{"id":19111,"date":"2016-06-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-020\/"},"modified":"2016-06-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-12T05:00:00","slug":"soteriology-020","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-020\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 020"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[88],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19111","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-john","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 020","sermon_date":"20160612","sermon_month":"6","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":3666,"sermon_slides":3669,"sermon_mp3":3698,"sermon_id":"61216104560","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":88,"chapter_and_verse":"10:27-29","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 20, John 10:27-29\n\nJune 12, 2016\n\nLet\u2019s open with a word of prayer.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for this time of study to look into Your Word and help us this morning as we try to contemplate the great doctrine of salvation and help us to understand that we\u2019re secure in Christ.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, Amen.\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0\u00a0 You can open your Bibles to John 3:16 which you probably know by heart.\u00a0 Those of you that joined us last week we have been teaching Soteriology Wednesday nights, taking a break over the summer so we just moved the Wednesday night study that we\u2019re doing into Sunday mornings.\u00a0 So we\u2019re taping these, as we\u2019ve said, for the benefit of our missionaries.\u00a0 So if you could kindly hold your questions till 9:35 and then we\u2019ll\u00a0 open the floor for questions at that point.\n\nWe are in a part of the soteriology outline dealing with the doctrine of eternal security.\u00a0 Here\u2019s sort of the material that we went through last week.\u00a0 By the way, you should have a\u00a0 handout, I\u2019m not sure if you have it; it you don\u2019t have it maybe you could put your hand up.\u00a0 Just keep those hands up so he can see.\u00a0 Last time I tried to explain a little bit of background on how we\u2019re going to deal with the subject of eternal security, which we\u2019ll probably be in all summer during the summer months.\n\nEternal security means that those who have been saved by God\u2019s grace through faith alone in Christ alone shall never be in danger of God\u2019s condemnation or loss of salvation, but God\u2019s grace and power keep them forever secure and saved.\u00a0 So that\u2019s what we mean by eternal security.\u00a0 And then the issue becomes does the Bible actually teach this?\u00a0 And we\u2019re trying to lay out the case that yes, the Bible does teach this, but it\u2019s controversial.\u00a0 So what we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re going through eternal security arguments, I\u2019ve got about thirteen of them, I made it through two of them last time.\u00a0 We might make it through a few more this time.\u00a0 And then later on in the summer I\u2019ll be showing you the passages that people use, and there are many, that at first glance seem to deny eternal security.\u00a0 Sort of what I\u2019m trying to do in this series is I\u2019m not really in favor of telling you what to think as much as I\u2019m in favor of teaching you how to think, because if you can kind of track with what I\u2019m doing here you can adequately defend, I believe, a controversial doctrine, the doctrine of eternal security.\n\nSo last week we, in essence, began the arguments in favor of eternal security, there\u2019s about thirteen of them.\u00a0 We saw first of all, because self-righteousness did not save us it is not a basis upon which salvation can be lost. So that\u2019s more of a philosophical argument.\u00a0 And then\u00a0 you might want to review last week\u2019s podcast to get the nitty-gritty on that.\u00a0 We also saw that salvation is not given or maintained by works.\n\nWe didn\u2019t get into the glory of God and a relationship with Him by works so why would God say keep working to keep what you have, because people that deny eternal security are always saying if you move off into sin then you can lose your salvation.\u00a0 So that means that my salvation is kept by my ability to stay away from sin.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 Which is nothing more than a what?\u00a0 A work.\u00a0 So that would be sort of strange for God to say you\u2019re not saved by works but keep what you have by works.\n\nIt\u2019s like when my daughter turns 16 I go and buy her a brand new car, a Porsche or a Corvette or a BMW and then she comes out of her 16th<\/sup> birthday and there it is in the driveway for her, ready to go. And I say Sarah, here\u2019s a free gift from mom and dad.\u00a0 And she says great.\u00a0 And then I say well when are you going to start making payments? \u00a0That\u2019s no longer a gift, right?\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 And that\u2019s basically what people who deny eternal security are saying.\u00a0 Hey, you got a free gift from God, but you\u2019d better start making payments.\u00a0 So that was last week.\n\nThe third argument favoring eternal security is this: if a believer or if a Christian can lose his or her salvation, then eternal life is no longer what?\u00a0 Eternal.\u00a0 The Scripture teaches, this is why I had you open to John 3:16, is that once you receive the free gift of God it is, in fact, eternal life.\u00a0 John 3:16, John 5:24, 1 John 5:13, many other passages teach this.\u00a0 So you know John 3:16, probably by heart; \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have\u201d what? \u201ceternal life.\u201d\u00a0 Now if you can have that life and then it can disappear because you lost your salvation, then it really was never what?\u00a0 Eternal.\n\nAnother passage we want to look at, John 5:24, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has\u201d there\u2019s our word, \u201ceternal life, \u201cand does not come into condemnation\u201d or \u201cjudgment, but has passed out of death into life.\u201d\u00a0 So what you have from God at the point of salvation is life which is eternal.\u00a0 The Greek word there, as I\u2019ll show you, is aioni\u014ds<\/em>.\n\nTake a look at 1 John 5:13 just for a moment.\u00a0 Now we\u2019re not in the Gospel of John, we\u2019ve moved into 1 John.\u00a0 Remember John wrote five books of the New Testament, The Gospel of John and then the three epistles of John, 1 John, 2 John and 3 John, anybody know the fifth book he wrote?\u00a0 The book of Revelation.\u00a0 So John is a pretty key figure in filling out our New Testament Canon.\n\nBut in 1 John 5:13 he says, \u201cThese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have\u201d what\u2019s the next word?\u00a0 \u201ceternal life.\u201d \u00a0So the Greek word that\u2019s used in all of these passages translated eternal is the Greek word aioni\u014ds<\/em>.\u00a0 And you say well, why is that significant?\u00a0 It\u2019s highly significant because that is the same word used to describe God.\u00a0 Take a look at the book of Romans for a minute, chapter 16, and verse 26.\u00a0 Romans 16:26, it says there, \u201cbut now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the\u201d what? \u201ceternal God,\u201d so what is the word that\u2019s used translated \u201ceternal\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s aioni\u014ds<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s the exact same word that we focused on in John 3:16.\u00a0 It\u2019s the exact same word that we focused on in John 5:24.\u00a0 It\u2019s the exact same word we focused on in 1 John 5:13.\n\n[John 3:16, \u201cFor God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.\u201d\u00a0 John 5:24, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.\u201d\u00a0 1 John 5:13, \u201cThese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.\u201d]\n\nSo if God is forever\u2026has God always been around?\u00a0 Sure, He\u2019s eternal.\u00a0 If God is forever then the life in God that He gives you, by definition, has to last forever.\u00a0 So just as God is going to last forever and ever and ever the promise of the Bible is the life that you have as a result of trusting in Christ, just like God, goes on and on and on and on and on throughout the ages.\u00a0 So therefore it becomes an impossibility to lose something that\u2019s eternal.\u00a0 There cannot be a termination point if someone has really received eternal life any more than there can be a termination point in God Himself.\u00a0 So if Jacob Arminius was right, that you can have salvation and then lose it, then you really never had the real package to begin with because God calls the package eternal.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 It\u2019s a pretty simple argument.\n\nLet me take you to a fourth reason why a believer can never lose their salvation.\u00a0 Number 4, if a believer can lose salvation then it makes the Bible\u2019s promises untrue.\u00a0 Now there are some things God can\u2019t do; do you all know that?\u00a0 He can\u2019t do things that contradict His nature.\u00a0 So the philosophers say well, can God make a rock so big that he can\u2019t lift it.\u00a0 And the answer is no He can\u2019t because if He were to make a rock so big that He can\u2019t lift He would be denying one of His attributes which is sovereignty.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 He has to have sovereignty over his creation; that\u2019s how He\u2019s defined in the Scripture.\u00a0 So He cannot do certain things; He cannot make a rock so big that He can\u2019t lift it.\n\nOne of the things He cannot do is lie.\u00a0 Can God lie?\u00a0 He cannot lie and that\u2019s why the New Testament (and the Old Testament for that matter) places such a high priority on us being people of truth, because we claim to represent God so we should aim to be people of truth as God empowers us because God Himself is 100% truth.\u00a0 He cannot fib, He cannot tell a lie.\u00a0 So if God says something you can absolutely \u201ctake it to the bank!\u201d\u00a0 Your pastor will let you down sometimes.\u00a0 The politicians, as we all know, can let you down, they can tell you something that\u2019s not true.\u00a0 Your teachers can let you down.\u00a0 Your parents can let you down.\u00a0 But God can\u2019t!\n\nJust a few verses on this, Numbers 23:19, this is Balaam\u2019s oracles, it says: \u201cGod is not a man, that He should lie,\u2026]\u201d\u00a0 Romans 3:4 talks about the reliability of God.\u00a0 Romans 3:4 says, \u201cMay it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 2 Corinthians 1:20, another good verse on the reliability of God; I\u2019m just trying to establish the reliability of God,\u00a0 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, \u201cFor as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.\u201d\u00a0 So God\u2019s promises are 100% trustworthy.\n\nEven His promises concerning the nation of Israel and it\u2019s exciting to read commentators prior to 1948, as you probably know Israel became a nation again, May 14, 1948, it\u2019s exciting to read commentators saying you know what, Israel has to become a country again because that\u2019s what the Bible says and God can\u2019t lie.\u00a0 And of course commentators like that were dismissed as being nuts and hyper-literalists.\u00a0 Well, May 14, 1948 it happened; no one\u2019s laughing any more, right?\u00a0 Because God can\u2019t lie, if God says something is going to happen it has to happen.\u00a0 If God could say something and it didn\u2019t happen then He would be denying His very nature.\n\nA couple of other promises on the reliability of God, Titus 1:2 basically says the same thing, \u201cin the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,\u201d\u00a0 Hebrews 6:18, another good verse on the 100% reliability of God.\u00a0 Hebrews 6:18 says, \u201cso that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge\u2026\u201d and so forth.\u00a0\u00a0 So are you getting the flavor here?\u00a0 God in His Word wants us to know you can trust Me.\u00a0 Hebrews 10:23 says, \u201cLet us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.\u201d\n\nSo don\u2019t transfer the imperfections of your earthly father onto God.\u00a0 Sometimes our parents let us down and we think God is going to let us down because He\u2019s untrustworthy.\u00a0 But one of the things God cannot do is He cannot misrepresent, he cannot lie, it\u2019s impossible for Him to do so.\u00a0 God cannot lie any more than he can make a rock so big that He can\u2019t lift.\n\nSo with that being said what we need to understand is that God, in the Scripture, has made us ironclad promises concerning the gift of life that we have and the fact that it can never be forfeited.\u00a0 One of the clearest is John 4:14, take a look at that.\u00a0 This is Christ\u2019s conversation with the woman at the well, and you recall what Jesus said there as He\u2019s speaking to the woman at the well.\u00a0 \u201cBut whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into\u201d what kind of life? \u201ceternal life.\u201d\n\nNow when\u00a0 your English translation says once you receive this water you will never thirst again we read that and we really don\u2019t understand the full import of those words, because if you study those words in Greek it\u2019s what you call an ou m\u1e17<\/em><\/em> construction.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s translated \u201cnever.\u201d\u00a0 What\n\nthat means is it\u2019s two negations together, back to back.\u00a0 So in Greek when you have two negations it\u2019s the strongest negation\u00a0 you can possibly have linguistically.\u00a0 It\u2019s like my daughter who is 10 says can I have the keys to the car and I say absolutely not under any circumstances, that\u2019s a very strong negation.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you have here through the construction of the double negative.\n\nAnd I am so upset with these English translators because they don\u2019t translate, at least the NASB doesn\u2019t, it doesn\u2019t translate the word aioni\u014ds<\/em>, which is in the text also.\u00a0 What does aioni\u014ds<\/em> mean?\u00a0 Remember?\u00a0 Forever.\u00a0 So what that is saying there when you study this in Greek is whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but the water I give to Him he will never thirst again.\u00a0 When it says \u201cnever thirst\u201d again it\u2019s two negations and just to really clarify that he throws in the word \u201cforever.\n\nNever for eternity, as God Himself is eternal, will you lose this gift of life and he clarifies it further at the end of the verse by using the word aioni\u014ds<\/em>.\u00a0 I mean, if that double negation plus one aioni\u014ds<\/em> wasn\u2019t enough he throws in the word aioni\u014ds<\/em> again at the end of the verse.\n\nNow you have to make a decision in your mind; are you going to believe that or not?\u00a0 Are you going to trust your emotions, your feelings, your own performance, what your favorite theologian says?\u00a0 You can build your life on the words of men or you can build your life on God who cannot lie.\u00a0 When you build your life on God\u2019s word, who cannot lie, it\u2019s very clear that\u00a0 you cannot lose your salvation.\u00a0 And this is just one of many, many verses.\n\nTake a look at John 5:24, we saw that earlier; John 5:24, Jesus says, \u201cTruly, truly,\u201d and notice it\u2019s not one \u201ctruly,\u201d but it\u2019s two truly\u2019s. What is the translation of the word \u201ctruly.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s \u201camen.\u201d\u00a0 Amen, it\u2019s like how we pray, we say amen, when the preacher makes a good point, amen, he\u2019s got his amen corner; amen means it is certain, that\u2019s what the word means.\u00a0 So you\u2019ve got two amen\u2019s there.\n\n\u201cTruly, truly, I say to you he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, [and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.\u201d] \u201chas\u201d is present tense; the promise of God who cannot lie is the moment you trust in His Son you have, present tense, the gift of life.\u00a0 I used to think that I\u2019m going to die and get to heaven and have eternal life, and that\u2019s not what the Bible teaches; you have it NOW!\u00a0 In eternity it\u2019s just magnified, but you have a relationship with God now.\n\nThen the verse goes on and it says \u201ceternal life\u201d which we\u2019ve already commented on, then it says, \u201cand does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c\u2026has passed out of\u201d is in the perfect tense in Greek, which simply means a one-time action; it\u2019s something that happened in the past, one time, with ongoing reverberating positive consequences.\n\nSo salvation is not a process; you\u2019re not passing out of death into life, it\u2019s already happened according to that Greek tense there.\u00a0 So you have eternal life and\u00a0 you\u2019ve already passed out of death unto life.\u00a0 And if that\u2019s not enough he says they life you have is eternal. \u00a0And if that\u2019s not enough we know that the person who made this promise to us is a God that cannot lie.\u00a0 See, if you could lose eternal life then all of these promises, what do you do with these?\u00a0 They don\u2019t mean anything.\n\nProbably one of the stronger verses in the Bible dealing with the promise of eternal life is John 6, let\u2019s look at that for a minute, verses 35-40, this is Jesus bread of life discourse\u00a0\u00a0 Verse 35, \u201cJesus\n\nsaid to them, \u2018I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.\u201d\u00a0 So you will notice there in verse 35, verse 36 continues the thought, [36, \u201cBut I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.\u201d]\u00a0 But both of those verses lay out the single condition that must be satisfied for the lost sinner to receive this gift, which is faith, as we say over and over and over again in this church, in Christ alone.\u00a0 Once your confidence for your eternity is in Christ alone the condition has been met, you HAVE the gift of eternal life.\n\nNow verse 35 says, \u201che who comes to me will not hunger,\u201d John 6:35, \u201cI am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.\u201d\u00a0 So there you have two promises in a single verse that once you\u2019re in the hands of God you\u2019ll never thirst again, you\u2019ll never be hungry again spiritually.\u00a0 Now when it says \u201cwill not\u201d it\u2019s a translation of the ou m\u0113<\/em>\n\nconstruction again, the double negative.\u00a0 Now you notice that this double negative, which is the strongest negative you can have in the Greek language, in verse 35 is used not just once but what? Twice!\u00a0 \u201c\u2026he who comes to Me will not hunger,\u201d double negative, \u201cand he who believes in Me will never thirst,\u201d double negative.\n\nAnd then if you drop down to verse 37 he says, \u201cAll that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.\u201d\u00a0 Now again when it\u2019s translated \u201ccertainly not cast out\u201d once you come to the Father, it\u2019s that ou m\u0113<\/em> construction which is a double negation.\u00a0 So right here in this verse, this collection of verses, you have not one, not two, but three double negative constructions.\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, if you knew a little bit about Greek\u00a0 you would have to ask yourself how could God be clearer on this; you\u2019ll never be cast out, He says it not once, not twice, not three times in the strongest negation that could be said.\n\nSo \u201cJesus said to them, \u2018I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.\u2019 \u00a0[37] \u2018All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 And then you drop down to verse 38 and he says, \u201cFor I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.\u201d\u00a0 So His action in not casting anyone out is a fulfillment of the Father\u2019s will; it\u2019s God\u2019s will that no one be cast out.\u00a0 So therefore Jesus is operating under the will of the Father.\u00a0 So for Him to lose a child of God would be to violate three double negations and it would be for Jesus to disobey the Father who sent Him.\n\nHe goes in verse 39 and he says, \u201cThis is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise him up at the last day.\u201d\u00a0 Now when it says there \u201close nothing\u201d that is the Greek verb apoleuomai<\/em>.\u00a0 And if you go back to John 6, same chapter, and you look at verse 12, the exact same verb is used there.\u00a0 And what\u2019s that talking about back in 6:12?\u00a0 This is after He performed the miracle of multiplying the fish and the loaves, it says, \u201cWhen they were filled, He said to His disciples, \u2018Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the same word, apoleuomai<\/em>, if I\u2019m pronouncing that right.\u00a0 So just as that bread had to be gathered up according to Christ\u2019s commands, it couldn\u2019t be lost, the use of the same verb a little bit later on in the chapter as he gives his bread of life discourse is the child of God, once they have trusted in Christ can never be cast away, can never be lost, just like that bread was supposed to be collected and not lost either.\n\nAnd if all of that weren\u2019t strong enough, look at verse 40 of John 6, \u201cFor this is the will of My father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him\u201d who sent me \u201cwill have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day,\u201d speaking of the future resurrection.\u00a0 So these promises are you will make it right up to the future resurrection where you\u2019re going to be placed in\u00a0 your glorified body to enjoy God for all eternity.\u00a0 So I don\u2019t know,\u00a0 I mean, I don\u2019t know how God could be clearer, do you?\u00a0\u00a0 I mean you\u2019ve got three double negations there; you\u2019ve got the use of the word apoleuomai<\/em>, you\u2019ve got the fact that when He keeps us He\u2019s fulfilling the will of the Father, and then you have the promise in verse 40 that we\u2019re going to be protected and kept by God all the way through the final resurrection.\n\nAnd this is just one of multiple promises.\u00a0 I mean, you could build your house just on this, couldn\u2019t you.\u00a0 But we\u2019re just getting warmed up here.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t even given you the strongest eternal security passage in John, so let\u2019s look at that.\u00a0 John 10, verses 27-30, really around verse 27-29. What does Jesus say here: \u201cMy sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; [28] and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;\u201d now when He says \u201cthey will never perish\u201d notice the Greek construction again, double negation, plus the word aioni\u014ds<\/em>, and again it\u2019s frustrating reading the English because \u201cforever\u201d is not translated; I don\u2019t know why they didn\u2019t translate that.\u00a0 But what he\u2019s saying is you will, in the strongest negation possible, not only NEVER perish but that will be your condition forever.\u00a0 He goes on in the same verse and he says, \u201cand no one will snatch them out of My hand.\u201d\u00a0 By the way, aioni\u014ds<\/em>, before I leave that, that word is also used in John 14:16 where Jesus says the Spirit is going to be in you for how long?\u00a0 Forever.\u00a0 [John 14:16, \u201cI will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;\u201d]\u00a0 The Spirit is in you forever, you will never perish forever, just as God is forever these promises apply to eternality as well because it\u2019s the exact same Greek word.\n\nAnd by the way, aioni\u014ds<\/em>, I wasn\u2019t going to get into this so I won\u2019t but just by way of brief mention is the same word used to describe hell.\u00a0 So if God is forever so is hell.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same word used to describe heaven; God is forever, so is heaven.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same word used to describe eternal life, if God is forever so is eternal life.\u00a0 And all these games people are playing today, like the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, not if they come to your house but when they come to your house will basically try to sell you on this doctrine of annihilation that once your soul goes into hell it sort of explodes and you cease to exist.\u00a0 The Greek language will not allow that kind of doctrine.\u00a0\u00a0 You have to be totally inconsistent with how\u00a0 you\u2019re interpreting Greek words to buy into such an idea.\n\nSo he says there, verse 28, \u201cno one will snatch them out of My hand.\u201d Now this word \u201csnatch\u201d is a very interesting word, it\u2019s the Greek word, harpazo<\/em> anybody know another famous passage where that word is used?\u00a0 1 Thessalonians, it\u2019s the rapture passage, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 where we\u2019re going to be caught up, rapture.\u00a0 That\u2019s the Greek word harpazo<\/em>.\n\n[1\u00a0 Thessalonians 4:13-18, \u201cBut we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. [14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. [15] For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the<\/em> archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore comfort one another with these words.\u201d]\n\nThat\u2019s what Hal Lindsey in one of his books called the rapture \u201cthe great snatch.\u201d\u00a0 So in the same way, once you\u2019re in the hand of God, because you\u2019ve trusted in the Son, nothing can snatch you out.\u00a0 Now who would try to snatch us out?\u00a0 If you go back to John 10:12 it tells you who is trying to snatch us\u2014the wolf.\u00a0 John 10:12 says, \u201cHe who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf\u201d who would the wolf be? Satan.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.\u201d\u00a0 Now the word \u201csnatch\u201d there is also the Greek word harpazo<\/em>.\u00a0 So it\u2019s speaking of the desire of the wolf to snatch away the sheep.\u00a0 So Jesus, using the same word, harpazo<\/em>, essentially is saying that can\u2019t happen, towards the end of the chapter.\u00a0 Once you\u2019re in the Father\u2019s hand Satan can do whatever he wants but NOTHING can remove you from the Father\u2019s hand.\u00a0 And again it\u2019s a double negation plus the word aionia.<\/em>\n\nSo that becomes a very strong eternal security passage.\n\nVerse 29 continues and it says, \u201cMy Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father\u2019s hand.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0So isn\u2019t this interesting; we\u2019re in the hand of Jesus and we\u2019re also in the hand of who?\u00a0 God the Father.\u00a0 So you\u2019ve got two members of the Trinity\u2026 talk about a tag team, good grief, making you a promise that once you\u2019re in the Father\u2019s hand, double negation, nothing can snatch you out of that hand forever.\n\nYou\u2019ll notice that when Jesus talks about Himself He\u2019s talking about the future, verse 28, \u201c\u2026no one will snatch them out of the Father\u2019s hand.\u201d\u00a0 And then when He starts talking about the Father\u2019s action in this He\u2019s talking about the present.\u00a0 So the Father IS keeping us, the Son WILL keep us, in the form of a double negation, forever and ever.\u00a0 So all the tenses here are covered whether it\u2019s present or future.\n\nNow you either decide to believe this or you don\u2019t.\u00a0 As for me and my house, we\u2019re interested in what God says.\u00a0 And God has made us here very clear, very specific promises.\u00a0 Now my cousin, who is Arminian, we\u2019ve been arguing about this since 1983, so I\u2019ve heard every conceivable argument that can be raised, and what he says to me all the time I bring this up is he says well, that\u2019s true but can\u2019t we remove ourselves from the Father\u2019s hand, through sin?\n\nWell, the last time I checked \u201cno one\u201d will snatch him out of the Father\u2019s hand, wouldn\u2019t \u201cno one\u201d include me?\u00a0 I mean \u201cno one\u201d certainly includes the devil, but it also includes me.\u00a0 And I always like to tell my cousin, I say man, I hope you\u2019ve been in the weight room really developing those buff biceps of yours because for you to pull yourself out of the hand of the Father means you\u2019re stronger than God.\u00a0 I mean, that\u2019s basically what the argument is.\u00a0 I mean, are we stronger than God?\u00a0 Obviously not.\n\nThe whole focus of John 10 is not on what the sheep do, it\u2019s what the shepherd does.\u00a0 I mean, the focus of man and what he does isn\u2019t even in the passage other than to respond by way of faith, because when you go back to John 10:11 it says, \u201cI am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.\u201d\u00a0 The focus isn\u2019t on what we do here, the focus totally in this chapter is on what God does.\u00a0 The focus is Christ\u2019s work for us and not the believer\u2019s work for God.\u00a0 So to incorporate into this some kind of element that I can to something to deactivate what God is doing is to just basically misrepresent what the whole focus of the chapter is.\n\nAnd you hear this a lot from people: well, God holds onto us, but we hold onto Him.\u00a0 So they give you this impression that it\u2019s basically two hands grasping each other.\u00a0 Can I ask you a simple question?\u00a0 Do sheep have hands?\u00a0\u00a0 They have hooves for cryin\u2019 out loud.\u00a0 Sheep don\u2019t have an ability to grab onto anything the way a human being would, with a hand.\u00a0 So to bring into this some kind of argument that God does His part, we do our part is just to read a bunch of things into these promises that don\u2019t belong.\n\nRomans 8, let\u2019s look at that real quick.\u00a0 Romans 8:29-38.\u00a0 \u201cFor those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become<\/em> conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; [30] and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also\u201d what? \u201cglorified.\u201d\u00a0 See how these promises pile up here, we\u2019ve been foreknown, predestined, called, justified.\u00a0 And you notice how \u201cglorified\u201d is in the past tense there.\u00a0 Just as all of those things had already happened to you, your future glory is so certain that God explains it as if it\u2019s already happened as well.\n\nRomans 8:31-32, \u201cWhat then shall we say to these things? If God is<\/em> for us, who is<\/em> against us? [32] He 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?\u00a0 [33] Who will bring a charge against God\u2019s elect?\u201d Who would be trying to bring a charge against God\u2019s elect?\u00a0 Man, the accuser\u2014Satan, but if God is a defense attorney, I mean, He\u2019s better than Johnny Cochran, right.\u00a0 I mean God is the one that will not allow a charge to be leveled against the elect of God.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because we stand this morning in transferred righteousness, not our own righteousness.\u00a0 So any charge that\u2019s brought against us obviously legally doesn\u2019t have any impact.\u00a0 The prosecutor can try to convict us all he wants but you can\u2019t convict someone that stands in the righteousness of God.\n\nHe goes on and he says, [34] \u201cwho is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.\u201d\u00a0 Right now as I talk Jesus is at the right hand of the Father doing what?\u00a0 Praying for you, praying for me, making petitions, and He\u2019s not like the Levitical priests that had to take a lunch break of had to take a sleep time to get rest.\u00a0 So if all of this is true no charge can be brought against us, if I\u2019ve already been glorified, if Christ is praying for me how in the world could I ever think that I could have the gift of God but lose it.\n\nAnd then he goes on there in verses 35, \u201cWho will separate us from the love of Christ?\u201d\u00a0 And he names here seven difficult situations human beings face.\u00a0 \u201cWill tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?\u201d\u00a0 So those seven situations, which are most difficult you could ever go through in life, can\u2019t separate you from the love of God.\u00a0 Verse 36, \u201cJust as it is written, \u2018FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.\u2019\u00a0 [37] But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer\u201d not through our own power but it\u2019s very clear, \u201cthrough Him who loved us\u201d\n\nNow \u201cconquer\u201d here is hupernik\u014d<\/em> where we get the word nike<\/em>, as in victory, conqueror, and the word huper<\/em> in front of it is where we get the word hyper, or super, and what that word is saying, and it\u2019s only used here one time in the whole Greek New Testament, it means we\u2019re super conquerors.\u00a0 We\u2019re not even conquerors, we\u2019re hyper-conquerors, it\u2019s like having Air-Jordan tennis shoes but they\u2019re like the super Air-Jordan. \u00a0So if all of this is true, if He\u2019s interceding and we\u2019re super conquerors how could we have\u2026, if no charge can be brought against us, how could you have salvation and lose it?\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019d just have to ignore what he\u2019s saying here in Romans 8.\n\nNow he goes on in verses 38 and 39 and he says nothing can separate us from the love of God and he names five sphere.\u00a0 He says, \u201cFor I am convinced that neither death, nor life,\u201d that would be the sphere of existence, \u201cnor angels, nor principalities,\u201d that would be the sphere of angelic created beings, \u201cnor things present, nor things to come,\u201d that would be the sphere of time, \u201cnor powers, [39] nor height, nor depth,\u201d that would be the sphere of location, \u201cnor any other created thing,\u201d that would be the sphere of everything else that wouldn\u2019t be mentioned, \u201cwill be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d\u00a0 So existence, angelic beings, time, location, and everybody and everything cannot separate us from the love of God, coming from the lips of a God who cannot lie.\n\nLet me show you one more and we\u2019ll close.\u00a0 Hebrews 13:5, \u201cMake sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, \u2018I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU.\u201d\u00a0 Now reading that in English that\u2019s a promise that\u2019s powerful in and of itself but you see, in Greek\u2026 what\u2019s the strongest form of negation?\u00a0 A double negative.\u00a0 Do you know how many negatives are here in Hebrews 13:5?\u00a0 Five negatives, and let me show you the way this reads in Greek: \u201cI will never desert\u00a0 you nor will I forsake you,\u201d so the first part of that is the familiar, ou m\u0113<\/em>, construction, double negative, so what it\u2019s saying there is \u201cnot-not you shall I desert.\u201d\u00a0 So that would be strong enough, right?\u00a0 Because a double negation is the strongest negation you can have in the Greek language.\n\nWell, just to get the point across he goes on and he uses another negation, ou<\/em>, and then another ou m\u0113<\/em>, combination which says \u201cnot not you shall I forsake.\u201d\u00a0 So if you were reading this literally from the Greek and basically what it says is \u201cnot not\u201d there\u2019s two negations, \u201cyou shall I desert; not, not, not\u201d three more negations, \u201cyou shall I forsake.\u201d\n\nIsn\u2019t that exciting how clear God is being about this?\u00a0 This is why the Scripture says, Romans 8:1, \u201cTherefore there is no\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201ccondemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 Now how could that statement be made to someone who has salvation and lose it?\u00a0 That means that there could be condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.\n\nRomans 5:1, taking a fast look at that.\u00a0 To me these things are so clear it\u2019s a wonder that this has even been debated.\u00a0 Romans 5:1 says, \u201cTherefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d well, if I have \u201cpeace with God\u201d how could I commit the unpardonable sin, whatever that is, and go to hell?\u00a0 That means I don\u2019t have peace with God, right?\u00a0 Or there\u2019s a potentiality that I could not have peace with God.\n\nRomans 5:8-10 says, \u201cBut God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, having now been justified\u201d justified means a declaration of innocence; it\u2019s like receiving a jury verdict,\u00a0 you\u2019re not going to jail and then someone says you\u2019ve got to go to jail anyway.\u00a0 Well if that\u2019s true then what was that jury verdict about?\u00a0 I have a declaration of innocence.\u00a0 So if you have a declaration of innocence you don\u2019t have to worry at all about hell or the second death or the Lake of Fire.\n\nHe goes in Romans 5:8-10 and he says, \u201cby His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God<\/em>\u201d that\u2019s future tense, that means the wrath of God is not something that I, as a child of God, need to be concerned about; I need to be concerned about it with other people but not me.\u00a0 Verse 10, \u201cFor if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.\u201d So there I\u2019m saved, past tense, I am being saved through progressive sanctification, present tense, and I will be saved, glorification, future tense.\u00a0 And those promises are totally turned on their head if you can have this standing before God and lose it.\n\nSo I hope, as you kind of review these promises this week, starting with God\u2019s ironclad reliability and moving into John 4:14, John 5:24, John 6:37-40, John 10:27-30, Romans 8:28-38 and finally the cherry on top is the five negations in Hebrews 13:5.\u00a0 As you kind of review these this week I hope you\u2019ll see who you are in Christ.\n\nSo that would be the fourth argument, if a believer could lose their eternal life then the promises of eternal security basically mean nothing; the Bible\u2019s promises don\u2019t mean what they said.\u00a0 And beyond that we looked at the point that eternal life can\u2019t be eternal. All right, I\u2019ll stop talking at this point.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t