‘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.’
Jud_1:24-25
There is a notion among some persons that the soul once converted and justified is secure against all danger—is safe for ever; but half the warnings and promises in Scripture, addressed to pardoned believers, are grounded on the supposition that they are in the utmost danger. And so they really are. We, of ourselves, are prone to fall. What God said of His people of old He might say of us, ‘They love to wander.’
I. If we have any right knowledge of our own hearts, we shall say the same of ourselves. We are assailed continually from without; there are those around us who want us to fall. What is Satan doing with us? What is the world doing with us? Leading us on to heaven? Holding us up on the way to it? On the contrary, Satan and the world are doing all they can to throw us down. Now laying one snare for our feet, and now another. Business, pleasure, society—all slippery ground. It is hard work sometimes to move about even for a day without a stumble. Which of us can for one moment stand, if left to ourselves? You cannot keep yourselves; nor can others keep you.
II. God can keep you.—He deals with you as you do with children who cannot walk alone. As you hold them, so He holds you. And if the Lord occasionally lets you stumble, it is to teach you the difficult lesson—a sense of your own weakness. But if you are true believers, He will not let you fall to your ruin, but, as with St. Peter when sinking on the waters, that you may look the more to Him for support, and more earnestly utter the prayer, ‘Lord, save, or I perish.’ Well, therefore, do we need the caution, and especially young believers, to look alone to Christ for strength. Draw your strength from much secret communion with your Maker and Saviour. Seek the power of the Holy Spirit. Devoutly study the inspired Word. Remember that you are not your own, but that you are bought with the most precious blood of Christ your Lord. Beware of seducing spirits. Avoid those who teach false doctrines, shun irreligious companions. And in all that you do for your salvation, learn to look off from yourselves, and from all human aids, and look to Christ alone. Some, from not acting thus, have, like David, their spirits wounded, their hearts bruised within them all their days.
III. But we are to view the Divine power in another aspect.—We are to view it not only in present grace, but also in future salvation. The Lord is able to preserve you by His grace, through this life, and then, when your spirit enters eternity, ‘He will present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.’ What a richness and a fulness have we here. He will present you before the presence of His glory! The glory of the Lord will shortly be present. Now we look upon it as distant. But it is very near. This glory is now the object of your faith. It will then be the object of your sense. You believe in Christ now, your eyes will behold Christ in all His glory then.
IV. The Divine glory.—‘To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.’ Now this glory of God will appear.
(a) He is the only wise God. How vast is the Divine wisdom as seen in redemption!
(b) The glory of God will be manifested in His eternal praise. The ascription of praise which the Holy Spirit teaches us to make now will be the same in heaven. You will then indeed praise God for His redeeming love, His preserving grace, and for His wise guidance, praising Him that sitteth on the throne.
