Jude 24 in your Bible.
The story of Roman concrete—Roman by the country of Rome, the lone superpower of its day—is one that is lost to technology. Roman concrete is actually quite superior to the concrete we have today, built to last. Modern-day concrete lasts anywhere from 50 to 100 years. Roman concrete was designed to last and is still standing, like the Colosseum, two millennia later. As a matter of fact, the Colosseum would have almost no flaws in it if it weren't for the fact that people came in and pillaged certain things out of it.
Last year in May of 2023, Debbie and I were in Rome. When you ride by it or go through it, there are all kinds of imperfections, but that's normally because of what people have taken off of it. It's a beautiful thing to see.
The Romans discovered that by mixing lime with a special type of volcanic ash found in Pozzuoli, Italy, called pozzolana, they could create a mortar that was incredibly durable. Modern concrete is mixed with limestone and clay, but pozzolana contains silica and alumina. When mixed with water and lime, it creates a chemical reaction that forms a rock-like material.
Crucially, this reaction can happen underwater, allowing the Romans to build massive harbor piers underwater, breakwaters, and other structures that have lasted for 2,000 years. If you travel even in the Middle East where Rome occupied that part of the world, and you go to Caesarea, you'll see certain buildings along the Mediterranean Sea built during the time of Christ that are still standing and even in use to this day. Because they were so incredibly durable, their piers are still lasting.
For centuries, scientists wondered why Roman harbor walls didn't crumble despite the constant battling with saltwater. In the last twenty years, they found that when seawater gets into the cracks of the concrete, it reacts with rare minerals in it, called tobermorite, creating a crystallized structure that actually makes the concrete more durable when it comes in contact with water.
The enemy of modern concrete is water. Debbie and I had a lot of concrete work done in our backyard last year, and the enemy of concrete is water. The best example of the longevity of Roman concrete is the Pantheon, which was built in 126 AD and is still standing almost 2,000 years later. We could go inside the Pantheon today and hold a service inside. It is the world's largest dome without any form of steel reinforcement.
You look at our building here, and it's a dome. Some of you walked in like, "Man, that looks like a Bundt cake pan," or "That looks like a spaceship." We agree with all of it! We've grown to love the structure. The guy who designed it had some bizarre theology—he thought if you were in this building when the Rapture happened, you'd get to heaven faster. So I encourage you to be at church when the Rapture happens! Don't skip; you're really going to regret being late to the twinkling. But this building is reinforced with all kinds of steel throughout. It's considered top-ten post-modern religious architecture in the world, but it's nothing compared to the Pantheon in its beauty and wonder.
Roman concrete was built to last. It's still around thousands of years later. It's awesome to see how God takes His knowledge, gives it to people, and creates things built to last.
We come to the Book of Jude. As I was studying and preparing, knowing that Debbie and I would be leaving for sabbatical soon, I asked, "Lord, what passage should I preach out of before we leave?" For the last three services, we have been talking about the Book of Jude.
If you remember, Jude was not a follower of Jesus before the resurrection. As a matter of fact, Jude was a denier of Christ. Jude was not one of the original apostles; he was the half-brother of Christ, the son of Mary and Joseph. He did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He thought his brother had a screw loose for claiming to be the Messiah. It was not until after the resurrection that Jude ever believed Jesus was who He claimed to be.
The resurrection changes everything. If you're here this morning and you're not a believer, that's fine. We're thrilled that you're here. Don't feel pressure from us, but listen to the Lord on that. Understand that if Jesus rose from the grave under His own power, then He is who He claimed to be. You ought to be intellectually honest, study that out, and put your faith and trust in Christ alone today.
Jude put his faith and trust in Christ, and he wrote what is called a general epistle. That means he was writing to all Christians everywhere, not to a specific person or church. He was helping them because false doctrine and bad theology, specifically Gnosticism, had entered into the church. Gnosticism taught that all physical or tangible things were inherently sinful. Jude refutes that ungodly teaching, explaining that not all physical things are sinful, for Jesus Christ came in the flesh and was crucified for our sins.
In verse 16, Jude writes about the character of false teachers. In verse 17, he emphasizes the importance of Scripture. In verse 18, he reminds us that mockers will come, and in verse 19, he describes their nature. In verse 20, we are commanded to build ourselves up in our most holy faith and to grow. That's why church is important—we are commanded to mature in our faith through private worship and diligent study. He then instructs us to keep ourselves in the love of God and to have compassion on those who have fallen prey to false doctrine, helping them very carefully.
He ends his letter—the fourth shortest book in the New Testament—with Jude's doxology. A doxology comes from two words meaning "praise" and "word"—it is simply a word of praise to God. There are many doxologies throughout Scripture. The Book of Psalms contains five collections, each ending with a doxology. Psalm 150 is entirely a doxology. Jude ends his letter with a doxology that helps us understand the sustainer and security of the saint.
"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
This is so vitally important for us to understand: salvation is a work of God. Notice the phrase, "Now unto him." Salvation has nothing to do with your own effort, goodness, or commandment-keeping. Salvation is entirely a work of God. I could not save myself, and apart from the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I would not save myself. I needed God to show me the truth in His Word, and I needed the Holy Spirit to convict me of sin and pull me to Himself.
Salvation is a work of God. If you were to ask me what sub-doctrine within soteriology—the doctrine of salvation—is most vital to grasp, I would say the doctrine of eternal security. By eternal security, we mean that once you are saved, you are saved for eternity.
Why do we say that? Because salvation was so incredibly costly. Jesus left heaven, came to earth, lived a perfect life for thirty-three and a half years, and was murdered on a cross, spilling His blood for your sin and mine. Salvation also cost me my self-will; I had to surrender and submit to the Lord. I had to come to grips with the reality that I am incapable of saving myself and unworthy on my own. It requires absolute surrender, turning away from what the world tells me, and yielding entirely to Him.
We must be careful not to assume that any works can earn salvation. Salvation is the rejection of all self-righteous works, trusting 100% in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. When Jesus paid our sin debt, He paid for all of it. Jesus said:
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." — Matthew 7:13–14
It matters greatly that we understand that salvation is giving up everything and trusting only Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" — Titus 3:5
Verse 24 reminds us, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling." Salvation is eternal. God keeps us from falling away from Him. When I got saved, I was saved forever.
I love redundancies because they keep us safe. You don't want an airplane to have only one warning light; you want redundant warnings. Redundancies in Scripture reinforce truth. Consider what Jesus says:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." — John 10:27–30
Right there are three affirmations that your salvation is eternal: He gives eternal life, no man can pluck you out of His hand, and no man can pluck you out of the Father's hand.
Paul writes similarly to the church at Rome:
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." — Romans 8:38–39
In Ephesians, Paul uses a seal as an illustration of security:
"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." — Ephesians 1:13–14
When you buy a house, you give earnest money as a guarantee that you will pay the full price. The Holy Spirit inside every believer is the guarantee of our full heavenly inheritance.
"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." — Hebrews 13:5
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." — 1 John 5:13
If I could lose my salvation, it would not be eternal or everlasting. If I could work my way out of salvation, it would depend on me rather than God.
My father-in-law passed away at the end of January. He had been a faithful follower of Christ for fifty years. He loved the Lord and faithfully served Him. Towards the end of his life, he suffered from Lewy body dementia. One of the areas affected was his cognitive understanding of Scripture. In the last six weeks of his life, he struggled to mentally grasp his security in Christ, living in fear and frustration because his mind was failing. It was heartbreaking to watch, but we take comfort knowing that while dementia took his mental clarity, it could not take him out of Jesus' hands. The moment he died, he went straight to heaven. Salvation is forever.
Jude says He is able "to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Salvation leads to sanctification—the ongoing supernatural work of God to conform saved sinners to the image of Christ. "Faultless" means without moral blemish or defect, standing clean because we are forgiven through Jesus Christ.
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" — Ephesians 1:7
Sanctification happens as we understand our sin nature. We are all sinners, and fools make a mock of sin. When Isaiah saw the holiness of God, he declared:
"Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." — Isaiah 6:5
God is holy, and sin is devastating. God hates sin—whether it is gossip, bitterness, or an unforgiving heart. That reality should cause us to live in repentance and total dependence on Him. A sanctified life is powerful.
Notice that Jude says He will present us "with exceeding joy." On Wednesday, as a police chaplain, I had to take a CPR certification class alongside Advanced Officer Training. I was intimidated because these officers take it every two years, whereas I had only done basic courses. But it turned out to be an incredible class. We practiced tourniquets, chest compressions, and practical scenarios. At the end, we took the exam. I filled out the test, we scored it, and I got a 100%! There was a genuine sense of joy because when judged, I passed the test.
Similarly, there will be exceeding joy when we are presented faultless before God's glory. When you allow His Word to transform your heart, mind, and soul, you can stand before Him at the judgment seat with joy, knowing you listened, obeyed, and walked in His truth.
Jude closes his letter with timeless praise:
"To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." — Jude 25
We serve an awesome God, and our praise is directed to the Creator of the universe. He is the "only wise God"—singular, isolated from all false idols, supreme in wisdom and purity. He is "our Savior," the One who rescued us from judgment and died in our place on the cross.
Because He is our Savior, our hearts cannot help but praise Him. We ascribe to Him glory, majesty, dominion, and power, both now and forever.
Christians who are built to last are a praising people. We are secure in the Lord. Even when life gets difficult, believers who stay close to Christ and praise Him endure. Praise is real when it goes through the crucible of life—when loved ones pass away, when children struggle, or when finances are tight—and we still choose to worship. Our praise is timeless because it does not depend on our circumstances, but on the power, authority, and majesty of our Savior.
When the trial waters of life creep into the cracks of our lives, God's grace meets our problems and gives us peace that passes understanding. The very struggles that could break us end up making us stronger through Christ. We remain faithful, not by our own merit, but because we put God first and praise Him.
Built to last. Are you running to the world for comfort, or are you running to the King of kings, who carries your burdens and holds you fast?