the lake of fire. That is to make God out to be like a schizophrenic. Somebody with bipolar disease. The God of the Bible, beloved, never changes. And Romans 11, 29 reminds us that the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. Then we think about the faithfulness of God. That ensures us that those He has promised eternal life, that He has promised eternal life to, will never perish in hell for their sins. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 23 and 24, it says this. This was Paul's prayer for the believers at Thessalonica, that the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit, soul, and body be, what's the word? Preserved, blameless, How long, preacher? Unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Listen to me. Paul believed it with all of his heart that God was going to be faithful to preserve his people to the very end until we hear the trumpet sound. And I tell you this, if the trumpet was the sound today, it wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit. So we have what we have. What we have is the purpose of God, the perfections of God. But last of all, let us consider the promises of God. The book of 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 4 tells us that the people of the Lord have been given exceeding great and precious promises. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 20 says, For all the promises of God in him that is in Christ are yea, and in him amen unto the glory of God by us. What is he saying? God will keep his promises. His Word is reliable, it is dependable, it is trustworthy. God has promised eternal life to all who will repent of their sins and believe on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How many times have you heard this Bible verse? And I don't care how many times you've heard it, it's still true. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, should not perish, should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus said in John 5 24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath not will, but right now, hath everlasting life. Listen, those passages state very plainly that God has promised eternal life as a present possession to all who believe on Christ. Eternal life is received the moment that a person believes on Christ. Eternal, what does it mean? It means forever, never ending. So, are we to believe then that God is a liar? or that He didn't mean what He said? I mean, there is no way God could promise eternal life to anyone if there was the slightest hint that they would be able to fall away and to lose their salvation. Beloved, we can be sure that if the Lord promises eternal life to believers, that He is worthy of our trust. Because according to Titus chapter 1 and verse 2, the Bible says it's impossible for God to lie. We can be sure that Jesus was speaking the truth when He declared in John 10, 28, He says, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Jude tells us that one day all of the redeemed will stand in the presence of God's glory and we will be presented before Him faultless. Faultless. What does that word mean? We'll be presented to Him faultless. That word faultless means without blame. without blame. I mean, how is that? It's because Christ bore our sins, you see, in His own body on the tree. When Jesus died on the cross, He died for our sins. When Christ died on the cross, He died to save us from our sins. We believe, the Bible teaches, that Christ secured the salvation of all of His elect by bearing their sins, paying the penalty of their sins in full. Beloved, the ransom prize he paid was his own precious blood. which satisfied the requirements of God's law, it appeased the very wrath of a holy God. And the finished work of a crucified and risen Christ, beloved, is all that is needed to save a sinner. No human merit or goodness needs to be added in order to make the sacrifice of Christ effective. When Jesus cried, it is finished, the work of redemption was fully, completely accomplished once and for all. And based upon what Christ did, believers are said to be what? Colossians 2.10, I like this. We are complete in Him. We are complete in Him. Believers are said to be what? The purchased possession of Jesus Christ, according to 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 20. And as the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep, He secured for them their salvation and everlasting life. Listen, are we to believe that it's possible for Christ to lose one of His possessions that He purchased with His own blood? How could He possibly call Himself the Good Shepherd if just one sheep He died for and promised to keep if that person could ever be lost. I mean, it doesn't make sense, does it? The finished work of Jesus Christ serves as a solid foundation for the perseverance of the saints. He is the rock upon which our profession securely rests, thus enabling us to endure to the end. The rains of affliction may come, the floods of doubt may arise, and the winds of temptation may blow against us. But our position in Christ remains sure and steadfast. The true believer who is depending entirely upon the Lord Jesus Christ for His salvation, beloved, is safe and secure for all of time and eternity. What did the songwriters say? My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground. is sinking sand. Listen to me, the doctrine of the believer's perseverance and preparation proves at least one indispensable truth, and that is this. Listen carefully, salvation is not only in the Lord, but salvation is also of the Lord. It's of the Lord. From the beginning to the end, salvation is a work of God on the behalf of unworthy, helpless sinners like you, and like me. And so, salvation is a gift that God freely gives to His people through faith in the only begotten Son of God. In no way is salvation dependent upon the works or the merits of men. Salvation is a gift for the guilty. It's not a reward for the righteous. It's a gift for the guilty. It's a gift for the guilty. Somebody says, well, the Bible says in Ephesians 2, 9, remember that, not of works. not of works, lest any man should boast. 2 Timothy 1.9, not according to our works. Titus 3.5, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. Let me tell you something, we don't have to worry about keeping our salvation, and we don't have to worry about losing our salvation. Why? Because it's not based upon us. It's not based upon our deeds. Instead, it's based upon what Christ accomplished upon the cross of Calvary. The basis for the saints' perseverance is God Himself. The plan, the promise, the power, the provision from God guarantees our eternal destiny. And beloved, as long as God perseveres, we can be assured that those who are united to Him by faith in His Son, they will also persevere. To believe otherwise would be to cast reproach and disgrace upon the greatness and glory of Almighty God. I believe the teaching of the perseverance and the preservation of the saints is one of the great doctrines of the Bible. What a blessing it is to know, as we read a moment ago, but in Philippians chapter 1, in verse 6, he says, He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Listen, because God is all-powerful and because His glorious name is at stake, His promise to preserve us, His saints, and to one day present us blameless before His throne, I tell you, that can be trusted without reservation. And to doubt the reality of that promise is to doubt God Himself. But to embrace it, To embrace it is to find ceaseless joy and never-ending comfort. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God the Father for His electing love. Praise God the Son for His atoning death. And praise God the Holy Spirit for His regenerating power. I say praise the triune God for preserving us to the very end. Let us pray. Father, we bow before you today. We thank you so much for the truth of your Word concerning these important doctrines.