Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Jude 24-25 ESV

     The book of Jude teaches us how we should live and gives testimony as to what we believe. There were those, which this book addresses, who were using the grace of God as a ticket to sin. They were living immorally and selfishly and claiming to be under grace. This in a nutshell gives an overview of the book. In this book, warning are given as to how God has dealt with sin in the past, and He hasn’t changed. Not only were people living in this manner, but false teachers, perhaps those who teach the prosperity gospel today, were promoting this false way of living. Jude addresses the improper lifestyles more than the false teaching. I believe it is because your life will always give testimony as to what you believe. Also, if you live improperly with NO regard to holiness, you are communicating to God, who is Holy, that He has made little difference in you life. You are also revealing how little YOU love him, for if you love him, you will desire to live holy. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 ESV  We were not redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus to live with no regard for his teachings. Some teachings that involve grace are this…. That we are saved by it (Ephesians 2:8-9)…. That we don’t use it as a ticket to sin (Romans 6:1,14-15) and a multitude of other verses and teachings throughout the Bible also testify to that. Grace is a beautiful thing, for it is a gift to us. I provides for us a life in Christ that we could never obtain on our own. It is able to hold on to us when we fail. It is the expression of God’s abundant love for us by giving us the gift of life through His Son Jesus. Grace is God’s hand in our life doing wonderful things.

Keeps Us:
     We walk not in our own strength but in His strength because the Holy Spirit live in each one of us as Christians. We are soldiers in battle, not against flesh and blood but against an uses foe; but we walk not alone, fore he is with us. Paul addressed Timothy when he said, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:1 ESV  We have the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised before He ascended. Because we have this Spirit living in us, we, as Christinas, are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This presence is for us that we might not walk alone but be empowered by His grace that keeps us living in the truth of His ways, and that we might be witnesses to all

Covers Us:
     We will one day stand before God, and if we were to do so without Christ, our sin would be all that God saw. Jesus is the grace need and given for the purpose of covering our sins by paying a debt he did not owe…. Our sin debt. He will one day present us before God, not in our righteousness but His. He saved my life for His glory. If someone took a bullet for fee, I would be eternally grateful and would like to thing I would do all I could to express my thankfulness. Especially if I deserved that bullet, and they were innocent but cared more about me than their own life. That describes in a very simple way what Jesus did for us as sinners. I am saved by His blood, and I desire to live for Him. I am thankful for His grace in my life. Without such beautiful grace, I would have no hope.

     Our response to such grace should be to honor Him by how we worship and live. Not Casually but with our mind, body, and soul. Everything within us should shout…… GLORY!      MAJESTY!     DOMINION!     AND     AUTHORITY!     BEFORE ALL TIME AND NOW AND FOREVER MORE! God has and is doing great things in our lives as Christians, and we need to be very careful not to become gospel-hardened … to hear and not be moved by the fact that we worship the Creator of the universe, and that He sent His only Son to die for us. Think much on this; for if we don’t, we will fill our minds with things that really don’t matter.  Never forget to keep what is most important in your life the most important. The most important is … God the Father….Jesus…. And the Holy Spirit and the grace that was shown by Him.  He is eternal and nothing else has eternal value. This is our enduring grace….. IN CHRIST ALONE!

Because Of His marvelous Grace ~ Pastor David