HE ENABLES US
Jude 1:24 Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
What a wonderful verse! God is able to keep us from falling. So, why do people fall? It says God is able and can do all things, but that means He gives us the power, the authority, and the wisdom necessary to keep from falling. It is obvious that people fall because they yield to the devil, to sin, to the works of their flesh and then, they fall into sin. That didn’t have to happen because God’s power was right there to deliver them! First Corinthians 10:13 is a powerful verse that people often misquote because they don’t fully understand its meaning. Most people will say, “God says He won’t tempt you beyond what you can handle.” First, God is not tempting anyone. James says that God is not tempted with evil and, therefore, He doesn’t tempt any man with evil. The devil is the tempter, not God. Let’s look at this verse in the Amplified Classic, “For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads], has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear], but God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.”
This is a long verse but really compliments what Jude is telling us, that God is able to keep you from falling. How? First, realize that the things you are dealing with are the same things that the devil is tempting millions of people with; and if it is sin, you can and must resist it. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It is not the will of God for us to fall into sin or fall because of sin. Any and everything that God says is sin can and must be resisted by every born-again believer. If you are being tempted, you can resist it because God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to endure, and there is always an escape route for you to take. One last thought, to bear up under it patiently doesn’t mean you live with sin in your life. No, by faith and patience we inherit the promises, and one of His promises is that you will not fall. That is why Jude says He is able to keep us from falling.
The other important thing Jude tells us is this, the Lord is able to present us faultless in the presence of God, in His very glory with exceeding joy. Jesus has accepted us in the beloved. We are in the family. We have been washed in the blood and made clean, made righteous, and made holy. It is not about what you have done. It is about what the blood has done. I heard this recently, and I loved it. When the blood was on the doorpost and the death angel passed over, he wasn’t looking inside the house to see who was worthy or not worthy, he was only looking for the blood, which was a type representing the blood of Christ. So, how much more powerful is the actual blood that Jesus shed? The blood that made us worthy and caused Him to be able to present us in the very glory of God!