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| October 8, 2001 |
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| "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 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 10:27-30 His sheep hear His voice. And they follow Him. The brand of ownership on the sheep is obedience. If you wish to know if someone is saved or not, observe their obedience to Christ. Our ears must be open to His voice. "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them" (Proverbs 20:12). "I know them," Jesus says ~ I'm glad somebody knows me, aren't you? The doctrine of eternal security teaches that God is able to complete the good work of eternal life that He has begun in every believer ~ "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). The eternal security of the believer is guaranteed by the person and the work of God. He is true and just, and cannot deny Himself. Therefore, anyone who has eternal life, has it forever! God promises that no one can ever be separated from His love ~ "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). Some argue that this doctrine leads to allowing Christians to live in sin. This charge, however, denies the very nature of salvation, which involves union with Christ and death to sin. But to the extent that a Christian fails to serve God, his reward may be lost, though he will be saved from everlasting wrath ~ "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" (1Corinthians 3:15). The Christian is saved and secured by faith, but in love and gratitude to Christ will seek to faithfully serve Him. Application: Just as a shepherd protects his sheep, Jesus protects His flock of believers from harm. While believers can expect to suffer here on earth, Satan cannot harm their souls or take away their eternal life with God. This is the devil's domain here on earth, so we must be very careful in our ways. Let us continue to remember our rewards for doing Christ's work throughout our daily lives. May God Bless you with a wonderful day in the Lord, as you walk the walk and talk the talk of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Love in Christ, Sandy |