Jude, Faultless

Jude 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

Jude concludes his epistle with a benediction, or blessing. As is appropriate for a Christian minister, his desire is to direct our undivided attention to God, where it properly belongs. The benediction begins with a presentation of Him, who is able to keep the saints from stumbling.

Again, we are faced with the monumentally fundamental truth of eternal security. This is a doctrine woven throughout Scripture, as salvation’s inception, retention and consummation have nothing to do with you or me, but with Jesus Christ and His absolute sufficiency. Jude informs his readership without reservation that God is able to keep us from stumbling. What causes a Christian to stumble? Sin. “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” Hebrews 12:1. Sin separates the believer from fellowship with God. This is symbolized in the church by excommunicating sinning believers from the body, effectively sundering fellowship until the errant saint repents; at which time fellowship may be restored, Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.

But stumbling in sin and sundering fellowship does not mean that one’s salvation is forfeit. Nowhere in Scripture is it expressly stated that sinning as a believer will lead to the loss of eternal life and consignment to Hell. Neither is it explained how many or what magnitude of sins one must commit to risk losing one’s salvation; a seemingly extremely important detail if salvation’s retention was dependent upon my conduct after believing. It is conspicuously absent, however. What we can observe is errant believers being brought back into the fold after gross, chronic sin, however. This was the case in Corinth when the man was sleeping with his father’s ex-wife. The congregation took him back in after he repented of his sin when Paul encouraged them to do so, 2 Corinthians 2:6-8. If God encourages us to forgive and renew fellowship when even the worst of habitually practiced sin rears its head in the church, then the standard bearer for forgiveness is God. What He commands us to practice, He embodies. Jesus taught the standard of limitless forgiveness in Matthew 18:22. This means that every time a saint sins, we may seek forgiveness and be cleansed of that sin, no matter how many times this is, 1 John 1:9. Paul emphasized this in 2 Timothy 2:13, where we read, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

Jesus unequivocally declared, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out,” John 6:37. If the church embodies the loving nature of God in our speech and conduct as Scripture dictates, then we may be sure from how the church functions that God does not cast the saints off. He disciplines us for our good. Paul wrote, “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish (warn) him as a brother,” 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 15. The church does not cast out forever, and does not treat erring saints as former saints. Once saved, always saved, no matter how carnal one’s walk has become. We will all answer to God at the judgment seat of Christ, and those among us who have spent their reborn lives indulging sin will reap the consequences in loss, but salvation’s mercy and grace will never be stripped from us. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Scripture tells us. We deserve it no more after we are saved than before we were saved, so it makes no sense to apply pressure to retain by human effort something we couldn't acquire that way to begin with.

It is God Himself that will present us faultless before the presence of His glory, and that with exceeding joy. We know from Ephesians that this is the Lord’s prerogative. “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish,” Ephesians 5:27. In Revelation 19:8 John records this observation, “And to her (the bride, the church) it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” The white linen symbolizes the virtue and purity we are clothed in once we become Christ’s, whose righteousness is imparted to us. Then, and only then, may we perform works worthy of being considered righteous with God, Titus 1:15, 16. When we come into God’s presence and agree with Him about our lost estate and our need for the Savior, He cleanses us from all sin. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool,” Isaiah 1:18. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” 1 John 1:7.

God prevents stumbling that leads to a fall or cessation of our maturation in Christ. He is the one who will present us faultless by virtue of His accomplishment and character, not mine and not yours. We will be granted to be clothed in raiment suitable for our new nature, whose spiritual purity is a reflection of the Son of God, who gave us glory to share and righteousness that we as fallen, sinful people entirely lack. To that end there will be exceeding joy in us His saints, in the angels who rejoice when a sinner repents (Luke 15:10), and God Himself who is well pleased with the ransomed seed that sprang from His vicarious sacrifice, Isaiah 53:10.