I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
13 sermons cite this verse
… Notice this verse. John chapter 10, verse 27 and 29, Jesus' words directly. He says, My sheep, he's the good shepherd, my sheep listen to my voice. That's how you know who's a believer and who's not. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Then he says, and I give them eternal life, which starts the moment you put your hand in his hand, and they will never die, and no one can steal them out of my hand. My father gave me, my sheep, to me. and he's greater than all and no person can steal my sheep out of my father's hand. Once you have put your life in the hand of God, there will be times you might want to pull back and say, I don't even know what I believe and I doubt not. God says, I'm not letting go. He says, you're in God's hand and no man can pluck you out of God's hand. Your salvation is secure. …
… comes to me I will never cast out. Later in John 10, 27 through 29, Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. Jesus preserves us to the end. So Jesus, we see in this first question, is the subject. And what does he do? He gathers, he protects, and he preserves. That's the predicate. and who is the direct object who is the recipient of these actions it's a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith it's you and it's me it's the church universal it's the church the church a community gathered protected and preserved by the son of god And how can you not love this last little tender line? And of this community, I am and always will be a living member. …
… and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. I and the Father are one. You do not believe in me because the Father has not given you to me. That's what he's saying. It must be given to you. at the earliest, deepest, most decisive root, our belief in God is not a work that we achieve, but it's a gift that we receive. at the earliest, deepest, most decisive root, our belief in God is not a work we achieve. It's not something that we do. It's a gift that we receive. The father gifts us to the son and in handing us to the son, he gifts life and faith to us by the spirit. Why does anyone believe who believes in Jesus because the father has given us to the son, we've been born again. …
… You think of what Jesus said in John 10, 28, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them from my hand. That's comfort. When Jesus grabs a hold of you, nobody can take you out of his hand. We find our comfort in what Christ does. The catechism rattles through six things that will be unpacked in the weeks ahead. He has fully paid for my sins. He has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He watches over me with his sovereign care. He works all things for my salvation. He assures me by the spirit of eternal life, and he makes me willing and ready to live for him. That is comfort. And what must we know to live and die in the joy of this comfort? The catechism tells us to have communion with this Christ, we must know three things. often given to us as guilt, grace, gratitude. The catechism famously follows the same pattern as the Romans rode. …
… 27. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. Here it is. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. Isn't that good news? Isn't it good to know that there's absolutely nothing you can do to earn your salvation? As a result, there's nothing you can do to lose your salvation. God's got you in his hand. By his grace, by the finished work of Christ on a cross, we can be assured of eternal life. That's good news. Keep going over. John chapter 11, verse 25. John chapter 11, verse 25. Lazarus being raised from the dead on this story, Jesus said to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. One more, John chapter 14. Jesus is talking about heaven. He's talking about where he's headed. Thomas asked him, we don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way? And Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Over and over again, we see the central purpose of Jesus at the center of his mission was to impart life. …
… has closed the door. Jesus said, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. Why? Because he has closed the door. over and over we see these what can we call them church? hints appetizers clues advance notices Jesus was there he was there he was he was giving us a foretaste of what he was going to do he was in the Passover when the blood of the slain lamb protected the Hebrews from the death angel. The instruction was, paint the blood of the lamb over your doorpost and you'll be safe. Well, what does Christ say to us? Place your trust in the blood of heaven's lamb and you'll be saved. Repeatedly these patterns appear, the pictures are seen. Moses strikes a rock in the wilderness and water flows out. Do you know what the apostle Paul said? He said that rock was Christ. What did he mean? Well, he's saying that that was a sampling of what Christ was going to do. …
… declares the Lord." In the wonderful language of John 10, verses 28 to 30, "'I give eternal life to My sheep. They will never perish. No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Summed up, God is for us. He knows how weak we are. He knows how sinful we are. But He is for us. And Paul is about to prove that. How do we know that? Look at verse 32. He, meaning God, who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Amazing statement. The greatest proof of God's promise to keep us is what He sacrificed to get us. This is an argument from the greater to the lesser. His love is so strong that He gave His Son for us. …
And they will not follow another. And He gives them eternal life, and they will never, ever perish. And no one can snatch them out of My hand, no one, because My Father and I hold them, And no one is greater than my Father and I." There's more. In verse 7, Jesus says, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.'" What does this mean? Well, as He leads them out, He becomes the door to the green pastures, still waters, the feast, the overflowing cup. He is the rightful one and the only one who can give us access to the Father's kingdom. He has the authority. He is the chosen one. He conformed to every messianic promise. He is the rightful shepherd who leads the elect of Israel and the elect among the Gentiles out of the fold into God's green pastures. So He is both a shepherd and a door because He is the doorway to life and blessing, eternal life. …
… that. That's the reason he said, 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. You see folks, listen, what you need in order to deal with this stress is number one, security. He maketh me. He leadeth me. I may be weak like a sheep, but he's the strong shepherd. He's the good shepherd. That's the first thing I see in this verse is Security. And that security helps me to deal with stress. I'll tell you what else I see. Not only do I see security, but I see sufficiency. You see, look at it. He maketh me to lie down in brown, withered pastures. Is that it? He leads me beside muddy streams, dried up water brooks. Oh no. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. All I need and more I find in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, why do we get stressed? Well, we get stressed because we think our needs are not going to be met. And we just say, oh my goodness, I'm not going to have what I need. …
… Notice in verse 28, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Now, any earthly shepherd is going to lose some sheep, but the good shepherd has never lost one, never lost a sheep. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. You say, Pastor, do you believe in the eternal security of the believer? I do. Why do you believe in the eternal security of the believer? I believe in the eternal security of the believer because of John 10, verse 28. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Hey, you're looking at a man who can't die. You say, oh, sure you can die. No, I can't. It is impossible for me to die. Jesus said, he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Well, you say, what if you die? I won't be dead. I won't be dead. All I will have done is to move out. Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice. …
… Jesus said, 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, and 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. Why have I been kept all of these years? Because I've been a good boy and know I've got a great Savior. God's amazing grace. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And grace provides a Savior. That ship was a picture of Jesus. And grace provides salvation. The Bible says that Noah was justified by faith when he entered the good ship Grace. and grace provides security. You see, if you're saved by works, you have to be kept by works. But if you're saved by grace, you're kept by the grace of God. Now, God destroyed the world the first time by water. …
… because you are not of My sheep. As I said to you, My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. Now here, Jesus declares a unity between Himself and the Father, a text that has been ripped from its context time and again in church history. We think back to Arius in the fourth century where he used this verse, I and the Father are one, to interpret it in this way, that yes, Jesus was one with the Father only in the sense that they agreed on the same mission. They thought alike. They embraced the same ethic. But, said Arius, Jesus was not God. He did not share in the being of God or in the essence of God, only in the agenda of God. …
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. For My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are one. He who has ears to hear the word of God, let them hear. You may be seated. Let us pray. Our fathers, we consider these words from the 10th chapter of John. We pray that you would grant to us understanding of the meaning of Jesus' words, how they relate and edify His people even now. For we ask it in His name. Amen. Last week we, for the second time, considered elements of Jesus healing the man born blind. And we didn't finish chapter 9 last week, but at the very end of that chapter, leading up to what I read this morning, the following things took place. Jesus found the man who had been cast out from the presence of the Pharisees because of his testimony to Christ, and he said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? …