The context surrounding a verse is so important. Verses are not little “islands”. Sitting all by themselves in a “sea” of words. The context of a passage is necessary to get a true understanding of the passage.
In John 10, Jesus is using an analogy of a shepherd and his sheep. Obviously, this analogy is about Jesus and His followers. His “sheep” follow him because they “know” Him. We understand these “sheep” are the “saved.” Jesus says no one, not “thieves, or robbers” in verses 1, 8, and 10. And not “strangers” in verse 5, and not “hirelings in verses 12 and 13. Can steal or take the sheep away from Him. Verse 29. This illustrates the security of the believer who follows the “good shepherd”, Christ. These verse are used as “proof” that a saved person can’t lose his salvation. But that isn’t what this passage is portraying. This IS about “sheep” getting STOLEN, not LEAVING! That is not the same thing. It is true that when a saved person is IN THE FOLD OF Christ, no one can STEAL them away. However, this story DOES NOT address the issue of a saved person LEAVING the fold of Christ; thus scripture only says they can’t be taken away by another person or some OUTSIDE force.
Here is another story told by Jesus that DOES teach the TRUTH about “can a saved person lose his salvation.” It’s in Luke 15:4-7. Again we are talking about “sheep” and the good shepherd. Christ.
“What man of you, having 100 sheep IF HE LOSES ONE OF THEM does not leave the 99 and go after THE ONE WHO IS LOST? SO Jesus CAN LOSE A SHEEP after all!! Did some “stranger” steal this sheep? NO! This speep LEFT OF HIS OWN FREE WILL. HE left the fold of Christ and HE WAS LOST—not just physically in this story—HE WAS LOST SPIRITUALLY! I know this because in verse 7 JESUS calls him A “SINNER WHO REPENTS” and identifies him as the one who was lost from the 99 others. This is proof that a child of God can leave God and be lost.
John 10 is not even talking about the same thing —much less “proof” that a saved person can’t leave Christ and be lost.
So basically you're arguing that the power of God that draws us in and transforms us into new creatures, by resurrecting our dead spirits and reconciling them to our Father, the creator of everything, is something we can experience first hand and then walk away from?
That we can have the veil lifted, that we can see in truth the price paid for our sin, that we can now KNOW God is real and Jesus is the only way to Him and the wholeness we were created to have with Him..... and walk away from it. I can't speak for anyone else, but I couldn't. Maybe you could, but I'd have to argue that you never knew Him, and you've never truly experienced the real power of God. That you went out from us because you were never of us.
Again I do not understand the the need to argue the weakness, confusion, and ignorance of God in this way. A God who saves those who will throw it back in His face. A pointless God that just saves and hopes we act good enough afterwards. Really a cosmic probation officer that has no real control over His creation, just a nice guy God that gives some of us a chance.
This is not the God that saved me, nor the God that keeps me. This is not the God I read about in scripture either. This is a weak and pathetic God that I would want nothing to do with. My God saves in POWER and Jesus loses NONE of who the Father gives Him. I could NEVER walk away from my King, and NOT because I'm strong or good enough, but because He keeps me and guides me to ALL truth.
Look, you can not lose your salvation, but I don't mean that in the "I'm saved and can now sin as much as I want with no worry" kind of way most like to paint it when I say that. What I'm talking about can only be understood by those who've been born again in truth. Otherwise there will always be a missing piece in your walk with Him. Heck even when I believed we could lose our salvation, and I did believe this after being born again so I'm not trying to judge anyone for believing this, but even when I did believe this to be true I thought the same thing. "If I choose to come to Jesus am I then trapped? Can I not choose to walk away?". I would always preface this with "I could never walk away from Him, and don't see how anyone could, but I believe the choice is there".
See I had too high a view of our "choice", and too low a view of His power. We don't seek God, we are drawn to Him and we don't choose to repent, we are granted repentance as a gift. Our choice can no more save us than it can "unsave" us. It's all by His power.
I know most will turn this straight into "he is a Calvinist so dismiss anything he says, he believes God chooses who goes to hell".
Well for the record I'm not, and have never read ANYTHING of Calvin's, and do not call myself one, but I do believe my statement is biblical, and my experience lines up with it in every way as well. I don't expect my experience to be evidence for anyone but myself, and don't use it as such, but if it didn't all line up I most likely wouldn't hold to it because the other viewpoint is what dominates all the churches around me, so I'm sure I'd still think that way too if God didn't open my eyes to it.
