“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[.]” (Jude 24)
Scripture clearly explains the providential work of God in the salvation of his people. We willfully exercise faith, to be sure, but it is the Lord who calls, the Lord who gives the gift of faith, the Lord who preserves, and the Lord who glorifies (Romans 8:29-30). If left to our own devices, we could never remain faithful to the end.
In the first part of Jude’s benediction, he reminds his readers of this truth. After encouraging them to practice the secrets to success in the Christian life, he assures them that, even if they do not do so perfectly, they are firmly held in the hands of their Savior. God will carry them to the end (Philippians 1:6), and no one can snatch them from his hand (John 6:39). This is particularly beautiful given the repeated theme in Jude’s letter of the danger of false teachers, who cannot guarantee anything for their followers.
Jude says that God “is able to keep you from stumbling.” This does not mean that there will never be doubt or difficulty in the Christian life. Rather, Jude is reassuring his original readers, and us today, that those who are Christ’s will not fail to reach their final, glorified destination because he will preserve our faith.
As those engaged in Christian ministry, particularly full-time, vocational missions, there is virtually nothing that gives more peace to our hearts and steadiness to our hands than to know that the Lord goes before and behind us to give success to the proclaiming of his Word. Christ will build his church (Matthew 16:18), and he will providentially use his people to bring about that end. This should be an antidote to both fear and laziness. The Lord will not allow his plans to fail because of our weak efforts, but he has ordained to bring about those plans through our involvement. Jude’s words are a timely reminder to be faithful in our labor and leave the fruit to the Lord, both in our personal sanctification and the building of the church.
In addition, God will “present [us] blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” From eternity past to eternity future, salvation is the work of the Lord. What an incredible statement that he will present us “blameless” before him. The stains of sin have been entirely washed from us and replaced by the clean and pure garments of the righteousness of Christ. Our labors for Christ do not define our standing before him. We must take seriously the call to obey (John 14:15), but our confidence lies only in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Every generation of the church needs to be reminded of this truth. Jude’s audience needed it, and so do we.
In our pursuit to fulfill the Great Commission, our eyes should remain fixed on the joyful day that awaits us. We will face many trials between this day and that, as Jude’s readers did, but we can be sure that nothing can shake our faith, which is held by our Lord, and nothing can prevent him from carrying our faith to completion.
May that empower us in our evangelism of the nations.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
What a gift it is to know that we are safely preserved in your sovereign hand. May that assurance strengthen our personal walk of faith and our pursuit of reaching the nations for Christ.
In his name,
Amen
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that you would be profoundly convinced of the Lord’s preserving work in your life.
- Pray that missionaries would be emboldened in the work of ministry, knowing that the Lord they preach gives success to his Word.
- Pray that God will use the hope of eternal life to draw his elect to Christ from every nation.
