 It's always a great privilege to be here and to open the Word of God to you and to explain it and apply it together. If you have the outlines from the conference, the sermon outline is in there under the title of the Passing of Perseverance. I'm going to give an introduction and the introduction is going to conclude with three parts. It's going to be one, defining perseverance of the saints. Then two, I'm going to talk about how the perseverance of the saints is perverted by cheap grace. And then third, we're going to look at the biblical response to that perversion. And then as part of that biblical response, we'll look closely at the text in Jude chapters verses 20 to 25. Let's go ahead and pray again. Lord God, I pray, please help us now to worship you and to glorify you. Help this short time to be about you and about how we need you to persevere. Help us, Lord, to keep ourselves in the love of God. Help us, Lord, please keep us. Keep us from stumbling all the way to glory. Amen. In 1992, there was a book that came out called A Band of Brothers. And this book chronicled some of the stories of a airborne division in the army during World War II. And they were known as Easy Company. And this group of paratroopers, they trained together. They, in the states at boot camp, and they were sent over to fight in the European front during World War II. And their first battle action they saw was being dropped into Normandy on D-Day. Then they went on to be dropped into Holland during the invasion known as Operation Market Garden. And they were in the Battle of the Bulge. So if you're familiar with World War II, they were in the major battles that the U.S. fought in. And they had a very high casualty rate as much as 150%. That's the turnover of how many people died in their division. And then they were replaced with more replacements. And there was a group in that division who was able to make it all the way through to persevere to the end, from the beginning to the end. And they knew when they would look at each other, the ones who had been through the battles in Belgium, been through the battles in France, been through the battles in Holland, that they would look at one another and they would say this phrase, he who sheds his blood with me is my brother. And my dear cornerstone, I look at many of you in that same way, that through the years when we persevere through trials and shed our blood together, that shows the perseverance of true faith. So what I want to do today is give you a help in that to give you what the Bible says about how to persevere and warn you about how others say it's not necessary to persevere. So my brand of brothers in the Lord, let's look at what the Bible has to say about perseverance. In order to help define that first, define that clearly, biblically I always like to get help with definitions so it's clear for you. I'm going to use the 1689 to try and explain to you what the true doctrine of perseverance of the saints looks like. This is in chapter 17 of 1689. The saints who are those whom God has accepted in Christ, the beloved, and affectionately called and sanctified in his spirit. To them he has given precious faith that pertains to all his elect. So first perseverance starts with God before time choosing whom he would save. This is very important to the doctrine of perseverance. It goes on. The persons to whom such blessings have been imparted can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace, but they shall certainly persevere in grace to the end and be eternally saved, for God will never repent of having called them and made gifts to them. Do you see where the emphasis is in the work of God? Consequently he continues to beget and nourish them in faith, repentance, love, joy, hope, and all the grace of the spirit they issue in immortality. So these things, the repentance, the love, the joy, the hope, those things, the faith will continue in a true believer. Many storms he continues on at the 1689, many storms and floods may arise and beat upon them, yet they can never be moved from the foundation and the rock on which by faith they are firmly established. Even if unbelief and Satan's temptations cause them for a time to lose sight and comfort of the light and love of God, yet the unchanging God remains their God, and he will certainly keep and save them by his power until they come to the enjoyment of their purchased possession. For they are engraved in the palms of his hands and their names have been written in the book of life from all eternity. So the confession is saying again, point to God and how perseverance happens because God makes it happen. And the Christian can for a time lose sight of the love of God, can stumble into sin, but God will bring them back to repentance, they will not continue in it, they will not stay living in it. The confession goes on to explain that it's of no free will that this happens. It's not dependent on your will alone, but it's dependent on God's will and his election. But the means that he uses is your will and your perseverance. It's a wonderful picture of God's sovereignty and your responsibility on how you come at last to the gates of heaven. The confession goes on to explain that even in various ways the temptations of Satan and of the world, the striving of indwelling sin to get the other hand, the neglect of the means appointed for the preservation, saints may fall into fearful sins and may even continue in them for a time. In this way they incur God's displeasure, grieve his holy spirit, do injury to their graces, diminish their comforts and experience hardness of heart, accusations of conscience, hurt and scandalize others and bring God's chastisements on themselves. Yet being saints their repentance will be renewed and through faith they will be persevered in Christ to the end. So true perseverance of the saints has in it that no one will ever lose their salvation because God before time began chose who would persevere. And the means that he uses is that you will fight and work and keep yourselves in the love of God. With all of your heart strength you will repent, you will continue to look to God in faith despising your sin. And these things too, these two things make up the perseverance of the saints. It is the preservation of the saints and how God does it. And it is the perseverance of the saints. God's sovereignty and your responsibility. There are two wings on this plane. Now this is the biblical doctrine defined. What about the perversion of it? How does cheap grace pervert it? Cheap grace comes along and takes off one wing and the plane comes crashing down. Cheap grace turns perseveres of the saints into only eternal security. Eternal security in itself could be a good phrase. But what does that look like? Does it look like both sides? Or does it just look like God will keep me no matter what my life looks like? Some quotes. This is from Charles Stanley, some of you are familiar with his book on eternal security and some of the quotes. And I read these because they're a common picture of what you'll hear. Not so much to talk about this man, but to say that this is a very common place in Baptist circles, in Pentecostal circles, in Presbyterian circles, to have this view of faith, this view of perseverance. He says, quote, the Bible clearly teaches that God's love for his people is of such a magnitude that even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from his hand. You hear what he said? Those who walk away from the faith don't have the slightest chance of slipping from his hand. Another quote, page 79. He speaks of an analogy saying how saving faith is like jumping from a burning building. And if you jump, you're going to be caught by the fireman? That you don't need to jump once. You only need to have one act of faith. And then from then on, you're saved from the fire. And he describes this woman who jumps from the burning building. He says, I imagine a woman who went through an experience such as the one described would always have faith in firemen and their nets. But even if she did not, the fact remains that she was saved from the fire. In the same way of all probability, a Christian who has expressed faith in Christ and experienced forgiveness of sins will always believe that forgiveness is found through Christ. But even if he does not, the fact remains that he's forgiven. So he's saying, no matter, even if the person doesn't believe in the Lord anymore, doesn't repent anymore, doesn't have faith anymore, they're still forgiven, whether they like it or not. Another quote, faith is simply the way we say yes to God's free gift of eternal life. God does not require a constant attitude of faith in order to be saved. Only an act of faith. One more illustration may be helpful. If I choose to have a tattoo put on my arm, that would involve a one-time act of my part. Yet the tattoo would remain with me indefinitely. I don't have to maintain an attitude of fondness for tattoos to ensure that the tattoo remains on my arm. In fact, I may change my mind the minute I receive it, but that does not change the fact that I have a tattoo on my arm. My request for the tattoo and the tattoo itself are two entirely different things. I've received it by asking and paying for it. But asking for my money back and changing my attitude will not undo what's undone. Forgiveness and salvation are applied at the moment of faith. It is not the same thing as faith. And its permanence is not contingent upon the permanence of one's faith. So how does he define faith? If he keeps saying faith happens at a one-time act, what is this definition of faith? Maybe it'll help explain it more. And he goes on to say that faith serves as our spiritual hands by which the gift is received at a particular moment in time. Again, saving faith is not necessarily a sustained attitude of gratefulness for God's gift. It's a singular moment in time wherein we take what God has offered. In the same context, same section, he goes on to explain what that faith looks like. Before we go any farther, let me ask you this. Has there been a time in your life where you accepted God's free gift of salvation? If not, why not settle the issue once and for all right now? It's really so simple. God's not looking for a series of promises. When I was 12, I prayed a prayer similar to the one I've included here. If you're not sure that you're saved, why not make sure now? If you recognize your need for forgiveness and you believe Christ's death made you forgive as possible, you're ready. Pray God, I know I'm a sinner. I know my sin has earned for me eternal separation from you. I believe Christ has died in my place when he died in Calvary. I accept his death as a full payment from my sin and accept him as my Savior. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen. People turn real faith into a one-time momentary emotional experience, or one-time momentary ritual prayer. And they say that that's real faith. And then whether or not it perseveres, whether or not the person follows the Lord, as long as they've done that one-time act, then they're okay. Consider another quote from a book more recently published by Steve Brown, called Three Free Sins, with the same idea of this one time. He says in page 42, you get three free sins. Not just that, you get unlimited free sins, so go and sin boldly. Now you may have thought that that was written by Satan. No, it's not written by Satan, it's actually by Steve Brown. It sounds very satanic. It is. Yes, it is. Page 70. Now some good news. If you have to run to Jesus, mercy has come running to you. That's true. If you have in light of what I've... He goes on to explain, if you have in light of what I've just taught, unlimited free sins. I don't care where you've been or where you are. What you've done or what you are doing. What you're smoking or drinking. Who you're sleeping with or demeaning. Who you've offended or who you've hurt or where the bodies are buried. You're forgiven. Cheap grace, whether you are in a reform circle, such as this man, and you say you believe in the perseverance of the saints, if you turn faith into a ritual, you turn it into a one-time act, you understand that cheap grace comes. It used to come in the 80s and early 90s with more of a theological framework. Let me present it to you in some sort of dispensational way that shows that you don't have to repent because of the theology. That's gone away with, that's lost the day, that's not what the Bible teaches. Most people don't even understand or even heard of that dispensational framework. Now today, what's continued is the redefining of what faith actually is. And that has remained and that has continued and it may continue in some of your minds. You may have been here, there are people who have been in the church for years and still defined it in a way, defined faith in a way that allows them to live a life that's not persevering. And when someone warns them about the Scripture, they still think back to an experience. They still think back to a time where I know that point in time was genuine. And even though my life has been one of sin, rebellion to my husband or my life has been mixed with drugs or my life has been a continual and repentant pattern of immorality, then I still trust in that one experience. The biblical path of perseverance is not this way but it is one whereby God's sovereignty, it is effectual not just to save a sinner from the penalty of sin but the power of sin in their life. Look at what the Scripture has to say now. Let's turn to 1 John 2 verse 19. Is this faith that they describe biblical? 1 John 2 19, they went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us but they went out that it might be made manifest that none of them were of us. The people here did not lose their salvation. The people who left the assembly, who left the church, they went out from the church and you can go out personally or you can go out practically. Going out in a life of sin, they went out from us not because they lost their salvation but because they never had it to begin with. They never were of us. Let's look at James 2 verses 18-20. These quotes I read from Chief Grace authors talk about faith and does the Bible talk about faith that way? James 2 18-20. But Charles Stanley will say, but Steve Brown will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there's one God, you do well. Even the demons believe in trouble. But do you not want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Let's look at Hebrews chapter 10. How does the Bible describe perseverance? How does this Bible describe faith? 10-24, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Now forsaking the assembling of ourselves together is a manner of some but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. He's given practical application on how to persevere. Don't neglect when we get together. That's a means for perseverance. What happens if we don't? In verse 26, for if we sin willfully after we receive the knowledge of the truth, what is it sinning willfully in the context? Yeah, not assembling together. If we sin willfully after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful expectation of judgment in fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy in the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God on her foot? Counted the blood of the covenant which he has sanctified a common thing and insulted the spirit of grace. For we know him who said vengeance his mind I will repay his Lord. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It's a fearful thing to not persevere. Let's go ahead and turn to Jude. So Jude hears of men who are talking about a cheap grace and we read in verses three and four how he wants to write about salvation. But like Pastor Abendroth was saying, when he sets his elbow down to begin to write this book about salvation, he can't, he needs to defend the faith. We're not gonna have a common salvation if people keep on talking about faith this way. That in verse four there are certain men who have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation on godly men who turned the grace of our God into a lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. He goes on to describe them as dreamers in the book in verse eight. He says woe to them in verse 11. They're like cane, like baleam, like Korah. In verses 14 to 15 he says Enoch spoke of them. They are ungodly, in verse 15 they are instead of holy, holy, holy they are ungodly, ungodly, ungodly. In verse 16 they're grumblers, they're complainers. They walk according to their own lusts and the swelling words are flattery. How does this come about that those quotes, those quotes of you've just had that one time faith, you're okay. How does that come about? Flattery and wanting to please the people. It comes out wanting greedy for money. It comes out when someone comes convicted about their sins to one of these men and they want to soothe them over and they say don't worry I remember how genuine you were. I remember the tears in your eyes and no matter what sin you're in you're okay peace, peace when there is no peace. So Jude is concerned about the people's perseverance and that's what my assignment is today is to be concerned with you about your perseverance. So since he's concerned in the, where in the book of Jude where he directs his attention now away from the false teachers to the people is he says in verse 17 but you, beloved, you all remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ and in verse 20 he says it repeats the same phrase but you, beloved, building yourselves on your most holy faith. So this text that we'll go over has three parts. Verses 20 to 21, the command to persevere. In verses 22 to 23, he speaks of how you need to help others persevere. In verses 24 to 25, he exalts God because God preserves his saints. So now in verses 20 to 21, the command to persevere. He says but you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit keep yourselves in the love of God. Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ into eternal life. The imperative force in this, these two verses is in verse 21, keep yourselves in the love of God. That is in a command form in the Greek imperative and the other phrases are participles around that and they get carried along by this point of the arrow and keep yourselves in the love of God. All the participle phrases are saying how to do it. How do you keep yourselves in the love of God? How do you persevere? It's pithy, it's practical, it's helpful. You wanna know how to persevere? Here's three things that you can do to keep you following after Christ. So first he says but you, beloved, look at his love and his concern for the church. That they would persevere. That they would be the band of brothers with him. This is what you're to do. Building yourselves up on your most holy faith. First, you wanna persevere? You know what yours is to keep in your mind? The true doctrine. You're to uphold true doctrine. You're to love it, you're to live it, you're to feast on it. Theological doctrine, biblical doctrine. Get your systematic theology. Keep it close at hand. Come to small group where you hear the doctrine being taught. Come to every service where you hear doctrine expounded from the text verse by verse. Do you wanna persevere? Learn and read doctrinal books. The doctrine is what is the ground and the foundation for your perseverance. Look it back to Hebrews 10. All those exhortations about persevering and attending, where do they come out of? Why are they given? Back in chapter 10, before verse 24, what is given? But doctrine. In verse 19, therefore, brethren, have boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. We enter the holiest place by the atonement. The holy of holies has been opened to us. Verse 20, by a new and living way which he consecrated through us, for us through the veil that is his flesh. He has trailblazed the way into the holy of holies by his atonement. In verse 21, having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Perseverance here is grounded in the work of Christ. And because of that is how you persevere. It's not simply some exhortations to stop sinning, stop sinning, stop sinning. It's look at what Christ has done. And because of his work, follow the Lord, he will give you the strength to repent and believe. Back in Jude, verse 20, building yourselves up on your most holy faith. So one, we are to be learning doctrine, living doctrine. When you've been following the Lord for a while, 98.7% of what you hear, you're gonna already have heard before. You don't come to church just to learn new things. You come to church to be built up in the doctrine that you already know and that you've forgotten. Many of you already know about perseverance. Many of you already know about Chief Grace. And I'm here to remind you about it again, to warn you about it again, to build you up that this is the true doctrine, persevering faith. So build it up with me. Build it up in your mind. Re-establish that foundation and say, yes, this is true. Yes, those are lies of a horrible, grumbling fashion. Those who turn the grace of God into lewdness. I hate it and I despise it. Let it not come in my mind that I would have become that way when sin begins to creep in my life, when apathy creeps in. Will I think the same way? It's okay. It's okay. Or will I hate it and despise it? Will I have the doctrinal foundation to know that this is wrong? Will I have the doctrinal foundation to be focused on it and centered on and living for so that sin doesn't have room to get in my mind? It's filled with so much doctrine that sin can't fit in. It just falls out my ear. Is it that way with you? The people who are in the Word of God building themselves up with doctrine personally and corporately. Personally and corporately. This is to the you all in context. He's saying to you all church, persevere, build yourselves your faith up together and do it alone. So what are we supposed to do to persevere? One, build yourselves up in the most holy faith. It's the most holy faith. It's not your personal faith. It is the faith, the doctrine. Two, praying in the Holy Spirit. He who prays little will get a little blessing. He who prays not at all will get no blessing. He who prays a lot gets a great blessing. Praying people persevere. Praying people persevere. But the praying here is praying in the Holy Spirit. So is this like some people say whether you're gonna do your shakalakas in the closet or you got the deba-dos? Well no, it's gonna be praying in the Holy Spirit is not some sort of a static language but how does the Bible talk about the Holy Spirit in prayer? Let's look at Romans eight versus 26 to 27. Romans eight versus 26 and 27 speaks about the work of the spirit in prayer. Likewise the spirit also helps us in our weaknesses for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. So how does the Holy Spirit help us? But the spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. My little prayer, what it should, what it is is like this little arrow, you know with like a crooked arrow and I take my little string and I try and aim it up and pray for what I should and when it shoots out the Holy Spirit makes it turn into a rocket that blows away and answers it. The Holy Spirit knows I don't even pray like I ought to but he makes intercession for me. He makes intercession for the saints. Even your prayers are not what they should be but he will help you along like a little child. You're like a little child who wants to help mode along. He's gonna help you along and direct you where you're supposed to go. Even in your prayers, this is praying in the Holy Spirit. You're praying in what the Holy Spirit wants and praying in dependence. So how would you practically pray with the Holy Spirit once? Here's a public application. You could read the book that he wrote and pray what he wrote. That would be much better than than trying to make up some ecstatic language. This is what the Bible says about how to persevere. Build up your doctrine. Build up the most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Now pray, don't just do it privately, do it corporately. Do these things privately and corporately. Are you doing them? When's the time for our church when we pray together? Small group. So my dear beloved, if you neglect the small group and this time of prayer, don't you see that this is an immediate application to persevere? You can come to small group and you can see very often see the ones who are gonna persevere. How do you persevere? Keep yourselves in the most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Now verse 21, keep yourselves in the love of God. Here's the imperative. What you're to do. Keep yourselves in the faith. This perseverance. You remember, for time sake I'll just say it, you remember the churches in Revelation. At the end of each exhortation of the church, he says to them, overcome. Overcome. Overcome. Let's look at it very briefly. I'm gonna change my mind. Chapter two, we're gonna look at it quick. Chapter two, the loveless church, Ephesus. They've lost their first love. Chapter two, verse seven. What are you to do? You're to repent, heal as an ear. Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is the midst of the paradise of God. The overcoming is perseverance. You can read overcoming and you can change in the word. He who perseveres. What about the persecuted church? When you're persecuted. Chapter two, verse 11. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. Are you gonna persevere through persecution? Are you gonna persevere when your love grows cold? Chapter two, verse 17. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. Chapter two, verse 26. And he who overcomes will keep my works into the end. Do you have a compromising like Pergamos, compromising come into your life where you begin to no longer discern between two doctrine and false doctrine. Do you have corruption come in like Thyatira where immorality comes in? Are you gonna overcome from these things? Are you gonna live in them? Chapter three, verse five. He who overcomes shall be clothed with white garments and I will not blot out his name from the book of life. Chapter three, verse 12. He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more. So this is the keep yourselves in the love of God. Let's turn back to Jude. So Jude, verse 21. Keep yourselves in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ into eternal life. This is the last of the three participles about how to keep yourselves in the love of God, how to persevere. You are to look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ into eternal life. This word for looking is describing a future event coming. When the return of the Lord comes, you wanna persevere? Look for the Lord's return. Be thinking about it, anticipating it, thrilled about it. And when somebody comes and the idea of sin comes, temptation comes, you say, how could I do this sin? And imagine the Lord's imminent return when I'm holding this sin. If the Lord were to come back while you're praying, wouldn't you be thrilled? Well, what if you're complaining? If the Lord were to come back while you're evangelizing, you'd be like, see, I told you. And you'd be so happy. But if you come back in apathy and laziness, you would say, oh, how I should not have been that way, Lord. You see how this makes you practically want to persevere when you are thinking about the Lord's return, when you are praying for what the spirit wants and the strength of the spirit. When you're building up the doctrine, these things will help you persevere. But not just, you should not just be concerned about yourself. The prideful person says, well, I know my doctrine. I pray all the time. And oh yes, let me tell you about the Lord's return. But the humble person does these things and then they look to help others. Verses 22 to 23. Help others to persevere. Help others to persevere. On some have compassion, making a distinction. But others say with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment to fall by the flesh. Jude is now addressing, there have been people who have been caught up in the cheap grace. People who have been caught up by the false teachers. And you're to have discernment. You are to recognize there's different categories of people who are caught up in false doctrine. In verse 22, first, you have compassion on those who are the doubters. Those who are beginning to waver about the faith. Those who have gone away from the assembly. Do you remember Matthew 18, verses 10 to 14, where Jesus says when the lost sheep goes out, won't the shepherd who has 99, leave those 99 and go run after the lost sheep? That's what you're to do. Look, Jude is not to the pastors. Like Dr. Abendroth was talking about in the conference. It's not to the pastors, it's to the people. So are you ready to run out after those who fade away? How will you know how to do that? Small group, yep. Douglas Mew talks about the application for this passage is in small group, if small group is done rightly. Douglas Mew is a very popular, respected commentator. How are you gonna know if they're not there? How are you gonna know if they're persevering? How are you gonna be able to run after them when they don't show up? Have compassion. But others, verse 23, others, you gotta be afraid. This is more now those who are not just beginning to believe the false doctrine, but they're teaching it. But others say with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. When you see them and they're smug, when you see them and they laugh at the word of God, that very often, like looking online about the three free sins, there's many smug jokes about many how Steve Brown talks about how many people have tried to help him get away from this doctrine and he looks at it very smugly, arrogantly, saying, oh, they say I'm a false teacher and he laughs. You see, someone like that, if you were to speak to them, you must speak with fear as if they're on fire. You are afraid that the theology that they have can also set you on fire. You don't walk in arrogantly, I know this truth. No, but with someone who's a false teacher, you want to say them if you can, if you can snatch them out. But if you're doing it, not getting close to that false evil doctrine that turns the grace of God into a license to sin. This picture is also given from the Old Testament about pulling one out of the fire from Zechariah. And this hating the garment defiled by the flesh, the defiled by the flesh is literally soiled undergarments. You see, that's how you view the garment is an undergarment, the defiled is excrement. That's how you view the false teacher and how you're afraid that you don't want to get caught up. So now this is how you persevere and you help others to persevere. You are praying in the spirit. You're building up the doctrine. You are looking for the Lord's return. And you help others to persevere. You're concerned about others. And finally, how is this to happen? This is what I really wanted to get to. Because this is what honors and glorifies the Lord. It's verses 24 to 25. How can that happen? How can it happen? Before we get into the verses, please understand how impossible it is for you to persevere in your own strength. I have not had one pastor fall away. I have had many pastors fall away. I have seen men, plural. I've seen a number of men who know much more than me. Who are more fervent than me seemingly. Who know more doctrine, who are smarter, stronger, faster. They're better than me in everything. And they don't persevere. How will you persevere? Verse 24, now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling. How can you persevere when so much false doctrine? How can you persevere when you don't have the strength in yourself? Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. You need a savior. You don't just need a savior to justify you. You need a savior to help you to persevere to the end. You need a savior just as much now as much as the moment before you believed. Do you look to Christ that way? Day in and day out. That he's the one who can keep you from stumbling. Look at this passage and how beautiful it is. In verses 20, verse 24, he talks about how the work of God in preserving. He's able to keep you from stumbling. He will keep you repentant. But look at the second part of verse 24. And to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. He will keep you justified. You have his righteousness. So that when you're presented before his throne, he's the one who keeps his elect. His power and keeping you from stumbling is how we can say that you cannot lose your salvation. So praise him because he's able to keep you from stumbling. He's able to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. This exceeding joy is his joy. His joy. He remembers F and I of three, how the Lord sings over those whom he saves. Do you remember Luke 15? Who's the rejoicing one when the sinner comes home? The father. That's God's rejoicing over the salvation of sinners. And this joy here is his joy in persevering his saints all the way to the end. And he won't persevere you in wickedness, but he keeps you from stumbling. He keeps you repentant. Bunyan talks about this in the Pilgrim's Progress when Christian goes to the interpreter's house and there's a fire and there's a fire and there's a man throwing water on it continually. And Christian asks the interpreter, what is this? And the interpreter says, well, you see the fire is the saints faith, persevering, but the guy throwing water is Satan. But what he does, Satan doesn't see. What he doesn't see is on the backside of the fire, the backside of the fireplace, there's two sides. The Lord's continually throwing oil on the fire. How can you persevere? How can you persevere? The Lord keeps you. The Lord keeps his saints. You don't have to be smarter and stronger and faster because you have a God, you have a savior who is able and mighty and stronger and faster. He's the one that can save you. What kind of praise now do you give him? To God, our savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever, amen. You remember the Banner of Brothers analogy? Imagine if you were to, before you were to be dropped out on a D-day, men are wedding themselves, men are puking, men are terrified, white and trembling, knowing, looking around, knowing most of us will die. What if the Lord came to you and said, you'll make it through this battle and you'll make it through this war? How would that encourage you in the battle? And how would that encourage you in the fight? You would run out like Wolverine, right? You're like, I can't get hurt. And you'd run out with a greater fervency. But if you think that you can lose your salvation, how are you gonna be? You're gonna be hiding behind a rock and you're not gonna come out. This is how perseverance works. God's sovereignty, your responsibility. So trust him, trust this savior who's able to keep you. It won't be easy. You're gonna run out and say, he's gonna get me and then you're gonna get shot and you're gonna fall down bleeding and you're gonna say, Lord, I thought you said I was gonna persevere. He says, it's only a flesh wound. Get up and keep going. You're not gonna go through this battle without wounds. You're gonna go through with many wounds. You're gonna get shot up by God's grace. He's a savior. He's how you persevere. His strength. Doxology, this is one of the most beautiful doxologies in all the Bible. People love it. But look at how in its context it is even more glorious with all of the false teaching in Jude with your need to pray and build up your most holy faith and to keep others from falling away for your need to persevere with all the context, what a glorious savior we have and this savior, this savior doxologies work this way. They say, look at what God has done and describe his work and then they say, look how glorious he is for doing it. Like this, the doxology worked this way. Look at that mountain. The one who made that mountain. Look at how high it is. Look at how mighty that mountain is, how beautiful. Look at the valleys. Now to him who makes the mightiest of mountains be glory and honor for his amazing creating work. Doxologies work this way. Look at the baby, how beautiful this baby is and how cute and lovely, what a gift from God. Now to God who gives and blesses the womb be all glory and honor and praise. You see how doxology works? It says that it describes the work of God and then it says how wonderful is God to do it. So this doxology says, now to him, the only one who's able, the only one who's powerful to keep you all the way to heaven's gate, he's got the power to do it. To the one who presents you justified before the throne and he does it in a thrilled way, happily able to do it. To that savior who alone is wise, be all the glory to him, be all the majesty, all the greatness to him, all the dominion and the power both now and forever, amen. Our savior who alone is wise. You remember Romans 11 and the doxology, one of the doxologies in Romans 11 is to the wisdom of the gospel. He alone has the wisdom of the gospel. This beautiful plan. Be glory, what kind of glory and perseverance? But his mercy, his loving kindness, just like when Moses asked to see the Lord's glory and the Lord revealed it by truths about himself, his loving kindness, his mercy, his justice and they went shining forth like light and Moses couldn't behold them. You can only see the backside of the Lord. That's the glory that is in our persevering savior, a preserving savior. What glory, what majesty, what greatness? Majesty is the greatness. How great a king who takes us and keeps us from falling away. The dominion, what strength, who has strength? Can you measure the strength of the God who causes his saints to persevere? What does that look like? Is that in, can you measure that with kilograms? Can you measure that with, what are some other units of energy? I don't know, engineers. Can you measure this strength, this dominion? Is it measurable? What it takes to save a soul and persevere a soul? What a savior we have. What power, what authority does he have? He's the only one who has the authority to make souls persevere to the end. So I plead with you, my beloved, don't believe the cheap grace lies. Don't believe them when they come in your mind and you wanna justify your apathy, your rebellion. Despise them then and keep in your mind building yourselves up to your most holy faith, praying in the spirit, looking for the Lord's return. And let us be a band of brothers together, not looking to our own strength but saying we have a savior who will persevere us to the end. Put your faith in him, let's pray. Dear God Almighty, we need you. We need you to persevere. Sometimes perseverance can be so discouraging, Lord. When the people we love don't persevere, help us to look to you, the author and finisher of our faith, our great preserving savior. I give you glory, we cling to you, Lord. Help us to apply this corporately and personally, amen.