John #18

Can You Lose Your Salvation?
Pastor Ben Fleming
John 10:22-30
November 8, 2000

Take your bible and turn to John 10. Last week we began to look at the relationship that Jesus says that he has with his sheep. In chapter 8 we looked at what a true disciple of Jesus Christ looks like. Today I want to walk through with you what Jesus says about his relationship with His sheep. We are going to examine the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Some call it eternal security. Once a person is a believer in Jesus Christ will they always be a believer? Once a person comes to God will they always be with God? How will a person continue to the very end? Can I loose my salvation?

There are people who call themselves a believer in Christ and yet they do not have the assurance of their salvation --- there are people who think they are saved and actually are lost and there are people who do what they do spiritually in hopes of pleasing God and trying their best to get salvation. R.C. Sproll writes, “If a person’s confidence in their salvation rests in a confidence in themselves – that is arrogance – if they are sure they will go to heaven because they think they deserve to go to heaven – that is unspeakable arrogance.”

I realize that this is a (doctrine) that some go one way on and others go a different way. Roman Catholics say “if anyone says that a man once justified cannot lose grace and therefore that he who falls and sins never was truly justified – let him be accursed.” Protestant Arminians say, “persons truly regenerate or saved, by neglecting grace and grieving the Holy Spirit – fall away totally and finally, from grace into eternal damnation.” Well – I do not want to speak to you from a denominational view but I will of course speak to how I see the scriptures. Both of the views I just mentioned I believe are what we would call unsound doctrine.

To understand how you should believe or form your doctrine – it is always best to look at scripture and weigh what it teaches. For example: How many sections of the bible teach one way and how many sections seem to teach another way. For our study today, there are a few sections of the bible that seem to teach that a person can loose their salvation or walk away from God but I say to you up front that there are many many more sections of the bible that teach the opposite – there is a tension. I hope I can be fair in how I address that tension. I propose to you that the weight of the bible teaches that once a person comes to true genuine faith in Christ --- scripture teaches that God will carry them through in that relationship. This is what I want to bring out to you today in our study in John 10 and I do understand that this is deep thinking. Please stand : John 10:22 - 30.

Bible scholars say that there is a gap of two months between verse 21 and verse 22. – John says that it was the time of the Feast of the Dedication or as it is known today as Hanukkah or the Feast of Lights which took place in Winter. Since it was in winter – this could have explained why Jesus was walking in the temple and especially in the portico of Solomon – (PHOTO) here is a photo of the remains of Solomons Temple. What you see is a portion of the portico. Jesus was walking there – it was on the east side of the temple away from the weather – many people gathered there and we could assume that among the people – were the religious leaders who heard him in chapter 8 - 9.
(BLANK) They asked him – “How long will you keep us in suspense – if you are the Christ --- tell us plainly….” They were asking the right question but the intent of their question was to trap him so that they could publically hear him say that he was the Messiah and arrest him. Jesus says to them – “I told you and you do not believe me – the works that I do in My Father’s name – these testify of me” --- he is talking about the last 3 years of his ministry and then he says – “you do not believe because you are not my sheep” – he is coming back to the sheep theme again that we left from last week.

Look what Jesus says again about his relationship with those who do believe. “My sheep hear my voice” --- He knows those who are his sheep and they follow him – he gives them eternal life and because he has given it to them they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of his fathers hand. And to drive the point home harder he says – (vs.29) “My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my fathers hand.”

No where in the bible is there such a strong teaching on the assurance that true genuine sheep of the Lord Jesus will need never fear being lost. But….. a person must not be a fool and think – oh – I have Jesus – I am saved – I believe – I have been baptized and said a prayer --- therefore – I can live my life like I want to --- I can do anything I want to – I am still saved regardless of how I live ---- that is foolish thinking and a person who thinks that way is not a true disciple of Jesus. Time and Time again we are warned… Hebrews 2:1 “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away.” Hebrews 3:12 -13 “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that you may not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

There is in the perseverance of a believer ….. man’s part – but as many of the saints of the past have said – every believer at times may walk into a phase of life where they face as Martin Luther has spoken of that phase, “the unbridled assault of Satan” or the “dark night of the soul.” Paul experienced such: 2 Corinthians 4:7 “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed, we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed” – many of you have gone through that kind of a phase and some of your are going to go through the dark night of your soul --- one can only imagine what Paul went through. When it seems like a person turns away from God who once seemed to love God and live for God --- what do we think???? Did they loose their salvation? Some say that God will not leave me but I can leave God. What about that person who does fall away and turns from God. Hebrews 12:6 - 8 “the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father. If you are not disciplined, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.” So from this text we can say God will discipline and punish those who are his children who turn away from Him – through rebellion or unholy living. If someone is not punished or disciplined we have to assume because of the scripture they were in the first place not a true son or daughter in Christ…. There are boundless scriptures that tell us to work out or salvation, to run the race, to be patient, to stand firm and as Dr Null went through with us in 2 Peter --- we are to make every effort. We are commanded to guard what has been entrusted to us and in John 15 Jesus says “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love” --- I could go on and on --- there is a great responsibility of man to participate in the journey through and towards salvation. God gives man a part.

And there is of course one scripture that seems to say very clearly that man can fall away from God. Hebrews 6:4 – 6 “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance.” I could spend the rest of this time explaining that text – but that is not where we are today – we are examining Jesus the Great Shepherd and what He says about his sheep and how he is able to keep them to the very end. So --- go back to the text with me. John 10:22. There are seven facts in these verses that Jesus says about keeping those who are His to the very end.

Security of the Believer

1. Believers are the sheep of Jesus. He is their shepherd. So it is the duty of the shepherd to protect the flock. This is what we have been hearing from Jesus in this chapter. In John 6:39 Jesus said previously, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Even though man does have the responsibility of running the race of the Christian life and holding onto the truths of God and obeying God – think about it……. To insist that a true Christian can somehow be lost and loose their salvation is to deny the truth of what Jesus said. “I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day,” It also defames his character – making Him out to be an incompetent shepherd, unable to hold on to those that His Father entrusted to Him . It takes the sovereignty of God and gives it to man. Fact #1 Believers are the sheep of Jesus the chief Shepherd.

2. Believers hear only His voice and follow only Him. Do you remember last week in verse 10:5
“But they will never follow a stranger, in fact, they will run away because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” How do you know the voice of the shepherd? If you are his sheep – he has given you His Holy Spirit and His Holy Spirit will convict you of you sin. John 16:8 “When he the Holy Spirit comes – He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” Conviction of sin is hearing the voice of the shepherd. You cannot be one of his sheep and not have the Holy Spirit dwelling with in you and the Shepherd has given us His Word so that we may obey the shepherd and follow only Him. The Good Shepherd has given us his book the bible and he speaks to his sheep through that book. I hear of Mormans who were once Baptist and now they claim they have the now found the “restored truth revealed by the Mormans” – they did not read or hear the Word of God – they did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. Fact #2 Believers hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow only Him.

3. Believers who are Christ’s sheep have eternal life. To speak of having eternal life and then you loose eternal life or it ends is a contradiction of terms. Does Christ give someone eternal life and then take it away or that person says no Jesus I do not want it any more? In verse 28 – Jesus says- “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my fathers hand.” That is pretty clear is it not? If believers cannot be sure of their salvation and sure that God will keep them then we have to doubt other scriptures. Paul wrote this promise in Philippians

Philippians 1:6 “ He who has begun a good work in you will complete until the day of Christ Jesus.” If one can loose their salvation or walk away from God then this promise is not valid. You would have to say that God can only complete the work in a person as long as the person decides to remain a believer. The promises of God begin to be dependant upon man and that is heresy. FACT #4

4. Christ gives eternal life to his sheep. Since his sheep did nothing to earn eternal life they can do nothing to loose it. So – it is Christ who gives eternal life to a person – the person does not choose eternal life – the person does not deserve or earn eternal life – it is given to them.

Ephesians 2:8 - 9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” So – salvation or eternal life is a gift that has been given to a person and that person receives that gift through faith.

5. Christ promised that his sheep would never perish. Think about it: if one of this sheep did – then that would make Christ a liar. Remember: these are the words of Christ – this is truth – it does not change due to the condition or action of a man. The truth of the word of God is not dependant on man. John wrote these words in 1 John.
1 John 5:11 – 12 “And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has the life, whoever does not have the Son does not have life.” It does not say anything about someone going to church or praying a prayer or acting religious in their life. The promise simply says that He who has Christ has life and he who does not have Christ does not have life. Christ does not lie --- when he says His sheep will never perish --- I cannot get around that.

6. No one. False shepherds, false prophets, not even the Devil himself is powerful enough to snatch Christ’s sheep out of his hand.

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

7. Christ sheep are not only held by Christ but they are held in the Father’s hand.

Why do some people leave the family of God? Why does it seem like someone follows Christ and does the spiritual things that we all think are indicators of being saved and yet they now want nothing to do with Jesus sometime later in their life? Do you remember the message that I gave on what a true disciple of Jesus Christ looks like? The first point was that they hold to the teachings of Christ. Can you hold to the teachings of Christ ? I believe that in some that has been the case – but then someone vanishes and even makes statements that they are no longer saved. Generally – this person falls away because they decide they are going to live an immoral life – but not everyone who falls away is like that……. I wrestle with this….

The apostle John must have wrestled with this as well. Look on your outline at his words in 1 John as he warns believers of what would be happening in the last hour.

1 John 2:19 “they went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

Story: I grew up in Jackson Country WV. The northern end of the bible belt. In my small hometown of Ravenswood there are 33 churches. I have read stories of people who have been converted many times. Every time there is a revival (and the summer time brings out the outdoor ones) someone goes to the altar to get saved. One pastor told of man getting saved 17 times. During a revival an evangelist made an altar call for anyone who wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The man who had been converted so often made his way forward – a woman from the congregation yelled out – Don’t fill him Lord He leaks…………. LAUGHS???? We may leak but God never leaks out of us 100% if we are truly one of His.

Illustration: This is hard for many to understand - you get good believers arguing and arguing over what view one should have. Picture with me --- a father holding onto his small child’s hand as they walk down the busy street together. A view that says we can loose our salvation says that the safety of the child rests in the strength of the child’s grip on the father’s hand. If the child let’s go he will perish. A view that says we cannot loose our salvation says that the safety of the child rests on the strength of the father’s grip on the child. If the child’s grip fails, the father’s grip holds firm.

Conclusion: Our part and God’s part. God is the one who preserves you. He is the one who will bring you to the very end. But you have your part. You have your responsibility. We are commanded to bear fruit and show our selves His disciples. But I want to say to you – if you are even a baby in Christ ---- Do not fear loosing your salvation --- when you fall and sin ---- confess and repent and get back up and keep walking but do not allow apathy and laziness to become part of your life. Time is short.

I know of no better way to close this section than by reading for you the prayer that Jesus prayed to his father for his sheep. You are welcome to turn there and follow along with me. I will be reading out of the English Standard Version of the Bible.
John 17:1 - 26 1When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.£ 16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them£ in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sake I consecrate myself,£ that they also may be sanctified£ in truth. 20“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Stand and let us sing……