Sermon #37 Jude Sermons
Title: Faultless Before The
Presence
Of His Glory
Text: Jude
1:24
Subject: Christ
Presentation of His Elect
Date: Tuesday Evening August 2, 2005
Tape # Jude
#37
Readings: Larry
Brown and Larry Criss
Introduction:
It seems that almost every
day I read or hear of some new evil that has crept into churches professing to
believe the gospel. Yet, the evils are not new at all. They are just old
snares, laid by the wicked one, with new bait. As in Judes day, slithering
serpents have crept in unawares
, turning the grace of our God into
lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
At present, there are four or five men who claim that they alone
are truly preaching the gospel. They have slithered their way into local
churches and are doing everything they can to portray faithful gospel preachers
as heretics. They are, to use Judes words, turning the grace of our God
into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Claiming that they alone are preaching righteousness by Christ alone, that they
alone truly preach the gospel, these modern deceivers, seeking to lead away
disciples after themselves, like Diotrephes, boldly and loudly assert that
·
Our Lord Jesus Christ was not really, as the Lamb of God, slain
from the foundation of the world. What does God say?
(Revelation 13:8) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
·
God did not really mean to say that all his elect were both
justified and sanctified in Christ from old eternity. What does God say
in his Word?
(Romans 8:28-32) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (29) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (31) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? (32) He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
(Jude 1:1) Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
·
Gods elect were not blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ and
accepted in the Beloved before the world began. What
does God the Holy Spirit say about that?
(Ephesians 1:3-6) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
·
The Lord Jesus Christ was not made sin for us when he was
punished for our sins at the cross, but that he was simply treated as though he
were made sin. That would be a matter of horrid injustice in any court,
especially in the court of God, who declares, He that justifieth the
wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are an abomination to
the Lord (Pro. 17:15), and condemns as evil all who call evil good and
good evil by justifying the wicked and taking away the righteousness of
the righteous (Pro. 24:20-23). But the Word of God asserts that our blessed
Savior was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him (2 Cor. 5:21).
·
There is no sense, really, in which believers receive
righteousness and justification by faith in Christ (Rom. 3:24-28;
4:16-17; 5:10-11).
(Romans 3:24-28) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (27) Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. (28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
(Romans 4:16-17) Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (17) (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
(Romans 5:10-11) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
·
The believer is not made partaker of the divine nature,
righteousness is not imparted to us, and we are not made new creatures in
Christ by the new birth.
Because these wicked men,
hell-bent on making a name for themselves, deny that Christ our Substitute was
made sin for us, they must also deny that we are made the righteousness of God
in him by the new birth. Again, I ask, what does God say in his Word?
(2 Corinthians 5:21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
(2 Peter 1:4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
(1 John 3:9) Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
The fact that these things
come to pass should not surprise us. For there must be also heresies among
you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you (1 Cor.
11:19). Besides, Jude tells us that such wicked men, by their pernicious
doctrine, only prove their own reprobation, who were before of old ordained
to this condemnation. As Peter puts it, Christ, the Foundation Stone upon
which we are built by grace, is to them a stumbling stone and rock of
offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto
they were appointed (1 Pet. 2:8).
Yes, some will follow the
craftiness of these slithering serpents. And we must watch and pray that we may
be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36), looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. But is there any security for
our souls in the midst of these and all the other prevailing evils by which
many who profess faith in Christ are turned from him and turned out of the way?
Is there any assurance that we shall not also fall? Indeed, there is. It is
this blessed assurance to which Jude directs our attention in the closing two
verses of his epistle.
(Jude 1:24-25) 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, (25) To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.
Divisions: Tonight, I want us to take
another look at verse 24. In this one sentence Jude declares that our Lord
Jesus Christ is able
1. To keep you form falling.
2. To present you faultless.
3. To present you faultless
before the presence of his glory.
4. And to do it with exceeding
joy.
That One of whom Jude
speaks, who is able do this is the Lord Jesus Christ, our omnipotent God and
Savior, Jehovahs righteous Servant, our Mediator and King, who has all power
in heaven and in earth, all power over all flesh, to give eternal life to whom
he will.
Proposition: That which he is able to
do, he is willing to do, and he will do.
I once heard Bro. Todd
Nibert say, Faith is not believing that God can do anything. Faith is
believing that God can and will do anything he has said he will do. Jude is
here calling upon us to believe that God our Savior will keep us from falling,
and present us faultless before the presence of his glory, and that he will do
so with exceeding joy.
Keep
You
First, Jude here assures us that
Christ will keep us. He is able to keep you. The word keep
means to guard with watchfulness, to protect with vigilance, and to deliver in
spite of the dangers and enemies that surround us.
Keep me, Jesus, as the
apple of Thine eye.
Hide me under the shadow of
Thy wing.
Keep Thy hand upon me, lest
I die!
Keep me, Jesus, as the apple
of Thine eye.
He could keep us from ever
falling into any sin or evil, were that his purpose. He could keep us from the
influence of our fallen, depraved nature, were that his pleasure. He could keep
us from any fall, failure, or frailty of any kind in this world. But he has
chosen not to do so, that we may, as long as we live in this world, live by
faith, as sinners in need of mercy, ever repenting, ever needy, ever looking to
Christ alone as our only Savior, our only Righteousness, our only Redemption,
our only hope. Yet, in the midst of all our inward corruptions, countless falls,
and malicious foes, he keeps us from falling and will at last deliver us up to
glory.
·
He keeps us as a Shepherd keeps the sheep trusted to his charge (Ps.
23).
·
He keeps us as his vineyard.
·
He keeps us as a Father keeps his child.
·
He keeps us as a husband keeps his wife.
·
He will keep you from falling for every wind of doctrine.
·
He will keep you from falling from the gospel.
·
He will keep you from falling out of his arms and his hands.
Weak and sinful as we are,
though Satan like a roaring lion seeks to devour us, though we are constantly
assaulted by evil and heresy on every side, our great Savior is able to
keep you from falling. And we have every assurance that he will do so,
because
·
He is the immutable God.
·
His purpose of grace in election must stand.
·
His love is everlasting love.
·
His blood has obtained eternal redemption for us.
·
His Spirit has sealed us.
·
His gifts are without repentance.
·
He declares, I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish!
Present you Faultless
Second, our blessed Savior is
able to keep you from falling. But there is more promised here. He is also
able to present you faultless.
The word present
means set, or place, as an artist displays a finished work of art. So
Christ will present us to himself a glorious church (Eph. 5:27). He
declares, I will set him on high, because he hath known my name (Psalm
41:14). Now, look how he says he will set us on high and present us. He will present you
faultless.
The word here is not
blameless (άνεγκλήτος),
unchallengeable before the law, as we read in 1 Corinthians 1:8. The word
Jude uses is a different term altogether. This word faultless (amwmov), means without blemish, as a sacrifice without
spot or blemish. It means internally pure and perfect.
·
Christ has made us unblameable before the law by his perfect
righteousness being imputed to us in justification.
·
He has made us holy in the new birth by imparting to us his
righteousness nature in sanctifying us.
·
In the resurrection, when our corruption has put on incorruption, when
mortality has put on immortality, he will make us exactly what he is in his
perfect humanity, inwardly pure and perfect faultless!
The
Presence of His Glory
Now, hang on to your seat.
Not only are we here assured that Christ will keep us and present us faultless,
Jude tells us that he will present you faultless before the presence of his
glory!
This is what Ive been
working up to. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory. O Spirit of God,
help me now, as I endeavor to declare this wondrous thing revealed in your Word
to the hearts of your people.
Who shall be presented
faultless before the presence of his glory? He shall present you who
believe on his name, you who are washed in his blood, you who are called by
his grace, you who are kept from falling, Christ shall present you
faultless before the presence of his glory.
You who are by nature base and vile sinners, you who have been
plucked by his grace as firebrands from the fire, you who have nothing in
your character to make you fit for such a presentation Christ shall present
you faultless before the presence of his glory.
You who are obscure on earth, thought to be of small esteem, dying,
chastened, unknown, sorrowful (2 Cor. 6:4-9), you
who are much in labours, and watchings, and fastings,
and counted worthy of death for Christs sake (2 Cor. 4:2), you who are coming
out of great tribulation, often in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in cold and
nakedness, with thorns in the flesh, and messengers of Satan that
buffet you (2 Cor. 12:7, 10), you are kept in the midst of all these.
And Christ shall present you faultless before the presence
of his glory at last without
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, without so much as a trace of sin,
or guilt, or shame. Yes, God your Savior shall wipe away all tears from your
eyes. You who are kept shall be presented faultless before the
presence of his glory.
Who
shall present you faultless before the presence of his glory?
You shall be presented by him who has kept you,
by the only wise God and our Savior. Christ chose you. Christ redeemed
you. Christ saved you. Christ keeps you. And Christ shall present you! It is
with him with whom we have to do from first to last, if you will allow me to
speak of last in reference to that glory that is forever. He led us in at the
strait gate. He leads us along the narrow way. He leads us into the Paradise of
God. And He leads us up to the throne, there to exhibit us as the trophies of
his wisdom and power, mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, grace and love.
Where
shall we be presented? The Lord Jesus Christ shall present us
before the presence of his glory! The glory,
you will remember, dwelt in the innermost holy of holies. And into the presence
of that glory our Redeemer shall bring those whom he has kept. No outer court
will do for such a presentation. The jewels that make up his crown (Mal. 3:17)
are made fit by him for his royal palace. No lesser place will do. No place
less holy, less heavenly, less glorious will suffice. The sparkling luster of
his crown jewels must be laid beside the gold of the mercy seat, above which
the glory dwells, the gems, and the gold, and the glory, helping each to
bring out the others splendor.
It is his glory before which we are to be set, the glory of the
Only-begotten of the Father; the glory of the holy of holies. It is a glory
which shall shed down its eternal radiance upon those who are thus kept and
thus presented, changing us into the same image from glory to glory! In that
realm where all is glory, and from which every trace of imperfection shall have
vanished away, leaving nothing behind but what is divinely fair and faultless.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and
night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
·
The tree of life and
the crown of life are theirs (Rev. 2:7,10).
·
The hidden manna,
the white stone, the new name, and the new song, are
theirs (Rev. 2:17).
·
The morning star is
theirs (Rev. 2:28).
·
The white raiment is
theirs.
·
A home in the heavenly temple
is theirs.
·
Christs throne is theirs
(Rev. 3:5, 12:21).
·
The holy city, with
its jasper wall, streets of gold, jeweled foundations, crystal river, and
unsetting sun, is theirs (Rev. 21:18, 22:1-5).
Nothing less than this is implied in this presentation before the
presence of his glory. We shall behold his face in righteousness and be
satisfied when we awake with his likeness (Psalm 17:15).
With
Exceeding Joy
Still, Jude has not finished
describing this glorious presentation. I hardly know which word in this
sentence is the greatest. He will keep us. That is glorious. He will
present us faultless. That is glorious. He will present us faultless before
the presence of his glory. That is glorious. Then, Jude tells us that he will
do it with exceeding joy! Now that is glorious!
(Jude 1:24) 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.
This is the fullness of the joy unspeakable
and full of glory. In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right
hand are pleasures for evermore (Psalm 16:2). Soon, the days of mourning
shall be ended, and the eternal day of pleasure shall begin!
In that great day, our joy shall be exceeding
joy. In that great day
·
Christ shall appear!
·
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb shall
begin.
·
Our great Bridegroom shall have his
glory.
·
There shall be a blessed, everlasting
reunion of redeemed souls!
Then that shall come to pass which is written, The
Kings daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. She
shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the virgins her
companions shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they
be brought: they shall enter the Kings palace (Psalm 95:12-15). They shall
return and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away
(Isaiah 35:10). And the former things shall pass away! Then the righteous
shall shine forth as the sun!
Finding ourselves eternally
out of the reach of sin and danger, and having now arrived at an eternity of
righteousness and perfection, now knowing Christ in the power of his
resurrection, and in the fellowship of his suffering, and being made completely
conformable to his image in all things, we shall have exceeding joy!
In that great day, every
faithful gospel preacher shall have exceeding joy. In that day, you who know
my God shall be my crown of rejoicing.
(1 Thessalonians 2:19-20) For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? (20) For ye are our glory and joy.
(1 Corinthians 4:1-5) Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. (2) Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. (3) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of mans judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. (4) For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. (5) Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
The angels of God shall have
exceeding joy in that day, too. If they rejoice at the conversion of
sinners, how much more shall they rejoice when we are glorified with Christ!
In that great day, the joy
of our Lord Jesus Christ, shall be exceeding joy! In that day, the joy that
was set before him, for which he endured the cross, despising the shame shall
be his. In that day, he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be
satisfied!
What more can I say? In
that great day, the joy of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, shall
be exceeding joy! In that day, when the Fathers purpose of
grace in election, the Sons purpose of grace in redemption, and the Spirits
purpose of grace in effectual calling are all completely fulfilled, In the
dispensation of the fulness of times, when he has gathered together in one all
things in Christ and we have obtained that inheritance to which we were
predestined, according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will, the triune God shall have exceeding joy
forever!
(Ephesians 2:1-7) And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
(Zephaniah 3:14-17) Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. (15) The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. (16) In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. (17) The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Now, having said all
that, just try to imagine this. All of that is just the beginning of
the eternal glory that awaits us!
(Jude 1:24-25) 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, (25) To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.