Well, it's good to be home. Good
to be home. It's nice to go and visit down
in Kentucky. And I bring greetings from various people down at 13th
Street. They just wanted me to send their
love to you. And it was a real blessing to
be able to be there. But it's sure nice to get home
and be with family. So not that they're not family,
too. They are. They're just extended family. But it's just wonderful
to be back. Open your Bibles, if you would,
to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. The name of the message today
is eternal security. Eternal security. John chapter 10. We'll be reading in context here. We'll read from verse 22 all
the way down to verse 42. And it was at Jerusalem, the Feast
of Dedication, and it was winter. Verse 23, and Jesus walked in
the temple in Solomon's porch. There came the Jews round about
him and said unto him, how long doest thou make us to doubt?
If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them,
I told you, and ye believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye
are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, 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. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Jesus answered them, many good
works have I showed you from my Father, for which of these
works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying,
for good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because
that thou, being a man, maketh thyself God. Jesus answered them,
is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? If he called
them gods unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture
cannot be broken, say ye of him whom the father hath sanctified
and sent unto the world, thou blasphemous, because I said I
am the son of God. If I do not the works of my father,
believe me not, but if I do, Though ye believe not, believe
the works that ye may know and believe that the Father is in
me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to
take him, but he escaped out of their hand. And he went away
again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized,
and there he abode. And many resorted unto him and
said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of
this man were true, and many believed on him there." Now,
today I'd like us to consider the eternal security of the believer. The eternal security of the believer. Now, I have folks ask me all
the time if I believe in what they call, once saved, always
saved. And remember, when anyone asks
you a question about what you believe, Make sure you qualify
them. When people say, do you believe
in election, ask them, what do you believe about election? That'll set up and make it easy
for you to respond back to them. The same if they ask if you believe
in eternal security, ask them, what do you think of eternal
security is? Qualify the question. I've learned
that through talking to folks, because 9 times out of 10, Nine times out of 10, whatever you're going to answer,
they're waiting to respond with their own answer. They really
don't even want to hear your answer. They just want to tell
you what they think. Nine times out of 10. So I always
ask people, qualify them. Make it clear. Make it clear. Qualify them with a question,
asking them, what do you mean by that? And once you've heard
what they supposedly believe, then you're able to respond back
with Scripture. And always use Scripture. Always
use Scripture to respond back. And I want to clarify something,
too. Because folks always ask, well, do you believe once saved,
always saved? And when I respond that I believe that God's people
are eternally secure in Christ, they always pop off saying, well,
you believe the believer can do whatever he wants. Do you
know I've never heard a grace preacher say that? I've never heard one grace preacher,
never. And I've listened to a lot of
messages. And I've never heard one grace preacher ever say that
after you're saved, you can live however you want. That's what
the theologians call antinomianism. Without law. And I've never heard
a grace preacher ever say that. But that's what they accuse us
of. Because we do believe that we are eternally secure in Christ.
And right away they accuse you of being able to live a riotous
life. And I've said it many times. And it's from the scripture.
The love of Christ constrains us. The love of Christ constraints. I'm going to prove this to you. Do you sin more than you want
to? Yeah. We do, don't we? We don't want to sin, but we're
sinners. We're saved sinners. But oh,
my. And it's a constant battle. Are
you constantly battling sin? Constantly. Do you hate it and
loathe it? When once we loved it, can you
not wait until the day when we'll be absolutely seamless? Are you
not looking forward to that? See, they don't understand that.
They don't understand that. Oh my. Now the fact of eternal security
to the believer is an absolute wonderful truth. It's a wonderful
truth. And it brings great comfort to
God's people. It brings us great comfort. I
said it in Sunday school, if we could lose our salvation,
we'd lose it a thousand times a day. Spurgeon said that, and
I so agree with that because I know who I am. And I thank
God that my salvation is not dependent upon me or anything
that I do, that it's wholly dependent upon Christ and what he's done. And this topic of eternal security
will bring great comfort to God's people. Now note in our text
the words of our wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at
verse 26. The Lord had proclaimed to the
Pharisees that they did not believe because they were not his sheep,
right? He was very clear with them. Which leads to the next
verse, which is, let's look at verse 27 to 29. In verse 26, look what he said
there. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I
said unto you. But look at verses 27 to 29. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them. That Greek word for know, again,
is an intimate knowledge. He has an intimate knowledge
of them. And they shall what? Never perish. Now remember who's
saying this. In verse 28 he says, And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. I'm sorry,
I got ahead of myself. Verse 27, My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. Verse 28, And I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Now remember the
one who's speaking this. Remember the one who's making
this statement. This is God incarnate in the flesh. Lord Jesus Christ 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 in no man is able to pluck them out
of my father's hand now note in this versus here there's six
there's there's links right here there's the golden links of grace
one commentator said I love this look at this my sheet my sheet
first 27 there's election Because remember above he said
to the Pharisees, you're not my sheep. Now he's speaking of
those who are his, my sheep. There's election. Those who are
chosen of God in eternity. As opposed to those who are not
his sheep in verse 26. He said to those Pharisees, you're
not my sheep. And in verse 27 he's talking about my sheep,
my elect, my bride. Look at this, hear my voice.
There's effectual calling. Not everyone hears the voice
of Christ. But his sheep do. Effectual calling. Those who
are chosen of God. And this calling is an invincible
call by the Holy Spirit of God. Through the preaching of the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They hear the shepherd's voice.
How do you hear the shepherd's voice? Through the preaching
of the gospel. Through the preaching of the gospel. Hear my voice,
and look at this, and I know them. There's justification.
They are His by the Father's given. They are His by the Father's
given. They are His by creation. And
they are His by purchase. His by purchase. It is He alone
who justifies us before God. And He knows us intimately. Intimately. And look at, and
they follow me. Verse 27 again. They're sanctification. They follow Christ. They're born
again of the Holy Spirit of God. They're sanctified. They're set
apart. They follow Christ. The rest of the world doesn't
follow Christ, but they follow him. They're set apart. They're set apart, beloved. Set
apart by the Holy Spirit of God, who is our sanctifier, and made
holy in Christ. We're sanctified in Christ. And
then look it. And I give unto them eternal
life. And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand." There's the preservation of the saints, right
there. And they shall what? Never perish.
Never. The word there never means never.
They will never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. And then look, it says, and I give unto them
eternal life. At the first part of verse 28,
there's glorification. There's glorification. Election,
effectual calling, justification, sanctification, preservation
of the saints, and glorification. Right there. Right there. They will spend eternity with
the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who Christ speaks of my
sheep, my sheep. They have been given eternal
life in Christ. And they have eternal life only
because they have been purchased. Only because they have been purchased
with the blood of the spotless lamb, the lamb of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ. So let us remember this that
our salvation. Depends wholly upon God. Salvation is of the Lord in its
planning. Salvation is of the Lord in its purchase. And salvation
is of the Lord in its execution. Because it's the Holy Spirit
who regenerates us. And remember this. Nothing in
man can frustrate the work of God. Nothing. It's not so in religion,
is it? God's done all you can do. Now
the rest is up to you. That's a frustrated God. But
that's not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible will never
be thwarted. Never. He's an absolute sovereign. And what he has determined will
come to pass. And it was God's eternal and
sovereign purpose that we would be saved in Christ. And it is Christ who died for
us. And it is Christ who will keep us. And no man can pluck
us out of his hand or out of the Father's hand. And may we marvel at this absolute
wondrous truth that we are secure in the hand of God. Now God's
holiness, God's law, and God's justice have all been satisfied
for the believer by the death of Christ, our substitute, who
is the substitute of all his people, his sheep. He's the substitute
of his sheep, and he is the justifier of those who are unjust by birth,
nature, And by our sin and our choosing the sin too. Because
we have a dead nature when we're born into this world. Now note
in verse 28 we see the words, I give them. Those are the ones identified
in verse 27 as God's sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them and they follow me. Now remember again, who's stating
this? God incarnate in the flesh. Jehovah
And he says these words in verse 28, and I give unto them who's
he given that to my sheep I give unto them eternal life Eternal
life, and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand So Jesus Christ God incarnate in the flesh proclaims
that he gives unto his sheep Eternal life the elect of God,
the true followers of Christ, not mere professors, but the
true followers of Christ, those who have been regenerated by
the Holy Spirit of God, Christ gives them eternal life. Eternal
life. And he brings forth that no man,
by no means, can pluck them out of his hand
or out of the Father's hand. Now let us consider this when
it says this, neither shall any man pluck them out of my father's
hand. Let us consider this, no man
means no man. So ponder this, that would even
include ourselves. Now see, this is where folks
go all crazy when you say that. They're saying, well then you
say you can live like you want. No, I'm not saying that. But what I am saying is we can't
mess up our own salvation in Christ. Because no man. That includes
we who are redeemed, doesn't it? Isn't it wonderful? It's absolutely
wonderful. It's wonderful. No man including
the sheep, can pluck them out of Christ's hands. Let us just sit. That's a place where we can just
sit and ponder and rest. What a precious, precious truth
is set forth before us. And I give unto them eternal
life and they shall never perish. Some folks say often time, well
what happens if someone gets Alzheimer's and they're a believer
and they say all kinds of stuff or Tourette's Syndrome and they
say all kinds of stuff that they would never say. They're in Christ. They're safe. They're secure. Oh my, isn't it wonderful? It's absolutely wonderful. So
just let us ponder this precious truth that's set before us. Here
we find our security. We find our security and it's
all in God's power. No, it's all in his power. It's
in his sovereignty. And he's the one who the one
who's proclaiming these very words. Is the one who has all
power. The one who has all authority
to do whatever he pleases. And he says, my sheep who hear
my voice there, follow me. and I give unto them eternal
life. They shall never perish. That's eternal security, beloved.
That's eternal security for the believer. Turn, if you would,
to Colossians chapter one, verse 16 and 17. God is mightier than
all things. He's the creator. Christ is the
creator. And we are the created ones formed
by his power. He is greater and more powerful
than the devil, than all the angels, than all men, and He
controls all things, both visible and invisible. And it is He who
proclaims that no man is able to pluck his sheep out of his
hand. Look at Colossians 1, verses 16 and 17. For by Him, this is
speaking of Christ, because remember Paul is bringing forth the preeminence
of Christ. For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible. He created everything. Everything. There's nothing greater than
Him. Nothing. Whether they be thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created
by Him and for Him. They were all created for His
glory. And look what the next verse
says. And He is before all things. There's the preeminence. And
by Him, all things consist. The very reason we breathe, the
breath we breathe, while we're upon this earth, is from Him.
By Him, all things consist. And that means all things. No
matter what these foolish scientists say and all this stuff out there.
They don't know anything. They know a little things that
God might reveal some truths to them, but when they start
popping off about the earth being millions of years old and all
this, you just shake your head. My goodness, this is the one. This is the one. Who, by all
all things, consists. So he's greater than all things.
So who does our salvation stand? In. The very one spoken of in
Colossians, chapter one, verse 16 and 17. The Lord Jesus Christ,
and he is the one who proclaims in our text and His sheep will hear His voice
and know them and follow Him and He gives unto them eternal
life. Turn, if you would, to Matthew 16. Matthew 16. Is there
anything that would prevail against the church of God, against His
people, His sheep? Well, some people might say,
well, the devil. He's certainly strong and He could certainly,
well, He's just a created being. As one grace preacher said to
me one time, he's God's devil. Think of that. God's sovereign
over hell, visible and invisible. He only does what God allows.
We know that from Job, don't we? He only can do what God allows. God is absolutely sovereign. And look what our Lord says here
in Matthew 16. telling the apostles that the gates of hell
will not prevail against God's sheep, against His church. Matthew
16, starting in verse 13 and going to verse 20. When Jesus
came onto the coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples,
saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they
said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elijah,
and others Jeremiah. and one of the prophets. He saith
unto them, But whom say ye that I am?" Now there's an important
question. And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. Now note in that verse, in verse
17, there's a key word there, revealed. Revealed. Christ must be revealed
to us. Or we'll never know him. And then look what he says in
verse 18. And I say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. Though all hell be against the
church, and it is, it shall not prevail, because the very one
who keeps us is God. And I will give unto thee the
keys of the kingdom, and whatsoever thou bind on earth, shall be
bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should
tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. But note in verse
18, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. Why won't the gates of hell prevail
against the church? Because the invincible power
of God, and it is invincible, The invincible power of God keeps
His people. God Himself keeps His people. And if our salvation was dependent
upon us, we would perish. But what security we see in the
verses in our text, our salvation is not dependent upon us. It is dependent upon our great
God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we say, praise be to God,
because we are totally dependent upon Christ. Think of this. Our salvation stands in His almighty
power, by His might. And think of this, if one of
God's saints could be lost, then they all could be lost. But our Lord proclaims in our
text, and they shall never perish. That means all of them. Now we are weak and feeble, aren't
we? And we know left to ourselves we'd be in a world of trouble.
But our great king says, 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. Now notice we're in Christ's
hands and in the Father's hands. Now we're told, turn if you would
to Matthew chapter 24, we're told that there be false Christ.
We're told that in scripture and false prophets will rise
up and there lead many astray. And if it were possible, even
the elect. But God is the one who keeps
us. Look at Matthew 24, verses 23 and 24. Then if any man shall
say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. For
there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall
show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect. Well, we see many different Christs,
false Christs, which have arisen in our day. And there was in
Paul's day. In our days, there's the false
Christ of the cults. Mormonism and Jehovah Witnesses. Seventh-day Adventists who believe
in Sabbath worship. Exalt the Sabbath day above Christ. There's the false Christ of Catholicism. That's a big one. Works-based
religion, the Lord saved me out of that. And it's all works-based
religion. There's the false Christ of freewillism. God's done all he can do, now
the rest is up to you. That's a false Christ. That's
a false God. Because He's powerless to save.
The Christ we have in our text, the Christ who is our Savior,
has all power to keep His people. There's also the false Christ
of a liberal religion, too. But none of God's people will
be led astray by a false Christ. They will not be plucked out
of the Savior's hand. But let us not be ignorant of
false Christ. Let us not be ignorant of them,
knowing that they're out there. Let us be on guard. And in that
text, he's exhorting the disciples to be on watch, to be on guard,
to watch. So we notice in our text, we
find in our text that our eternal security, again, is not dependent
upon ourselves. Our confidence is not in ourselves,
but our confidence is in our great Savior to keep us. And we rely upon Him. We're safe,
safe in Him. He's our defense. He's our protection. God Himself. God Himself. And we are eternally secure in Him.
Secure in Christ. He's the vine and we're the branches.
The elect who the Father gave to Christ shall never be cast
out. Turn, if you would, to John 6, verse 37. We'll look at one
verse there. And then I'll read Romans 11,
29. Now there's a union between Christ and His people. And because
He lives, they live. And we are secure in Him. It's irrevocable. Salvation in
Christ is irrevocable. John 6.37 says this, All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. Now we know from Scripture that
we're made willing, aren't we, to come to Christ. The unwilling
are made willing. And then Romans 11.29 says, For
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. They're
irrevocable. They're irrevocable. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Now notice those words, shall. My sheep
hear my voice and they follow me, which we saw in our text. In him that cometh to me, I was
on no wise cast out. He gives them eternal life. We
are loved with an everlasting love. The love of God, which he has
for his people is an everlasting love. And it means that we have
been loved eternally. We'd be loved eternally. And
none whom God loves will perish. The gift of faith and repentance
and eternal life is irrevocable. Because Romans 11.29 says, for
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. He doesn't
save someone and then say, well, no, I don't really want you.
He doesn't do that. No. No, His people are eternally
secure in Him. Eternally secure in Him. He never
withdraws His grace. or His love towards His people. It's eternal, and He gives them
eternal life, and that life is eternal, beloved. It's eternal. Turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians
2, verse 14. We looked at Sunday school that
all our strength comes from Christ, and that He is our spiritual
life. And the continuation of that life comes from Christ.
And Christ alone is our strength. He's an inexhaustible reservoir. Paul did not fear apostasy. Look
what he says in 2 Corinthians 2.14. Now, thanks be unto God,
which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and make it manifest
to the Savior of His knowledge by us in every place. Now, note
Paul speaks of triumphing in Christ. Triumphing in Christ. Triumphing in God. And this is
true for us now. This is true for us now. True for the church. The elect
of God, my sheep in our text. It runs through the whole time,
state one commentator said, of the church from beginning to
end. They will always triumph in Christ. His sheep will. They will be
trophies of His grace throughout eternity. Now think of that.
We who are sinners, we who are saved sinners will be trophies
of the grace of God in Christ for eternity. It's stunning. It's absolutely
stunning. God's people will triumph over
their trials, tribulations, because our great King has triumphed
before us, and our strength comes from Him. Now think on this in
light of our subject. If Christ could lose one of His
sheep, which we know He cannot, but if He could, then we would
not always be triumphing in Christ, would we? No, we wouldn't. But our text in 2 Corinthians
2.14, now, thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph
in Christ. His people have eternal security.
And our security is in Christ alone. We look outside ourselves
to another, to Christ. It's always in Him. Always in
Him. All dependent upon God, because
God the Father chose us in Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed
us, and the Holy Spirit regenerates us. Salvation is of the Lord. It's all His work. Now a workspace
system sets up a system in which some who are supposedly founded
upon the rock do fall. But beloved, their rock is not
Christ. Their rock is not Christ. It's
a false rock. A false foundation. One who can lose those he supposedly
saved. And think of this. Who is the
sovereign in that situation? Man. But in our text, who is sovereign
over the sheep? Christ. I give them eternal life
and I keep them. And they'll never perish. He's
sovereign. Our God is absolutely sovereign. And He is able to save to the
uttermost those who come to God by Him. And we know that right
now He ever liveth to make intercession for us. And the true believer
in Christ is a temporary visitor in this world. We're just passing
through. We're just passing through. We're
heading to our eternal dwelling place in glory with Christ Jesus
our Lord. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. How could David pen that? Because
he knew where his security rested. He knew that he was eternally
secure in the Lord. In the God who saved him. Oh, what security David has.
I will dwell in the house of the Lord Jehovah forever. So anyone who claims that a believer
can fall away is proclaiming that that Christ failed in his
work. And he's actually calling Christ.
Well, they don't believe in the Christ we believe in. But anytime
someone questions that we can lose our salvation, they're calling
God a liar. Because Christ Christ keeps his
sheep. He keeps his sheep. Think of this verse that I'll
read in light of what Christ has told us in John 10. Who is
he that condemneth? My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me, and I give them eternal life. None shall pluck them out
of my hand. Who is he that condemneth? Now,
we condemn ourselves, don't we? Because we know we're sinners.
Who is he that condemneth? We know from Romans 8, earlier
up in that, where that verse is found, it says, there is therefore
now no condemnation. That means judgment. There's
not going to be some big old TV screen with all our sins being
played. There's no condemnation for the
believer in Christ, no judgment for the believer in Christ. They
are set free, beloved. They are absolutely set free.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Who did
he die for? My sheep. My sheep, it is Christ
that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh what? Intercession for us. Who's
praying for the believer right now? Christ. Who's interceding for us right
now? Christ. Christ is at the right hand of
God. And the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered. So we are secure in our great
God. Turn, if you would, to Ezekiel chapter 11, Ezekiel chapter 11,
verses 19 to 20, and then I'll read Jeremiah 32, 40. If you
want to turn there, you can. Ezekiel 11, 19 and 20 and Jeremiah
32, 40 is a wonderful promise of God to Israel to heal their
backsliding. Ezekiel chapter 11 verses 19
to 20 and I will give them one hearts And I will put a new spirit within
them within you And I'll take the stony heart out of their
flesh and we'll give them a heart of flesh That they may walk in
my statutes and keep my ordinances and do them and they shall be
my people who I My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. Who are the ones who follow him?
The ones who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, have
been given a new heart to follow Christ. My. That they may walk in my statues
and keep my ordinances and do them. And they shall be my people
and I will be their God. And then Jeremiah 32, 40. Keep
in mind there, And they shall be my people and
I will be their God. And tie it in with Jeremiah 32.
A good cross reference with this. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them. That I will not turn away from
them. They'll never turn away from
us, beloved. To do them good. But I will put my fear in their
hearts. And they shall not depart from me. He puts in us the love
of Christ. And it's the love of Christ which
constrains us from sin. Oh my. Not only will they not
depart from Him, but He'll put their fear in their hearts, that
they shall not depart from Him. And thus we are kept, beloved.
We are kept. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit
of God, who has sealed us and given us the earnestness of the
Spirit in our hearts. And believers in Christ are set
apart by the grace of God. Psalm 4.3 says this, But know
that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. The
Lord will hear when I call unto him. There are chosen people,
a purchased people, a blessed people, his sheep. And believers
in Christ are kept by the power and grace of God. in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance." Now think of this, my sheep hear
my voice and they follow me and they'll never perish, right?
To an inheritance incorruptible, incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. reserved in
heaven for His people, 1 Peter 1, 3 to 5, who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. So we who are born again by the
Holy Spirit of God, we who are redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ,
we who were chosen in Christ by the Father in eternity, thus
we have a threefold cord, God the Father, The Son and the Holy
Spirit is the ones who keep us. God himself keeps us. We are
kept by the power of God. Here's a good verse to burn into
memory. 1 Peter 1.5, who are kept by
the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. Kept by the power of God. My. We know we saw in Sunday school
we don't have the strength to keep ourselves. He's our strength. He's our everything. Turn, if
you would, to Romans 14. Romans 14, verse 4. We are made to stand by the power
of the Lord. And it's He who has the power
to keep us. And our eternal security is in
Him, in Him alone. Not based upon our power, we
have none. But based upon the power of God. Romans 14, 4. Who
art thou that judges another man's servant to his own master?
He standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holding up.
For God is able to make him stand. God keeps His people. See, He's
the one who preserves us. He's the one who keeps us. I
give unto them eternal life. We'll never perish in Him. Because
he keeps us. He makes us stand. How true it
is that if we were left to ourselves, even as saved sinners, we would
just wander off, wouldn't we? But he keeps us. He keeps us. The one who has
all power promises to make his elect stand. That's preservation. and security all in one. He shall
be holding up, for God is able to make him stand. In Romans
14.4, right there, in that statement, for God is able to make him stand.
Right there is preservation and security. Preservation and security. And again, David knew from experience.
He penned in Psalm 34, 7, The angel of the Lord encampeth round
about him that fear him, and delivereth them. He knew what
it meant to be delivered by God. He experienced it time after
time after time. Turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians,
chapter 4. Paul knew this from experience.
He penned by inspiration of the Holy Spirit these words in 2
Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. We are troubled on every
side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair.
Verse 9, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed.
Because the Lord is ever with us. And it's the Lord who keeps
us. 2 Corinthians 4.14 says this, knowing
that he which raised up Jesus shall what? Raise up us also
by Jesus Christ. And shall present us with you.
It's all by His power. It's all by His doing. So we
are assured that God who raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the
grave, the first fruits of them that sleep, shall by the same
power also raise our mortal bodies from the grave. We know to be
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, but one
day we'll receive our glorified bodies. Oh, my. So Christ being raised in his
resurrection is an assurance of ours. And we shall be presented
by God, by Christ unto God, redeemed by his life and by his death.
Turn, if you would, to Jude. Redeemed by his life and his
death, washed in his precious blood, the blood of God, which
he shed at Calvary, dying as our substitute. Look at Jude. Verse 21 to 25. Keep yourselves in the love of
God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life. And if some have compassion,
making a difference, and others save with fear, pulling them
out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh,
now unto Him. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ,
who's named and spoken of in verse 21. Now unto Him that is
able to keep you from falling." Aren't those precious words?
Christ is able to keep we who are sinners, we who are safe
sinners, by His power, He is the one who keeps us from falling.
Now that doesn't mean we don't fall into sin, because I was
talking to a dear brother the other day, and we were talking
about how how sometimes God allows us to fall into sin. And what
does it do? It humbles us. It humbles us. But we never fall away, do we?
No, we're kept by the power of God. And that's what this is
speaking of. That's what this is speaking
of. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and
to present you faultless. Sinners are presented faultless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. How can a
sinner stand in the presence of God? Only in the righteousness
of Christ. Only in His spotless righteousness.
And He does this with exceeding joy. To the only wise God, our
Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and
ever. Amen. So the one who died for us, the
one who rose from the grave for our justification, is the same
one who will present us. Faultless before God. Blameless
before God. And then let's go back to our
text in John chapter 10 with that in mind. My sheep, verse
27, hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life. Who are the sheep, the ones he's going to present faultless
before the throne of God? 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. So we see here that the eternal
security of the believer is an absolute truth. It's an absolute
truth from Scripture. and that our eternal security
is in Christ's hands. It's in His hands. It's not in
our hands. Our salvation is not in our hands
and our keeping is not in our hands. It's all in His hands.
That's why we continuously, when anyone is teaching the Word of
God or preaching, say, look to Christ and just keep resting
in Him. Just keep looking. And the believer, once they've
looked to Christ for salvation, we spend a lifetime of looking
to Him. We just keep looking to our great King. And what a
marvel this is. That our security is not in our
hands, but in Christ's hands. Now let us close with this, considering
the Lamb's Book of Life. Turn, if you would, to Luke chapter
10. Let us close with this, considering the Lamb's Book of Life. The
disciples who were sent out were told not to rejoice. They were
told not to rejoice that the demons were subject to them,
but they were told to rejoice that their names were written
in the book of life. Because they went out and the demons
were subject to them. They came back rejoicing. Demons
are subject to them. Look what the Lord tells them
here. This is absolutely wonderful. Luke chapter 10, verses 17 to
20. And the 70 returned again with
joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through their
name. So they're rejoicing there. They probably can't believe it
there, but look what look what our master and he said unto them,
I beheld, I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven. Behold,
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and
over all power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt
you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice, not now here's. There's
a teachable moment for them right here. Because like I said, they're
all lit up that the demons are subject to them. But look at
this teachable moment that the Lord uses. Notwithstanding this,
rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather
rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Names are
written in heaven. They're written in the Lamb's
Book of Life. Turn, if you would, to Revelation chapter 17. The
Lamb's Book of Life is a book with the names of all the elect
determined by the unchangeable counsel of God. And it can neither
be increased nor diminished, and the names of the righteous
are found there. But the names of those who perish have never
been written there from the foundation of the world. Now these names have been in
this book from the foundation of the world. Revelation 17.8,
the beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out
of the bottomless pit and go into perdition, that they shall
dwell on the earth. And they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life.
From when? From the foundation of the world. When they behold the beast that
was, and is not, and yet is. Now do you see? Do you see why
Christ was telling the disciples to rejoice that your name was
written in heaven? Because it was written there
from the foundation of the world. Now let us just sit and think
on that. My. Me? Grace, grace, grace, wondrous
grace, wondrous grace. Turn, if you would, to Philippians
chapter 4. God's people, his elect, their names are written
in the Lamb's book of life and the foundation of the world.
And God's people, we marvel, we marvel at this fact and we
rejoice. We marvel and we rejoice. Philippians chapter 4. Verses 3 and 4, now here we're
going to see it right from scripture. And I entreat thee also, true
yoke fellow, help those women which labor with me in the gospel,
with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers, whose names
are written in what? The book of life. We saw that
book in Revelation. Rejoice, and then look what Paul
says after that statement. Rejoice in the Lord always. And
again, I say rejoice. My goodness. And the Lord, our Lord tells
the disciples, don't rejoice because the demons and the spirits
are subject to you. Rejoice because your name's written
in the book of life, the lamb. Now, you who believe, rejoice. Rejoice that your name is written.
That's eternal security. You see? So when someone asks
me, do I believe that a believer can ever fall away, or a true
believer can ever fall away or be lost? Absolutely not. Now,
it doesn't give us a license, does it? No, it doesn't. But
I don't believe the believer could ever fall away. Because
it's God himself who keeps us. And there's a lie spread out
there in the religious world. Now, I've heard this. I've heard
this. I've read this in some tracts that are out there. And
this is a lie. Did you see how we saw in Revelation
that their names weren't written in the Lamb's Book of Life and
the foundation of the world? There's a lie out there. And
I heard it talking to someone recently, too. And I read it
many times in different tracts. And it goes like this, that when
you believe, then your name's written in the Lamb's Book of
Life. That's a lie. That's an absolute lie. And we
saw that from Scripture. We saw that from scripture. God
himself has written in the names of his elect, in the Lamb's book
of life, from the foundation of the world. Now may we leave
here, we who are redeemed, leave here rejoicing that our names
are written in that book. Because it's stunning, isn't
it? When we think of all whose names aren't written in that
book. And our names are written. That's
why the Lord said, Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
That's eternal security. Paul wrote to the Philippians
that our citizenship is in heaven. He wrote to Timothy, I'm sorry,
the Lord knoweth them that are his. He knows his people. He
knows his sheep. And our security, our eternal
security, is only found in Christ, who is our Lord. It is he who
preserves us. We are secure in him and by him. And this is a truth from scripture.
So if anyone asks you, do you believe in eternal security?
Again, qualify them, find out what they believe about that,
and then answer them from scripture. Give them the scripture. Take
them to John 10. And say, my salvation is not dependent upon
me. It's dependent upon God and God
alone. It gives a believer great joy.
Great joy. It's a wondrous truth, a wondrous
doctrine, that's been a great comfort to the church through
the ages. Because the gates of hell shall not prevail against
her. And that church is not a building. That church is the elect of God,
chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and regenerated by
the Holy Spirit of God. And we say, praise His name.
Heavenly Father, We thank you for your goodness and mercy and
grace. Lord Jesus, we thank you that our salvation is not dependent
upon us, but is wholly dependent upon the salvation is of the
Lord. Your planning, your execution,
all you're doing, Lord. And we give you all the glory
and honor and praise. We thank you for the privilege
of being able to be here and study your Word. We pray that
we would leave here thinking about this this week and meditating
upon this precious truth. In Jesus' name, Amen.