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ÒPreserved
in Jesus ChristÓ Jude
1 Here God the Holy Ghost tells us that all
who are GodÕs, because we are from eternity Òsanctified by God the Father,Ó
are Òpreserved in Jesus Christ.Ó Kept The word ÒpreservedÓ means Òwatched
over,Ó Òguarded,Ó Òkept from loss or injury.Ó It is a passive verb. So the
sweet message of God to our hearts in these words is this. — Because
God has set us apart unto himself in Christ in eternal election, we are
absolutely kept from any harm coming to us, because we are in Christ made the
objects of His unceasing care. The
words here might be translated, Òkept for Jesus Christ.Ó The Lord our God
keeps his eye upon us all the time. He watches over, guards, and protects his
elect continually. And this preservation is altogether His work. Rejoice Let all who
trust Christ understand and ever rejoice in this blessed fact. — In eternal sanctification, we
were set apart by God the Father in election in Christ, chosen in him. We
have a place in his heart, who declares, ÒI have loved thee with an
everlasting love.Ó We are from everlasting in his heart, in his hands,
and in him. We are one with Christ! We are one with him as members of the
body are one with the head. We are one with him as our covenant Surety and
Representative before God. Being in him and one with him, we are preserved in
him and by him, — preserved by him before we were called and preserved
by him after we have been called. It is written, ÒThey are preserved
forever!Ó Unto Calling All GodÕs elect
are secretly preserved in Christ from eternity, preserved before their
calling, and preserved unto their calling. We were preserved from condemnation and the second death. We were
not preserved from falling with the rest of mankind in the sin and fall of
our father Adam. We were not preserved from the depravity and corruption of
human nature which all men have by birth from Adam. And we are not preserved
from iniquity, transgression, and sin. We are all, by nature, Òchildren of
wrath.Ó Preserved
Still Yet, even in those days gone by, though
fallen, depraved, hell-bent Òchildren of wrath,Ó Jude tells us, and
all of Scripture teaches us, that we who now believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and all who shall yet believe on him were so completely and absolutely
preserved, watched over, guarded, and protected by our God, by virtue of our
union with Christ, that it was not possible for us to suffer any real loss or
injury by all that we experience in time! We were, even in our wrathful state
of unbelief, so preserved that the law could not execute the sentence of
condemnation on us, sin could not damn us, and Satan could not destroy us. Then, after
being called to life and faith in Christ, we are preserved still in Christ. Our Savior said, ÒI give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perishÓ (John 10:28). Don Fortner |
Pastor FortnerÕs |