Christians kept in time and glorified in eternity

‘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

Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 56:1–13

Here and there is an enemy who is in ambush, who comes out when we least expect him, and labours to trip us up, or hurl us down a precipice. I suppose you never did see a man fall from a precipice. Some of you may have been fools enough to go and see a man walk on a rope, in which case, I believe, you have incurred the guilt of murder; because if the man does not kill himself, you encourage him to put himself where he probably might do so. But if you have ever really seen a man fall over a precipice, your hair must surely have stood on end, your flesh creeping on your bones, as you saw the poor human form falling off the edge, never to stand in mortal life again: surely as you left the place where you stood, and fled away from the edge of the precipice, you cried, ‘O bless the God that made me stand, and kept my feet from falling.’ How alarmed you would be, if you were in such a position and had seen one fall, and that same monster who had pushed him over, should come to hurl you over also, and especially if you felt that you were as weak as water, and could not resist the gigantic demon. Now, just such is your case; you cannot stand against Satan; even your own flesh will be able to get the mastery over your spirit. A little maid made Peter deny his Master, and a little maid may make the strongest among us tremble sometimes. Oh, if you are preserved in spite of such mighty enemies, who are ever waiting to destroy you, you shall have great cause to sing praise ‘unto him that is able to keep you from falling.’

For meditation: God has the ability to keep his people from falling (Romans 14:4), and exercises that ability (Psalm 116:8), but we are not to abuse that fact as an excuse for failing in our responsibilities to take all sensible precautions (1 Corinthians 10:12; Hebrews 4:11).

Sermon no. 634
28 November (Undated Sermon)