MY SHEEP listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29). For the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, no passage in the Bible has more assurance in it than this one. In it is found an unconditional statement by our Lord that those who are his are his for all eternity, because they are in his hand, under his care, and are in the Father’s hand, under his care. The strength of the Father is that which guarantees this condition of safety. There are those who are not willing to accept this simple and clear statement without modifying it. Thereby they not only lose the assurance that might come to themselves; but they rob others of that assurance which is so greatly needed by every one of God’s children. God makes two kinds of promises to his children: conditional and unconditional. He always makes it clear whether or not they are conditional or unconditional. When conditional, he uses the word “if” or its equivalent; but when his statement is unconditional, he leaves out the “if”. This is therefore an unconditional statement. Yet there are many who, claiming to accept the Bible as being God inspired, nevertheless insist that this is a conditional statement, and that “if” the sheep follow they shall never perish. By what right do they add the word “if”? As it is neither stated nor implied by the context, it is clearly a case of tampering with God’s word, and changing its meaning. Five separate statements are made concerning “My sheep”: (1)Listen to My voice, (2)I know them, (3)they follow Me, (4)I give them eternal life and (5)they shall never perish. These are five distinct things said about those who are his sheep. Not one is conditional upon any other. By adding the word “if” to the third statement, the fourth as well as the fifth must become conditional upon it. Thus not only the question of perishing, but also that of receiving eternal life would be conditional upon following the Lord. Then, to make the words “follow Me” mean the living of a life as the Lord Jesus lived his (as some assert), makes this mean that the one who lives as he lived will thereby receive eternal life and shall never perish. This is nothing less than modernism grown to full fruitage. It is salvation by works. Thus this addition of the word “if” denies salvation by grace through faith; it is a denial of the grace of God. It is dangerous to tamper with God’s word! As though this light handling of God’s eternal truths were not enough, it is further being preached and taught that while no one can snatch one of Christ’s own out of his hand and out of the Father’s hand, it is possible for one to jump out by his own willed action. By what scriptural authority is that statement made? Does the wording of the passage permit such a statement? Only two conditions could make it possible for a sheep to jump out of his own accord: (1)that he be given the freedom to do so, or (2)that he have the power to do so against the purpose of God. Are either of these possible? The sheep belong to Christ; they are “My sheep.” They are his because he, the Good Shepherd, gave his life for them. He purchased them with his own blood and they have been given to him by the Father. Ownership means lordship. That which is owned has no right of will contrary to the will of the owner. It has liberty to go, only within the limits granted by the owner. It is perfectly clear then, that the Good Shepherd does not grant to any sheep that has cost him so much to place in his own hand for safety, the privilege of jumping out of it. God’s hand is not an open hand. It is a hand that holds. When a father or a mother holds the hand of a small child to lead him safely through some place of real danger, that father or mother will not let that little hand go, even though the child might try to pull away. No, God does not grant the sheep the liberty to jump out of his hand. It would disgrace a human shepherd of sheep to say that he allowed his sheep to stray away from him. How much more does it disgrace the Good Shepherd to say that he allows his sheep to go away from him? The only question left then is, has the sheep the power to leap out of God’s hand contrary to his will and purpose? To admit this, would be to contradict Jesus’ words: “My Father . . . is greater than all.” The “all” necessarily includes the sheep. It would also contradict his words, “they shall never perish,” for if they did jump out they must perish. What a perversion of God’s word it is to add the little word “if” and to limit God by saying that a sheep can jump out of God’s hand! It denies salvation by grace through faith; it denies the fact of a believer’s eternal life; it makes the will of man stronger than the will of God; it discounts the keeping power of God, and it robs the believer of his assurance. Yet men, who are called to be ambassadors of God, to be stewards of the many and diverse grace of God, often very earnestly and zealously, but mistakenly, do that very thing. Jesus made another statement concerning himself and his sheep. He said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”(John 10:11). This statement and the one, “My sheep shall never perish,” are inter-dependent upon each other. They are to each other as cause and effect. The one cannot be touched without touching the other. To deny the effect – the absolute safety of the sheep – is to question the effective power of the cause – the death of the Good Shepherd. When Jesus says, “My sheep shall never perish,” it is unconditional and final. It is to be accepted in simple faith and made the subject of rejoicing and thanksgiving.

TWO
Why This Discussion?

THE TRUTH that “My sheep . . . shall never perish,” and that ” no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand,” is the substance of the doctrine of eternal security of the believer. Some object to a discussion of this doctrine on the ground that it engenders controversy and is not essential to salvation. It is true that as far as those who have been saved are concerned, they are still saved whether they understand this doctrine or not; but it has been the experience of multitudes that they have not known whether or not they are saved until they have come to understand this precious truth. In fact, without spiritual understanding of this doctrine it is impossible for anyone to be assured of eternal glory with God.

There are some who claim to be certain that they themselves shall be in heaven, but refuse to accept the doctrine of eternal security. By what special dispensation of grace shall they be saved? Are they not resting upon their own stability? Do such people have stronger characters than some weaker brothers who are frequently stumbling? Does salvation make this distinction? It is to be feared that these people do not clearly see that salvation is by grace and grace alone, for the one of strong as well as the one of weak character, and that none are kept because of the slightest human merit.

The principal reason, however, for this volume is that unless one understands and accepts the doctrine of eternal security, one can not accept without a great deal of reservation the doctrines of the grace of God. The whole body of grace truth loses very much of its meaning to those who reject the doctrine of eternal security.

Some year ago, a minister of national reputation in this country was asked the question: “It makes considerable difference, does it not, how a minister preaches, whether or not he accepts the doctrine of eternal security?” The immediate answer was: “A vast difference.”

If there is a vast difference in preaching due to acceptance or rejection of this doctrine, then it surely is important to discuss it. Speaking generally, those who reject this doctrine will in their sermons emphasize works. It becomes: “You must do this and you must not do that.” The emphasis is on self and their preaching often causes hearers to question their own salvation. Fear is used as a motive for godly living. Those who accept the doctrine of assurance, tell of what God has done and offer their hearers a finished work of salvation by Jesus Christ. Their appeal to holiness is based on what God has done for the saved one. they magnify the grace of God. Truly there is a vast difference.

WHY USE THE TERM “ETERNAL SECURITY”?

There are those who accept the truth of the eternal security of the believer; but feel that this truth should be taught without reference to that expression, and that the name of the doctrine, because of the resentment against it, should never be used. It is true, because of misrepresentations of the doctrine, that it is wise to follow this course under certain circumstances, especially when it is impossible to deal extensively with the subject. But that does not do away with the need for a frank discussion of the whole subject. There is a great deal of anti-eternal security agitation. Much is preached and written against it. Gross misrepresentations of the doctrine are made. Some of the best Bible teachers and most spiritual Christians in the land are being labeled in certain quarters as “eternal security men” and doors, which otherwise would be open, are closed to them. Thereby congregations, sadly in need of being taught grace truth, are not having the opportunity to hear it. Some of the best Bible teachers are being kept out of summer Bible conferences because of their belief in eternal security, and the young people who so greatly need to know the doctrines of the grace of God are not being taught.

This seems enough to demonstrate the real need of squarely facing this anti-eternal security agitation. That can only be done by using the term eternal security. It is impossible to expose the error of this teaching without using the words that are used so freely.

Some say that the expression eternal security is unbiblical and should not be used. If that is true, so also are the expressions, The Trinity or the Triune God, the Vicarious (or Substitutionary) Death, Omniscience, Omnipresence, and others that are freely used. These identical words are not in the Bible, but the meaning is there. The Bible teaches that the believer is included in the “eternal purpose” of God (Eph. 3:10, 11); he has “eternal life” (1 John 5:13); his salvation is called “eternal salvation” (Heb.5:9); he has been redeemed by an “eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12); and he is assured an “eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:15); and he is called “to eternal glory” (1 Pet. 5:10). In view of these expressions, it is surely correct to speak of the “eternal security” of the believer for each and every one of these conditions does make him eternally secure.

THREE

The Issued Clarified

The strong antagonism against the doctrine of eternal security found in some groups is largely due to a misunderstanding of it. There has been much misrepresentation of this doctrine coming from what might be classified as three different sources.

There seems to be a small number of persons who make use of the doctrine as a license to sin. There are not many of these; but those that there are, are being held up as proof that eternal security is something to be shunned. Whether or not such persons have ever been saved is a question that God alone can answer. It is certain, however, that it is not fair to judge a Bible doctrine by the misrepresentations of men who try to use it as a cloak for their wickedness. To point to such men and argue that eternal security is an evil teaching to be shunned is just as reasonable as it would be to hold up a counterfeit United States twenty-dollar bill and insist that because of it, all good twenty-dollar bills should be rejected. When counterfeit bills are found, they are taken out of circulation so as to protect the sound money. Likewise when someone uses the precious doctrine of eternal security as a license, the error should be exposed that the truth might be retained.

There is a second source of information about eternal security that results in misunderstandings. This is presentation of the doctrine that is not erroneous, but unfortunately is only partial. The whole truth is not explained and some of those who hear draw wrong conclusions. This presentation comes from persons, often young people attending either a Bible school or summer Bible conference, who have received the truth of their security in Christ as a new revelation previously unknown to them. Being overjoyed in the assurance that has come to them, after years of uncertainty as to their salvation, they are eager that others should share the same joy and peace into which they have entered. It is regrettable that there should be this incomplete presentation of this comforting doctrine, but who is to blame for that? While it may be a severe charge, it is none the less true that had there been proper teaching of Bible doctrines in the home churches attended by these persons, such faulty presentations could never have been made. Who is to blame?

The third reason, and probably the greatest, for the antagonism to eternal security is because of the misrepresentation of the doctrine by some who are opposed to it.. This may not always be intentional, but it is none the less harmful.

Those who oppose the doctrine of eternal security say that this doctrine teaches that one who has been saved can not be lost; it makes no difference how he lives. The emphasis is usually placed on the last clause. This is what most uninformed Christians in many churches think is being taught as a doctrine, and they naturally resent such teaching. So do also those who accept and cherish this doctrine. This is a very unfair and misleading statement. In fact, the last half is a pure falsehood.

Those who hold and understand the doctrine teach that through the infinite sacrifice of his Own Son, God through the riches of his grace, saves the one who comes to him in simple faith; and that every one that has been redeemed by the blood of Christ, God through his own power, shall bring to glory.

There is a vast difference between these two statements. The one is on a human plane, the other is on a divine. The former centers attention on the believer’s life and implies that salvation is dependent thereon. The second centers attention on God’s love and sacrifice and makes salvation dependent thereon. The first calls attention to the failures of oneself; the second to God and his infinite power. The first suggests a license to sin; the second an appeal to holiness. The first temporizes with sin; the second glorifies God. The first is an appeal to human reason; the second an acceptance of divine revelation.

It is a dangerous thing to so misrepresent God’s revelation.

LOST OR SAVED

In all disputes, much misunderstanding is cleared away by a proper understanding of the terms used. To be lost is a condition before God of every individual member of the human race before he is saved. This condition is described as “dead in trespassed and sins” and “by nature the children of wrath” (Eph. 2:1, 3). Such are under the condemnation of God’s holy law. To be saved is to have passed from this state of condemnation and death into a state of eternal life (John 5:24). The lost are under the reign, or power, of sin to death; the saved are under the reign, or power, of grace to eternal life. The transfer from the one position to the other is by an act of God and not of man. A more detailed explanation of what it means to be saved is found in Chapter six. It is in this sense that the words lost and saved are used when it is said that one who has been saved shall not be lost.

Salvation itself is not an outward condition but a heart relationship with God. As a result of it come outward expressions. In the lives of some, these are more manifest than in others. Abraham and Lot are both spoken of in the Bible as justified (saved) men, but there was much more outward evidence of a heart relationship with God in the life of Abraham.

On the other hand, there may be much of what to man appears as evidence of a new life within, which is not that at all. There are many who profess to be Christians, who take part in religious work, or have joined some church, who have never been saved. Going forward in a revival meeting, weeping or passing through emotional periods, does not constitute being saved. These may and sometimes do accompany salvation, but they are not salvation. it is even possible for men to preach in the Name of Christ without having been saved (Matthew 7:22, 23). A moral reformation is not salvation. In fact, it may be quite the opposite because it may be the result of human will power and action and not of God.

Because man judges the outward being and not the heart, there are many mistakes made in judging persons as saved or unsaved. The doctrine of eternal security has nothing to say about this vast number of people who only give outward show, but who lack the heart relationship with God.

As the salvation of an individual is a matter entirely of God’s doing, so also is the security of every one that has been saved. It follows then that man’s knowledge of both the fact of salvation and security must primarily comes as a revelation from God.

To many, it seems most unreasonable that one who has been saved is not lost because of his sins and failures. It truly is unreasonable, but it is equally unreasonable that God should save one who has sunk to the lowest depths of sin; yes, even a very intellectual and moral person but still a sinner, and raise him to the highest position in glory far above all other creatures of God. Yet it has pleased God to reveal that fact to man. He has also revealed the fact that he has made provision to keep every one that has thus been saved. There is but one thing to do: accept that which God has revealed through his word, however much that may differ from what one has been taught in the past. In the discussion of this question, then, no such statements as, “We know from our experience” have any weight. It is only a question: “What does God say?”

 Click here for Page 3

Rightly Dividing The Word (Chart)

There are two great revelators, or unfolders of Divine Truth in the Bible—Moses in the Old Testament, and Paul in the New.

Someone may say, “Is not Christ the Great Teacher?” In a sense this is true; but in a real sense Christ is the Person taught about, rather than teaching, in the Gospels. The law and the prophets pointed forward to Christ; the Epistles point back to Him; and the Book of Revelation points to His second coming, and those things connected with it. The Four Gospels tell the story how He was revealed to men, and rejected by them. Christ, Himself, therefore is the theme of the Bible. Moses in the Law reveals God’s holiness, and thus by means of the Law reveals human sin, and the utter hopelessness and helplessness of man. Paul in his great Epistles reveals Christ as our Righteousness, Sanctification, Redemption, and All in All.

The twelve Apostles (Matthias by Divine appointment taking the place of Judas) were to be the “witnesses” (Acts 1:22) of Christ’s resurrection—that is, of the fact of it. They were not to unfold fully the doctrine of it, as Paul was. The twelve were with Jesus personally, and knew Him as a man; and when He died they saw it. When He was buried, they knew it personally, as eye-witnesses. And when He was raised, they found it out experimentally, visiting His actual tomb, and seeing that it was empty. They were also to see and handle the physical, risen body of our Lord. And it was with them that our Lord abode on earth forty days after His resurrection, “showing Himself alive (physically, in a body) by many “infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3).

This great fact—that is, that the Person that the Jews themselves well knew they had crucified and buried, was risen from the dead and ascended to heaven—this tremendous fact the twelve Apostles witnessed to Israel at Jerusalem, and everywhere else. Thus we find the opening chapters of the Book of Acts filled with the single testimony that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead; and that remission of sins was through Him.

But unto none of these twelve Apostles did God reveal the great body of doctrine for this age. Just as God chose Moses to be the revelator of Israel for the Ten Commandments, and all connected with the Law dispensation; so God chose Saul of Tarsus to be the revelator and unfolder of those mighty truths connected with our Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection, and His ascended Person. And all the “mysteries” or “secrets” revealed to God’s people in this dispensation by the Holy Spirit are revealed by Paul. Finally, Paul is the unfolder of the great company of God’s elect, called the Church, the Body of Christ, the individuals of which body are called members of the Body of Christ—members of Christ Himself.

No other Apostle speaks of these things. Peter himself had to learn them from Paul (2 Pet 3:15-16). When Paul finishes his thirteen great Epistles (Romans to Philemon) those which belong to the Church, God indeed permits him to give a message then to the Hebrews. This is not part of the Church’s doctrine, but is simply explaining to Hebrew Christians the character, the real application, the typical meaning, of their Levitical system—that is, how it pointed forward to Christ.

James addresses his Epistle to “the twelve tribes”—that is, his Epistle has special reference to the Jewish Christians in the early days, and to such throughout the dispensation, for that matter. Peter writes to “the strangers who are sojourners of the Dispersion,” that is, to the dispersed Jews who acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.

In  Galatians 2, we are distinctly told by Paul, that James, Cephas and John were to go to the circumcision, while Paul tells us that his message was to the Gentiles. Since then the testimony by the Jewish Apostles to the Jews was duly given, there is now no distinction between Jews and Gentiles; and Paul’s message holds good for the world, both Jews and Gentiles. So that we find Paul finally sets the Jewish nation aside in the last chapter of the Book of Acts, and opens his great Epistle to the Galatians at the center of the world with the statement that “there is no difference” between men; for “all have sinned;” and that there is again “no difference,” for “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved;” since the same Lord is “Lord of all” (Rom 3:22-23 and Rom 10:12).

God does as He pleases, and it pleased Him to choose—first to save people in this dispensation through “the foolishness of preaching,” or the “preached thing”—that is, through the message about the Cross, and what was done there (See 1 Cor 1:21). And second, it pleased Him to choose Paul to be the great proclaimer and revealer of just what the Gospel is for this dispensation.

You can judge any man’s preaching or teaching by this rule—Is he Pauline? Does his doctrine start and finish according to those statements of Christian doctrine uttered by the Apostle Paul?

No matter how wonderful a man may seem in his gifts and apparent consecration— if his Gospel is not Pauline, it is not the Gospel; and we might as well get our minds settled at once as to that. Paul calls down the anathema—that is the curse of God Himself—upon anyone who preaches any other Gospel than that which he declared (Galatians 1).

Not for one moment are we to believe that James, Peter and John were at variance with Paul—not in the least. They were given certain things by the Spirit, to say to certain classes of people. They do not conflict with Paul. And their words are included in the statement that “All Scripture is profitable” (2 Tim 3:16).

But, nevertheless, Paul is the declarer and revealer of the Gospel to us. Take Romans to Philemon out of the Bible and you are bereft of Christian doctrine. For instance, if you were to take Paul’s Epistles out of the Bible, you cannot find anything about the Church, the Body of Christ, for no other Apostle mentions the Body of Christ. You cannot find one of the great mysteries, such as the Rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4; 1 Corinthians 15) or the mystery of the present hardening of Israel (Romans 11). No other Apostle speaks of any of those mysteries. Paul alone reveals them—the great doctrines such as Justification, Redemption, Sanctification. And what is perhaps the most tremendous fact of every real Christian’s life, that of his personal union to the Lord in glory. Paul is the great divinely–chosen opener to us of truth for this age.

The great doctrines that Paul reveals may be outlined as follows—

1. The unrighteousness before God of all men.

2. The impossibility of justification by works before God—that is, of any man’s attaining a standing of righteousness before God, by anything done by him. Do what a man may, he is a condemned sinner still.

3. The fact and the scripturalness of righteousness on the free gift principle—that is, of a Divine righteousness, separate from all man’s doings, conferred upon man as a free gift from God.

4. Propitiation. That satisfaction of God’s Holy nature and law for man’s sins rendered by Christ’s blood.

5. Reconciliation. The removal, by Christ’s death for man, of that obstacle to righteousness which man’s sin had set up between God and man.

6. The plan of the actual conferring of the gift of righteousness upon all who believe, without any distinction. This change of a sinner’s standing before God, from one of condemnation to one of righteousness, is called Justification. Negatively, it is deliverance from guilt on account of Christ’s shed blood, and deliverance out of the old creation, by identification in death with Christ on the Cross. Positively, it is a new standing in the risen Christ before God.

7. Redemption. The buying back of the soul through the blood of Christ from sin; from the curse of the law—even death, involving exclusion from God, under penalty; from the “power of death,” which involves the hand of the enemy; and from all iniquity.

8. Forgiveness. The going forth of Divine tenderness in remitting penalty for sin, in view of the blood of Christ trusted in; and in complacency and fellowship, to creatures who before were necessarily under Divine judgment.

9. Remission of sins. That is, the actual removing of transgressions or trespasses from the sinner, so that for all time and eternity his sins shall not again be upon him.

10. Identification (see above, Justification). The great fact that those who are in Christ were united with Him at the Cross, by God’s sovereign inscrutable act; were crucified with Christ and buried with Him; so that their history is now ended before God; and when Christ was raised up as the First-born of the new creation, they also were raised up with Him, and their history began as new creatures in God’s sight, in Christ, the Last Adam.

Of course, in the experience of the Christian, there comes a time when he is actually made partaker of this new life—that point of time when he is, as we say, saved, or converted, or born again, etc. Nevertheless, the life that is in every Christian came up out of the tomb, and it is in Christ Jesus that a man is created anew.

11. Incorporation. This tremendous doctrine Paul alone mentions, and he makes it practically the foundation of all his exhortations to the saints with regard to their conduct and life. By “incorporation” we mean the fact that all those who are really saved and are new creatures in Christ Jesus become members of one organism, which is more real than the very earth we tread upon, called “the Body of Christ”—Christ Himself in heaven being the Head of this Body, and every real Christian a member of it. So that believers are thus members of Christ in heaven, and also members one of another here on earth. No wonder Paul is able to exhort the saints to love one another when they are members one of another! (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4).

12. Inhabitation. The wonderful fact that the Body of Christ and each member of it individually is inhabited, indwelt, by the Holy Spirit Himself, and not only so, but that the Church is being “built together” as a great temple of God so that in the future God’s actual eternal dwelling place will be this wonderful, mysterious company built into a building called “a holy habitation of God in the Spirit.”

This mystery is a great and marvelous one, the fact that we are saved, are partakers now of the life of the Lord in glory, that the Holy Spirit indwells us.

13. Divine Exhibition. That is, that through the Church, in the ages to come, is to be made known that which God counts His “riches,” even His Grace (Eph 2:7; 3:10).

The failure or refusal to discern the Pauline Gospel as a separate and new revelation and not a “development from Judaism,” accounts for two-thirds of the confusion in many people’s minds today as regards just what the Gospel is. Paul’s Gospel will suffer no admixture with works on the one hand or religious pretensions and performances on the other. It is as simple and clear as the sunlight from heaven. The end of man is where God begins in Romans 3, at what might be called the opening of the Pauline Revelation. Most unsaved people today believe in their hearts that the reason they are not saved is because of something they have not yet done, some step that remains for them to take before God will accept them. But this is absolutely untrue.*** When Christ said, “It is finished,” He meant that He had, then and there, paid the debt for the whole human race. “He gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:6).

Now Paul in his wonderful revelation declares that God has reconciled the world to Himself; that God was in Christ (at the Cross) reconciling the world to Himself;

(2 Cor 5:19). Men do not know this, but they conceive that something stands between them and God, before God will accept or forgive them. If you tell a man that God is demanding no good works of him whatsoever, no religious observances or church ordinances, that God is not asking him to undertake any duties at all, but that God invites him to believe a glad message that his sins have already been dealt with at the Cross, and that God expects him to believe this good news and be exceedingly happy about it—if you tell an unsaved man such a story as this, he is astonished and overwhelmed—yet this is the Gospel!

Would that we had grace just as vigorously to defend his great message today, whether from its enemies or its real friends who do not see it clearly as yet; or who, like Peter (Galatians 2), through fear of others, are ready to compromise and tone down the Gospel of God.

“Faith Alone in Christ Alone”

Believing Christ died, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ died for YOUR sins and rose again, that’s SALVATION.
Read: Acts 16:31 and 1. Cor. 15:1-4

 

If this Bible study has been a blessing to you let us know.

CSpivey1953@Gmail.Com
We DO NOT give away or sell email addresses to advertisers or other users.