“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:28.

God entered His creation, and became flesh. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...” John 1:14. Jesus is God incarnate.

Jesus is God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,” John 1:1. The Apostle John identifies Jesus Christ as the word, and the Word was God. Now that we’ve established Jesus’ credentials we may proceed. In the verse from John 10 Jesus gives believers the wonderful promise of eternal life and eternal security.

God has given mankind a great resource for knowledge and truth. That resource, the Bible, is replete with how man must respond to God’s free gift of salvation in order to be justified in God’s eyes. Let me also say that no man can enter Heaven unless they have responded to God’s free gift of salvation by receiving the Son of God (Jesus the Christ) as their savior.

Over and over again I receive messages from folks who are very concerned that I’m leading people astray because of my stance on the believer’s security. I’m told that “Just because a person believes and becomes a follower of Jesus Christ (a born again believer) doesn’t mean they are completely secure”. I am then inundated with scripture verses that, in their minds, prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that believers can lose our salvation. Losing our salvation is completely contrary to God’s word. If you and I, once we are justified (saved in God’s eyes), can lose our salvation or even walk away from our salvation once we are born again, then God becomes a weak and insignificant God, one who certainly wouldn’t have the power to create the universe let alone save us from our sins.

It simply amazes me that born again believers will dispute God’s word, and at many different levels of understanding. To me it makes no sense, if we are born again, to argue with the one who saved us. After all who’s word is it? It’s not man that we’re disputing and squabbling with when we disagree with the word of God. It’s God Himself. For example, man has come up with many different scenarios as to how the creation of the universe came to be. Man has decided to believe in billions of years for the creation of the universe. They’ve plainly stated and they teach the earth to be billions of years old, and that man evolved from pond scum. In God’s word He tells us how it all happened in six literal, 24 hour days but as man’s “knowledge” has increased over the centuries so has his arrogance. God’s now wrong or the Bible is a myth. Many of my brethren will without any hesitation place their faith in man’s new “discoveries” over God’s word. You may be surprised to find out just how many Christians believe man’s published discoveries over God’s inerrant word when it comes to the age of the universe or the evolution of man.

Actually there is a lot more to that verse in John 10 than initially meets the eye. I’ve read John 10 many times and written about the believer’s security in past commentaries. The part of this particular verse that has eluded many Bible teachers in the past is, “they shall never perish”. I don’t know why Jesus’ words don’t always get all the recognition they should but if you will bear with me you will see how very significant they are.

We’ll need to go back a verse to get the full impact of what Jesus is saying. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” John 10:27. Okay, Jesus is speaking about born again believers. The best part of that particular verse is Jesus says “I know them”. God knows us when we become born again “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God...” Galatians 4:9a. Paul is speaking to the Galatians who are saved as being known of God.   

Side note:

I can tell you for certain that if Jesus doesn’t know you, you’re not saved. “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23. The relationship we enjoy with our Lord Jesus is a two way street. We know Him and we are known of Him. 

Then Jesus goes on to specifically convey His truth. He says, “I give unto them eternal life.” That should be good enough for anyone who feels the need to argue with God. When we read those words and we are truly born again, we can be certain we are going to spend an eternity with our Lord Jesus. Not to ever be separated from Him such as those who will be spending eternity in Hell. Believers will always be with Him. Jesus will never take away your eternal life if you truly have eternal life. 

Jesus says neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Well, first of all Jesus is God so who would be able to pluck any believer out of His hand? Who would even try to do such a thing? Let’s see, he isn’t a man but Satan would love to take believers away from God. All believers should be keenly aware that that scenario just isn’t possible. This is the part of that whole verse that trips up many Bible teachers. They say, “Yes, we agree that a believer can’t lose their salvation, but they can walk away from it”. Well, not according to the creator of the universe.

Still, they’ll focus their argument on other parts of God’s word. So, Jesus, giving his followers eternal life does little to convince the skeptic of the security of the believer. Their argument continues, “Jesus didn’t say a believer can’t walk away from that eternal life He gave them.” Au contraire my friends, Jesus made it perfectly clear in the very next part of the verse. But just like many others these skeptics skip right over these five little words “and they shall never perish”. Key word? Never.

Those who belong to Him are His sheep and His sheep know His voice “and they shall never perish”. The Greek word that God used here is ou mē translated “never, certainly not, not at all, by no means”. Jesus expresses, purposely for all the doubters, a double negative, strongly expressing a negation. “In no wise” can one of my sheep ever lose or walk away from the eternal life I’ve given them.

 

You still want to argue with God Almighty? If you insist we’ll keep going, although for the life of me I can’t see why you insist on arguing with God. At any rate let’s proceed. The word Jesus uses for “pluck” as in “neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” is Harpazo in the Greek. That word may be very familiar to most of you rapture enthusiasts. It means to seize and to carry off by force. So, just who is able to seize the believers “In Christ” (Christ’s sheep) and carry them off, by force no less? What did Jesus say about the importance of even one of His sheep “... if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.” Matthew 18:12, 13. Every one of those who have been born from above is as secure as Heaven itself. If it were not so Jesus would have certainly told us.

“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 and my Father are one.” John 10:29, 30. After Jesus finishes telling us that no man can pluck (Harpazo) those who are born again out of His hands He takes us a step further and seals the whole concept of the believer’s security by proclaiming that all believers are in God the Father’s hands also. And “no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand”. Now we have the skeptic to the believer’s security telling us we can walk away from God the Father and God the Son by escaping out of their hands. God the Father gives all believers to Jesus His Son. Would God give His only begotten Son a bunch of renegades who, at the first chance they get would conspire to escape his clutches? Why? So they can escape that horrible idea of eternal salvation in Heaven with Jesus Christ? Not hardly.

It has always amazed me how the emails come flooding in about how wrong I am. They try and remind me of all the scripture verses that seemingly contradict what I’ve espoused above. Incredibly many people will continually stand adamantly against the believer’s security and they will diligently work at convincing me to do the same. If we will remember that there are no contradictions in God’s word it will help to affirm what I’m trying to explain. Actually all those other verses the skeptics love to point out only add to the whole proof of the believer’s security.

Case in point “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelation 3:5. Obviously, if Jesus can blot out the name of a born again believer from the book of life, believers can lose their salvation, right? It’s only a misinterpretation that leads people to conclude Jesus would ever remove a believers name from the book of life.

But if we look at the verse correctly, in context “He who overcomes . . . I will never blot out his name from the book of life.” The “overcomer” mentioned in this letter to Sardis is the believer. John tells us “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.” Also “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” John 5:4, 5. “I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one” 1 John 2:13b. All believers are “overcomers” in that they have been granted victory over the sin and unbelief of the world.

Some people see in Revelation 3:5 God’s pen ready to strike out the name of any Christian who sins. They read into it something like this: “If you mess up and don’t win the victory, then you’re going to lose your salvation! In fact, I will erase your name from the Book of Life!” But this is not what the verse says. Jesus gives the overcomer (believer) a promise here, not a warning.

In His word God never says that He erases a believer’s name from the Book of Life –there is never even a warning that He is contemplating such a thing! The wonderful promise of Revelation 3:5 is that Jesus will not erase one’s name. Speaking to the “overcomers”–all those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb–Jesus gives His word that He will not remove their names. He affirms that once a name is there, it is there forever. This promise is not based on our faithfulness but on the faithfulness of God.

On the other hand “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:19. This verse is another of those verses that these skeptics will trot out to prove me wrong. The problem with this verse is those who would change God’s word are not believers. No truly “born again” believer “In Christ” would ever tamper with His word. No, these are those who are of pseudo-Christian cults and those who hold to very liberal theological beliefs. Many cults and theological liberals claim the name of Christ as their own, but they are not “born again”. Names that aren’t in the Lamb’s book of life can’t possibly be removed.

There are, of course, many other scripture verses that confirm Jesus’ own words. Once a person becomes born again, born from above, born from God they are sealed until the day of redemption. There are no more arguments. If you must argue, take them up with God.  

For all of those who read this commentary who aren’t born again, it’s not too late. Speak to the Lord Jesus Christ yourself, and say “Yes Lord, I believe” before time runs out...tick, tick, tick.

God bless you all,

 

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

All scripture is from the KJV