An Indispensable Doxology, Pt. 2

Jude wars of false teachers leading Christians astray and sowing division. He takes down the dangerous heresy that Christ provides license to sin.

An Indispensable Doxology, Pt. 2

This week's devotions are written by my friend Jessica Hermann, former director of our college ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church.

- Pastor Danny

Did you get a chance to read through the book of Jude yesterday? I hope so! Today we will dive into the first part of our passage for the week: "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling".

Jude 4 summarizes the reason for the letter very well: "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."

Yikes! That doesn't sound like a very good situation. This sounds extremely concerning and even scary! Divisive, ungodly people are sneaking in among the believers to promote this notion that since you have grace through Jesus, then you can live as immoral a life as you want! This type of life completely spits in the face of what Jesus did for us on the cross. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus doesn't give us free license to sin; rather, it rescues us from the chains of sin. To go down this path that these false teachers were promoting is to completely deny Christ. It is from this context that the truths Jude writes in his praise to God become all the more meaningful and pointed.

Now, let's reread the doxology of Jude's letter:

"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, 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."

Today let's consider the phrase, "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling". Jude has just warned the believers all about these sneaky false teachers and the absolute heresy that they are teaching and living out which leads people away from the Lord. This might cause some anxiety among the people. It might be scary to think that there are people among you who are actively trying to lead you astray. What if they succeed? This is not just a problem that this group of believers were experiencing in Jude's day, by the way. We experience this as well today. Everywhere you look are ideas, advertisements, messages, and influencers in our world promoting a culture and lifestyle that would draw you away from the Lord. There is so much temptation to choose sin over the life to which Christ calls us each and every day. But we have a great hope amidst this temptation: "him who is able to keep you from stumbling"!

We are not alone in this fight! We are not alone in this battle for our affections and our worship. We are not alone in the temptations that we face every day. We have the Lord.

Furthermore, the book of Jude speaks a lot about those who have denied Jesus altogether. Let us also rejoice in this: God is not only our helper amidst our daily temptations with sin, but as is the focus of the book of Jude, He keeps us from falling into the temptation to deny Christ all together and live our own way. It is God who is strong enough to save you, AND it is God who is strong enough to keep you. The mighty hand of God not only saves you but sustains you in your faith. Isn't that a weight lifted off your shoulders today? The Lord's strong hand has saved you, and He will keep you. He will keep you from stumbling into spiritual ruin. He is stronger than the tempters. He is stronger than sin.

Have you been struggling with sin and temptation and relying on your own power to try to defeat it? I would like to invite you to repent of that self-sufficiency today and recognize your need for the help of the Lord. Call out to Him. He is able to keep you from stumbling. Hallelujah! You can't and don't have to fight this alone.