Morning By Morning #284

To him who is able…to present you before his glorious presence without fault…

Jude 24

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

Roll those wondrous words around in your mind: “without fault”! Today we are far from faultless, but since our Lord never stops short of perfection in His works of love, one day we too will reach perfection. The Savior who will keep His people to the very end will also finally “present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27).

All the jewels of the Savior’s crown are of the highest quality, being the most transparent and without a single flaw. All the maids of honor who attend us, as the Lamb’s bride, are pure virgins also “without stain…or any other blemish.” But how will Jesus make us faultless? He will cleanse us from our sins with His own blood until we are as pure and fair as God’s holiest angel, and then He will clothe us in His own righteousness, making us saints who are absolutely without fault—yes, absolutely perfect in His sight.

We will be completely above reproach in God’s eyes. His law will not only be able to bring no charge against us, but it will actually be glorified in us. Furthermore, the work of the Holy Spirit within us will be totally complete, for He will make us so perfectly holy that we will no longer have any lingering tendency toward sin. Our judgment, memory, and will—indeed, every power and passion in us—will be liberated from the captivity of evil. We will be holy even as God is holy and we will dwell in His presence forever. And His saints will not be out of place in heaven, for their beauty will be as great as that of the place prepared for them.

Oh, the rapturous joy of that moment when the eternal doors will be raised, and we, having been made ready for our inheritance, will dwell with the saints in everlasting light! Sin will be gone, Satan will be shut out, temptation will be forever past, and we will be faultless before God—this will be heaven indeed!

May we be joyful now as we rehearse the song of eternal praise that will soon roll forth in full chorus from the blood-cleansed hosts of heaven. May we imitate David’s jubilation before the ark of the covenant as a prelude to our glorious joy before God’s throne. (See 2 Sam. 6:14 – 15.)

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Yes, someday believers will be “without fault,” “present[ed] before [God’s] glorious presence.” Here is John’s description of our future:

There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:9 – 10

Our “white robes” will be the wedding clothes of the righteousness of Christ who “has become…our righteousness” (1 Cor. 1:30). In that day “Jerusalem will live in safety [and] it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness” (Jer. 33:16). “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev. 21:2).