Another note, Melvin is not feeling
well. His diabetes is acting up a little
bit and he's not feeling well, so remember him in your prayers
also. John chapter 10. This past week on Facebook, for
those of you who use Facebook, a reminder popped up about the
middle of the week somewhere in there. to remember our sister Mary Bell,
because it was her birthday. Now it's been over a year since
she passed away. The Lord took her home to glory.
But computers only know what's entered into their memory, so
it was a reasonable mistake. But it got me thinking about
Mary. Those of you who knew her were blessed to do so. She was
a one-of-a-kind person. But as I thought of Mary, I began
to think of other beloved ones. They began to enter my mind,
brothers and sisters in Christ, who have left this old world
and gone to the next. I thought of Scott Richardson,
who was like a pastor to me in many ways, or a great help to
me as a young preacher. Maurice Montgomery, who just
recently passed, who was another dear friend and gospel preacher.
I thought of Clara Jean, Ralph, Charles Conley, Mickey, my dad,
Bill and Arlene Carver, Dan and Winnie, Dave Long, John and Joey
Hardy, some of y'all remember them, April Schmidt, J.D. Butler, and that's just
to name a few. I was thinking of them and I
realized something, that I wasn't thinking of them as being dead.
You never think of them that way, as being dead. I was thinking
of them as still being vital and alive. In my memories, they
are. In my thoughts, they are. When I think of my dad, I don't
think of him laying in that box. I think of the times he fixed
my cars for me, the times he The old bear was so sweet that
I forgot how sweet he was. He was a busy man, a quiet man,
a reserved man, and a tough man. I never doubted or had any difficulty
in understanding the concept of sovereignty because I grew
up in Bill James' household. I lived with him for 19 years,
and I never asked the question why once. It never even entered
my mind to ask the question why. When I was 16 years old, I had
a girlfriend. Her name was Judy. I guess I was 15. I was in the
junior high. I couldn't drive. My dad, my
sweet, tough dad, would take me over to their house on Sundays
right after lunch and come back seven, eight o'clock at night
and pick me up. And he never griped about it at all. And I
didn't thank him until he was about 85 years old. He just don't remember how kind
an act that was. But I never think of him except in the sense of being
alive. When I think of my brothers and sisters, I think of them,
the fun we had together, the joy we shared in worshiping the
gospel, through the gospel. Solomon was on the money when
he said, love is stronger than death. Isn't it? It's stronger than death. And when Facebook reminded me
to remember Mary Bell's birthday, this passage came to my mind.
And it's been on my mind every day, and most of the hours of
the day, these four words have been in my heart and my mind.
As it were, the master himself was speaking to me. They shall
never perish. They shall never perish. Now, if you're a Baptist, or
raised in a Baptist church, you've heard this principle taught all
your life. Usually in the context of walking
down an aisle or making a decision and never, never doubting your
salvation lest you be found doubting and denying these words or doubting
and denying God. I grew up with the concept of
once saved, always saved, but it had to do with that one time
so-called experience when the invitation was given and you
walked down the aisle. I can't remember a time when
I didn't believe that they shall never perish in that context. But I wasn't a believer. I just
believed that. I just believed that. But it
wasn't until I heard the truth of the gospel that I began to
lay hold of the fact that this truth was really not about some
religious experience or men not doubting God. It was about who
does the saving, who does the saving, and who has been given
faith to believe Him. The eternal security of the elect
is that it is God, the sovereign God, who has saved men, and He,
the sovereign God, who cannot lie, has said this, they shall
never perish. God said that. These words are words to the
same effect that have been used throughout the New Testament.
In John 11, before Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, he told
his sister Martha, who had buried him four days prior, that Lazarus
was not dead. He said he's sleeping. He said
he's sleeping. And he said, The reason for that
is that I am the resurrection and the life. And he that believeth
on me shall not die. Shall not die. Paul spoke of
not dying, but being changed. And immortality being placed
upon mortality. When this corruption shall put
on incorruption and this mortality shall put on immortality, then
we can say, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is
thy victory? Our Lord said, If any man keep
my saying, he shall never see death. He shall never see death. They shall never perish with
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. All we can say is this is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. I think that door
just blew open outside. Thank you, Perry. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and whatever door it wants to open, it does, I suppose. First Peter chapter 3 in verse
9, Peter said, the Lord was not slack concerning his promises.
As some men count slackness. But as long as suffering to us
were not willing, then any should perish, but it all should come
to repentance. They shall not perish. Now John 3 is usually
the verse that most people go to when they think about this
principle of never dying or having everlasting life or not perishing.
In John 3 verses 15 and 16, those terms are used twice by our Lord
Jesus Christ as He spoke to Nicodemus. And He said these words, Whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Then He
said, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. Now these words generally are
the most commonly quoted words when people talk about what is
the term of eternal security or once saved, always saved,
which I don't really care for that term. But these words though
commonly quoted are some of the least understood words in all
of scripture pertaining to the fact that the elect, God's people,
will never perish. Now one thing interesting to
note is that our Lord is speaking at this time to an unbeliever.
He's speaking to a man named Nicodemus. And at this moment he was an
unbeliever. I tend to think because of how he defended Christ against
the Sanhedrin and how he desired the body of Christ for his burial
that later he became, by God's grace, a believer. But at this
time he was not a believer and our Lord made that clear to him.
that he was not a believer. If you look over John chapter
3 in verse 10, our Lord said these words to this well-studied,
learned man and ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. He said in verse 10, Jesus said,
Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
No, it's not these things. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
we speak that we do not, and testify that we have seen, and
ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things,
you believe not. How shall you believe if I tell
you of heavenly things? He was talking to a man who was
not a believer. Now, he did believe some things,
for he came to Jesus by night, And he said that we believe,
or we know, actually, he said, we know, and he used the word
oida, which is, we, this is, God told me, we know that you
are a man come from God, because no man could do these mighty
works unless God had sent him. We know, he knew some things.
But he was not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And our
Lord made it clear that the reason he wasn't a believer is because
he wasn't born again. He said, you can't know these
things. You can't perceive these things. You can't begin to understand
these things except you be born from above. The Lord told Nicodemus
that those who looked to or believed Christ alone would be saved and
would never perish, but did not do so without explaining who
it was that would look. Some people like to say, well,
I don't believe in predestination and election. I believe in whosoever
will. And I usually answer that by saying, whosoever will what?
And who will? I know that whosoever will, whosoever
believeth shall be saved. And I know who they are. Because
the Bible tells us who they are. It's not a mystery. He tells
us plainly who they are. Only those who are born from
above will look to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is because only
they can perceive who He actually is. Nicodemus knew some things about
Christ, but he didn't know who Christ was. And our Lord made
that very clear in verse 3. He said, Jesus answered and said,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, or
born from above, he cannot see, perceive, grasp, understand the
kingdom. And that's interesting little
wording by our Lord Jesus Christ also. He wasn't talking about
the kingdom of the Jews or the kingdom of Rome. He was talking
about His kingdom. And when you see that word kingdom
in Scripture from the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, it means
more than just a realm. It means His sovereign rule over
a realm. Seeking first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness and all the other things will be
added to you. That kingdom is His sovereign rule. It assures
us. He assures us in this very elementary
state of beginning to teach this man Nicodemus that the primary and elementary
perception of the new birth is this. This is what you first
learn. The Lord is sovereign. This is
the heart and the the basis and the foundation of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord also declared why one
would look to Christ and why one wouldn't. Now religion has
diminished faith to a simple act. In fact, people don't even
talk about faith because everybody says they have it. They call
it their faith. But they've diminished it to a simple act or a thought
And it's usually even spoken in terms of nonchalance. Like this is just a given that
you can believe on God. I told you a story one time after
I preached a message on faith. A girl came up, I don't know
who she came with, she came up and she looked at the flowers
on the pulpit and she says, I can believe those flowers are God. And I said, well, go ahead. She couldn't. And neither can
you. Belief comes from a gift. When
God gives a man faith, then he can believe. Up to that point,
you can't believe. And you who are believers even know now,
there's more unbelief in you than there is belief. You know,
that's the truth. Our Lord never spoke in terms,
when He talked about men coming to Him, in terms of nonchalance.
He never talked about him just sort of easy believism, where
you just sort of decide on something. He didn't say, come unto me all
ye who couldn't care less. He didn't say that, did he? He
said, come unto me all ye who labor, and are heavy laden, and
I'll give you rest. So he made a qualifying statement
as to who would come to him, and the reason that they would
come to him. qualifying the estate of those
who would come, heavy, laden, and burdened. Y'all come. Y'all come. And the relative
biblical history that the Lord told Nicodemus concerning who
it was that would believe on Christ declared in certainty
that no one would seek the Lord or believe on Him who did not
do so out of desperation. You say, well I don't see those
words. They're there. They're there, but you have to begin
where our Lord begins in teaching this man about whosoever will,
or whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ. And for that,
we go to verse 14 of John chapter 3, and it says, As Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but
have eternal life. That's who He's talking to, and
that's who He's telling us to understand. He said, You know
the story of Moses and the brazen serpent, don't you, Nicodemus?
And of course he did. He was a Bible scholar. He knew
all about that. He said, well, just like Moses
lifted up in that serpent, in the wilderness, the reason he
lifted up is the same reason I'm going to be lifted up. The
Son of Man should be lifted up. This is biblical history. He
spoke of the plague of serpent bites that the Lord sent Israel.
And why did the Lord send serpents to bite Israel? To bite the people?
Because they said in Numbers 21, Our soul loatheth this light
bread. And we're talking about the manner
that God gave which pictured the Lord Jesus Christ. Because
He gave the manner in its simplicity And yet in its fullness of substance,
but in its simplicity to prove the people, according to R. R.
Chattery, whether or not they'd believe God, whether or not they'd
rely on God. Well, they didn't do well with
that. And granted, for 40 years, the ground covered with that
little white, round thing that tasted like coriander seed and
honey, was there every morning, and
I expect knowing me, I'd have probably got tired of it too,
so I'm not too mad at Israel, but they said our soul hates
this light bread, and it shows human nature in relationship
to the simplicity and the singularity of Christ. They wanted quail. They wanted meat. They wanted
the onions and garlic of Egypt. They wanted all those things
and they got plain bread. That's our Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the only thing God gives for your salvation. There's nothing
else. Nothing fancy about Him. He didn't
come into Jerusalem riding a chariot. He came on a young ass's coat.
He didn't wear finery and robes. He wore a shepherd's garment.
He wasn't fancy, he wasn't even handsome. There was no cumulus
in him which men should desire him, Scripture says. He was a
man of sorrows. He was a grieving man. Most people
didn't probably want to be around him until he started healing
folks, and they liked that a lot. But then when he started talking,
they didn't like that so much. And they wanted to kill him.
But he said, why am I going to be lifted up? He said, you're
going to have to believe on me. I'm going to be lifted up and
he's talking about going to the cross of Calvary. Why was that serpent
lifted up on the pole? It was a remedy for the snake
bites. It was a remedy for the snake
bites. It was the remedy provided by
God. And only those who felt the fire
of venom coursing through their bodies were told to look to the
serpent and be healed. Read the scriptures, Numbers
21, verses 5 through 9. You'll see those who were bitten
were told, look to the serpent. It didn't say anything about
those who weren't bitten. didn't say anything about them
and our Lord is saying the same thing here. He says, as Moses
lifted up that servant of mine, so shall the Son of Man be lifted
up. The same set of principles applies
to what our Lord is saying. Those who were unbitten were
also unbidden. Why? Well, if you were not bitten,
you didn't need a remedy, did you? You didn't need a remedy. The difference was that God created
the need by employing the fangs of a serpent upon his remnant. And those were bitten. And suddenly
they found themselves in desperation. They had venom coursing through
their veins. Those who had not been bitten
had no need. And thus they had no story of
salvation to tell. And if you have no need of Christ,
and you are not desperate for Him, you don't have a story to
tell. You're not part of the scenario. You're not part of the story. You're not even in the appendix
or the glossary of the story. You're just not there. Oh, you
could talk history, but they could not relate to the story.
That's religion today. Our Lord told Nicodemus that
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so shall the
Son of Man be lifted up. And the ones who have felt the
pain of the serpent's bite, out of need and out of despair of
life, would look to Christ for salvation. And they will. And
they will. Those who had no need, they could
talk about it. People talk about Jesus all the
time today. They have a sense of history.
They could relate facts about it. Perhaps they could assimilate
into the story of their lives because it's their lives they're
talking about, not about the life. They don't talk about our
life being hidden in Jesus Christ, that Christ is our life. They
say, won't you invite Jesus into your life? Man, that's the difference
between night and day, the difference between darkness and light. No man invites Jesus into his
life. He doesn't have a life. But he
believes he does, so he talks about history and he talks about
these things. Maybe they can work it into their
free will theology, but they can never experience it because
they've never been bitten. They've never been in pain. They've
never been broken about their sin. They've never had their
heart broken over the riches that they are. So they never
cry out for mercy and never cry out for grace. They just decide
for Jesus. And they have nothing. So our
Lord says, when I'm lifted up, those that are bitten, whoever
they are, whosoever they are, they look at me. They'll be saved. They'll have eternal life. And
they shall never perish. They shall never perish. And
in our text back in John chapter 10, we have some mighty sweet
words that only believers can cherish. Again, it's important
to remember, however, our Lord is not speaking to His sheep. In this conversation, He's speaking
about His sheep to those who are not His sheep. This is the
conversation. He's not speaking to his sheep.
He's speaking about the estate of his sheep to those who are
not his sheep. And he tells them that in no
uncertain terms. He is speaking to willful, intractable,
religious unbelievers. They are goats who call themselves
sheep. They are ravening wolves in sheep's
clothing, and are ever about destroying the flock of God.
And our Lord looks them square in the eye, and tells them that
they do not believe Him, because, because they are not His sheep. That's what He says, look at
verse 26, back in John chapter 10. He says, My sheep, or He says,
but you believe not. because you are not of my sheep,
as I said to you. You believe not. Now in the first
part of this chapter, he's called them thieves, called them robbers,
called them hirelings, all kinds of things, but he not called
them sheep. Not called them sheep. You believe not because you are
not of my sheep. Now the goats, would really,
really like for the Lord to have said, you're my sheep because
you don't believe. Because that's what religion
says. Religion says if you believe, you'll become a sheep. Listen,
if you're a sheep, you're a sheep. And if you're a goat, you're
a goat. And never the twain shall meet. But they'd like for our Lord
to say, you're my sheep because you don't believe. But he didn't
say that, did he? Then I reckon he's the Lord, he knows how to
talk. He said, you don't believe because you are not of my sheep.
Can't get much simpler than that. You see, if they were his sheep,
they would believe. That's what he said. My sheep
believe. And that's plain and simple.
Christ knows his sheep, and they know him. According to verse
14, it says, I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known
of mine. When do they know Him? When they
hear His voice. They themselves don't know their sheep until
they hear His voice. He died for His sheep. He said,
I lay down my life for my sheep. Look at verse 15. And the Father
knoweth me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life
for the sheep. for the sheep. Christ gathered
His sheep into one fold. In verse 16, He says, And another
sheep have I which are not of this fold, them also I must bring,
and they shall hear My voice, and they shall be one fold, and
shall be one shepherd. His sheep follow Him. The followers of the Lamb are
described in Revelation 14, but here the sheep are described
as those followers of the Lamb. Sheep following the Lamb. In
verse 4 it says, And when he putteth forth his own sheep,
he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know
his voice. They know his voice. Then in
verse 27 he says, My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me,
and I give unto them eternal life. They follow me. His sheep follow him. This is
how we know. This is how we know. Believing
is what Christ's sheep do. That's just what they do. And
goats will never believe because they're not the Lord's sheep,
they're goats. I'm not trying to convert goats. I know I can't
convert goats. God won't convert goats. God came here to save His sheep. Those of His flock, those who
were chosen by Him before the foundation of the world. Goats
are not sheep at all. And they never will be. The Lord's
sheep were given to Him by the Father. They were given to Him. The Lord said, All that the Father
giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me I will
in no wise cast out. And in verse 29 of our text it
says, My Father which gave them Me. He gave them to Me. They were taught of the Father.
They were taught of the Father. Everyone, He said in John chapter
6, who hath learned and been taught of the Father comes to
the Lord Jesus Christ. His sheep come. That's the way
of the Lord. Christ doesn't pray for the goats.
He prays for the sheep. He said in John 17, when He was
praying His high priestly prayer to the Father, He said, I pray
not for the world. Well, don't John 3.16 say He
loves the world? You've got to understand what
the word kosmos means in the Greek language. He said, I pray not for the world.
I pray for them that Thou hast given Me, because they are Thine. They are Thine. The Lord's sheep
are ordained to eternal life, and that's why they believe.
In Acts 13, verse 48, it says, As many as were ordained to eternal
life believe. Why do you believe? Because you're
ordained to eternal life. That's another verse that religion
would like to switch around. They like to say, and many of
them do say stupid things like that. They say God looked down
through history and foresaw faith, and therefore chose who believed. So they like Acts 13.48 to say,
as many as believed were made to eternal life, but that's not
what it says. It says, as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed. How many believed? Those that
were written to life. The word is prografo, not predestination,
not pro reso. Prografo, those who God wrote
down to life. What did he, what's that mean? Well, there was a book before
the world began with the names of all who were in the will and
testament of Christ. And that book is called the Lamb's
Book of what? Life. Those who were written to life.
When was your name put there? There ain't no new names written
down in glory. I know John Peterson wrote a
cute little song saying there was. But there wasn't. There
ain't no new names. They've all been there. And those
are the ones who receive what God has for those He's written
in His will and testament. Those are they who believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ because they were written to it in the
Lamb's Book of Life. They were ordained to it. God
causes His elect to come to Him. David knew that. David said,
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach
unto thee. In Psalm 65, verse 4. Christ
did not cause these Pharisees to reject Him. He merely suffered
them to be themselves, and in their profound guiltiness, they
do not, cannot, and will not believe. You do not believe. because you're not my sheep." But the Lord causes His sheep
to hear. They hear His voice and they
follow Him and He gives them eternal life. And these are the
words that we all ought to roll over in our minds more than on
one occasion. When we think of our dear brothers
and sisters who have passed and our eternal future, they shall
never perish. Never. Never, never, never, never. It just will not perish. Four
plain and simple truths concerning the sheep are taught in this
passage, just four. The first is the sheep will hear
Christ. My sheep hear my voice. Don't ever wonder about that. Tell folks the gospel. When you
get the opportunity to tell folks what Christ has done for you,
tell them. And if they're goats, they'll never believe what you
say. They just won't. But if they're sheep, you just
might be the instrument by which they hear the voice of Jesus
Christ. My sheep hear my voice. Secondly, this, the sheep will
follow the shepherd. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. Even down to death they will
follow Him. The third thing is this, God
has graciously gifted His sheep. I give them eternal life. Eternal life. And God issues
a heavenly edict, a sovereign decree concerning His sheep.
They shall never perish. Think about that. They shall
never perish. Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise
God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and forever. Amen. My sheep hear my voice,
and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish. This is eternal security. And I didn't have anything to
do with it. Thank God. Father, bless us to
understand your prayer in Christ's name. Amen.