Keep On
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As we come to the last verses of the letter of Jude, we reach not just the conclusion of this great epistle, rather this is its main point, the thrust of the letter, the very height of all Jude has to say.
The last two verses of Jude are some of my very favorite in the entire Bible—they stir my affections for the Lord in a way that few things do. I pray your affections for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are likewise stirred as we take a moment to open His Book and listen to what He has said.
If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to Jude. If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word: the eponymous letter of Jude, beginning with verse 17:
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling 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.
May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!
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The letter of Jude is short, but, man does it pack a punch.
In verses 1-4, Jude opens his letter; addresses his audience, and explains to them why he is writing—Jude wants his readers (Christians) to contend for the faith, to fight for the faith if necessary.
And necessary it is.
4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Jude identifies those who oppose, though he doesn’t name them. Even though they aren’t named, it should be clear to those Jude is addressing who they are.
These people—these ungodly people—have snuck into the church, crept right in alongside actual believers. They’re able to fool people into believing they’re Christians; they disguise themselves very well (both outwardly and inwardly).
This, sadly, speaks to the naivete (cluelessness) of the church in that day (and possibly in ours). There are Christians in every age who are not thoughtful or discerning enough to catch the imposter. They merely think: “Oh yeah, that guy’s good; let’s give him an old basketball stadium and then, and then, let’s put him on TV!”
It’s scary on both sides: 1) the sheer number of false teachers plaguing the church, and 2) the sheer number of Christians who accept them.
These people—identifies those who oppose, though not identified by name. They’ve crept in among the church—sneaking, able to fool, to disguise. And this speaks to the naivete of the church: “Oh yeah, that guy’s good; let’s put him on TV!”
If you ask the average person to distinguish between genuine, biblical Christianity and that which is taught by, say, Mormonism (a cult), most will be lost trying to distinguish between the two. Sadly, most Christians would be similarly lost.
The need—the absolute necessity—for us to contend for the faith is very real; there are far too many clueless Christians and even more clever charlatans/imposters/false teachers.
“Give an answer”
—>In verses 5-16, Jude reminds us to remember; he opens up the history books and shares some stories from the past—stories from the Exodus, from Sodom and Gomorrah; stories about Cain, and Balaam, and Korah.
Clueless Christians—clever charlatans
The point is that we are to learn from the past. The things written before were written that we might learn from them. It’s good to know history; some trivia might come in handy while you’re watching Jeopardy!. But to have learned what happened in the past and to have learned from the past—well, that’s the whole idea.
Jude tells (in verse 7) that Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns…serve as an example.
We must learn from the examples, lest we become examples ourselves.
Some of you have been wearing that rubber band on your wrist all week as a reminder to remember, as a reminder to learn from these examples, as a reminder to turn from ourselves and run to Jesus! It’s so important to remember.
In verse 17 (part of our text this morning as well as last week; a little overlap there)—in verse 17, Jude once again reminds his readers to remember what the apostles spoke, what they foretold.
We have a record of what they spoke, of what they foretold. It has been inscripturated for us, preserved all these years for our benefit, for us to read.
Let us pay attention and take heed; let us remember.
As we accept the Bible for what it is, we
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Accept the bible as the one word of the one true God about the one way of salvation through the one mediator, Jesus Christ.
You need to remember that it was prophesied that this kind of opposition would come upon us: ungodly people, taking people captive. You must remember what happened in the past.
—>Jude writes, urging his readers (us!) to contend for the faith, pleading with us to remember the past and learn from it. And now, in these last verses, he comes to what is his main point, the thrust of the letter, the very height of all Jude has to say.
Verses 20-25 could be summarized with two words: Keep On
The privilege of a gathering like this is being able to say to each other: “Come on, now. Let’s just keep on!”
One of the most remarkable things is not simply that God has brought us to Himself, but that He promises to complete the work He’s begun in us.
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.
We who belong to Him are amazed at the grace of God (or at least we should be); the tenses of salvation are alive in us (whether or not we realize it’s so):
We have been saved from sin’s penalty,
One day we will be saved from sin’s presence,
And in the mean time, we are being saved from sin’s power.
The privilege of a gathering like this is being able to say to each other: “Come on, now. Let’s just keep on!”
Daulton Morock, my High School youth pastor spent all kinds of time with me; he’d pick me up in his old, beat-up, gifted-to-him pickup. We’d listen to bad Christian ska music all the way to Kwik Shop where we’d dine on one of the greatest culinary creations of all time: the cheddarwurst (it’s a hotdog with cheese inside). We’d talk for hours, about everything under the sun, encouraging one another in the faith.
For my graduation from High School, Daulton gave me a book entitled, “Walking with Christ in the Details of Life.” Inside the front cover, he wrote a message. Part of his message reads: “I believe that you will continue faithful in your relationship with the Lord.” This was an encouragement and call from Daulton for me to ‘keep on.’
Keep on growing, keep on serving, keep on worshipping, keep on living for Christ.
“Keep on,” says Jude.
There’s a good chance, however, that “keeping on” is going to be difficult.
The apostles said we live in the last times: the time between Jesus’ death and Jesus’ return are the last times. In these last times, the entire period of waiting (that is, the age in which we live) will be marked by scoffers who divide, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”
18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”
These people that form the opposition to the Church:
These people that form the opposition to the Church:
19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
These people are constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit. They are not Christians.
constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit. They are not Christians.
These people that form the opposition to the Church: constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); and these people are devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit. They are not Christians.
constantly divisive instead of unifying; worldly, following their natural instincts (wherever they might lead); devoid of the Spirit, they do not have the Spirit. They are not Christians.
Living as we are in the last times, living among the scoffers, living among the ungodly people who pervert the grace of God, who deny that Jesus Christ [is] our only Sovereign and Lord, Jude has made his case for why we ought to contend for the faith.
Living as we are in the last times, living among the scoffers, living among the ungodly people who pervert the grace of God, who deny that Jesus Christ [is] our only Sovereign and Lord, Jude has made his case for why we ought to contend for the faith (the faith, the faith, t-h-e faith).
Now, well, now—in this final section of six verses (vv. 20-25)—Jude tells us how to contend, giving us three necessary steps to take if we are going to contend for the faith.
We must keep on as we are kept for and by Jesus.
We must KEEP ON checking ourselves (vv. 20-21)
We must KEEP ON checking ourselves (vv. 20-21)
We must keep on checking ourselves (vv. 20-21)
This is absolutely essential; this is about ensuring that we are correctly centered on God and His gospel.
Jude speaks here to his dear friends. He calls them beloved. Jude is speaking as one who loves his fellow Christians. He knows they need encouragement to keep on.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
The call for us is that we make sure to watch out for ourselves. There’s a proper order here. Part of our responsibility as a Christian—as a follower of Christ—is to look out for, take care of, and carry the burden of our fellow Christian. But we can’t very well help another if we ourselves are headed down the wrong path.
It’s like when you fly on a commercial airplane. The instruction, in case of an emergency where cabin pressure is lost, is to grab the oxygen mask that has dropped down in front of you from overhead, put on your own mask first, because if you don’t “you ain’t gonna be no help to the person next to you!”
It’s like when you fly on a commerical airplane. The instruction, in case of an emergency where cabin pressure is lost, is to grab the mask that has dropped down in front of you from overhead, put on your own mask first, because if you don’t “you ain’t gonna be no help to the person next to you!”
We should be concerned for the other, concerned for our friends, concerned for our brothers and sisters in the faith, for certain. But our first thought shouldn’t be: “Boy, I wish she could have heard that sermon today.” Our first thought should be: “How does this speak to me? What part of my life, what area of my life does this need to work on?”
“Peter, do you love me?” “Yes.”
“Peter, do you love me?” “Yes.”
“Peter, do you love me?” “Yes.”
“Then feed my sheep.”
2. You must keep yourself
Beloved/dear friends (vv. 17, 20)
Accept the bible as the one word of the one true God about the one way of salvation through the one mediator, Jesus Christ.
You need to remember that it was prophesied that this kind of opposition would come upon us: ungodly people, taking people captive. You must remember what happened in the past.
No sooner does Jesus finish this incredible, restorative process with Peter than Peter points to John and asks, “Well, what about him? What’s going to happen to him?`
5-16
Jude encourages us to build ourselves up in the faith and pray in the Holy Spirit—actions which will help us in the face of false teaching.
Remember.
We build ourselves up by the assembling together with God’s people, by study of God’s Word, by commitment to the spiritual disciplines. One of these is prayer. Jude tells us to pray in the Holy Spirit. As opposed to those who do not have the Spirit, we who have the Spirit subsequently pray in the Holy Spirit. Genuine Christians pray and are prompted to pray by the Holy Spirit.
2. You must keep yourself
Building yourselves up in the most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God.
The call for us is that we make sure we watch out for ourselves.
Fly on a commercial airline: put the mask on yourself first, if you don’t “you ain’t gonna be no help to the person next to you.”
What does it mean to keep yourself in the love of God?
Does this mean we have to do something to cause God to love us?
Does this mean we can fall out of His good graces, like God is some immature Junior High boy who can’t figure out if He wants a relationship with us?
Peter ()
To keep yourself in the love of God means you’re building, praying, and waiting—you’re growing stronger in the faith, you’re persevering in prayer, you’re learning what it means to wait for Him.
Keep on growing, keep on worshipping, keep on fellowshipping.
One old time commentator—Jenkin—gives some practical advice:
If we’re going to keep ourselves in the love of God, we need first of all to keep ourselves in a constant hatred of sin. As love to sin increases, love to God will inevitably decrease. We don’t tolerate sin in ourselves or toy with sin. We mortify sin; we kill it.
If we’re going to keep ourselves in the love of God, we need to keep ourselves in the delight of the ordinances of God. (In other words, we need to participate in and find joy in baptism and communion—obeying the Lord, following the Lord in what He has instructed us to do).
If we’re going to keep ourselves in the love of God, we need to keep ourselves in the delight of God’s friends, in an increasing love of the brethren—there is no such thing as a solitary Christian. No lone ranger disciples. We need one another (i.e. fellowship groups).
We must keep on—and it starts right here.
Keep yourselves—keep your eyes fixed on Him.
Keep yourselves in the love of God—what does this mean? something practical
If we’re going to keep ourselves, we need first of all to keep ourelves in a constant hatred of sin. As love to sin grows, love to God will inevitably decay. The toleration of sin, the toying with sin—it will not be possible to keep ourselves
to keep ourselves in teh delight of God’s friends
to keep ourselves in the delight of the ordinances of God: obeying, following,
to keep yourself in an increasing love of the bretheren
Praying in the Holy Spirit, being prompted by Him
Waiting for the mercy
We must KEEP ON looking out for others (vv. 22-23)
We must KEEP ON looking out for others (vv. 22-23)
I’m sorry to say this is not an excuse for spying, Facebook-stalking, or being a busy body, as fun and as popular as those things might be there’s no Biblical justification for any of that.
This is about the well-being of those who are being duped by false teaching. In Jude’s day (as in ours) many were being tempted away from the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. They were being duped by false teaching.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Those who are being duped by false teaching
Our task is not to point fingers or gossip. Our task, as those who have been shown incredible mercy, is (you guessed it) to show mercy. We must, must, must, show mercy—be merciful to those who doubt…to others show mercy.
We must be merciful to those who doubt—to those who have questions and misunderstandings, we are to walk alongside them. Jude is urging those who are convinced, those who are steady to help those who doubt and have questions and misunderstandings and problems with the faith.
We don’t shun them or disinvite them. We welcome them along and disciple them.
In addition to the doubters, there are those are playing with fire. They have begun to engage with the thinking and lifestyle of those who pervert the grace of God into a license for immorality (v. 4).
I’m guessing you know several people who fall into this category. People who have started to approve of that which God disapproves, people who twist God’s Word until it fits and flexes to their lifestyle. They play the same game as that crafty serpent, asking: “Did God really say…?” and then decide “what God really meant was...”
Our task is to snatch these people from the fire.
You’re sitting on your front porch and the house across the street bursts into flames. Do you sit there and continue to read the paper and sip your ice tea? No! You jump out of your seat, call the fire department, and head toward the blaze to see how you could help.
Can you even imagine sitting idly-by as that happened? I’d hope not.
And yet…we do that very thing every time we ignore those we love who are living sinful, disobedient lifestyles.
We don’t look at the house in flames and say, “That’s some fire! I pray it does no harm.”
We, likewise, are not to ignore those who are playing with fire. We are called to snatch them away from that which will lead to their demise.
We are to hate—a strong word—even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. We are to hate sin and everything connected to it; we don’t treat the sinner with hatred, rather with mercy.
But we can’t compromise. We cannot lower God’s standards. Thus we plead for genuine repentance.
We must keep on and help others keep on.
Those who are keeping on to snatch others from the fire
Fire in yonder town
Genuine repentance means a change of heart, mind, and direction
We must show no compromise; we cannot lower God’s standards—to love the clothing and hate the sinners.
If we have friends who are physically distant from other Christians, we should make the effort to ensure that they are still spiritually ‘plugged in’; and if we have friends who are failing to use the supports that God has provided in the church, we should gently try to win them back. Jude saw Christians drifting away from genuine fellowship into the arms of the heretics, and he wants to warn us that it is dangerous to be a solo Christian.
We must KEEP ON lifting our eyes to God (vv. 24-25)
We must KEEP ON lifting our eyes to God (vv. 24-25)
These magnificent verses form the doxology of the letter—the closing section of praise. The letter builds to this point, I believe, because Jude (inspired by the Holy Spirit) wants for us to conclude, not focusing on ourselves or on the evil and false teaching around us, but rather: Jude wants us focusing on God, to fix our eyes on the great future God has promised us.
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling 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.
Jude opened his letter by referring to his readers as those who were called, loved, and kept. Kept by and for Jesus. Here, at the end of the road, Jude wants for us to have absolute confidence in the keeping power of God.
Jude takes up his pen and lets us know: God keeps us and He presents us.
He is able—powerful, present—to keep us from stumbling.
I lift my eyes up to the mountains; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber…He neither slumbers nor sleeps.
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
He keeps us, safe and secure from all alarms.
You must remember—rubber bands
Beloved/dear friends (vv. 17, 20)
The apostles spoke, foretold—inscripturated for us, preserved
Accept the bible as the one word of the one true God about the one way of salvation through the one mediator, Jesus Christ.
You need to remember that it was prophesied that this kind of opposition would come upon us: ungodly people, taking people captive. You must remember what happened in the past.
5-16
Remember.
2. You must keep yourself
The call for us is that we make sure we watch out for ourselves.
Fly on a commercial airline: put the mask on yourself first, if you don’t “you ain’t gonna be no help to the person next to you.”
Peter ()
Concerned for other, sure. But we ought not think: boy, they need to hear this
Keep yourselves—keep your eyes fixed on Him.
Keep yourselves in the love of God—what does this mean? something practical
If we’re going to keep ourselves, we need first of all to keep ourelves in a constant hatred of sin. As love to sin grows, love to God will inevitably decay. The toleration of sin, the toying with sin—it will not be possible to keep ourselves
to keep ourselves in teh delight of God’s friends
to keep ourselves in the delight of the ordinances of God: obeying, following,
And He presents us without fault, blameless—with no stain or sin.
to keep yourself in an increasing love of the bretheren
Build yourself up (Eph, pastors to equip the saints), growing; constant, corporate, crucial
Praying in the Holy Spirit, being prompted by Him
Waiting for the mercy
Urging the convinced to help those who doubt
Those who are keeping on to snatch others from the fire
Fire in yonder town
Without fault. Blameless. That’s something, isn’t it? By nature, we’re blameworthy. We are utterly flawed. We are, in fact, the opposite of blameless.
Genuine repentance means a change of heart, mind, and direction
We must show no compromise; we cannot lower God’s standards—to love the clothing and hate the sinners.
4. To God be the Glory
We are soiled and marred, turned-in upon ourselves. Scummy scumbags.
To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Absolute confidence in the keeping power of God (v. 2)
And yet, Jude says that the Lord presents us without fault—this is the glory of the gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
All the priase and glory must go to Him
As a young monk, Martin Luther began to wonder: “How can I be righteous enough to be acceptable to God?” He headed to Rome, to the Scala Sancta (the so called ‘Holy Stairs’) and climbed the stairs on his knees, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, kissing each step, seeking peace with God.
Roman Catholic priests claim that God forgives the sins of those who climb the stairs on their knees; this still goes on today (*slide* let video play a few times).
He keeps you and presents you.
Luther reached the top step, looked back and thought: “Who knows whether this is true?” And, as you can imagine, he felt no closer to God after climbing those steps.
He actually felt worse spiritually than before he arrived. He continued asking the question: “How can I be righteous enough to be acceptable to God?”
Upon reading the Bible for himself, he came to the great truth found in : But now apart from the law [apart from doing], the righteousness of God has been made known…this righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Luther returned home and
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Soiled and marred, turned in upon ourselves
The glory of the gospel
At this, says Luther, “I felt as though the gates of heaven were opened, and I was born again. It was not a righteousness I had to produce.”
Martin Luther: how can I be righteous enough to be acceptable to God, left Rome feeling worse than when he arrived.
This is what Jude is getting at: We don’t present ourselves before God. We can’t achieve this righteousness. We could climb a million steps, kissing every one of them, and the only thing that would get us is sore knees.
We don’t present ourselves before God. We can’t work hard enough to be blameless. We can’t clean ourselves up enough to be faultless before the One who is Holy, Holy, Holy.
I felt as though the gates of heaven were open, I was born again. It was not a righteousness I had to produce.
And yet we live in a world where people believe that their goodness, their best effort, their activity will save them. We go to church with people who believe that their goodness, their best effort, their religious activity will save them.
We don’t present ourselves before God. We can’t achieve enough righteousness on our own
Our message begins with the harsh and unpopular truth: “Your very best will never work. There is a great divide between God and His holiness and us in our sinfulness. There is an impassable chasm.”
You can try all you’d like to bridge that gap on your own, to jump across the great divide that separates you from God—but I promise you this: it won’t work.
And it doesn’t need to.
No, your very best will never work. There is a great divide between God and His holiness and us in our sin. There is an impassable chasm
Because Jesus has jumped across it for you. He did all that needed doing on that cross those many years ago.
Religion says, “Do this, and God will accept you.”
Christianity says: “In Jesus Christ, you are accepted. So, now, do this.”
In Christ we are blameless, faultless, able to stand before the Lord because we’ve been given a righteousness that is not our own—the righteousness God requires if we are ever to stand before Him. His standard is absolute perfection. Jesus achieves this righteousness for us; a righteousness He reveals through the gospel, a righteousness He bestows upon all who believe.
He has jumped across it for you. In the cross of Christ
God—and God alone—keeps us from stumbling. God—and God alone—can present us without fault.
Religion says: “Do this and God will accepted you.”
Jude wants us focusing on God...
We have this hope as an anchor for our souls, sure and steadfast, amid the false teaching, amongst a world of people who twist and pervert what God has said—we are kept by the One who will present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.
Jude wants us fixing our eyes on the great future God has promised us.
Christianity says: “In Jesus Christ, you are accepted. So do this.”
And so, as my good friend Alistair Begg says, Jude sings his way to the end:
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling 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.
salvation was a gift for the guilty, not a reward for the righteous. Man is not saved by his good works but by trusting the finished work of Christ.
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.
a rightousness ne achieves
That pretty much sums it up, yeah?
That pretty much sums it up, yeah?
a rightouesness that he reveals via the gospel
Dear friends…scratch that: Beloved, keep on.
Keep on checking yourselves.
a rigthousness that he befstows upon all who believe
Keep on looking out for one another.
Keep on lifting your eyes to God.
“Keep on, beloved, keep on.”
Keep on, beloved, keep on.