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, 25 to
the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty,
dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
THE STUDY:
Yesterday we
looked at the first thing Jude list of what God is able to do: keep us from
stumbling. Today we will be looking at the second thing which is God’s ability to present you blameless before the presence
of his glory with great joy. The presence of his glory refers to the
day of judgment when all people will stand before God to give an account of
their lives. Jude assures his readers that God is able to protect them from sin
so they can stand before him blameless (amōmous). Amōmous was originally used to describe acceptable sacrifices (Heb
9:14). But it came to be used generally to describe moral purity. Peter uses
this word to describe Jesus as the perfect sacrificial lamb (1 Pet 1:19). God’s
ability to keep you from stumbling
will be abundantly evident when believers stand before his throne blameless. As a result, the day of
judgment will not be a time of fear or dread for believers. Because of “him who is able,” believers will
celebrate that day with great joy.[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that Jesus was and is the prefect sacrificial lamb. It’s within this faith that believers can stand before God on the day of judgment with joy in their hearts and not fear.
APPLICATION:
Early on in my walk with Jesus I had come to
an understanding that this whole Trinity of God looked something like a court
room: God is the judge and Jesus is my defense lawyer. After spending many
years in studying the scripture I have come to the conclusion, this analogy is
wrong!
We will not
be standing before God on judgment day! Our defense Lawyer will be the Holy
Spirit and Christ will be the judge. For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may
receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
(2 Cor. 5:10) We will be judged on what we have done since accepting Christ as
our personal savior. Christ is the one who will present us to the Father. God judges the secrets of men by Christ
Jesus. (Romans 2:16) If you think about it, this is how we want it to be.
Today, if
Christ is Lord in your life don’t be fearful of the second coming, rejoice in
it. But, if you have not accepted Christ as your personal savior then let fear be
the motivation for you to turn your life over to the one who stands at the right
hand of the Father for you: Christ! Don’t be fearful, be joyful!
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2
Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible
Commentary (300). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.
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