"KEPT BY GOD" (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 4/30/26

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 24, 25)

It is important that we consider Jude’s burden in writing this very short but full epistle. He is warning believers of the danger of apostasy. He was not alone in his concern. We find an almost exact parallel to Jude’s epistle in II Peter chapter 2. In addition to clear warnings, (Heb. 6:1-6; 10:25ff; I John 5:13-16) the general teaching of Christ and the Apostles is that believers must “hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.”

A chief reason for Jude’s concern was that certain men (false teachers) were creeping in to the churches promoting damnable heresies. There were three prongs to their ministries of lies. (Vs. 4) For one, they were turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, i.e. implying that salvation by grace gives license to sin. A second prong was the denial of the Lordship of Christ, “denying our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thirdly, they denied the absolute sovereignty of God, “denying the only Lord God.” Such warnings were and are necessary because it is on record that false teachers, “ungodly men” (instruments of Satan) had “overthrown the faith of some.” And of course, the diabolical work of Satan’s emissaries who, in spite of the fact that God forbids it, say in essence, “let us sin, that grace may abound.” (See Rom. 6:1) This perversion of “Christian liberty” they call “Hyper grace.” This is, in itself, to deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?” John wrote, “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” Then, I suppose there has never been a time when man’s will has been so preached up, while God’s sovereignty is practically denied like the present.

Jude then proceeds to give examples that emphasize the danger of which he warns. (Vs. 5-7) He mentions the children of Israel who came out of Egypt. That was a glorious day when the whole host met at Succoth, having been freed from the thralldom of Egypt; having escaped from the whips of the cruel taskmasters, no longer compelled to make bricks without straw. It was even a more glorious day when God divided the sea to make a passage for His people. How they sang His praises for this complete deliverance which included the drowning of the Egyptian hosts in the depth that covered horse and rider.

Is it not incredible that this very people within a few days were clamoring to go back into their place of bondage. And they who saw what Jehovah did soon made themselves a calf and bowed down to it, saying “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” In light of this, did Jude not consider himself and other believers, and know that it is incumbent upon us, having been delivered out of Egypt, that we keep ourselves in the love of God”? (Vs. 21) And how glad he was to sing, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling!”

If you read on, you will see that Jude had another example in his mind, even the angels that kept not their first estate. These are spirits vastly superior to ourselves in intelligence and power, and we cannot help but feel how little we are compared to them. Yet these magnificent creatures fell and are kept in chains of darkness until the great Day of Judgement. Lucifer, son of the morning, refused to worship the One Sovereign and proceeded to try and assert his will over that of the Most High. His fall was great, and he drew a third of the heavenly host with him. Can we think of that without feeling a tremor of fear? Let it not, however, be without another and higher thrill of joy that we are in the sure hands of One who is able to keep us from falling.

Not only is God our Savior able to keep us from falling, but He will one day present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.

Notice how Jude emphasizes our personal duty followed by sure confidence. “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” This we must strive to do, as though all depends upon us. However, our only hope is to the praise of “Him that is able to keep you (us) from falling.”