RPG Adults
OUR KEEPER FROM APOSTASY (II)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29
Jude 24
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
“… but ye are washed,
but ye are sanctified,
but ye are justified …”
OUR KEEPER FROM APOSTASY (II)
Again, just as Jude addressed his epistle to “them that are sanctified by God the Father” (Jude 1), so now he affirms that God is the One “that is able… to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).
Once more we are humbled to remember that we are full of faults, weaknesses, heinous and terrible sins; but we have been washed, sanctified, “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11). It is God and God alone who is able to present us “faultless” before His presence. Even as we seek to save others, some compassionately and patiently, others with great urgency, we are reminded that but for the grace of God in justifying, sanctifying, and washing sinners by the blood of Christ, all would be in vain.
And once again, this is a great encouragement to us also. Because God is the One who will present us “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,” we are assured that nothing can stop this from happening. Having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and having faithfully, earnestly contended for the faith, we know that when we stand before His presence on the last day, we will be “faultless.” Not because we have been ourselves perfect, but because we stand clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and washed by His blood.
Dear reader, will it not be “exceeding joy” to stand thus in God’s presence? And if we are assured that such will indeed be our lot, can we not taste of that “exceeding joy” even now? Yes, we see apostasy on every side; yes, the spiritual battle is toilsome and wearying; yes, it seems sometimes that “the godly man ceaseth” and “the faithful fail from among the children of men” (Ps 12:1), but we have this promise of the one whose words are “pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Ps 12:6). No matter the bleakness of the day, Christians have reason to “rejoice in the Lord alway” (Phil 4:4)!
THOUGHT: There is “exceeding joy” in looking always to God.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to rejoice in Thee!