I want you to turn in your Bibles
again to Romans chapter 8, which Brother Gabe read a moment
ago. And I just want to leave the
last, Romans chapter 8, the last few verses of that chapter. Start with verse 35, Romans 8,
35. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake
we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the
slaughter. And nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him that loveth us. For I am
persuaded, convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, 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 I'll be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, one other
scripture, John chapter ten, John chapter ten. Now, my subject this morning
is one that's been argued and debated for centuries, and have argued, argued over these
words often. My subject can be called by many
names. It can be called once saved,
always saved. It can be called once in grace,
always in grace. It can be called the eternal
security of the believer. It can be called the perseverance
and preservation of the believer. But our Lord puts it in very
plain words in John chapter 10. So let's start reading with verse
22. And it was at Jerusalem, the
feast of the dedication, and it was winter, and Jesus walked
in the temple in Solomon's port. Then came the Jews round about
him and said to him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If
you be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you.
And you didn't believe me. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness to me. But you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep. As I said to you, now listen,
my sheep hear my voice, I know them, they follow me, and I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand." That's as plain
as it can be stated. That's as plain as it can be
said. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. And nobody is able to pluck them
out of my Father's hand. The hymn writer who sang a moment
ago, how firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for
your faith in his excellent word. And that's so. Though all hell
should endeavor to shake, I'll never, I'll never, no, never
forsake." Now, I'm going to leave an outline with you, and I want
you to remember it. What is this doctrine, once saved,
always saved, which we're preaching? What is this doctrine? The second,
the second point is this, what does God's Word say about this
subject? And thirdly, why is it so important? All right, here's the first point.
What is this doctrine? You know, last Sunday I brought
a message on this subject. Christ said, My doctrine's not
mine. My doctrine is the doctrine of
him who sent me. And he calls his chief his people,
his sheep over and over and over and over again. And he said,
my father gave these sheep to me and nobody's ever able to
pluck them out of my father's hand. How did the Lord get these
sheep? The father gave them to him.
Look at verse 29. How did he get the sheep? My
father, which gave them me, is greater than all. and no man
can pluck them out of his hand. That's how he got his sheep.
The Father gave them to him. Well, what did the Savior do
for his sheep? Well, look at verse 10, verse
14 in John 10. John 10, 14. I'm the good shepherd. I know my sheep. I'm known of
mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. The
Father gave them the sheep, and He laid down His life for them.
Look at that next verse. And other sheep I have, which
are not of this particular foal, them also I must bring. And they
shall hear My voice, and they shall come to Me. They shall hear My voice, and
they shall be one foal and one shepherd. How did He get them?
Father gave them to him. What did he do, Father? He died,
Father. What do the sheep do in response?
They come to him. They hear his word and believe
on him, and they come to him. This promise of God is eternal
life, eternal grace, eternal security, and he gives it only
to his sheep. What's in Christ? Always in Christ. Isn't that true? What's in Christ? He chose them. They're crucified
with Christ. They're risen with Christ. They're
seated with Christ. So what's in Christ? They're
always in Christ. How could it be otherwise? They're children of God, and
they're always children of God. They're always sons. Now are
we sons of God. How can they lose eternal life? How can they cease to be sons
of God? In Christ always, sons of God
always, and they can never be otherwise. In this scripture
we read while ago, God justified them. Who unjustified them? How can anyone unjustify them
if God justifies them, sanctifies them, washed them, accepted them
in the beloved? Once passed from death into life,
always living, eternal life. Now, listen, I'm not saying that
a believer never sins. I'm not saying that at all. Often, everybody here, to our
grief and to our sorrow, we say things, we do things, and we
think things that we shouldn't say, shouldn't do, and shouldn't
think. That's just so. Abraham—I'll
give you a few illustrations. Abraham, to protect his own life,
to preserve his own life, denied his own wine. Abraham did that. Righteous lot, righteous lot
abode in Sodom, and he did some very bad things. Jacob, Jacob denied his father
and his brother, tricked them, deceived them, and his mother
had a part in it. David's sin, tried to hide it,
and then killed one of his dearest friends. Peter denied his Lord
three times. Then when our Lord questioned
him about it, he said, Lord, you know all things. You know
I love you. You know I love you. Absolutely. Paul and Barnabas.
Did you ever read that Scripture talks about Paul and
Barnabas having a falling out. They had a dandy. You see, Paul
went on a mission trip with Barnabas and took John Mark with him.
And John Mark quit him. He left him. And Paul said, he's
not coming back with us anymore. And Barnabas said, well, if he's
not coming, I'm not coming. Believe it or not. And so Paul
and Barnabas had a contingent. And Paul left Barnabas and went
with Silas. And then later, Paul said words,
said, bring John Mark, I need him. That's great love for Jesus. These people told me, true believers,
true believers, never, never, totally and finally depart from
Christ. They can't. They can't. They'll always repent, they'll
always return to the fold, and they'll always breathe over their
failures, always. True believers, let me tell you
something, true believers may lose the comfort of grace, but
never lose the grace. They may lose the comfort, but
not the grace, because they're saved by grace. They're redeemed
by grace. They're begotten by grace. That's
right. True believers may lose the feeling,
but not the fact. Can't be. The feelings come and
feelings go. And feelings are deceiving. Our
warrant is the Word of God. We believe it. True believers
may entertain doubts and fears about themselves, but never about
Him. And that's true. True believers
entertain doubts and fears about ourselves, but never about Christ,
because I know who I have believed. And I am persuaded, I am confident,
I am persuaded He is able to keep that which I have committed
to Him entirely wholly, completely to Him, against that day of judgment. All right, what is the doctrine?
My sheep, my Father gave them to me, I give them eternal life,
and they'll never perish. And nobody can pluck them out
of my hand, nobody can take them out of my Father's hand. That's
what we're preaching, and that's something. All right, here's
my second part. What does God's Word say about
this doctrine? What does God's Word say about
the preservation and the perseverance of the people of God? Well, years
ago, I'm down the highway, and Doris and I saw a sign out in
front of a church, big sign, big letters, and the sign said
this. God said it, I believe it, and
that settles it. You ever see that sign? It's
not a... God said it, I believe it, and
that settles it. And I looked at her and I said,
what's wrong with that? She said, I don't know, what's
wrong with it? I said, well, change it. God
said it, I believe it, and that settles it, whether I believe
it or not. God's Word doesn't depend on
you believing. God's Word depends on God. God
said it, and that's settled, whether you believe it or not.
But I believe it. I believe it. Listen to the Scripture.
Listen to this. I'll just quote these for you.
John 5, 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me
have everlasting life, and shall never come into contradiction."
Never! Listen to this, John 6, verse
30, "...all that my Father giveth me shall come to me, and him
that cometh to me I'll let no wise cast out." No way! Can't think. Philippians 1, 6 says this, being
confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good
work in you will finish it. And to the day of Jesus. Did
he start it? He finished it. The Almighty
God always finishes what he starts. And Jude, Jude wrote this. Now unto him. that's able to
keep you from falling. Now unto Him that's able to present
you faultless before His presence with exceeding joy. To Him, the
only wise God and Savior, to Him be glory, dominion, majesty
from now on, ever, forever. Let me show you something here.
You think carefully about this, what Scripture says about the
security of God's people. Our Lord has attributes, characteristics. Our Lord has offices. Our Lord
Jesus Christ is this to every believer. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the head of the church. You know what Scripture says?
He's the head of the church. What kind of head is it that
loses his church? What's happening? Christ is the head of the church.
What kind of head would he be if he lost some of the members
of his church? Christ Jesus is our shepherd.
What kind of shepherd is he that loses his sheep? He won't lose
a one. He went after that lost sheep.
and searched till he found him, put him on his shoulders, brought
him home. What kind of shepherd is a shepherd that loses? Christ
is the bridegroom. What kind of bridegroom is it
that loses the bride? She's the main part of this wedding
feast, the marriage supper, the lamb. He's the bridegroom. There he is, wow, and he's not
going to lose a one. Christ being come, listen, a
high priest of good things to come, will his atonement fail
in your case? Will his blood be shed in vain
in your case? No, sir. My sheep here, my boys,
I give them eternal life, and they shall never Not of one of
them. Christ is the King. King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ is the King. And if chosen
in Him, called in Him, faithful in Him, shall He lose those faithful
ones? No, no. I want you to turn to a scripture.
I believe you've read it before, but let's turn to Ecclesiastes. The book of Ecclesiastes, chapter
3. Chapter 3. What is the scriptural
proof that Almighty God will keep his sheep and not lose one
of them? Ecclesiastes 3, verse 14 and
15. I want you to read this. I got
it marked in my Bible as old circumference. I know, Ecclesiastes
3.14, I know that whatsoever God doeth, did he save you? Did he save me? Did he call you? Did he call me? If God did it,
it shall be forever, not temporary. Nothing can be put to it Nothing
can be taken from it, for God does it that men may fear God. That which hath been is now,
and that which is to be has already been. And God requires that which
is now. I know that what God does is
You can't put anything to it, can't add anything to it, and
you can't take anything out of it. If God did it, it is forever. That's what that song says. That
soul, that last verse, that soul that owned Jesus hath leaned
for repose. I will not, I will not desert
to his foes. And that soul, though all hell
and Job experienced this, All hell. Satan attacked him. Satan did it. Took all his things
away from him. And that soul, though all hell,
should endeavor to shame. God says, I'll never, never,
never forsake you. Once saved, always saved. Once
in grace, always in grace. Once in Christ, always in Christ. Son of God, There will never
be anything else but the Son of God. Some sons of God wander
here and there, but God brings them. He always brings them. This is my son! That prodigal
son that left, was he his father's son? He was his father's son. He's there, his son left, and
he's his son when he came back. And the father said, this is
my son! And God always finds His Son
and always brings Him home. Right at that. Now here's my third point. Why is this doctrine of what's
saved always saved, what's in grace always in grace, why is
this doctrine of perseverance and preservation of the sheep,
why is it so important? I'll tell you three reasons.
because the promise of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus,
and it's called the gospel. And the gospel means what? To
add tidings, good news. That's what the gospel is. Good
news. The angel said, fear not, for
behold, we bring you good news. Good news, good tidings of great
joy. which shall be to all people
for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
Christ the Lord." That's good news. That's glad tidings. It always has been and always
will be. It's good news that God loves
sinners. That's good news. It's good news
that Christ died for sinners. It's good news that Christ died
for all our sins and put them away. It's good news that we're
washed, sanctified, justified in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. It's good news that our names
are written in heaven, and we're children of God, and we have
a home, a mansion, a dwelling place, not made with hands, eternal
in the heaven. But hold on, wait a minute, wait
a minute. even after and in spite of what
God's done for us, in spite of what Christ accomplished for
us, in spite of what the Holy Spirit reveals to us, is it possible
that I still might stand at judgment and hear him say, I never knew
you? That wouldn't be good news. That
wouldn't be good news, not at all. No good news about that,
no sir. Once you get to thinking, once
you get to supposing that a true believer can depart from Christ
and lose his soul, my friends, you take the good news out of
the gospel. It's gone. There's no good news. It's all good news about Christ. It's all good news. We'll never
hear him say, depart. Never. And I'll tell you this,
here's another reason why it's so important. The perseverance
and preservation of God's sheep reveals the person and work of
our Lord, and the person and work of our Lord is always sure
and safe. The work of Christ is always
sure and certain. What did Isaiah write? Listen,
it pleased God to bruise him. It pleased God to make his soul
an orphan for sin. The pleasure of the Lord shall
be accomplished in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. He shall bear the iniquities.
He shall not fail. He shall not fail. He shall not
even be discouraged until He sets the judgment in all the
earth. This is my Father's will, which
has sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I lose But
I'll raise it up again at the last day. All right. Perseverance and preservation
of his sheep is good news. That's our gospel. Perseverance and preservation
of his sheep is the work of Christ, not sure and certain. Nothing can be added to it or
taken from it. And preservation of God's sheep
gives comfort, real, genuine comfort to the people of God.
That's right. Comfort. I want you to turn to
the book of Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40. The good news of the gospel is
a comfort. The road that the people of God
travel is not an easy road. It's not an easy road. In this
world you shall have tribulation. In this world you shall have
trial. But be of good cheer, be of good
comfort, I've overcome this world. There's not anybody here of any
age at all that has not endured trials and troubles and heartaches
and tribulations. That's not an easy road. No,
it's not. It's not an easy road. But listen, we have comfort.
Listen to Isaiah chapter four. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
sayeth your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. and crowned to her, her warfare
is accomplished, her iniquity is pardoned. She hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins and iniquities."
We have, let me tell you, we have within us a nature. Paul, Brother Paul preached on
this recently. We have within us a nature and
a heart that's weak. Sometimes it's fickle, but it's
always firm. He gave it to us. Sometimes it's
cold, but in Him it's always warm. That's right. Sometimes
it's doubtful, but all the time looking to Him, we trust Him. Because God is greater than our
hearts. Let me show you that scripture. Turn to 1 John, chapter 3. 1 John, chapter 3. This is a beautiful, beautiful
verse here. 1 John, chapter 3, verse 19. Listen to this. 1 John 3, verse
19. Hereby we know that we are of
the truth, the truth of God, the gospel, and shall assure
our hearts before him. For if our hearts condemn us,
if we find they're fickle and that they're cold and that they're
doubtful, if our hearts condemn us, they do sometimes over, God
is greater than our heart, And He knows all things. And beloved,
if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence not in
ourselves. Yes, sir, we have a nature and
a heart that condemns us often. And then secondly, we're surrounded
by a world You know, I spoke this morning on the radio, and
it said, it said, my sheep, they shall go, he said, he that believeth
on me, and his sheep shall go in and out, in and out, if I
am pastured. His sheep go in to the worship
of God, to the fellowship of God, and to the presence of God. But his sheep have to go out
into the world and earn their living in the world. That's right. We're surrounded by a world that
hates God. We're surrounded by a world that
does not believe in God. When you go to a place where
you work, you associate with and work among people who don't
believe God and who are obliged to put every stumbling block
in your way if they can, and ridicule what you believe. And
we have the cares of the home and of children and of our business,
the cares of sickness and sorrow, but I tell you this, God's greater
than all these things. They'll go into His fellowship,
they'll go out and earn their living in the world and come
back into His fellowship. That's right. They never depart. They'll never
totally fall away, but God should. Let me show you a scripture over
in Job chapter 17. Job chapter 17. I think this
will be a blessing to you. Once saved, always saved. Once in grace, always in grace. Once a son of God, always a son
of God. And look at Job chapter 17. Let's
see if I can do something with this. The righteous, the believer,
the sheep, the child of God, also shall hold on his way. He shall hold on his way, and
even has clean hands. Who cleaned them? The blood of
Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleansed the devil from all sin. He that hath clean hands shall
be stronger and stronger." Now what's that? The righteous
shall hold his way. He's never going to depart from
it totally, completely, absolutely not. Now, listen to me. He may not always travel with
equal speed, but he'll hold his way. That's right. Hold the truth, he'll hold. He may not always travel with
equal speed, but he'll hold his way. And notice this, he does
not always travel with equal zeal and enthusiasm, but he'll
hold his way. Yes, he will. It's the way of
Christ. It'll grow stronger and stronger.
And he may not always travel with great equal success. He may be rich or he may be poor. He may be in health and he may
be in pain. He may be in joy, he may be in
sorrow. He may be success and he may
be in failure, but he'll hold his way. That's what that says. The righteous shall hold his
way. And he that hath clean hand in
his heart, in his faith, in his belief, he'll get stronger and
stronger and stronger, because he loves Christ, and Christ loves
him. One more scripture. Turn with
me to II Corinthians. II Corinthians chapter five. Let's look at this, II Corinthians
chapter five. Well, whether we be beside ourselves,
it's to God. Whether it be sober, it's for
your cause. For the love of Christ constrains
us, because we thus judge. that if one died for all, then
we're all dead, and that if he died for all, that they which
live should not pitch forth live unto themselves, but unto him
that loveth them. We live unto him who loveth us. He loveth us and died for us,
and we'll continue with him. I was preaching in Pennsylvania
one time, a few years ago, and a willow lady in the church invited
the pastor and I to come to her home for dinner, for lunch. And we went, and her only daughter,
was in the home with us, having lunch with us. And I knew that
her father, the girl's father was a doctor, and the widow's
husband was a doctor. And he thanked God, of course. So I asked her, I said, tell
me, tell me about your husband. Tell me what happened. The girl
spoke up and said, let me tell you. I said, okay, you tell me. She said, well, my dad was a
doctor. Wonderful, wonderful daddy. But
he had a bad heart, had a heart problem. But we went to the beach on the
vacation. Dad and my mother and me. And we were having a little picnic
on the beach, deserted beach. Nobody was there, just the three
of us, and we were having a picnic. And I was ten years old, and
she said, I got out in the water, and kept going out further in
the water, and I got in real trouble. And I couldn't get back. And I yelled for my father. My
father jumped up and ran down to the beach to swim out to me. But his arm grabbed me and took
me to the shore. With a towel around me, he sat
down holding his heart. He died. She said, I love my dad, I'm
grateful for my dad. He died in order that I might
live. He died for me, and I lived before
my mother could remember his love for me. Well, I'll tell
you, this is what, he died for us, that we wish to live, and
henceforth not live for ourselves. running to heal that loveless
that died for us and rose again. That's my constraint, that's
my motivation, and that's my desire to preach the gospel and
also that of your dear pastor, the love of Christ constrained
us. If He died for us, we live. We never stop living. All right,
may God bless you. well-engaged with the common
leaders in it. Let's turn to hymn number 400,
Stand Together. First and last verse, hymn number
400. Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace Strings of mercy ever ceasing
All for songs of loudest praise Teach me Thy melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon
it Mount of God's unchanging love Last verse O to grace, how
great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be Left at grace, now like
a beggar, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord,
I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart,
Lord, take and steal it, steal it for Thy courts above. you. Okay.