A devotional by Pam Eason
Photo is in the Public Domain
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. (Jude 1:24-25)
God is the one who keeps you from stumbling into unrepentant sin. He is the one who upholds and will not abandon the righteous, who sustains the blameless, who upholds those who fall so that they are not cast headlong into destruction; who does not forsake his saints and who preserves them forever (Psalm 37).
The meek, those who trust in the LORD, are the righteous and the blameless (Psalm 37) made righteous through Jesus’ sacrifice of himself (Romans 4). They are the ones who will inherit the beautiful, eternal land, the ones who will see God’s face, the ones who will be embraced by God in the presence of his breathtaking, mouth-stopping glory (Psalm 37, Matthew 5:5). They will not be cast out (John 6:37).
But Jude also says, “keep yourselves.” This is our part in the keeping ourselves in the love of God through faith, prayer, and through waiting on God’s promised mercy. It is not a fruitless effort, for you will be able to keep yourself. You will be able to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, because God keeps you. His Spirit wills and works in you for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). He supplies your saving faith (Ephesians 2:5, 16; Romans 12:3; Romans 10:17; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:24).
Yet, some are not kept. Some who were circumcised and who coveted with God, fell away (Judges 2:10; 1 Samuel 2:12). Some who were sanctified (set apart and identified with God’s people) did not continue in faith (Hebrew 10:29-39). Some who were once joined with members of the universal church fell into sin because they stopped believing God’s promises. They were not preserved until the end. Eleven of Jesus’ twelve disciples were kept (John 17:12). Judas fell away. God forsakes those who do not stand firm until the end (Matthew 10:22; Revelation 2:10-11).
These unkept, forsaken ones are the seeds that fell among the rocks and thorns (Matthew 13). They are the ones who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, who tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, the ones who cannot be restored (Hebrews 6:4-6). These are the ones who were never genuine believers (1 John 2:19; Deuteronomy 13:13; 1 Corinthians 11:19) – the ones whose belief is like that of the demons (James 2:19) – the ones who had the kind of faith that did not result in obedience (James 2; Romans 16:25-27).
But, if you are a believer in God’s promises, if you are trusting Jesus alone for your salvation, if you are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) if you are one of the meek, you will persevere in faith to the end because God will preserve you till the end (John 10:27-29). You have passed from death to life (John 5:24). You already possess eternal life (John 3:36; John 6:39-40; Acts 13:48). You will persevere to the end because God will keep you to the end.
So, the psalmist says,
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 121, ESV).
“The LORD bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24).
