Jude 24,25 How to keep from stumbling, pt.3

Jeff Stephens

spiritual warfare • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

False Teaching

False Believers

False Prophet

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Introduction

We come to the Jude wants us to know. It is interesting that the most important thoughts usually come at the end. When my dad was dying, laying there in his bed in the hospital we weren’t talking about the weather, or any other trivial thing. During that time I tried to speak to him about Christ. I wanted to make sure that the most important decision he could possibly make in this life lay in the balance. He knew he was dying. The things he told me were the important things in life. It is when your heart is laid open and exposed. He told me and I am sure he did my brothers he was proud of us in what we had done in life and said that he loved us. When it is the final word you boil everything down to what is most important.

Jude does the same thing in our text. This doxology or benediction is full of truth for us to receive from him. He started out wanting to talk to us about our common salvation, but providence demanded he take another track and write a warning about the presence of false teachers whose teaching leads to judgment not eternal life. He exposed those who are false teachers, false professors of Christ. Just an interesting aside, when Jesus was speaking at the end of the Sermon on the Mount he said these words,

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:21

It needs to be mentioned that those false professors were sincere in their profession. They believed they knew the Lord. But he said they didn’t know Him thus were not true believers. Now then, all those things they said they did could not be true. God does not empower unbelievers to prophecy revelation, nor to cast out demons or do mighty works. Thus, their prophecies were false thought they thought them from God. They may have cast out demons in Jesus name they thought, but it must have been another spirit, and the mighty works they did must have been demonic at best. That is what we see happening today.

So then Jude exposes them as such, they are fakes, charlatans and the work they do is demonic not Holy Spirit driven. While we may see it as such, it is not that easy to see when someone speaks so well, and so eloquently and backs that with wonders. To ensure that we don’t fall for that he tells us to adhere to the Word of God, to keep ourselves in the Love of God by building up our faith, praying in the Spirit and looking for the Lord. He has told us to help those who are caught up in this false teaching to get out, but be very careful while doing so. Now with this benediction he closes with one final thought. The most important thought in the entire letter. He calls us to be committed to Jesus Christ. If we want to keep from stumbling we need to commit to the Lord, who is the only one who has the power to do that. He is the one who is able to guard us.

Here are four reasons we better be committed to Jesus Christ

I. Be committed to Jesus Christ

now why do I say this? Well first of all the words used..

There is no main verb and the main clause which is the main point is actually found in the second half of v.25 where we have the absence of any verb, though the KJV supplies the verb be and we have this string of nouns attributing this attributes to God.If we were to put this into more correct word order it would read like this:

Now glory, majesty, power and authority be to the one who is able to keep you from falling

and to stand you before his glory

blameless

with joy

to God only

our savior

through Jesus Christ our Lord

before all the ages

now and unto all the ages

amen!

My point is that the ability to not stumble and be presented blameless before God is through faith in Jesus Christ alone and so all glory is due Him alone. In fact, to claim any other way to this would be blasphemy.

Secondly, the reason the focus is on Jesus and not God the Father is because when the text tells us “unto him” in v.24 and “to . . .God” in v.25 Jude is emphasizing they are one and the same. Though the KJV doesn’t explicitly say “Jesus Christ our Lord” as it does in the GK and most other translations, He is implied in the Title ‘Savior”

Finally, the word order emphasizes or focuses on God, our Lord Jesus Christ by putting the object before the verb instead of the subject.

Jude is emphasizing not the believer who is kept by faith in Jesus, but rather the One who does the keeping and presenting, Namely, the Godhead, God the father and the Son Jesus Christ. Although, the Holy Spirit is not specifically mentioned it is certain that apart from His inner working in the believer we would not be kept for it is His work to reveal the Christ, and to empower us to stand before the world, the aion and to keep us. WE are sealed by the Holy Spirit according to .

now/de introduces the summation pointing out the ultimate solution to all that has been discussed in this epistle.

you/υμασ refers to the readers, even you and me. Jude applies the assurance of protection to us.

We keep this in mind as we unpack what Jude is telling us. So here is the first reason we should commit to Jesus Christ.

A. He is the only one able to keep you from stumbling

The word keep/guard to keep watch over to keep safe or preserve, as has been pointed out Jesus prayer in , , , shows this intent clearly. It is illustrated in the life of Noah, , reiterated in .

This promise that God will keep you from falling doesn’t cancel out the earlier injunction to Keep ourselves in the love of God. The ultimate thought is that God is the one who will strengthen them and give them the grace to desire to keep in the love of God.

What is the keeping referring to? from falling, the word means to not stumble, free from stumbling. To what does this refer? tells us we all stumble, πταιο. tells us that we shall never stumble if we are diligent to confirm our calling and election, ie. if we make sure our own salvation. So what does Jude mean here? Does it have to do with eternal security as in 2 Peter. Or is he saying we will not offend others as is meant in James? The reality is that he is not referring to our ability to avoid stumbling, but to God’s ability to keep us from stumbling. It is God’s part to keep us from stumbling. The world is full of traps of greed and ease, pleasure, at least we pursue those things. And we do live in a body that is corruptible and susceptible to sin, nevertheless the promise is that God is able to keep us from falling to into the traps of these false teachers. THey will promise wealth if you send in your seed money God will give you a great harvest. You reap what you sow. If you sow sparingly you will reap sparingly. So a widow sends in her retirement money believing that she will be blessed by God with alot more money in return. Or they promise health, if you send us $50 we will send you a prayer cloth that has a special anointing to heal your malady. I mean the list of traps that appeal to those who are wanting blessing or relief from suffering are endless. In short, it is that God will keep us from apostasy, from abandoning the faith. As I think on it, this would be through His acts of providence, good sound teaching of Scripture by godly men and through our own study, through the providential interruption of others, prayer, the prayer of Jesus and others, even the Holy Spirit.

and that leads into the second reason

B. He is the only one able to present you blameless before the presence of God

to stand/present you- a word that means to cause to stand, to place or set something in place. It is the presenting of you and me before His glory, that is the glory of the Lord.as I noted earlier.This is the idea of being able to stand before God’s throne, for example.

blameless - spotless, without blemish, it is a technical term to designate the absence of anything amiss in a sacrifice that would render the sacrificial animal unclean to be offered. As in Paul’s statement in ; This speaks of our glorification with Christ. IN other words, God is able to work it out so that all put their faith in Christ will have nothing prohibiting them from being presented/appearing in the presence of His glory. I think the phrase ‘before His glory’ is reference to the throne of God as seen by Isaiah in .

to do it with joy αγαλλιασει. The phrase ‘with joy’ is not the means but the manner in which one is presented by the Lord into His presence. There will be those who stand before the great white throne of judgment in the presence of the Holy God Jesus Christ and not have any joy at all, but rather dread and fear. But those who know Christ will be presented by Him before God with great joy.

The phrase through Jesus Christ our Lord refers points out the contrast with those who reject Jesus as Lord. bu tmore importantly that God has accomplished this or done this through Jesus Christ.

C. He is the only one who has this authority

Jude uses four nouns to emphasize that it is through Christ alone that we are kept from falling and able to present us blameless before the throne of God. These four words point out the Authority the deity if you will of Christ to do this.

Glory - means all that God is, all is summed up in God. This is not an imperative to ascribe glory to Him. He is the glory of God. He is the shekinah glory of God. He is Immanuel, He is as we have seen in past studies the express image of God, , He is God among us, He told the disciples in if you have seen me you have seen the Father. When Jesus walked in the Temple He is the Shekinah glory of God returned to it. The point? He is God.

Majesty is speaks of magnificence, there is none like God. He is the only Great God. King of kings, Lord of Lords.

Power/kratos means strength, dominion, there is none more powerful or Sovereign than Him.

Isaiah 40:25–26 ESV

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

declares there is none Like Him.

1 Peter 4:11 ESV

whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

declares there is none Like Him.

Peter 4:11

shares the same thought.

Authority means the right to do as He pleases, He has both the right and power to do His will. Jesus said “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.”

So Jesus is the only one who has the authority and power to Keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before Him because He is God.

D. He is eternal

This is a truth that has been eternal it is through the ages both past present and future a reference to the eternality of Christ. The preposition connects this statement to the nouns glory. . . authority which are attributed to Jesus Christ.

To that Jude adds the AMEN!

Conclusion

Hence, Jude’s message is really summed up in this benediction.

He has reminded them that they are kept/preserved through faith in Jesus Christ, v.1

the false teachers had denied the Lord Jesus Christ, His deity, v.4

Jesus has the authority and power to judge these people as He has done in the past, v.5ff.

They emphasized their own selves,v.12, 16. Jude calls us to emphasize Jesus.

We are to look to Jesus, v.17-21

We don’t have to stumble and get caught up in this false teaching if we will remember the Word of God, if we will keep ourselves in the Love of God by building up our faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, and looking for the mercy of Christ, love not the world (by discerning the false teaching) and if we will be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only one who is able to present us before the glory of God and keep us from falling.

if we don’t want to stumble and be taken in by these false teachers than we are to be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the One who is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before the glorious presence of God.

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