John 10:27-28 (KJV)
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
let us take God's Word as we find it, and not alter it to suit our wishes. The absolute safety of the sheep is certain. But there is another absolute statement here. Many try to separate them, to their own peril and to the peril of those who believe them.
notice: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
dont deny the plain statement of God's Word -- "My sheep follow me." There are no exceptions allowed.
He who follows is one of the sheep. He who does not follow is not of Christ's fold no matter how loudly he may bleat his "ba-a-a's."
these are all present-tense statements. "They are hearing My voice"; "they are following Me"; "I am giving eternal life"; those who are so doing "shall never perish."
There is absolutely nothing in this scripture, or anywhere else in the Bible, to give false confidence to any who are not now following the Lord, whatever their past might have been.
We must not wrest the Scriptures, as some do, "unto their own destruction" (II Pet. 3:16).
No one is authorized to rewrite this passage to read, "They once heard My voice and followed Me, and I give unto them eternal life."
By no stretch of the imagination can these verses properly be supposed to give security to wandering, straying sheep, who go after the thief that comes to steal, kill, and destroy (v. 10).
Reduced to its simplest logic, this passage asserts: All who are secure are Christ's sheep; None who do not follow are Christ's sheep. Therefore, none who do not follow are secure.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
let us take God's Word as we find it, and not alter it to suit our wishes. The absolute safety of the sheep is certain. But there is another absolute statement here. Many try to separate them, to their own peril and to the peril of those who believe them.
notice: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
dont deny the plain statement of God's Word -- "My sheep follow me." There are no exceptions allowed.
He who follows is one of the sheep. He who does not follow is not of Christ's fold no matter how loudly he may bleat his "ba-a-a's."
these are all present-tense statements. "They are hearing My voice"; "they are following Me"; "I am giving eternal life"; those who are so doing "shall never perish."
There is absolutely nothing in this scripture, or anywhere else in the Bible, to give false confidence to any who are not now following the Lord, whatever their past might have been.
We must not wrest the Scriptures, as some do, "unto their own destruction" (II Pet. 3:16).
No one is authorized to rewrite this passage to read, "They once heard My voice and followed Me, and I give unto them eternal life."
By no stretch of the imagination can these verses properly be supposed to give security to wandering, straying sheep, who go after the thief that comes to steal, kill, and destroy (v. 10).
Reduced to its simplest logic, this passage asserts: All who are secure are Christ's sheep; None who do not follow are Christ's sheep. Therefore, none who do not follow are secure.
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