Praise Be To God!
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Introduction
Introduction
Jude’s letter is one that is filled with a sense of urgency.
It is urgent because of the subject matter that Jude addresses - that of false teachers coming into the church and leading people astray from the true Gospel.
It is urgent in terms of the language that is used by Jude. Language that portrays in no uncertain terms God’s opposition to such false teachers, and the just condemnation that will come upon them.
But it is also an urgent call to Christians to respond in an appropriate manner. There is a responsibility that Jude urges Christians to take seriously in light of what was happening in the church.
They were called to remember the words of the Apostles as recorded for us in Scripture (Jude 17-19).
They were called to keep themselves in the love of God (Jude 20-21).
And they were called to show mercy to others around them that were in danger of heading into false teaching and being led astray by such false teachings (Jude 22-23).
And you and I are called to precisely the same things, even as we are in the church today, and false teachers arise around us, and seek to lead the church into falsehood.
If we consider all that Jude has said (not to mention the kind of passion that he used in saying it) one may be led to a place of being overwhelmed, perhaps concerned for your own ability to persevere and endure under such conditions.
But as Jude draws his letter to a close, he does so in a manner that brings much hope and encouragement to us as believers.
He closes his letter with a great doxology. This is a song of praise. It is a call for the people of God to focus their hearts and minds upon the great God that they serve, and to humbly trust in Him to keep them and ensure that they persevere until the end.
What Jude is saying through this closing is that although there are grave dangers being presented to the church, and although there is a significant responsibility upon the people of God in terms of how they respond to these false teachers within the church, there is a great God who will do for the church all that is necessary in order to keep the church for Himself.
This must be kept in our minds. We are not burdened as Christians because of our responsibilities. We recognise them for what they are, but we recognise also the one who empowers us! God is the one who keeps us!!!
Right theology will lead us to high doxology!! (H.B. Charles Junior)
And so, we as Christians are to ascribe glory and praise to God because of His greatness and His goodness to us.
As we begin our look at this beautiful doxology, notice firstly that we should give praise to God due to...
1. The Fact that He will Keep Us (v.24a)
1. The Fact that He will Keep Us (v.24a)
The praise that Jude calls us to flows out of the gracious working of God and the promise that He gives to His people that He will keep them.
Notice at the start of verse 24 that Jude writes that this praise, doxology, is to him who is “able to keep you from falling.”
There is no need to live of constant defeat, dejection and fear, burdened always by the concern that I am going to fall.
Yes, Jude has just written about our great responsibilities, and we do keep them in mind and take them seriously.
But we must also live with the constant thought in our minds that it is God who keeps us. We must live every day, even as we are conscious of the inclinations of our hearts to lead us astray, and the inclination of the flesh to pull us into sin, that God is the Eternal Father who keeps his children.
In considering this further, I want to point out two very important dimensions to this, that we must keep in our minds.
Firstly, the fact that God is ABLE...
This means that God has all the means and resources at His disposal that He needs to keep us from falling. There is no dimension or characteristic or part of God that is in any way lacking which would render him unable to keep us, or lacking in terms of how He keeps us.
No matter what tactic and trick a false teacher, or even Satan Himself, would devise to bring the people of God down and to draw them away from the living God, it will not be good enough to out-smart, out-maneuver, or overpower God. God is Almighty and Sovereign in all of His ways.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain down righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness grow with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘He has no hands’?
God’s power is that which is far above all power. God is entirely sovereign in His ways, and nothing can change His purposes, nothing can thwart his plans.
God is able to keep his people.
But we must take this a step further.
When Jude says that God is able to keep us, he is not limiting the statement to God’s ability, but he is saying that God also desires to keep His people.
It is not merely that God is able to keep us, and then He leaves us wondering if He actually wants to do this, so that we hang there is a state of suspense.
His desire is that His church be kept. His desire is that His chosen people persevere to the end and are saved, and ultimately are united with Jesus Christ.
There will be a glorious wedding celebration in heaven one day where the bride, being the church is united with the bridegroom, Christ. What a glorious day this will be!!
We know that this is God’s will and purpose in the world.
4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Paul had a confidence about the working of God through Christ, that the work He had started would be carried through and completed. There was no hesitation or reservation in Paul’s mind about this.
Here was a man who was on the front-line of the missions battlefield. He had seen it all as an apostle. He had faced the greatest opposition imaginable. He had even written those words to the Philippians while he was sitting as a prisoner, bound because of his proclamation of the Gospel.
He had written letters to churches that had faced false teachers. He had warned the Ephesian Elders that wolves would come into the church.
He had had the very uncomfortable and unenviable task of confronting people in the church concerning their pride, and their acceptance of sin, and their in-fighting.
If anyone had reason to doubt that this church was going to make it, it was Paul. But he had confidence.
Paul knew that Christ was the one doing the work. Paul understood that Christ’s mission in this world was this very task, to prepare a bride for Himself.
In writing to Titus, Paul said that Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14).
In fact, Jesus Himself had told the disciples that nothing would prevail against the church. When Peter had made that great confession of who Jesus Christ was - the Messiah, Jesus said to him and the disciples in no uncertain terms...
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Nothing is going to stand in the way of God building His church and accomplishing the work that He set out to do.
Give praise to God because He is able (and He is willing) to keep us!
Secondly, we are to give praise to God because of...
2. The Fact that He will Glorify Us (v.24b)
2. The Fact that He will Glorify Us (v.24b)
Not only is God able to keep us, but according to verse 24b He is able to present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy...
Christ will keep His bride, the church, in this world. But Christ will not only keep us, he will present us before the glorious presence of God one day.
This is called the glorification of believers in Scripture.
4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Dear friends, we can sing praise to God, we can lift up His Name and exalt Him because of the fact that we will be glorified. We are going to be brought into the presence of God - the close and intimate presence of the Almighty!!
If we know something about being in the presence of God, particularly as we consider His glory and His holiness, we will know what a profound truth this is for us to grasp hold of.
Recall that account when God made himself known to the Israelites at Sinai, He descended on the mountain in His power.
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
What a grand picture of the glorious presence of God, such that the Israelites trembled before Him. They didn’t want to approach the mountain, but stood back in fear.
In Isaiah 6, when Isaiah saw the vision of God while in the temple, He saw the seraphs flying...
3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
In that moment, Isaiah was undone because of his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people in the presence of this holy and glorious God.
The glory of God, his holiness, his greatness, his purity, led sinful people to bow themselves and to fear Him. God is not like us.
Pause
But because of what Christ has done for us, the work that He has done in purifying us, we will be able to, and we will be invited to enter into the very presence of Almighty God.
We must appreciate the extent of God’s grace towards us in this.
Jude writes here that we will be presented before his glorious presence without fault. Certainly, that which is with fault is not able to be presented before God.
God’s holiness demands perfection - it must be so because of His very nature.
If you go back to the Old Testament Levitical laws, you find that there were very stringent requirements for the way that people approached God with sacrifices, for the quality of the priests that served before God, and for the quality of the sacrifices that were offered up to Him.
Imperfections were not allowed, because the Israelites had to recognise that God is holy and pure, without defect in any way.
In terms of the priests, those serving Him in the tabernacle and making offerings, we read in Lev. 21:16-20...
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. 18 No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.
God required that His people be holy.
In terms of the sacrifices that were offered up, we read these words...
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19 you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf. 20 Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
The standard of this thrice holy God is perfection...
But the reality is that no man is perfect entirely, and none of us would be able to be presented before our Holy God if we had any defect within us. And our sin dear friends contaminates us through and though.
But God.... but God provided a perfect, spotless lamb, one that would be perfect. Supreme to all temporary sacrifices. God provided His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ was the pure spotless lamb that was slain in order for us to be thoroughly and perfectly cleansed.
22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
God has chosen us as a people to be holy, and to one day be presented before Him in absolute purity and holiness and righteousness - a righteousness that can only be found in Christ. It is not our own.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
What a glorious truth dear brothers and sisters. That we will stand one day in the glorious presence of the Almighty, and we will be blameless, pure, spotless before Him, because we have a great Saviour.
And then consider that not only will we be without presented before God without fault, but this will happen “with great joy.”
Because we are faultless in Christ, we will not need to fear being in the presence of God. Instead, our blamelessness before him will lead us to great exuberance. It will lead us to exceedingly great joy, eternal joy, in the presence of our God.
Even in the marred and sin-cursed world, we see that being in God’s presence brings joy.
In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle, and then the Temple represented the dwelling place of God among his people. The Israelites always looked forward to going to Jerusalem and being there in the place where God had his dwelling with them. Those were times of joy - being in the presence of God.
In the New Testament, our joy as Christians is realized in far greater measure as we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us that leads us to live joy-filled lives!
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
And so, even this side of heaven, we have great joy. And we are called as Christians to live with great joy and rejoicing because of Christ.
But friends, how much greater will this joy be when we reach glory, and we are united with Christ!! We get just a faint picture of this through God’s revelation to the Apostle John...
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both small and great!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
It is a great and beautiful truth to us that not only will God keep us, but he will glorify us, and present us before his presence without fault and with great joy!
We are thus to praise Him!
Thirdly, we are to give praise to God because of...
3. The Power by Which He Keeps Us (v.25a)
3. The Power by Which He Keeps Us (v.25a)
As Jude proceeds, he writes in verse 25, “… to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority...”
Jude writes here that this glory and exaltation belongs to the only God. The Israelites were clear,
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
There is only one true God to whom all praise and honour is due, and that is the God and father of Jesus Christ our Lord.
As we live our lives as Christians in this world, we are to live bringing praise, honour and glory to the Almighty because of His greatness.
Jude presents us here with four of God’s Divine attributes, all of them related to His magnificent power and might that He so graciously works in us in order to keep us, and present us before Himself.
I’ll only touch on each one briefly...
Firstly, to God be glory. Glory speaks of splendour and brilliance, His brightness.
It is an attribute of God that is intrinsic to his very being. One author writes of it like this:
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching God’s Glory
God’s “glory” is how we describe the sum effect of all of his attributes. Grace, truth, goodness, mercy, justice, knowledge, power, eternality—all that he is. Therefore, the glory of God is intrinsic, that is, it is as essential to God as light is to the sun, as blue is to the sky, as wet is to water. You don’t make the sun light; it is light. You don’t make the sky blue; it is blue. You don’t make water wet; it is wet. In all of these cases, the attribute is intrinsic to the object.
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching God’s Glory
The only glory that men have is granted to them. The glory that is God’s is his in his essence. You can’t de-glory God because glory is his nature. You can’t touch his glory. It cannot be taken away. It cannot be added to. It’s his being.
We are to live lives in this world ascribing to God and professing His glory and beauty.
Secondly, Jude says to God be majesty. God’s Majesty is tied very much to His glory, and speaks of his divine transcendence.
2 Peter 1:17 speaks of the Majestic Glory of God’s presence.
Psalm 111:3 says that God’s deeds are glorious and majestic.
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
God’s majesty is speaks of His greatness and His eminence.
Thirdly Jude mentions “power.” The word that he uses for power speaks of the power of a ruler, one that holds dominion as He rules. It speaks of the Sovereignty of God.
And Fourthly, Jude mentions the authority of God.
Jesus’ Half-Brothers Speak: James and Jude Word and Phrase Study
This is the Greek term exousia, which means (1) freedom to act; (2) ability to act; (3) right (legal) to act; and therefore, (4) absolute power to act.
All authority belongs to the Almighty, and thus He is able to keep His promises to His people.
These words describing for us the divine attributes of God are the basis of our confidence in this present world. That the God we serve is without equal, and He rules and reigns supreme.
What Jude is calling us to do here is to acknowledge and ascribe to God that which is true of Him. We are to confess and acknowledge God’s sovereign power in all these matters.
Since God exists in such glory, majesty, power and authority, there is certainty concerning what he says.
The reformation phrase was Soli Deo Gloria - All glory to God alone!
Are we living our lives giving praise, glory and honour to God because of He is able to keep us by His great glory, majesty, power and authority.
Fourthly and finally, we are to give praise to God because of...
4. The Saviour Through Whom He Keeps Us (v.25b)
4. The Saviour Through Whom He Keeps Us (v.25b)
Jude writes that all of these glorious truths for which are to bring praise to God are brought into effect “...through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
Just consider briefly all that Jude has called us to, and how each is ensured through this perfect Saviour, Jesus Christ.
As we speak about God keeping us, we must understand that this is so because His grace is sufficient for us.
Even when we are weak, and when we are frail, and when we stumble and fall along the way, His loving and gracious hand holds us up.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The power of God towards us is brought into effect, and it is kept until the return of our Lord, because of Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ.
Christ has also given us His Spirit as a seal of our salvation.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
It is through Christ Jesus that we are kept.
It is also through Christ Jesus that we are able to be presented before God without fault and with great joy.
We’ve already considered this, so I won’t delve much further into it. But the reality is that Christ’s righteousness clothes us, and is the means by which we are presented as blameless, and thus with great joy.
22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—
And then, we must recognise that it is through Christ that we ascribe the glory to God that we do. Any of the praise that we can bring God, can only be done through the mediator Jesus Christ.
The power of God, the wisdom of God, the majesty of God is most fully revealed through the Son.
14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Son is the radiance of the glory of God, and is the one who sits in authority...
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
We could go on, but the truth is clear, that we are to give praise to God because of His Son, and we are to give praise to God through His son.
Application and Conclusion
Application and Conclusion
Dear friends, much has been said concerning praise being given to God.
Let us be sure that we as Christians are called to bring praise and glory to God Almighty. We are called to sing praises to His name.
Despite the fact that there are grave dangers presented in the church, and there are threats that Satan would seek to bring against the church, we can be confident that we serve a great God who will keep us as His people.
This gives us hope, for while we yet struggle with our sins and our fallenness, we serve a great God, and we have a great Mediator.
Praise be to God.
False teachers are a reality.
But God is powerful, and He will continue to do His work.
Let us live humble lives of praise to Him!