Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Monday, January 25, 2016
This Week’s Devotional Focus is, “Freedom From Sin.”
“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).
In these two verses near the end of the Bible are hidden in plain sight, one of the greatest blessings to humankind—God’s power to completely eradicate sin in our lives. Now that I have whet your proverbial appetite, let the Scriptures nourish you with the satisfying Bread of Life.
In this benediction, Jude proclaims an almost foregone conclusion in the way he speaks. He redirects the attention of his readers from false teachers and naysayers to the One who is able to perform the greatest miracle in our lives. Jude rightly says that Jesus is able to keep you from falling. There is no mysterious symbol employed here. There’s no need to search a Bible concordance or dictionary. Inherent in the plainness of the meaning is the profundity of it. The same Jesus whom Jude highlighted that Enoch prophesied about is able to insulate anyone whose faith is resting in Him from falling into sin.
In the spirit of Paul’s message to the Romans, in chapter six, he is teaching that those who are submitted to God are indeed dead to sin. Therefore, when we are tempted to sin, we see the way God has provided for escape, and take it. Like Joseph, we ask how can we do this great sin and wickedness to our God? The Holy Spirit bolsters our faith and empowers us to do His will. Thus, we are kept from falling as long as we continue to trust Him.
Jude continues by saying that Jesus is able to present us faultless before the Father with exceeding joy! As we have said many different times and ways in our devotional thoughts for the past couple of years, Jesus is coming back for a blemish-less bride who has neither spot nor wrinkle, or any such thing. In the spirit of Jesus’ word to Nicodemus in John, chapter three Jude reminds us of God’s power to re-birth us. When children are born to their earthly parents, they all inherit earthly tendencies toward evil. We are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. We don’t even need to be taught to sin. It is a part of our fallen nature. We are born into sinful slavery. The blessing is, though, as I mentioned a moment ago, those whose faith is completely surrendered to God are dead to sin. That is, we receive a new birth experience. We are no longer born of flesh. Rather, we are born of the Spirit. Thus, it is possible to obey God’s will, because we are actuated by the power of our new, holy parentage.
That which is born of flesh is flesh. But thank God, that which is born of the Spirit is indeed spirit. Therefore, when Spirit-filled people continue to fight the good fight of faith, even if we stumble (God forbid), we accept the advocacy and sacrifice of Jesus in our behalf, and when our life’s records are surveyed in the heavenly courts all that are therein displayed, are the mighty acts of the perfect Man, Jesus Christ. His life’s record stands unsullied in the place of our confessed and forsaken record. Thus it is that He is able to present us without fault before the Father with abundant joy. He takes pleasure in making us holy and keeping us that way.
