1/9/07

They Shall Never Perish

By Patrick Pierce

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life tothem, 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.” John 10:27-30 (NAS95)

Likely the most assuring words of comfort and assurance for Christians are those by Jesus from John 10:28, “They will never perish.” Yet there are some who will never be able to benefit from them because they have been taught that “never” does not always mean “never.” Instead of becoming a haven of rest and security for believers, as these words were clearly meant to be, they have become the point of attack by those who do not take them at face value. The sad result is that the Word of God is undermined, the integrity of Christ is challenged, and many will never experience the rest and assurance that would be theirs if they would only believe what Jesus said. Would Jesus have us to understand “never” to mean something less than its obvious meaning in John 10:28? Jesus’ words “they shall never perish,” are unassailable. But as long as religious sinners exist, there will always be those who will try. This study will demonstrate from John 10:27-30 that “never” cannot possibly mean anything other than what the word has always meant, and that the follower of Jesus can rest with confidence in the keeping power of Christ.

The Three Identifying Characteristics

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus is the One who leads His sheep to and from pasture. He is committed to their protection and committed to meet all of their needs. The sheep must follow the Shepherd. Unable to fend for themselves, they place their trust fully in their Shepherd. When Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” He is describing the qualities and characteristics that clearly distinguish those who belong exclusively to Him from all the rest. This is too important not to give it our full attention. Once we have it fixed in our minds what the real identifying characteristics of Christians are, we can reasonably assume that those who lack them can question whether or not they really belong to the Good Shepherd.

We now examine these three unique characteristics. Remember, these character traits identify the genuine from the counterfeit. First, real Christians hear His voice. They have been given spiritual ears to hear (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Are you listening to the Good Shepherd? The imagery is striking. Shepherds in that place and time would often keep their sheep in one holding pen at night. The shepherds would then retrieve their sheep the next day to lead them to pasture. How would they distinguish their own sheep from all the rest? How would they ensure that only their sheep would leave the holding pen? They would call them. Each shepherd had his own call. The sheep would recognize the voice of their own shepherd and would follow only him. That is why only the sheep that belong to Jesus follow Him (John 10:4-5). All the others will respond to another voice because another shepherd owns them. Genuine Christians will hear the voice of Jesus. They will be eager to listen, because they want to please their Master. The hearing ear in this metaphor is the ear that has been awakened to spiritual life. These ears have the earmark of life on them. All the others are “dead” in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), and therefore do not have “ears to hear.”

Second, Jesus said, “I know them.” The Good Shepherd knows all about those who belong to Him. If you are one of His, He knows your heart for obedience. He knows your past and He knows the course of your future. He knows your triumphs and your failures. He knows that you have ears to hear. When you stumble, when you fail Him, when you wander, He knows where to find you. He will bring you back because He cares for you as the Good Shepherd. He knows everything about you. Not a single one of His sheep will ever be lost (Matthew 18: 12-14). “The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19b).

Third, Jesus said, “They follow Me.” A real Christian will continue to follow the Savior. The word follow is from the Greek akoloutheoœ. It is in the present tense, as are the words hear, and know. The present tense signifies continuous action. “My sheep continue to hear My voice, I continue to know them, and they continue to follow Me.” In light of this fact, how is it possible that those who give up following Jesus can be called Christians in the first place? Those who (for whatever reason) no longer follow prove to not be His sheep and to have never been His sheep. That is because they do not meet the criteria of “they continue to follow Me.” 1 John 2:19-20 makes it clear “They went out from us, but they were not [really] of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but [they went out], so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.” Also hear these words from Jesus, “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS’” (Matthew 7:23). It does not matter whether one supposedly lost his salvation because of sin or because he abandoned his faith. Christ never knew them. They were never really saved to begin with.

The Promise of Eternal Life

“And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish.” John 10:28a

Eternal life is not a reward for fine performance. It is a gift. By definition, a gift is something that cannot be earned. A gift must be freely given. That salvation is a gift is repeated numerous times in the New Testament. Just in case some might be inclined to question the nature of the gift, Romans 6:23 emphasizes that it is free. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, see also Romans 4:4, 5) ) John 5:24 is one reference that makes it clear that eternal life is freely given as soon as the sinner believes, not some time later when he might prove his worth. “Truly, 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 (John 5:24). If eternal life is given as soon as the sinner exercises faith, he cannot possibly lose that life. Eternal life cannot be honestly called “eternal” if it is forfeited at any time short of eternity. We might call it “probationary life.” Whatever such a reward might be called, it could never be a gift. The promise of security, then, is that eternal life is given when a believer comes to Christ in faith, and by the very definition of “eternal,” his new life necessarily lasts forever and therefore salvation cannot be lost.

The heart of this passage is the statement “and they shall never perish.” With that statement eternal life is clarified for the reader. It is of such a quality as to endure throughout eternity. This proves that salvation cannot be threatened by any conditions. When the word “never” is used, should we expect something other than the standard dictionary meaning? Just for the record, the Encarta World English Dictionary has the following entry:

Never: an adverb indicating that something will not happen at

any time, or that somebody will definitely not do something

1. adv at no time in the past or the future
2. adv not in any circumstances at all

3. interj an exclamation indicating surprise or shock¹

Regardless of this obvious fact, many insist that Jesus meant to qualify His use of “never.” If “never” means something other than “never,” why didn't Jesus use the right word? ? We expect the most qualified of men to be professional and to be precise, and yet occasionally we may give them a pass, knowing they are not perfect. Sometimes their choice of words could be better, and require qualification or correction. But Jesus is perfect. The very definition of “never” rules out qualification. How does “never” (at no time in the past or future; not in any circumstance at all) become something less when Jesus uses the word? We don't need sinners correcting the words of Jesus. Proponents of conditional salvation accuse (by implication), the living Word of God (John 1:1a), the divine Son of God (John 1:1b), the creator of the universe (John 1:3), and yes, the embodiment of truth (John 14:6), of not being able to communicate what He really means! But certainly, If Jesus meant something other than “never,” He would have expressed what He meant with precision. Because He used “never,” it is certain He meant to convey “at no time in the past or future,” and “not in any circumstance at all.” To further clarify the impossibility that never can be qualified, the Greek has the double negative “ou meœ.” It indicates the strongest possible form, and could be translated “They shall never, no never, perish forever.” ² This rules out any hope of making “never” something less than what the word normally means.

We could hope for sound reason to win the day, and therefore put this accusation that “never” does not mean “never” to rest. But don't hold your breath waiting for a reasoned response from those committed to the proposition that salvation can be lost. Instead, expect objection by retreat. But to flee to another verse is to be guilty of the above charge that claims Jesus failed to use the right word in John 10:28. It in effect is saying, “I'll use another verse to show what Jesus really meant to say.” Please consider the profound implications of stubbornly refusing to believe what Jesus said. These are implications you cannot get around. First, Jesus prayed that the Father would keep the disciples of Jesus so they would be one with Him and the Father (John 17:11-12). Those who believe salvation can be lost would love to limit this prayer to the twelve, but Jesus also prayed the same thing for all who would believe in Him (John 17:20). To insist, contrary to the Word of God, that salvation can be lost is to say that Jesus prayed to the Father and His prayer was not answered. If Jesus' prayer was not answered by His Father, with Whom He is one, Jesus did not know His Father's will, which He claimed to do, and He could not say, "I and the Father are one (John 10:30)." But since Jesus is one with the Father, we know God answered this prayer, and none of His will ever perish. Second, changing the meaning of the word “never” makes the interpreter guilty of deliberate and gross error by imposing an Arminian gloss on the text.³ To question Jesus’ choice of words here is to open up the possibility that some would find a need to make corrections elsewhere in His Word. It subjects the authority of Scripture to the charisma, the debating skills, the popularity, the imagination, and even the unbelief of the interpreter. Third, it questions the integrity of Christ and His Word. It implies that the Bible is not perfect, that it contains error, and therefore you cannot be absolutely sure of any of its claims. And finally, if the integrity of the Bible can be questioned, there will be no way to be sure that you have heard the words of Christ, that you have really acted upon them, and that your faith will stand (Matthew 7:24-25). And if your life proves to have not been built upon Jesus Christ you must be numbered with those of Proverbs 14:12 (repeated in 16:25), which reads “There is a way [which seems] right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” These are the resulting implications if Jesus’ words “they shall never perish” are forced into another meaning.

There are many more such implications concerning this subject but in connection with other passages of Scripture. For instance, The Lord disciplines those who are His (Hebrews 12:4-8). He disciplines His children when they fall into sin (verse 4). It is proof that they belong to Him, "But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons" (Hebrews 12:8). How could God discipline His children for sin, if they cease to be His children when they sin? These verses make it clear that He disciplines His own children when they sin, proving sin does not result in loss of salvation. Consider another example. In Romans 6:1-11 we are told that the believer's union with Christ is inseparable due to the fact that we have been removed from the damning influence of the law and the realm of sin by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. All true believers went down into death with Him. Those who are dead cannot be judged by the law. The old man, or the person you once were before you were born again has died. The new creation rises into new life with Christ. If you could lose your salvation, you would have to believe the silly notion that you have the power to kill the eternal new creation, you have the power to resurrect the old man, and you can undo the fact that your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). If anyone could pull that off he wouldn't need Jesus anyway.

The above implications abound in the New Testament. Those who believe they can simply abandon John 10:27-30 and move on to other verses to make their case should realize that such a move demonstrates the weakness of their position. There is no safe haven in the Word of God for those who would undermine Christ's promise to keep His own safe. They should also know that relatively few verses could be construed to teach that salvation can be lost anyway. A closer look at those verses will reveal that “some are dispensationally misapplied (Ezek 33:7, 8; Matt 24:13); [BSac 101:402 (Apr 44) p. 171] others refer to counterfeits of the last days (2 Pet 2:1–22). Many Scriptures have to do with the fruitage of Christian profession (John 15:16; James 2:14–26; etc.); while not a few contain warnings which point to the hopelessness of salvation apart from the crucified Christ (Heb 6:4–9; 10:26, 27).” ⁴

The Double Hold of Assurance

“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.” John 10:28b-30

John 28b-30 continues to assure the doubting that Jesus will keep them safe in every circumstance at all times. “And no one will snatch them out of My hand” is Christ’s promise that He will take care of them. So how is it that this promise of security is carried out? Jesus will do it Himself. This is intended to assure believers of His power to keep them. If salvation were probationary it would be up to you to keep it and Jesus would not have been able to make this promise. But Jesus did not stop there. He adds that the Father also has you in His hand. Verse 30 affirms Jesus’ place in the Godhead. If after all of this you still cannot rest in the keeping power of Christ, could it be that the problem is with your lack of faith in His keeping power? Know that God is keeping you. He has taken it upon Himself to see you through to the end. You are “protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5). Rest fully in His grace. Thank God that Jesus saves completely and forever. You will never perish.

Endnotes

1. Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Return to text

2. Arthur B. Whiting. Is the Believer Imperishable? Part 2 Bibliothecra Sacra April-June 1944. Volume 101 Issue 402 [CD-ROM] Accordance Bible Software Return to text

3. J. F. Strombeck rightly said, “No clearer statement could be made than this. Its simplicity excludes interpretation. It can only be accepted or rejected. To reject it is to deny grace.” Grace and Truth Studies in the Gospel According to St. John Part 2 J. F. Strombeck (Continued from the January-March, 1939, Number) Return to text

4. Matthew 24:13 is referenced by A. B. Whiting as being dispensationally misapplied. Though his main point is true, believers endure to the end in this economy as well as in the Tribulation. True saints persevere in the faith. They would not have it any other way. They have a new heart for the things of God that will never die. Return to text