I think it borders amusing to
think of these Jews encircling the master and saying to him,
how long do you make us to doubt? How long do you hold us in suspense? If you're the Christ, if you're
the Messiah, if you're that promised prophet, tell us plainly. There hadn't ever been anyone
who would speak as plain as the Lord Jesus Christ. I was thinking
of all the things he said up to this point in John, when John
said, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of
the world. The Lord didn't correct John. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Lamb for God. He is
God the Lamb. In John chapter 1, I'd like you
to look at these passages of scripture. In John chapter 1,
in verse 48, he claimed omniscience. Verse 47, Jesus saw Nathanael
coming to him and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed,
in whom is no guile. Nathanael said unto him, Whence
knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou was under the
fig tree, I saw thee. The Lord claimed that which only
God can claim, omniscience. He claimed omnipresence in John
chapter three, look in verse 11. That's pretty plain language. Verily, verily, verse 11, I say
unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that which
we've seen, and you receive not our witness. If I've told you
earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if
I tell you of heavenly things? No man hath ascended up to heaven,
but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man, which is
in heaven, omnipresent. While I'm standing here on earth
before you, I am in heaven. Look at John chapter four. Remember how they said, if thou
be the Christ, tell us plainly. Well, listen to how plain this
is. The woman, verse 25, the woman said unto him, I know that
Messiah cometh, which is called Christ. When he has come, he'll
tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee, am he. It's quite plain, isn't it? There's
no mistaking what he said. In verse 41 of the same chapter.
And many more believed because of his own word and said to the
woman, now we believe not because of thy saying, for we have heard
him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the savior
of the world. Look in chapter five, verse 17. Jesus answered them, my father
worketh hitherto and I work. Therefore, the Jews sought the
more to kill him. Because he not only had broken the Sabbath,
but said also that God was his father, making himself equal
with God. They understand exactly what
he was saying. Then Jesus answered Jesus and
said, and verily I say unto you. The son can do nothing of himself
but what he seeth the father do. For what things soever he
doeth, these also doeth the son likewise. For the father loveth
the son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth. And
he'll show him greater works than these that you may marvel.
For as the father raises up the dead and quickens them, even
so the son quickens whom he will For the Father judges no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should
honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth
not the Son honoreth not the Father which is sent him. Now
how plain is that? How plain is that? The Lord even claimed to be the
subject of Scripture. Look in verse 39. John 5. You search the Scriptures for
in them you think you have eternal life. And they which testify
of me. Look in verse 47 or 45. Do not think that I'll accuse
you to the Father. There's one that accuses you, even Moses,
in whom you trust. For had you believed Moses, you
would have believed me. For he wrote of me. He's the subject of the Scriptures.
Can you imagine any other man standing up and saying, I'm the
subject of Scripture? Oh, we'd throw tomatoes at him.
But not the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the subject of Scripture.
Never man spake like this man. Never man spake as plainly as
him. Look in chapter six, verse 59,
these things said He in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Many
therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, This
is a hard saying. Who can hear it? When Jesus knew Himself that
His disciples murmured at it, He said, If this offend you,
what and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where it
was before? You went to Lord a saying there. If you're offended
now, you're really gonna be offended when you see me ascend up to
the right hand of the Father and find out who I really am.
If you're offended now, you'll really be offended then. Verse
63, it's the spirit that quickens. The flesh profits nothing, the
words that I speak unto you. Their spirit and their lives. Look in chapter seven, verse
40. This is after he had made that Cry, for if any man thirst,
let him come to me. Verse 40, many of the people,
therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this
is the prophet. Others said, this is Christ.
But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the
scripture said that Christ cometh at the seat of David out of the
town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division
among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken
him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to
the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, why have
you not brought him? The officers answered, never
man spake like this man. Then answered the Pharisees,
are you also deceived if any of the rulers of the Pharisees
believed on him? Well, that ought to be enough to let us know that
they're wrong. Look in chapter eight, verse
24. How long do you make us to doubt?
How long do you speak so ambiguously and without clearness? Now look
what he says here in John chapter eight, verse 24. I said therefore
unto you that you shall die in your sins for if you believe
not that I am. Now you'll notice that he is
in italics. He's taken for himself the name
of Jehovah. If you believe not that I am,
you'll die in your sins. Look in 56 of the same chapter.
Your father, here he speaks of his eternity. Your father, Abraham,
rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. Now,
Abraham had been dead at least 1,200 years. Then said the Jews
unto him, thou art not yet 50 years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
before Abraham was, I am. Look at John 9, verse 35. Jesus
heard that they'd cast him out. And when he found him, he said
to him, does thou believe on the son of God? He answered and
said, who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said
unto him, thou hast both seen him and it's he that talketh
with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe.
And he worshiped him. How long are you going to make
us to doubt? Tell us plainly, I believe that he already had. So he says in John chapter 10
verse 25, I told you and you believed not. The works that
I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me. There's absolutely
no excuse for your unbelief because I've told you who I am and my
works bear witness that I am who I said I am. You know, he
created matter, brought it into existence. They witnessed this.
He raised the dead. He controlled the weather. He
healed the sick. He told that blind man. He gave
a man sight that was born blind. I mean, they demonstrated all
this. He said, the works that I have given you, they bear witness
of who I am, what I've said and what I've done. And you believe
not. Now, understand this. Unbelief
is always a choice. You have to choose to not believe. Now, you believe because you
have no choice. You must believe from what you've
heard, from what you've seen, you must believe. But if you
don't believe, it's because you choose not to believe. I told
you plainly, and you've chosen not to believe. Now look what
he says in verse 26, but you believe not because you are not
of my sheep. as I said unto you." Now here's
some more of his plain speech. And notice what he doesn't say.
He doesn't say, you're not of my sheep because you don't believe.
He says, you believe not because you are not of my sheep. Now the sheep, who are they?
They're sheep and they're goats. They're sheep and there are goats. Remember the judgment day when
the Lord divided the nations before him and separated them
as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats, Matthew chapter
25. Now the sheep are those the father gave him. Look in verse
29, my father, which gave them me. is greater than all when
he's speaking of his sheep. They are the elect. Look in verses
14 of John chapter 10. He said, I am the good shepherd
and know my sheep and have known of mine. As the father knoweth
me, even so know I the father, and I lay down my life for the
sheep. Not everybody is a sheep. The
sheep are the elect. The sheep are those he laid down
his life for. Now look what he says about his
sheep in verse 27. He says, my sheep, hear my voice. I love that statement. Now, if
you're a goat, all you hear is my voice. If you're a sheep,
you hear the voice of the shepherd. My sheep, the Lord says, hear
my voice. Look what he says in verses four
and five of John chapter 10. And when he put forth his own
sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. And a stranger they will not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. Now, the Lord says regarding
his sheep, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. Now to many he will say, Depart
from me, ye that work iniquity. I never do. That's strong language,
but that's what the Lord says. I never, I never knew you. I never recognized you as one
who is mine. I never loved you. I never knew
you in that sense. To many, he will say that. But
to the sheep, what does he say of them? I know them. Now the reason he knows them
is because he foreknew them. Whom he did foreknow. Now understand
this about predestination. He doesn't talk about what he
foreknew. Of course he knows everything that's going to take
place. He knows exactly what I'm going to be thinking in the
next 10 seconds, what I'm going to be doing. He knows all that
stuff, but that's not what predestination has to do with. Whom he did for
no, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son. And here is what his sheep do. He says in verse 27, they follow
me. This is what they all do. Followers
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew, follow me. And he rose,
forsook all. and followed him." Now this is
the inevitable response to irresistible grace. The Lord's sheep find
him irresistible. They follow him. No man can come
to me except the Father which has sent me. Draw him. And you
know what you do if you're drawn? You come to Christ, you follow
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's my text, verse 28.
What a blessed verses 28 and 29. I've entitled this message,
The Security of the Sheep. The security of the sheep. He says in verses 28 and 29 regarding
his sheep, 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." Now what a blessed thought in verse 28. We read
of a divine gift. I give unto them. eternal life. Now if they earn
it, it's something I give. I graciously give. I freely give. We read a divine promise. They shall never perish. Now the they refers to all the
sheep. They, all the sheep, shall never perish. and we read of
a divine security. No man's able to pluck them out
of my hand. Now first, let's consider a divine
gift. I give. I give unto them eternal life. Now this speaks of the Eternal
security of God's elect. I give unto them eternal life. Now somebody may ask the question,
you believe in once saved always saved? Well, it depends. It depends. If you saved yourself, no. Don't
believe it at all. You'll fall away. I'll assure
you. But if he saved you, yes, we believe in once saved always
saved. always saved. You see, eternal
life is a gift. I give unto them eternal life. It comes as a free gift and not
as a payment or reward for services rendered. Since it's the gift
of grace, any idea of works in any way is completely shut out. You were not given eternal life
because of your works, and you can't lose eternal life because
of your works. Is that good news? Is that good
news? Man, it is to me. Romans 9.11 says the children
were not yet born, neither having done any good or evil. No good
works, no bad works. Had nothing to do with their
election. That the purpose of God, according to election, might
stand. Not of works. That's God's purpose. Not of works. But of Him that
calleth. This is why a sheep cannot be
lost. This is why they have eternal
life. A sheep cannot do anything to gain eternal life. A sheep
cannot do anything to maintain eternal life. And a sheep cannot
do anything to lose eternal life. It's the gift of His grace. By grace are you saved. And every aspect of salvation
including eternal life is the gift of His grace. And notice it is called by our
Lord eternal life. Not temporary life, eternal life. If you lost it, it would not
be eternal. You see, eternal is not measured by days or weeks
or months or years or decades or centuries or millenniums.
Eternal life never ends. Losing eternal life is an absurdity,
isn't it? If you can lose it, it wasn't
eternal in the first place. And our Lord was mistaken when he
said that. I give unto them eternal life and it's eternal life. I give unto them eternal life.
It's not like animal life or human life. It's divine life. The scripture speaks of being
born of the spirit, birthed, begotten of the spirit, partakers
of the divine nature, born of God, given a nature that is called
by Peter incorruptible. that cannot sin and consequently
cannot die or fall away. It's the life of God in the soul
of man. Is God's life eternal? So is the life of every believer. I give unto them eternal life. Now, the sheep are eternally
secure because this life they have arises from union with Christ. Now, listen to this scripture.
The Lord said this, and this is such a wonderful statement. I
love thinking about this. He said to his disciples, and
he says this to every disciple, because I live, you shall live
also. That's why you'll live, because
I live. You see, every believer is united
to Christ as the vine to the branches. And he says, because
I live. I think of this. If the head
is above the water, none of the members of the body will drown,
will they? The heads in heaven, all of God's people are secure
as they are united to the Lord Jesus Christ. Both he that sanctifyeth
and they who are sanctified are all of one for the which cause
he's not ashamed to call them brethren. The sheep are eternally
secure, not only because they're united to Christ, but they're
called the members of his body. The Lord's not going to have
a maimed body. If he lost one of his sheep,
he would have a maimed body. That's not going to happen. That's
why God's people are eternally secure. I give, says the Christ, unto
them eternal life, a divine gift. Now, the next thing that I would
notice is a divine promise. First, a divine gift. I give
unto them eternal life. And then we have a divine promise.
They shall never perish. They shall never perish. perish. Now let me give you some
reasons why that's true. They shall never perish because
their salvation was purposed by God and God's purpose will
not be frustrated. It will not be rendered void.
If he is purposed by salvation, saved I must be. And we know
that all things work together for good to them who are the
called of God, to them that love God, to them who are the called.
according to his purpose. It's not possible for God's purpose
to be frustrated. It's not possible for him to
fail in what he intends to bring to pass. Now, with regard to
all contingencies, with regard to all what-ifs, they shall never
perish. What if they fall into grievous
sin? Well, like David, they shall never perish. What if like Solomon their heart
seems to be turned away? They'll still never perish. God's
grace is still in the heart whether we see it or not. What if through
wicked cowardice they deny knowing the Lord like Peter did? They
shall never perish. That's the promise of the Lord. What if like Jonah? They flee
from the presence of the Lord, not wanting to obey Him. They
shall never perish. That's the promise of the Lord.
They shall never perish. You see, God foresaw all they
would do anyway, and that didn't prevent Him from saving them.
If they become backslidden, if there's a long winter in their
soul, if they're tossed to and fro by many things, They shall
never perish. Christ has given them eternal
life, the life of God in their soul, and they shall never perish. You see, they refers to all the
sheep. They shall never perish. If one of them perished, the
decree of election would be frustrated. If one of them perished, God's
will would not be done. If one of them perished, the
work of Christ would be meaningless. His justification meant nothing.
If somebody he died for could perish, justified and still condemned,
perish the thought. If one of them perished, Christ
would be a failure because he intended on saving them and he
didn't. Perish the thought. They shall never perish. They
shall never perish because he that hath begun a good work in
them will perform it. God's work is never left undone. If one perished that Christ died
for, Christ would have been mistaken when he said it is finished. They, every one of them, shall
never perish. They will never perish because
they're children. And that relationship cannot
be dissolved. I witnessed recently a man whose
son absolutely broke his heart over the evil things that he
did. But you know what the father
did? He continued to love him because that was still his boy.
That was still his son. And this relationship as a child
to its father, as the little brother of Christ, those relationships
cannot be dissolved. They shall never perish. You know, when we say once saved,
always saved, maybe a better way to say it is once a child,
always a child. God never turns his back on his
children. As wayward as they may be, they
shall never perish. And here's the divine security.
The divine promise. The divine gift is eternal life.
The divine promise is they shall never perish. And here's the
divine security. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. Now, let me give you three things
about the hand of Christ. Don't you love to think of the
Lord having real hands, hands, flesh and bone, like mine and
yours. He's got real hands. I wonder what they look like.
Well, no, one of these days, but let me tell you three things
about the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, they're
omnipotent hands. Oh, the strength of his hands. No one can pluck any sheep out
of his hands. Nor can they fall out of his
hands. He's got omnipotent hands and
that's why his sheep are so secure. He has such strength in his hands. No man is able to pluck them
out of my hand. Let me tell you the second thing
about the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those hands have scars
in them even now as I speak. Those nail scars that went through
his hands, they are still there. And they're a continual reminder
to him and to us that there's one reason why the sheep don't
perish. Because of his death for them. Their sin was put away
and his death demands the salvation of every one of them. They shall
never perish. Nobody's able to take them out
of my hand. And let me tell you a third thing about the hands
of Christ. They're hands of compassion. He looked at that leper, and
he reached forth his hand, the scripture says, and touched him. Oh, I want to be touched by Christ
like that, don't you? I want to be touched by the Lord
Jesus Christ. He reached forth his hand and
touched him. And you see, in his touch, in
his touch, there is salvation. Everybody he touches is made
clean. My sheep, I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. Neither is any man able to pluck
them out of my hand." Look what he says in verse 29. which gave them me, the sheep
are the gift of my father to me. Believer, you are God's gift
to Jesus Christ. Isn't that amazing? You're God's
gift to Jesus Christ. Look what he says back in John
chapter six, verse 37. He says to those who have seen
and not believed, it's almost like he says in verse 36, but
I said unto you that you've also seen me and believe not. And
it's almost like he's saying, that's no discouragement to me.
Don't think it is because all that the father giveth me shall
come to me and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast
out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will, which has sent me, that of all which
He has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life. And I'll raise Him up at the
last day. My Father is greater than all,
and no man is able to pluck them out of his hand. Look back in
John chapter 10, verse 30. I and my Father are one. Whatever can be predicated concerning
the Father is predicated concerning the Son. Is the Father all-powerful? So too is the Son. Is the Father
absolutely sovereign? So too is the Son. Did the Father
create the universe? The Son did it. Does the Father
control providence? It's the Son controlling the
providence. I and my Father are one. Now, the Jews took up stones
and stoning because of that, but you know how a believer responds?
That's my Lord. That's my Master. That's my Savior.
That's my Redeemer. That's who He is. He's one with
the Father. No one can pluck them out of
the Father's hand. You see, the sheep love Him for
what the goats wanted to stone Him for. Eternal security. Now, somebody's
thinking, somebody, I bet somebody in here is thinking, This will
encourage people to go ahead and live lawless lives. This
will encourage people to go ahead and sin. I mean, if I'm eternally
secure, I'm eternally secure. May motivate a goat that way. And there's nothing I can do
about the goats. I'm not worried about the goats. If it motivates
you to a lawless life, Go for it. Eat, drink, and be merry. But it won't motivate a sheep
that way. A sheep will say, love so amazing,
so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. And aren't you thankful for the
security of the sheep? What would happen to you if the
sheep were not eternally secure. Don't you know that you would
have departed and been gone a long time ago? But the Lord says,
I give unto my sheep eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. the security of God's church. Let's pray together. Lord, how we thank you for our
great shepherd, the great shepherd