Safe in Jesus’s Hands
John 10:27–30
They will never perish. John 10:28
Jesus speaks of God’s perseverance with his saints. That is, that none whom God has called to faith in Christ will be lost. Indeed, how can they be, if God is responsible for their salvation? Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
“But,” says someone, “suppose they jump out of their own accord?”
“They will never perish,” says the Lord.
“Never?”
“No, never,” says Jesus. “They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
This does not mean that there will not be dangers, of course. In fact, it implies them; for if Jesus promises that no one will succeed in plucking us from his hands, it must be because he knows that there are some who will try. The Christian will always face dangers—dangers without, from enemies, and dangers within. Still the promise is that those who have believed in Jesus will never be lost. We may add that the Christian may well be deprived of things. He may lose his job, his friends, his good reputation. Still, he will not be lost. The promise is not that the ship will not go to the bottom, but that the passengers will all reach shore. It is not that the house will not burn down, but that the people will escape safely.
Do you believe this promise, that you are safe in Jesus’s hands, that you will never be lost? Are you able to trust God for this as you have for other truths? I suppose there is a way of explaining away almost everything, but I must say that I do not see how the opponents of eternal security can explain away this text. Am I Christ’s? Then it is he who has promised that neither I nor any who belong to him shall perish.
I wish that all God’s children might come to know and love these truths. I wish that many might be saved by them. I wish it might be the same with you! I do not preach a gospel that has a shaky foundation. I do not proclaim a religion of percentages and probabilities. I proclaim the message of Christ, Paul, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and all others who have found God to be their sure hope and salvation. It is the message of man’s complete ruin in sin and of God’s perfect remedy in Christ, expressed in his election of a people to himself and his final preservation of them. God grant that you might believe it wholeheartedly.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.