(This is the fourth post in a series)
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).
Do you find comfort in your car? …your job? …your church? What I mean is: does it give you a sense of security? …of safety? For the unbeliever, every day is a question of what is going to happen next. There is no guarantee of eternal security. And even for the poor believer without sound doctrine and understanding of the Lord’s promises, it could be the same.
Imaging having no security of eternal hope.
I cannot imagine living my life, waking up everyday oblivious to the promises of Christ and not knowing where my final resting place will be. Perhaps the only thing that would be worse is having a false security that I am going somewhere I’m not.
What if I thought I was going to heaven, but, in fact was not?
It would be devastating if I thought that living a “good life” is what granted me access to the streets of gold, when the truth is my good works—when they stand alone—will lead to me spending eternity apart from God’s glory, in Hell where the worm does not die (Mark 9:48).
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
John 10:28 is one of the sweetest verses in the entire Holy Bible. God himself, Creator of everything, has given the believerwho has faith in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross an “I will” statement. We can claim:
- I will have eternal life
- I will not perish
- I will not be plucked from His hand
This is why the Gospel is so sweet, this is why the Good News is good news. Hear me out, reader—the Bible is very clear: all we need for salvation is faith, not works. We don’t need deeds, thoughts or action; we need simple and child-like faith. (Note: God’s children will absolutely produce these blessed fruits, but they are not the means by which we are saved.)
Have this kind of faith, and you will also have eternal life.
The believer will never perish in Hell for eternity in the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41). Never. Rather, he will be with the heavenly host, singing honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever (Rev 5:13).
This is the everlasting covenant that Christ has secured for us on high.
An everlasting covenant.
“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” (Jeremiah 32:40).
A wonderful fruit that God has given us, purely though His grace, is the security of heaven!
The believer has a treasure stored in heaven that will never be taken away and will never cease to exist. It is everlasting. We need to daily ask Christ to renew our minds, reminding us of this glorious truth. We need to remember that He has redeemed us from Hell—from the justified wrath that we deserved—and has now made a place for us in eternity with Him. And nothing can pluck it away from Him. Nothing.
If we truly believe in this, the way we carry ourselves everyday will be drastically different, won’t it?
We have a security that the world cannot comprehend. This is why Christians should have abundant joy.
“Here’s my heart, O take and seal it.”
As Romans 8:38-39 proclaims, nothing can separate the believer from the love of God. In Jesus Christ, the Messiah, we are free from the bondage of sin and the slavery of our flesh.
As adopted children of God, we have a security which is far beyond what this present world could ever offer or uphold. Christ sees to it that no man can pluck us from His hand. Believers, we praise Him for that!
Consider the sweet words from the hymn Come Thou Fount. Let’s make it our prayer today:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Other posts in this series:
- Fruits of Redemption: Introduction
- Fruits of Redemption: Conversion
- Fuits of Redemption: Regeneration
(More to come. Stay tuned…)
