God is Able

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, Jude 24

The epistle or letter written by Jude is one of the shortest compositions in the New Testament. The tone and content of the letter is like that of Paul’s second letter to Timothy as well as Peter’s second letter. It has the same sense of urgency that warns Christians to beware of the future because things are going to get much worse before they are made better at the end of the age or the world as we know it. He speaks of the character of those that will come more so than their person. Christians are warned that the enemy will mix in and be among them and sometimes it will be difficult to tell who’s who. We should not assume that everyone who hangs out with Christians love Jesus. The urgency of the message is that these things are already starting to happen. Christians need to be careful because these days are evil. In other words, humanity, in spite of all of the so called progress, is worse now morally and ethically than ever before. For a short letter it has a very dark overtone. But as Jude begins to bring this letter to a close, there is a bright light shining into the future for Christians. What we cannot prevent or avoid need not overtake us. What causes us to stumble need not cause us to fall. When our pass actions break our own hearts, this need not darken our future. There are some things that we must go through and others we will go through because of poor choices on our part. But even that need not taint or otherwise mar our future. Our text today is a fragment from the doxology of the letter. But there is a treasure hidden in this fragment. And this treasure is able to spiritually enrich a believing Christian. This fragment lets us know that God is able to do some things that we need and don’t deserve. Let’s look at this:


I. God is Able to Keep You from Falling
A. The Flesh wars against the Spirit (Romans 7:23)
B. Men love Darkness more than Light (John 3:18 – 19)
C. Though He fall, He will not be Utterly Cast Down (Psalm 37:23 – 24)

II. God is Able to Present You Faultless
A. All have Sinned and come short of God’s Glory (Romans 3:23)
B. Through Faith, All Trespasses are Forgiven at Calvary (Colossians 2:13 – 14)
C. Your Sins shall be Washed Away (Isaiah 1:18)

III. God is Able to give You an Abundance of Joy in His Presence
A. No Flesh shall Glory in His Presence (I Corinthians 1:27 – 29)
B. God will Wipe away Your Tears (Revelation 21:4)
C. Your Depression will be replaced with Celebration (Psalm 30:11)


No matter what the situation or the circumstances, we must remember that God is able. Our outlook does not depend on our strength but on our faith. There is no limit to God’s strength, wisdom, or availability. He alone has all power. God alone is all knowing. When God helps others, it does not diminish or lessen his ability to help me. God’s strength is not determined by the strength of my faith. God’s willingness is not controlled by my faith. God is sovereign and he moves when and if he decides to move. God is pleased by my faith but not limited by it. God does not need to prove his willingness to me by answering my selfish prayers. God has already done everything to prove who he is and his great love for mankind. He desires to save us from our sins. He desires to clean us up and make us sinless throughout eternity. God desires that we live a life believing in him and believing on him. God is not like this because we can show ourselves worthy of any of this. Rather, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us to bring us back to God. Jesus’ life was a ransom given for our souls. We may not be the best people in the world at all times but we can still be thankful that God is able to make us as he would have us to be.


Robert C. Hudson
September 20, 2009