I'd like for you to open your
Bibles with me today to the Book of John. I'm going to be speaking
to you from the 10th chapter of the Gospel according to John,
and we'll look at verses 22 through 30. Now, my subject is, I believe,
a most interesting subject, and one that will interest you. I
hope that you'll listen there carefully, and why don't you
take your Bibles and open with me to the Scripture. I'm going
to read several verses, and I think it would be beneficial if you'd
follow along with me. In John chapter 10, let's begin
reading with verse 22. Now, here's the subject. I'm
going to speak on the subject, the security of the sheep. Now, let's make that the subject,
the security of the sheep, just exactly as I have expressed it,
the security of his sheep. In John 10, verse 22, the scripture
says, And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication,
and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple
in Solomon's porch. And then came the Jews, that
is, the religious leaders and their followers, and they came
round about him, they encircled him. And they said to him, to
the Master, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be
the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered them and said,
I told you, I told you, but you believe not, because you're not
of my sheep. I told you, but you believe not. He says, you believe not the
witness. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. Not only did you not believe
me, but you didn't believe the works that I did, the witness
of the Father. 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
them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them to
me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand. I and my Father are warned. Now, my subject has been argued,
it's been debated, and it's been studied for centuries. And many
professing Christians have had some harsh words over this subject,
and many people have fallen out over this subject. It's been
called by many names. It's been called, once in grace,
always in grace. It's been called the eternal
security of the believer. It's been called Once Saved,
Always Saved. It's been called the Preservation
and the Perseverance of the Saints. It's been called by many names.
But our Lord states it very plainly. This is what I prefer to call
it. He says, My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me, and
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. 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 prefer to call it the
security of the sheep. Now, the hymn writer put it this
way. He said, The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes. That soul, though
all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never No, never. No, never
per se. Now this message today, and I
hope you'll listen carefully, that you'll stay with me. I'm
going to answer three questions. First of all, what is the truth
that we're preaching? What is this that I'm saying?
What is this that we're reading from the Word of God? Secondly,
what does the Bible say about it? Not what does the church
creeds or catechisms or church fathers have to say, but what
does God's word have to say about this subject? And then thirdly,
why is it important? Why is it important to preach
on this subject, the security of the sacred? I think that's
three good questions, and I believe if you'll listen carefully that
we can learn some things together. First of all, what is the truth
that we preach? Now, it's important from the
beginning. that you and I both understand
and make clear what we're preaching. Most of the abuse which this
truth has suffered through the years and through the centuries
has been brought to bear upon it because it's been misunderstood.
People don't know what we're saying when we say the security
of the sheep, the perseverance of the saints, or whether you
say once saved, always saved, or once in grace, always in grace. They do not really understand
what you're saying. So right away, We need to make
clear what we're talking about. What is the truth that we're
preaching? Right away we know this from this passage. We know
of whom the Lord is speaking when he talks about security.
We know of whom he's speaking. He keeps talking about the sheep,
the sheep, the sheep. And that's what he's talking
about. He's not talking about church members or professing
believers or religious people or religious leaders or even
pastors and people. He keeps saying, My sheep. Now
listen to Him. Back there in verse 14, or verse
11, He says, I'm the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His
life for the sheep. In verse 14, He says, I'm the Good Shepherd.
I know My sheep. Underscore that. My sheep. I
know My sheep. In verse 16, He says, and other
sheep. I have, which are not of this
foal, not other professors or church members or religious people,
other sheep, other sheep. In verse 26, now listen, I paused
on this while ago so that I could focus your attention on it. Very
important. And it's not quoted very often, nor is it read very
often. Our Lord was walking in Solomon's porch, and these religious
folks gathered around him. They encircled him, and they
began to speak rather harshly and mockingly to him. And they
said, how long? How long are you going to keep
us in doubt? If you are the Christ, if you are the Messiah, if you
are the consolation of Israel, if you are the one for whom we
look, of whom Moses wrote and whose day Abraham saw, that was
what they were asking him, are you the Christ? And he said,
tell us plainly. And he said, I told you plainly.
I told you. And not only did I tell you,
but the works that I do. The works that I do, they bear
witness of me. The works bear witness that the Father sent
me. But you didn't believe me. You didn't believe what I told
you and you didn't believe the works you saw. And he said, I tell
you why you didn't believe me and why you didn't believe the
works. Because you're not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them. And they follow
me and I give them eternal life. Now, let's ask three questions
here about the sheep. Where did he get the sheep? Christ
keeps talking about, I'm the door to the sheepfold. This whole
chapter, you ought to read the whole chapter. And how often,
often, often he refers to these people as his sheep. I know my
sheep. I love my sheep. My sheep hear
my voice. My sheep follow me. Other sheep
I have. You're not of my sheep. And we're
saying the sheep. It's the security of his sheep,
not the security of every professing church member in the land or
every religious person, everybody who crosses himself or sprinkles
some water or says some praise the Lord or hallelujah. We're
talking about his sheep. That's who he's talking about.
Now, where did he get them? Well, verse 29, look at it. My father
gave them to me. That's what he said. My father
gave them to me. That's where he got his sheep.
Turn to John 6 and read from verse 37 through 39. The Master
said, All that my 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 mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me. And this is the will of him that sent me, that of
all which he hath given me. I'll lose nothing, but raise
it up at the last day. And in John 17, in that blessed
priestly prayer, our Lord six times, six times, talks about
those that the Father gave me. Where did he get his sheep? He
said, my Father gave them to me. That's verse 29. Well, what
did he do for the sheep? Verse 15 says he laid down his
life for the sheep. That's what he did for the sheep.
He said, I know my sheep. I love them. I'm the good shepherd.
I lay down my life for my sheep. Well, what do the sheep do? He
said, they hear my voice. They hear my word. They hear
my spirit. And they'll follow me. God's
sheep have two brands. They have two marks on them.
They're branded on the ear and the foot. They hear the voice
of the Lord and they follow him. That's the folks we're talking
about. This promise of eternal life, this promise of security,
of preservation and perseverance is only given to the sheep. That's
who our Lord's talking about here, the sheep of Christ. Not
the ungodly, not the unbeliever, not the professor, not the church
hypocrite, not the false claimer, not the stony ground hearer,
not the tares, the sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and they
follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Now, let this note clearly be
sounded. Once in Christ. And we're not
saying once in the church, or once at the mourner's bench,
or once in the water, or once at the table. Once in Christ.
Once in Christ. Chosen in Christ. Redeemed in
Christ. Risen in Christ. Seated in Christ. Accepted in the Beloved. Once
in Christ. By the grace of God through faith.
Always in Christ. Always in Christ. Once a child
of God. An heir of God. A joint heir
with Jesus Christ. Always a child of God. The family
of God is secure. Once justified by his grace,
always justified by his grace. When sin is blotted out, when
sin is put away and remembered no more, it's a permanent work. It's a work of God. Once we pass
from death unto life, we're always passed from death unto life.
And Paul said in Romans 8.33, who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is he that condemns me? It is Christ that died. Yea,
rather, is risen again, who is Hebren at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us. Who can separate me from
the love of Christ? Can death or life or principalities
or powers or height or depth or angels or any other creature?
Nosa, in Christ, secure in Christ. I'm not saying that a true believer
will never sin. I'm not saying that a true believer
will never err. This happens. To their own grief
and their own sorrow, believers, the sheep of Christ, do fail.
They do fail. Go down the list. Noah behaved
shamefully when he came out of that ark, and Abraham to protect
his own life, denied his wife Sarah. And Lot took up a bowl
in a wicked city. And Jacob deceived his father
and his brother. And David's sin covered it and
killed a friend. Solomon permitted his wives to
worship idols. Peter three times denied his
Lord. Paul and Barnabas argued and
broke fellowship, split up their missionary work. One went one
way and one went the other. But my friends, what I'm saying
is this. I'm not saying that a believer will never err. I'm
not saying that he'll never sin. I'm saying that a true believer
will never totally and finally depart from Christ. John said
of those folks that left the people of God and left the gospel
of Christ, he said they were never of us. If they had been
of us, they no doubt would have continued with us. And Paul said
in Hebrews, we're not of them that turn back. We're not of
them that turn back. Now, a believer may lose his
comfort. He may lose the comfort of grace, but never the truth
of grace. He may lose the feeling of grace,
but never the fact of it. He may for a time have doubts
and fears about himself, but he never doubts his Lord. He
never doubts the sufficiency and efficacy and saving power
and ability of the blood of the Son of God. Now that's the first
thing to settle. What is the truth that we're
preaching? We're preaching the security of his sheep, the purpose
of God, the glory of God in redeeming a people which he gave to his
son, and which his son effectually redeemed by his sacrifice, and
who were called invincibly and irresistibly by his mighty spirit. All right, the second thing,
what does the Bible say about this subject? Now you and I know
this, the word of God is our only true test of any doctrine
or any teaching. The scripture says, to the word,
to the law, to the prophets. If they speak not according to
his word, there's no light in them. For my friend, I go to
the word. Listen to John 5, verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall never come into condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life. That's the promise of our
Lord. John 5, verse 24. And then John
6, verse 37. All that my Father giveth me
shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." And three times in these next five
verses he said, and I'll raise them up at the last day. Those
that my Father gave me, I'll raise them up at the last day.
Those that see the Son and believe on Him, I'll raise them up at
the last day. John 6, 44, those that are taught of the Father,
I'll raise them up again at the last day. And then the text I
read a moment ago, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and
I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. And
then Romans 8, 28, And we know that all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow. He also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, and whom he did predestinate
he called, and whom he called he justified, and whom he justified
he glorified. What shall we say to these things?
We say, if God be for us, who can be against us? And then in
Philippians 1.6, the scripture says, being confident of this
very thing, that he that hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. So the word of God is
very clear. That which God does is forever,
and nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from
it. This is the issue to be settled. Who is the Savior? Does man by
his work save himself, or does God by grace save him? Is salvation
a reward for a work done, or is salvation the gift of God?
Is salvation something I do for myself, or I do for God, or is
salvation something God does for me? If it's something God
does for me, and if it's a miraculous, life-changing, heart-changing
work of grace, then it's forever, it's permanent. It's secure in
Christ. The very attributes of God suggest
that the sheep are secure. Listen to Malachi 3, I am the
Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.
I am the Lord, I change not. God doesn't change, not in his
purpose, not in his providence, and not in his love. Listen to
Romans chapter 11, verse 29. The gifts and calling of God
are without change. Salvation is a gift. It's a gift
of God. And it's a calling. It's a calling of the Holy Spirit.
So the gifts and calling of God are without change. Now listen
to this. Most of you know something about the office work of Christ.
Most of the old theologians used to talk about the offices of
Christ. He's prophet, priest, and king.
He's husband, brother, and friend. He's all of these things. And
many of the hymn writers wrote about the office work of Christ. Let me ask you some questions.
What kind of head? What kind of head? Jesus Christ
is said to be the head of the church. He's the head and we're
the body. What kind of head would Jesus
Christ be if the body perished? Or any member of the body? He's
been given the task, the mission, the work by God the Father to
redeem the whole body of Christ. What if he loses some of that
body? What kind of head is that? And then this, what kind of shepherd?
What kind of shepherd would Christ be? We know he is the good shepherd,
the great shepherd, the chief shepherd. That's how he refers
to himself in the Word. What kind of shepherd would Christ
be if he loses some of the sheep? You know, one great old songwriter
said this, if one sheep of Christ could fall away, I'd fall a thousand
times a day. But my protection and provision
and providence and security is not in my hands nor in the hands
of the church. It's in the hands of my shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd, therefore I shall not walk. The Lord is
my shepherd, therefore he leads me in green pastures, he leads
me beside the still waters, he restores my soul. The Lord is
my shepherd, therefore I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. Therefore goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life. What kind of shepherd would Christ
be if the sheep perished? What kind of husband if the bride
perished? Huh? What kind of husband is
Christ? We're the bride of Christ, that's what scripture tells us.
What kind of priest is Christ if the atonement is not sufficient,
if the atonement fails? You come along and tell me that
Christ died for me and paid my sin debt, and I still go to hell
to pay the same debt. What kind of payment was that
he made? What kind of atonement was it? It didn't atone, it didn't
redeem, it didn't save. What did it do? What kind of
physician would Christ be if the patients all died? What kind
of king is Christ if the kingdom fails? Oh, that's foolishness,
isn't it? Jesus never fails. Heaven and
earth may pass away, but Jesus never fails. My friend, you can't
find one example in the Bible of a true child of God who departed
from Christ, not one. Now, Judas was the son of perdition
from the beginning. It's written about him over in
the Old Testament that he would sell the master for thirty pieces
of silver and the potter Potter's field would be bought from the
very money that he returned. That's all written in the scriptures.
Pharaoh, God hardened his heart. He told Moses, I'll harden his
heart. He said, you go down and tell Pharaoh, let my people go.
He's not going to listen to you. And he's not going to let them
go. And I'll harden his heart, God said. But you can't find
one example in the scripture, not one, of a true redeemed person,
of a sheep of Christ, of one given to the son by the father
who fell away. Why is this important? Why do
I take the time on this television program to preach on this subject,
the security of the sheep? Well, I give you three or four
reasons. Number one, because it's good news. It's good news. You know, when the angels came
to the shepherds on that Judean hillside that morning, that night
they announced the birth of Christ, they said, we bring you good
news, good news, glad tidings of great joy, good news from
a far country. Blessed are the feet of those
that come bringing good news. Well, this is good news. It's
good news that God loves sinners. Isn't that good news? It's good
news that Jesus Christ came into the world to be my representative,
to be my sin offering, to be my sacrifice. It's good news
that he died on the cross and put away our sins. It's good
news that the Holy Spirit will not leave us in darkness, but
he comes and illuminates us and enlightens us and reveals Christ
to our heart. It's good news that we're pardoned
from all of our sins and we have a righteousness before the Heavenly
Father. Isn't that good news? It's good news that the dead
shall rise. They may take my body to the cemetery and bury
it, but it won't stay buried. Christ said, because I live,
ye shall live also. That's good news, but think.
Think for a moment. What if in spite of all this,
I still go to hell? And I listen to you, and you
come to me preaching. Good news, sinner! God loves
sinners. Good news, sinner! Christ died
for sinners. Good news! The Holy Spirit calls,
and the Holy Spirit enlightens, and the Holy Spirit seals us.
But in spite of all of this, I still perish in my sin and
go to hell. Where's the good news? I tell
you, once admit, once admit, once you dare admit that a person
redeemed by the blood of Christ called by the Spirit of God.
Once a person who has faith in Christ Jesus and is sanctified
by his Spirit and justified by his grace, once admits that one
of those people can perish and go to hell, you take all the
good news out of the gospel for everybody to whom you may be
led to preach it. It can't be good news because
as they listen to you talk, they say, I still might be lost. I
have no confidence. I have no assurance. I'm not
persuaded. I can't say with the Apostle
Paul, I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded. I'm confident
he's able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. You might still be lost, Paul. Oh, Job said, I know
my Redeemer liveth, and the worms go after my skin. Worms destroy
this body, yet in my flesh I'll see the Lord. Hold on there,
Job. Wait just a minute. You might get to the very gate
of heaven and fall away. Is that the way you want me to
pray? Not so, my friend, not so. I'll say to any false professor,
any hypocrite, I'll say to any religious person, I'll say to
any phony church member, I'll say to any of those people who
are indifferent, you will fall away. It's as sure as there's
a throne of God in heaven, but I'll tell you those who belong
to Christ and know Him and love Him and trust Him. And those
who have been washed in his blood and redeemed by his grace and
called by his Spirit and justified by his mercy will never perish. Never perish. That's good news.
And I'll tell you another thing. It's important because it makes
the work of Christ certain. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
try to do anything, my friend. It says he shall save his people
from their sins. Isn't that what the angel said
to Joseph? Thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall save his
people from their sins. He said himself in Luke 19, 10,
the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.
He didn't try to do anything. He got the job done. He shall
see, Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 53, he shall see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. Our Lord brings forth no stillborn
children, no dead children. They're all alive. He sees the
travail of his soul, and he's satisfied. And I tell you, that
makes the work of Christ effectual. His blood was not shed in vain.
He did not suffer in vain. He did not die in vain. He did
not put his blood on the mercy seat of glory in vain. He did
not go before the Father as the great intercessor and mediator
in vain. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. God gave him a job to do, and
he did it. He said, My sheep hear My voice, and I give them
eternal life. I'll tell you another reason
it's important. It's important because it gives comfort to people
like you and me. Now, in this world you have tribulation. What's tribulation? Trial and
suffering and sorrow and trouble, trouble. We have troubles from
within. We have troubles from without.
We have troubles in the home and troubles in the office and
troubles on the street and troubles on the job Troubles in our bodies,
we have trouble, trouble on every hand. We need a foundation that
won't move. When the wind's blowing and the
rain's falling and the flood's rising, we need our feet planted
on the rock Christ Jesus to give us comfort. And we can say with
Joe, though he slay me, I trust him. We can say with Eli, it's
the Lord, let him do what he will. I don't know what tomorrow
holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. And I know he holds my hand.
And then it's important, poetically, that we preach this truth because
it's the word of God. I must preach the scripture.
My friend, we cannot compromise the truth of God's word. We cannot
preach to please men. The apostle said, if I please
men, I'm not the servant of Christ. So we must preach it because
it's the word of God.