They Shall Never Perish

John 10: 27-29

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall 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."

Have you ever wondered if it is possible to lose your salvation?

I've avoided posting on this topic in the past, because, well, some people might consider it controversial. But I've changed my mind for two reasons. First Scripture speaks clearly about it, and on those grounds it should not be considered controversial at all, but rather obviously settled and decided. And second, it is a timely topic for a dear friend of mine whose family is suffering from a sudden loss.

This verse is the quintessential text that removes all doubt about whether it is possible to lose genuine salvation. I'll cut to the chase: it absolutely cannot happen. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

(The big theological term for this, by the way, is "perseverance of the saints.")

Our key phrase is this, "neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." It is reiterated almost immediately as "no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."

What that means for us is that there is no thing, no person, no power at all that can take away the property of Jesus Christ. That property is the sheep. Those sheep are Christians, all of the Christians that have ever lived or will ever live. For every Christian, the following three things will take place: they will hear the voice of the Shepherd, He will know them, and they will follow Him.

Once this has happened, it is a done deal. The very power and authority of God are the criteria by which we can be certain of it. We can see that in the words, "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all." God is greater than all. The word "all" in this verse even includes the sheep themselves. That means that even if they wanted to, the sheep could never remove themselves from the hand of the Father. He is the one whose authority and power are at stake. And we've already established that His power and authority trump anything, anything else.

Albert Barnes, whose commentaries I regularly read, said it much better than I ever could:

"It would be impossible for any language to teach more explicitly that the saints will persevere."

(Now you see why I gave you the big terminology, 'cause that's the language that the commentaries usually use.)


So what does all of this mean for us, or for our loved ones? Well, first let me say that not everyone who calls themselves a Christian actually is one. But in the case of a genuine conversion, a genuine calling, there is nothing that can undo what has been done. Even if the person goes on to fall into a terrible pit of sin, or experiences a great rebellion against God, it doesn't matter. If they are one of God's sheep, those offenses are totally forgiven.

The point of this post is not to lay out what means we have for determining if a conversion is genuine. That is a topic for another time.

The point today is that if the conversion was genuine, it is for all of eternity. If you need a few more verses to convince you, take a moment to read through these.

John 6:37

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out."

John 6:39-40

"This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Isaiah 43:13

"Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?"

This is a serious issue, my dear reader. Imagine living in terror of losing your salvation. Imagine what it would be like to seriously believe that it could somehow all be taken away, and you could end up in Hell because you managed to "mess it up" somehow. Do you really think that God is so arbitrary with His sheep?

Well, I'll tell ya, if it was up to our ability to stick by God's side, the situation would not be nearly so secure. But the beautiful thing is that none of it depends on our ability to stick with God. All of it depends of His promises to stick with us. And He is in the business of keeping His promises.

Isaiah 43:1

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name;
You are Mine."