What does John 10:28 mean?

BibleAsk Team

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Speaker 3

What does John 10:28 mean?

Speaker 1

I do like the book of John and I do like chapter ten.

Speaker 2

But I don’t know actually before we so while Tina looks up, John Ten Scott does have a final comment, too.

Speaker 3

This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Jesus said that we need to be comforted, that he has overcome. He is our victory. He has overcome. He is our life. We have to choose to leave him as he will never leave us or forsake us.

Speaker 2

Our faith is a victory. And if we lose our faith, a faith which bears fruit and love, and a faith that requires us to continue to abide in Jesus. If we lose that, then, yeah, we lose God, who would otherwise want to be there by our side.

Speaker 1

Yes, Amen.

Speaker 3

And let’s go ahead and bring John 1028 up just so we all know what that is.

Speaker 1

Yes.

Speaker 3

And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.

Speaker 1

Sure. What is that? Yeah. So I’ve heard this verse as well because I’ve definitely had a lot of people come and say, no, you cannot lose your Salvation. I know my Baptist friends have brought this up. You cannot lose your Salvation. And they bring up this verse and I have to say, okay, let’s look at the verse and see exactly what it says. Because first of all, when it comes to scripture, you can’t have one verse and make a whole doctrine about it. Right. It says, we’re two or three witnesses, there shall the matter be established. So if you want to make a doctrine, we have to have at least more, at least two, if not three or more scriptures backing that up. So when it comes to this verse, though, going back to John chapter ten, verse 28, so Jesus is speaking here. He says, and I give unto them eternal life. So Jesus says, I give my people eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. So he’s saying, I’m the one that gives eternal life. And if I give eternal life, then they’ll never die if they receive this now, first of all, when do we receive eternal life?

Speaker 1

Do we receive it now or do we receive the promise of it now and the actual eternal life later in her internal life? Later, we read that in one Corinthians, I believe 15, where it says this mortal must put on immortality. So we received the gift of eternal life, which also Hebrews eleven says that we have not yet obtained the promise, but basically that all those who’ve been waiting for the promise are waiting for us, God people who are alive to get it together to hasten the coming of Jesus Christ. So the promise has not happened yet. So there’s that piece. But when it comes to the second half, so when Jesus gives eternal life, they shall never perish. So Jesus is promising, hey, I plan to give you eternal life and you will not perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Now, when it comes to this part of the verse, I think we have to understand, well, first of all, yes, that nobody can pluck us out of the hand of Jesus. It’s only us choosing to leave the hand of Jesus. That’s the only way that we can lose our Salvation.

Speaker 1

Just like it says. I believe it’s Romans, where it says, I want to say Romans eight, end of the chapter where it says, nothing, neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come shall separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. There’s nothing that can separate us from the love of God. But does that mean everybody is saved? Does that mean everybody accepts it? No, because why? We each individually have a choice. And so nobody can pluck you out of the hand of Jesus. Nobody can make you lose your Salvation Besides yourself. So to me, that seems to be more what the verse is saying. No one is able to pluck them out of the Father’s hand. It’s just that, yeah, nobody can make you lose your Salvation. It’s your own choice whether or not you want to be saved and stay saved. And you see that also in the parable of the sewer with the seeds where some of them that the seed began to germinate, but it was in a hard ground. And so it sprung up for a little while, but then it faded away.

Speaker 1

Some of the seed, it got choked by the thorns, so it began to grow, but it got choked out by the cares of this life. And so I think it’s the same thing. Jesus made it pretty clear that the gospel goes to all people and the ground is like our hearts and it does come into our hearts. Some people accept it. It starts growing, but then one thing or another, that seed gets taken away. And yeah, you may have accepted the gospel, you may have accepted the truth and the love of God. But some people with time don’t decide to bring forth good fruit. And Jesus says he that does not bring forth good fruit like it says in John 15, they’re cut from the tree. Anyways, there’s definitely many examples of showing that point is that I think that last point is the real big one, right.

Speaker 2

That protection only applies to people who are God’s people. So let’s put back up John 1028. It says, I will give unto them. So as you said, that’s got people. But if you go to the next verse, it’s even more specific. So who is the them in verse 28, verse 27 says, let’s back up my sheep. So it’s like my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. So he’s talking about his sheep who hear his voice, they hear God, they know God, they have a relationship with God and they follow God. Those are the ones who Christ says have the eternal life and won’t be plucked from his hand. But if we cease to be a sheep, we cease to follow God, cease to really know him. Have the relationship, in other words, ceased to abide in Christ? Or as Jesus says in John 15, that’s now when we’re exposed and can be plundered by Satan and he could take us back. And yeah, it gets back to faith too, right? John 1026. But you believe not he’s speaking to the Pharisees and Jews. You believe not because you are not my sheep, as I said unto you.

Speaker 2

So faith is also that component. Faith is really that connection to Christ that bears fruit and love that causes us to really follow him.

Speaker 1

And if I could say one last thing about this verse, I think Jesus was also wanting to be sure God’s people knew that no man can take your Salvation. And I think that this really applies to you. If you remember the scripture that says it’s repeated in Galatians, Chapter 313 where it says Christ is redeemed just from the curse of the law being made, a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree. According to Jewish law, if you are hung on a tree, you are not only cursed like you were killed here on Earth, but your Salvation was gone. And so them hanging Jesus on a tree was basically saying he’s lost. He’s not God’s person. And in the years to come, so many Christians were hung on a tree, they were crucified. I mean, if you remember, like Nero, he used to hang Christians up on the crucifixes and burn them alive just so he could have races at night. There was terrible things that happened to Christians. And so in a way, I want to say maybe Jesus was also referring to, hey, you might be persecuted for your faith, you might die for your faith.

Speaker 1

But don’t forget this. If you believe in me, no one can take your Salvation. Nobody. If you are in my hand, you remain in me. You buy to me, you buy to my father. Nobody can take your Salvation. So in that sense, of course, but you have the choice whether or not you want to accept it. And that’s where I think it comes down to, can we lose our Salvation by own choice? Yes. By another person’s choice. No. Nobody can do anything to touch your Salvation.

Speaker 2

Makes me think of Matthew 1028 too. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, or rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body and hell.

Speaker 1

Exactly.

Speaker 2

That would be God himself.

Speaker 1

Yeah. And so I mean, and I understand where people come from that, you know, they want to believe that nobody can touch yourself or that they can’t be lost. Because I think some people are like, oh, as soon as I send one sin, my Salvation is gone. And I don’t think that’s the case either. I think it’s the direction of the life. I don’t think we’ll go to Heaven based on one good deed and the rest, or go to hell based on one bad deed. I think it’s the direction of the life and who you are as a day in and day out person. Of course we’re going to make mistakes. But just like it says in first John two one, that if we abide in Him, we don’t sin. But if we do sin, we do have an advocate with God, the Father, even Jesus Christ. So if we’re in a path where we don’t want to sin, but we make a mistake, of course God is going to forgive us. He’s not going to just rip away our Salvation. He’s going to lovingly call us to repentance. But if we keep rejecting that voice, that’s the unpardonable sin where we just shut our ears to the Holy Spirit and we just don’t want to repent.

Speaker 1

We don’t want to give up the sin. We want to live in opposition to God and his will. And what can I do then? That’s because he will not force us.

Speaker 2

Exactly. And sometimes the sanitivation God leaves there to keep us humble and keep us remembering that we’re not a perfect person, that we really need to continue to draw close to Him. And if we look at two Corinthians twelve starting in verse seven, Paul says, Unless I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the Revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me a Messenger Satan to buffet me. Lest I exalted above measure concerning this thing. I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, so this is what God said to Him. My Grace is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I would rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and needs and persecutions and distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. So whenever we sin, let it be a reminder that we are weak and that we need God and that his mercy is so much more abounding than any anything we could do.

Speaker 2

We just have to keep accepting his grades.

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