Jude 1

Jude 1:1

Jude was the brother of James, and both Jude and James were half brothers of Jesus (Mar_6:3). James was a leader in the early church, as seen in Acts 15, concerning the argument as to whether or not Gentiles converted to Christianity were required to undergo the rite of circumcision. The question was debated until James stood, and quoting the prophet Amos (Amo_9:11-12), said Gentiles did not need to become Jews first and did not need to be circumcised in order to become Christians because God has His called ones even among the heathen. Perhaps the reason James grasped this kind of grace so firmly is that, although he had grown up in the same household as Jesus, initially he did not believe His Brother was the Son of God (Joh_7:5). What changed James’ and Jude’s minds? What turned them from skeptics to leaders of the faith? Nothing short of the Resurrection, for it is after that event that we see them numbered with the disciples in the Upper Room (Act_1:14). Sometimes we think that by being nicemowing our neighbor’s lawn, baking him cookies, or smiling when he drives bywe will convert him. Not true. There was no lovelier person than Jesus Christ. Yet, His brothers did not believe on Him until the Cross and the Resurrection. That is why it is imperative to preach Christ crucified (1Co_1:23). You can wave to your neighbor for twenty years, and wave him right into hell. Or you can take the time at some point to say, “You know what? Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead, and you must believe on Him.”

Jude 1:3

It seems Jude’s original intent was to write about our “common salvation.” That is, his was to be a letter celebrating the grace and goodness of God. But it took a different turn when an issue arose that he felt pressed to address.

Jude 1:4

False teachers had crept into the early church, seeking to rob and rip off God’s people, seeking to pervert their understanding and keep them from enjoying God’s blessing.

Jude 1:5

The foundational theme of this wonderful epistle, as found in verse Jud_1:21, is an exhortation to keep ourselves in the love of God. Underline this phrase because it is the hinge upon which the Book of Jude swings. Jude’s heart is, “Yes, there are heretics and deceivers, but you, beloved, keep yourselves in the love of God.” Keeping yourself in the love of God does not mean earning God’s love by being a “good little boy or girl.” God’s love is unconditionalso much so that in Rom_5:8, Paul declares that God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. When did God demonstrate His love for you and me? Not when we were trying to be good Christians, but when we were pagans, heathens, and rebels. When you couldn’t have cared less about Him, God looked at you and said, “I love you deeply.” Never buy into the thinking that you earn God’s love by being good. Many Christians look at God as being like Santa: He’s making a list, checking it twice, and He’s going to find out who’s naughty and who’s nice. If you’ve been good, you’ll get gifts; if not, you’ll be lucky to get a lump of coal. But nothing could be further from the nature of our Father. Making a list? Checking it twice? Paul tells us the list of our failings was blotted out by the blood of Christ (Col_2:14). The list of my sins was pinned to the Cross of Calvary and cleansed so thoroughly by the blood of the Lamb that the writing became completely illegible. God’s love for us is not based upon anything we do or don’t do, for His love is unconditional. What, then, does it mean to keep yourself in the love of God? It simply means to keep yourself in the place where you can receive His blessings. In other words, God is constantly showering us with blessings, love, and grace. He’s not saying, “Hmm, you’ve been bad today, so I’m turning off the spigot.” No, God’s blessings are always coming down (Lam_3:23). “Then why aren’t I being blessed?” you ask. The answer is easy: You’re not under the spout where the blessings come out. You have wandered away. God didn’t close the spigotbecause even when we are faithless, He is faithful still (2Ti_2:13). God doesn’t monitor the flow of blessings depending on how we’re doing. No, the spigot is on full blast all the time. Therefore, the only thing we have to do is to make sure we’re in the place where we enjoy God’s blessingsthat we’re standing under the spout where the blessings come out. Am I suggesting it is possible for a person to remove himself from the place of God’s blessings? Yes. And Jude gives us three examples of those who did. First, Jude brings to remembrance the people delivered by God. You know the story. In bondage for four hundred years, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. The Lord raised up Moses as a deliverer and worked powerfully through him. After He smote Egypt with ten plagues, the Israelites were finally released. They made it to the edge of the Red Sea, where God not only parted the water but also unleashed the very same water on their enemies. Then what happened? They came to the border of Kadesh Barnea and sent twelve spies to scope out the land. “Wow!” said the spies upon their return. “It’s beautiful. It’s prolific, productive, and perfect! There’s only one problem: Tens of thousands of Anakim, giantsShaquille O’Nealsoccupy the land. We’re nothing but grasshoppers in their sight, and we’re sure to be squished.” Joshua and Caleb, two of the twelve spies, countered, saying, “Hey, we might be grasshoppers in their sight, but they’re grasshoppers in God’s sight. Therefore, they pose no problem. They’ll be bread for us. We can eat them up!” (see Num_14:9) But the people chose to listen to the other ten spies instead of to Joshua and Caleba choice that led God to say, “Okay, because you don’t believe what I intended to do for you, you’re going to have to wander in the wilderness until a new generation is raised up” (see Num_14:22-23). Thus, because God’s people, who were delivered by Him, did not keep themselves in the assurance of His love and provision, they ended up dying in the desert.

Jude 1:6

Second, not only can those delivered by God fail to keep themselves in the love of God, but so can those who are worshipers of God. Lucifer was the leader of all the worshipers of heaven. The one the Bible calls the “Anointed Cherub” (Eze_28:14) had a voice like a pipe organ and hands like tambourines. He wasn’t just a worship leader, he was a full on orchestra until the day he said, “I will be like God,” and launched a rebellion in which one third of the angels followed him. Amazing. Here, the worshipers of God in heaven became demons in hell because they did not keep themselves in the love of God.

Jude 1:7

Third, Jude says, “Not only can you be delivered by God and be a worshiper of God, but you can receive blessing from God and still fail to keep yourself in His love.” You see, at one time, Sodom and Gomorrah were cities uniquely blessed by God. In the agrarian economy of the day, the place to be was Sodom or Gomorrah. We read in Genesis 13 that after leaving Egypt, Abraham and Lot had so much livestock between them that the land could no longer support them. “We’re going to have to separate,” Abraham said to Lot. “Wherever you want to go, I’ll go in the opposite direction.” So, after checking out the situation, Lot found the best pasture land, the ideal place to raise livestock, the perfect place to get rich: the plain of Jordan, wherein lay Sodom and Gomorrah. At one time, Sodom and Gomorrah were truly blessed by God. Yet, what happened? They turned their backs on the Lord and were eventually destroyed. This is very sobering to me because it says, So you’ve been savedso were they who wandered in the wilderness. So you’ve been a worshiperso were they who are now in hell as demons. So you’ve been blessedso were they who were destroyed by their own depravity. Gang, it is possible to experience deliverance by God, to partake in worship to God, to receive blessing from God, and still not keep yourself in the love of God. How can this happen? After giving us three examples, Jude goes on to provide three explanations.

Jude 1:11

The first explanation for why people no longer experience the love of God in their lives is that they’ve gone the way of Cain. The way of Cain is anger. Cain was angry with his brother, Abel, because God blessed Abel, but He didn’t bless Cain. It’s not fair, Cain must have thought. We both offered sacrifices to God. Abel brought a lamb, and I brought the fruit of my labor from the garden, but God blessed my brother’s and not mine (see Gen_4:4-5). And such anger took root in Cain’s heart that he killed his brother. If you’re angry with your spouse, bitter toward your boss, unforgiving of your brother, you have gone the way of Cain. Watch out for anger, gang. It’ll pull you away from the place where you just enjoy God’s love. It will draw you away from the spout where the blessings come out. Jude draws our attention not only to the anger of Cain but also to the greed of Balaam. You know Balaam’s story. The children of Israel, all three million of them, were on their way to the Promised Land. “Whoa,” said Balak, king of the Moabites. “There’s a horde of people coming our way, and unless we do something, we’re going to get trampled.” Knowing of a prophet in the area named Balaam, Balak sent messengers asking him to curse the approaching Israelites. “Wait here,” Balaam said to the messengers, “I must talk to God about this.” Even before Balaam asked, the Lord told him not to curse the Israelites (Num_22:9-12). So the messengers returned to Balak with word of Balaam’s refusal to join them. Balak, in turn, sent some VIPs to Balaam. They arrived in their Mercedes and their flashy clothes, saying, “Come with us, and you’ll be blessed.” “Listen, guys,” said Balaam, “even if you offered me a house full of silver and gold (hint, hint), I wouldn’t go with you.” So once again, the messengers returned empty-handed. And yet, a third time they appeared before Balaam, this time offering him a portion of wealth and honor. A third time, Balaam said he would seek the Lord. But this time, God gave him permission to go, so off Balaam went. En route, however, an angel appeared to his donkey, causing the donkey to crash into a wall, smashing Balaam’s foot in the process. “You dumb donkey. You crushed my foot,” Balaam cried as he beat his donkey. “Why are you beating me?” asked the donkey. “Haven’t I been a good donkey all these years? I’ve never given you any problems. Don’t you see there’s an angel standing right here, preventing me from taking you where you ought not go?” Yet even a talking donkey could not deter Balaam, so he continued on, until at last he reached the mountain overlooking the Israelite camp. Opening his mouth to curse them, all that came out was blessing. “Hey!” said Balak, “I hired you to curse them, not to bless them! Maybe we should change locations.” So they built another altar in a different location. Once more, Balaam stood to curse. And once more, all that came from his lips were words of blessing. The error of Balaam lay in the fact that he didn’t understand God’s grace. Balaam thought that because His people were rebellious and evil, God would surely want to destroy them. Consequently, knowing that even though he could not curse the Israelites, the Israelites could bring a curse upon themselves, Balaam told Balak to have the Moabite women parade themselves in front of the Jewish men. And during the romantic interludes that were sure to follow, the Moabite women would be able to introduce the Jewish men to their idols. Balaam was right. In the Book of Numbers, we read “the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.” The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and twenty-four thousand died as a result (Num_25:1-9). Why did Balaam, who spoke some of the most beautiful prophecies in all of the Old Testament about the coming of Messiah, end up a heretic and a loser? Because he did not keep himself in God’s love. Why didn’t he keep himself in God’s love? Greed. What is greed? Never being satisfied, never being thankful, always wanting just a little more. Watch out, precious people. Greed will remove you from the spout where the blessings come out. Korah’s sin was envy. We find his story in Numbers 16: “Moses, who made you the big enchilada? I have just as much right to determine direction for this nation as you do.” So saying, Korah led a rebellion that resulted in the deaths of nearly fifteen thousand of God’s people. Beware of envyof wanting someone else’s position. Joseph’s brothers were jealous. Joseph had a coat of many colors, or literally, a coat of “big sleeves.” In Joseph’s day, working men wore sleeveless coats, like vests, in order that their arms would be free to labor. But the bosses, the supervisors, the head honchos wore coats with big sleeves in which they could keep money and suppliessort of like briefcases. Sometimes we look at someone else’s big sleeves and say, “Boy, that guy’s got it made.” But Joseph’s big sleeves were hardly an asset. You see, envious of Joseph’s position, his brothers sold him as a slave to a group headed for Egypt. There, Joseph was eventually promoted to the position of head slave. No doubt some of his fellow prisoners looked at him and said, “Boy, I wish I had the coat of a head slave"little knowing that even this coat would get him in trouble as he shed it to flee Mrs. Potiphar’s advances (Gen_39:12). Just rest in the place God has you, gang. He’ll put you right where you should be. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t want to be all that the Lord would have us be. But there comes a point when we’re no longer saying, “Lord, I want to develop the talents and abilities you’ve given me to the fullest degree,” but rather, “I’ve got to do whatever it takes to gain that guy’s position. I’ve got to be the guy with the big sleeves.” What happened to Korah? The ground opened up and sucked him in (Num_16:31-33). Here’s an easy way to find yourself in the pit: Be envious of another’s position. You don’t know what you’re headed for; you don’t see what you’re getting into; and before you know it, your world will come crashing down upon you. I wouldn’t have chosen anger, greed, and envy as the three reasons people move away from God’s blessings. I would have listed cocaine, pornography, and larceny. Why? Because those things are not my problem. You see, we tend to think the sins that will take a man away from the spout where God’s blessings come out are the biggies we don’t do. Not true. God has an entirely different way of looking at things. And in His Word, He says through Jude to me and to you, “These are three specific areas that will keep you from enjoying and experiencing My love.”

Jude 1:12

The “certain men who crept in unnoticed” (verse Jud_1:4) were those who, like Korah, Cain, and Balaam, endangered God’s people, seeking to woo them away from the simplicity of God’s grace. Jude calls them “spots.” They’re like hidden rocks, he says. They join in your fellowship, in your potluck dinners, in your celebration of the grace and goodness of Godbut with a hidden agenda. Like hidden rocks, they blend in presently, but they will cause you to crash eventually. And then he goes on to use even stronger metaphors to describe these false teachers. They’re waterless clouds. That is, they seem to say all sorts of wonderful things, but their teaching leads only to dry, discouraging days. Because they’re dead trees, they bear no fruit.

Jude 1:13

They’re wild waves. They have lots of motion, but erratic, meaningless, and wasted energy. Finally, Jude likens the false teachers to wanderingor shootingstars. Even in our little valley, I have seen people come on the scene with all sorts of fantastic promises, all kinds of interesting doctrines, shining brightly for a month or two or three. Then when hard times came, or things didn’t work out, like shooting stars, they fizzled, faded, and moved on to the next unsuspecting community.

Jude 1:14

The same problems Jude is addressing affect the body of Christ today. False teachers, “mouthing great swelling words,” continue to peddle their phony doctrines to anyone who will listen. If you’ve been walking with the Lord very long, you know that as soon as one strange wind of doctrine blows through, another is sure to follow.

Jude 1:17

Happy is the man or woman who understands that the gospel message is profoundly simple and simply profound. It’s Jesusnothing more, nothing less, nothing else. After giving us three examples of people who walked away from God’s love and three explanations of why they did so, Jude now gives us three exhortations to keep ourselves in the love of God.

Jude 1:20

The first way to keep yourself in the place where you’re being drenched in the love of God is to build up your faith. How are we built up in faith? The Bible tells us very simply that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom_10:17). That’s it. To keep yourself in the love of God means that you continue to be a student of the Word. You build up your faith by taking in God’s Word, by daily making the practice of spending time in Scripture a priority, by assembling with other believers to study the Word corporately (Heb_10:25). What does it mean to pray in the Holy Ghost? It means allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire your prayers, saying, “Lord, I don’t want to come to You with my ideas and my agenda because I don’t know what these things might lead to if You grant them to me. So I come to You, Lord, asking for Your Spirit to inspire me to pray. Guide my conversation, Lord. Help me to pray biblically, to be guided by Your Spirit even as I talk with You right now.” To pray in the Spirit means the Spirit is inspiring prayer. To pray in the Spirit also sometimes means just groaning. “Oh, Lord, I don’t know what to do about this. I don’t know how to handle that.” Ever just groan? Paul did, for in Romans 8 he writes that the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered (verse Rom_8:26). Praying in the Spirit says, “Lord, I can’t even articulate my situation without You.” Second, praying in the Spirit means praying in tongues. Speaking specifically of praying in tongues, Paul says, “I will pray with the Spirit and I will pray with understanding also. I’m going to allow this miraculous, mysterious process of the Spirit praying through me with words I do not understand intellectually and have not learned academically” (see 1Co_14:15). I encourage those of you who have exercised this particular manifestation to continue to develop it. Your mind will rebel against it. You mind will ask, “Why do it? What good is it?” But Paul says, “I would that you all spoke with tongues” (see 1Co_14:5). That is why I am personally strongly persuaded that if you read 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 carefully, you will conclude that, while placing severe restrictions around the public utterance of tongues, Paul encourages the private, devotional use of the prayer language. Being led by the Spirit, groaning in the Spirit, using a prayer language from the Spirit are all aspects of what it means to pray in the Holy Ghost.

Jude 1:21

Finally, we are to keep ourselves in the love of God by looking for the coming of Jesus. How it affects my priorities, how it changes my perspective, how it alters my emotions when I say, “Lord, today I’m going to look for Your coming.” Today might be the day, dear saints. What a difference it makes when we remember this. Stay in the Word. Pray in the Spirit. Look for Jesus’ comingthree things you can do to keep yourself under the spout where the blessings come out. They’re practical, workable, doableand, interestingly, we see in them faith, love, and hope: Faith, by being in the Word (Rom_10:17); love, by praying in the Spirit whose fruit is love (Gal_5:22); and hope, by looking for the blessed hope of our Lord’s return (Tit_2:13). “All you guys at Calvary Chapel ever talk about is being in the Word, looking for His coming, and praying,” some charge. “Right. Exactly. You got it!” I sayfor that’s exactly what Jude tells us to do in order to keep ourselves in God’s love.

Jude 1:22

What about those who have been affected by false teachers, who are caught up in wrong doctrine? What are we to do with them? Jude gives two approaches. To some, show compassion. Be very gentle with them as you patiently wait for them to see the light. Others, however, you have to grab by the nape of the neck and yank them out of the destructive stuff with which they’re involved. The Great Awakening in America was ushered in by a man who spoke in a monotone voice, and who had such bad eyesight that he could only occasionally squint at his congregation from above the manuscript he held inches from his face. He preached a sermon many of you have studied in literature class entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in which he likened mankind to a spider dangling over a fire with only one thread separating it from damnation. And when he was finished, people began to weep under the conviction of the Spirit. Some people you can minister to with compassion, stressing the goodness of God, for doesn’t Paul say in Rom_2:4 that it’s the goodness of God that leads men to repentance? Others, however, you have to grab by the collar, and like Jonathan Edwards, dangle them over hell. In the Old Testament, whenever a man was cleansed from leprosya picture of sinhis garments were to be burned (Lev_13:52). Jude uses this as an analogy to say, “When you’re dealing with folks who are caught up in perversity, make sure you yourself are not affected.” In other words, “Save the man, but burn the garment.”

Jude 1:24

Finally, after all of his warning, Jude leaves us in a place of rest, saying God is the One who will keep us from falling. God’s love is unconditional, never turned off, never diminished. The only question is: Will you plant yourself in the place where you can be drenched with it? Jude tells us exactly how to do that as he exhorts us to stay in the Word, pray in the Spirit, and look for our Lord’s coming. “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them,” Jesus said (see Joh_13:17). I love the simplicity of the Word! May the Lord build your faith as you study it. May He fill you with love as you pray in the Spirit. May He give you hope as you look for His coming. Amen! God is Able A Topical Study of Jud_1:24 I love the Scriptures. And I especially enjoy those passages that deal with God’s ability. Such is the text before us today. Indeed, the Word is full of passages that talk about God’s abilityHis “able-ness.” If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.Dan_3:17 You know the story. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his subjects to bow down to the golden image he had constructed. All compliedexcept three young Jewish men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Threatened with death in a fiery furnace stoked seven times hotter than normal for their insubordination, they answered, “No matter how hot that furnace may be, God is able to deliver us.” And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.Mat_3:9 To the Pharisees and Sadducees, John the Baptist said, “Being a Jew is nothing special. God is able, if He so chooses, to raise up stones and make them Jewish children.” What does this have to do with us today? Maybe your teenage son or daughter is falling into the “stoner” scene. Take heart! God is able to take “stoners” and make them children of faith. God is able! He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.Rom_4:20-21 Even though he was one hundred years old and still childless, Abraham was strong in faith, knowing God was yet completely able to keep His promise. God is able! Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.2Co_9:7-8 The Greek word translated “cheerfully” actually means “hilarious,” joyful abandon. In other words, God loves those who give to Him with hilarious, joyful abandon. And He is able to bless and grace them in every areaincluding seeing them through their financial obligations. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.Eph_3:20-21 God is able to do more than we can ask or even imagine. Truly, God is able! For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.2Ti_1:12 It’s not so much knowing what you believe as knowing in Whom you believe. “I know Who I believe,” said Paul. “I can count on Him.” So can we. He’s able to keep that which we’ve committed to Himbe it our lives, our spouses, our businesses, our children, and our grandchildren. God is able! For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.Heb_2:18 God is able to see you through times of temptation. He knows what you’re feeling. He suffered too. Yet, He can see you through because He came through without sin. He is able! Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.Heb_7:25 A generation ago, baseball player-turned-evangelist, Billy Sunday, preached from this text, saying, “God can save to the guttermost.” Maybe you feel like you’re in the gutter today. Take heart. God can save you. He can save me. He is able! Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling…Jud_1:24 Here, in our text, we read that God is able to keep us from falling. Kids, your parents can’t keep you from falling. Wives, your husbands can’t keep you from falling. Husbands, your wives can’t keep you from falling. Precious people, the church can’t keep you from falling. And I certainly can’t keep you from falling. After all, I couldn’t even keep my own brother from falling. I was about six years old when, on a family camping trip to Big Basin State Park, I was shocked to hear my brother Dave say, “Jonny, tomorrow, bright and early, I’m taking you fishing.” This was highly unusual because Dave, being six years my senior, didn’t normally do that kind of stuff with me. Well, that night, I got my tackle box out and my worms all ready to go. I could hardly wait! The next morning, with tackle boxes and lunches in hand, I asked Dave where we were going. “I know a secret place,” Dave said. Dave always knew about secret places. He had a tree house, or so he told me, in the backyard, which had seven bedrooms, a den, a pool, and a television. When I was little, I would gaze up at Dave’s tree house. “It’s awesome up here,” he would call to me down below. But whenever I would grab even the first rung of the rope ladder, it would be raptured without me. So I’m not sure to this day if it did have seven bedrooms. All I know is that Dave always knew about secret places and special stuff. After walking a mile or so, we came to a spot on the trail, which the winter rains had washed out. “We better go back, Dave,” I said. “No, we don’t have to go back,” he said. “Well, how are we going to get around this big hole?” I asked. “Simple,” he said. “It’s only about nine feet. You hold my pole, my lunch bag, and my tackle box, and I’ll jump across. When I make it, I’ll reach over and pull you across.” So I held his stuff, and he reared back and took off like Carl Lewis into the air. Although he made it across the gap beautifully, when he reached the other side, the ground beneath his feet gave wayand I watched him tumble about sixty feet down the cliff head over heels until he hit a stump. “Are you okay?” I called. “Ohhhhhhh,” he moaned. “Go get Mom.” Like a flash of lightning, I immediately bolted back toward camp. But after about one hundred yards, I stopped dead in my tracks. “I bet he’s tricking me. I’m going to run all the way back to camp, and when I bring Mom back, he’ll be standing there, saying, ‘Where did you go, Jon?”’ So I returned to the ledge, and looked down. There was Davestill wrapped around a tree with his leg sticking up behind him. Just to make sure he wasn’t faking, however, I picked up a small rock and pitched it at him. “Ohhhh,” he groaned as it hit him. “Hmmm,” I said. “Maybe he really is hurt, but I don’t know for sure.” So I grabbed a bigger rock, and threw it down the cliff. “Ohhhh,” he groaned. “Get Mom.” Still dubious, I took a boulder and rolled it down toward him. Direct hitand he still didn’t get up. “Okay. He’s definitely hurt,” I said. So I headed toward camp once again, told my mom what happened, and a rescue team was sent to extract him. I could not keep my brother from falling. None of us can. No matter who we might be, the fact is, we cannot keep others from falling. But there is good news for you, good news for me. The Bible tells us, “Now unto Him who is able to keep us from falling be glory.” “Wait a minute,” you say. “If God is able to keep us from falling, then why did I fall last week, last year, or five years ago? If He is able to keep me from falling, why didn’t He?” Based on Jud_1:24, I believe it is impossible for Christians to fall. “But I’m a Christian, and I fell into sin,” you say. No you didn’t. You walked into sin one step at a time. And God was there every step of the way, warning you to turn, providing a way of escape (1Co_10:13). “I can handle this,” we say. “I can go to that party. I can take in that movie. I can talk to that lady. I’m not going to have a problem. Not me.” In the Book of 2 Kings, we see what happens so often, so tragically, so needlessly as a result. In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah.2Ki_14:1 In 2 Kings 14, we meet a man named Amaziah, king of Judah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father.2Ki_14:3 Although Amaziah did that which was good, he didn’t have a heart for the Lord like David did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.2Ki_14:4 The high places being mountaintops where idols were worshiped, idolatry was allowed under Amaziah’s reign. He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war…2Ki_14:7 This guy who did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but didn’t have a tender heart for the Lord as David did, experienced an impressive victory over the Edomites. Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face.2Ki_14:8 “To look one another in the face” means to have a face-to-face confrontation. Feeling invincible, Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, king of Israel, saying, “Come on, let’s mix it up.” And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.2Ki_14:9 Jehoash answered Amaziah, saying, “Amaziah, you’re a little thistle. I’m a big tree. What do you want to mix it up with me for? You’re going to get crushed.” Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?2Ki_14:10 “Why are you doing this?” asks Jehoash. “Celebrate your victory over the Edomites, but don’t get over your head in dealing with me. You’re headed for trouble.” But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.2Ki_14:11 Amaziah was warned directly, but he wouldn’t listen. So he engaged in battle with Jehoash. And guess what happened? And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents.2Ki_14:12 Judah got stomped, just as Jehoash had predicted. Amaziah didn’t fall into defeat. Having been warned directly, having been spoken to plainly, he walked into defeat. “I can do that,” we say. “I can go there. I’m strong. She won’t affect me. That group won’t taint me. I just gave myself to the Lord. I’ve had great victory. I’m okay.” And, like Amaziah, we “meddle to our own hurt.” Please note three things that happened to Judah as a result of Amaziah’s stroll into sin. And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.2Ki_14:13 First, defenses were broken. When you meddle where you ought not meddle, the first thing that happens is that defenses are broken down. Before, when we flirted with that kind of activity, that kind of language, that kind of visual presentation, we were offended and uncomfortable with them. But when we say, “I’m strong. I can take that in. I can go there. It’s not going to hurt me"the first thing that happens is our walls are broken down. It’s the proverbial story of the frog in the kettle: Put a frog in a kettle of boiling water, and he will jump out immediately. But put him in a kettle of cool water and slowly heat it up, and he’ll die in the boiling water, never noticing it becoming hotter and hotter. So, too, if we get involved in battles we should stay away from, if we go to places we know better than to go, saying, “It’s no big deal,” we won’t even notice our defenses disappearing. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house…2Ki_14:14 Second, treasure was lost. After Jehoash tore down the walls of Judah, he took precious treasure. So, too, when our defenses are down, we become susceptible and vulnerable. Treasure is lost, never to be returned. Precious people, whenever we sin, certain precious treasures are lost permanently. Oh, we can be forgiven totally, but treasure is lostbe it innocence, health, perspective, holinessnever to be returned this side of eternity. …And hostages, and returned to Samaria.2Ki_14:14 Finally, hostages were taken. When walls are broken down because I’m no longer sensitive to sin as I once was, not only is treasure lost, but hostages are taken, as I find myself prisoner to the very sin I thought was no problem. It has been rightly said that the chains of sin are too light to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. If I wrapped some thread once around your wrists and said, “Get out of that,” you would have no problem doing so. But if I kept wrapping that same thread around your wrists over and over again, the same thread you could snap so easily before would eventually bind your wrists totally. “I can go there. It won’t affect me,” a kid says. “I just drink socially,” an adult says. “Don’t be so legalistic,” we all say. But before we know it, we’re wrapped up, held hostage. That is why I suggest to you that no one falls into sin, for every step of the way, God is saying, “Don’t go in. Don’t do that. Turn away. Get out of there.” But we say, “I’m strong. I can handle it. No problem,” as we walk into sin one tragic step at a time. Maybe you’re saying, “I’ve done just that. I knew when I started what I was doing could cause a problem, but I thought I was strong enough. I thought I could handle it. And now, just like Amaziah, walls are broken, treasure’s taken, and I’m held hostage. What hope is there for me?” Back to Jude… 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…Jud_1:24 The first part of the verse deals with our temporal situation. But here’s the good news: The second part of the verse deals with our eternal position. You see, God is, indeed, able to keep us from fallingbut if we do fall, He is still able to present us faultless before the presence of His glory. This means, when I get to heaven, the Lord is going to say, “Father, here’s Jon, and he is faultless. He is spotless.” And I’m going to say, “Amazing!” because I know that I’ve sinned, that I’ve meddled where I ought not to have meddled. I know walls have been broken and treasure has been lost. I know what it feels like to be held in bondage. We all do. But the fact is, when we get to heaven, He will call us faultless. Why? Back to Big Basin… After the park rangers lifted Dave from the pit, I had to accompany my mom to the infirmary where he was recovering from the injuries to his leg and from all of the mysterious bruises on his back. He’s going to kill me, I thought as I walked in and weakly asked him how he was. But to my great astonishment, Dave just smiled. Why? Because he didn’t remember a thing. A mild concussion had wiped away all memory of my brutality! Dear saint, the good news for you and me is that God has, if you would, chosen to have a concussion, causing Him to say, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb_10:17). That is why, when Jesus died on the Cross, He declared, “It is finished. You are forgiven. Your sin is forgotten.” God is able to keep me from falling. I can choose to meddle where I ought not meddle, and I can walk into sin one step at a time. If I do, walls will be broken, treasure will be lost, and I will be held hostage. But even then, there is still good news for me. For He is not only able to keep us from falling, but in the light of Calvary and because of the blood He shed for you and me, He is able to present us faultless with exceeding joy. “Oh, but I’ve been such a terrible sinner,” you say. That just makes Him present you with more joy. How so? Which fish does the fisherman choose to mount on his wallthe little four-inch minnow, or the great big fifty-pound salmon he hauled in? He saves the big fish, the one that struggled, the one that took the most effort to reel in. So, too, if you’ll respond to God and allow Him to reel you in, you’ll be a great big trophy of His grace because where sin abounds, grace abounds even more (Rom_5:20). Precious people, God is able to keep you from falling. But even if you do fall, as we all have, the day is coming when you will hear Him say, “I see you as faultless. I don’t remember any failure, any sin. The concussion of the Cross has wiped out all memory.” And there will be exceeding joy. God is able. What a glorious promise.