This is day 14 of a video series called 21 Days of Once Saved Always Saved Salvation Assurance. It’s January 2022 and, in honor of the new year, my church in Marietta GA has asked us to dedicate 21 days to the Lord to draw closer to Him.  Over these 21 days, I’m going through 1 passage of Scripture a day that proclaims our salvation assurance in Christ and shows how salvation can never be lost or forfeited but is held securely in place for us by our heavenly Father so we can have confidence that we are eternally saved.

Today’s passage is John 10:27-30:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” (John 10:27-30 KJV)

This passage is one of the strongest passages in the Bible about how we can never lose our salvation. In it, Jesus proclaims Himself to be the One Who gives us eternal life and, for everyone to whom He gives eternal life, they shall never perish. Once we are saved, we are forever secure in our salvation, so secure that no one is able to pluck us out of God’s hand. Our salvation cannot be lost or forfeited. That means Once Saved, Always Saved.

Let’s break this passage down beginning with verse 27, where Jesus said:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…” (John 10:27 KJV)

In this chapter, Jesus pictures Himself as both the Good Shephard Who lays down His life for His sheep and as the Door by which His sheep can enter in. Those who believe in Jesus for salvation are His sheep. We enter into salvation by believing in Jesus, that Jesus is God’s Son Who died on the cross for our sins, was buried and then rose again on the third day. By believing in Him, we become His sheep and are not only forgiven and given everlasting life, but we are adopted and become children of God. We become part of God’s family, His sheep.

As His sheep, we hear His voice. Christ knows us. And we follow Him. These are three characteristics of every believer in Christ:

1. We hear Christ’s voice – When we are saved, God’s Holy Spirit indwells us and lives within us forever. His mission is to lead us into truth and help us hear the voice of God. Some people may hear God’s voice audibly, but that is rare. Most hear God’s voice through impressions, thoughts and especially through his Word, the Bible, and through prayer. Many Christians say that when they read the Bible, verses jump off the page and come alive, speaking to them directly. That’s God, speaking to us through His Word. As Christ’s sheep, we hear His voice and learn to recognize when He’s speaking to us.
   
   
2. Jesus knows us – When we are saved, we enter into an intimate relationship with Christ where He knows us, everything about us. This same word “know” is used to describe the intimacy between and husband and wife. Jesus doesn’t just know about us. He knows us with compassion, caring and profound love, as a Good Shephard who loves His sheep so much that He willingly lays down His life for us.
   
   
3. We follow Him – When we are saved and God’s Holy Spirit indwells us, that changes us. Before, we didn’t follow God. We followed the world and our selfish desires. But with God’s Holy Spirit now inside us, teaching and leading us, we can’t help but change to where we now have a desire to follow God. 

If you call yourself a Christian, do these three characteristics describe you? Do you hear the voice of Jesus in your life, guiding you and teaching you? Do you have an intimate walk with Him where you sense that He knows you? And do you follow Him, seeking to obey Him and please Him? 

These are three characteristics of a true Christian. Does that describe you? There are many who have had an experience in the past of asking God to save them, perhaps praying a sinner’s prayer, and they think they are saved, but nothing ever changed in their lives. God’s Word says that when we are saved, we are changed into a new creation. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)

I was saved in May 1986. My wife was saved two years before that. When I got saved, I was still trying to figure out what happened to me when I asked Jesus to save me and so I didn’t tell her that I asked Jesus to save me. But after only a few days, she said, “Something’s different about you. You got saved, didn’t you?” And the cat was out of the bag. It was a noticeable change in me.

When you are truly saved, that changes you. You become a new creation. You are no longer the same. God’s Holy Spirit comes to live inside you forever and, with His leading and teaching, that changes the very way you think and act. It changes your desires, from desiring what the world loves to what God loves. And you automatically begin to follow Christ. That may take years to develop on a consistent basis as we grow in discipleship, but it does change you.

If you call yourself a Christian and that kind of change hasn’t happened in your life, but instead you still follow after all the things the world loves, then what makes you think you are saved? If nothing has changed in your life, are you really saved? I think perhaps not.

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…” (John 10:27 KJV)

Now, you can also take this verse too far, as people in the Lordship Salvation movement do, those who believe you can lose your salvation. They point to this verse and say, “See, only those who follow Christ are given eternal life and will never perish. Therefore, if you don’t follow Christ, obeying all of His commandments, then you will lose your salvation and perish.” This is an utter lie and a butchering of God’s Word. They say that because they don’t believe the Gospel that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection is all we need to be saved. They don’t really believe that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was complete and that it saved them.

To disprove this false claim, I’ll give you three reasons why the phrase, “and they follow Me,” is NOT a requirement to be saved or to stay saved. There are probably more than three reasons, but three will suffice.  

1. This phrase is a Description of His Sheep, Not a Condition for Becoming His Sheep – When Jesus said that His sheep follow Him, He wasn’t laying out a condition for our salvation. He didn’t say, “IF My sheep follow me, I will give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” Instead, it is simply a descriptive statement of what an already saved sheep of His looks like. We are saved by faith in Christ alone, not by our obedience in following Him. It says in John 3:36:
   
   “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36 KJV)
   
   We are saved by faith in Christ alone. Nothing more.
   
   The second reason why the phrase “and they follow Me” is NOT a requirement to be saved or to stay saved is this:
   
   
2.  Salvation is a Gift from God, Not Something Earned by “Following Him” – In this verse, Jesus said:
   

   “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,” (John 10:28 KJV)

   Eternal life is not something we earn by our obedience. It is a gift. We see this also in Ephesians 2:8-9:
   

   “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)
   
   If we have to “follow Christ” in obedience to get saved or to keep our salvation, then eternal life is no longer a gift. Paul says salvation is “not of works,” and “not of ourselves.” There’s nothing we do to earn it or to keep it. It is a gift.

   And then the third reason why the phrase “and they follow Me” is NOT a requirement to be saved or to stay saved is this:
   
   
3. Eternal life begins BEFORE we follow Him, not after – Jesus said in John 5:24:
   

   “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24 KJV)

   According to Jesus’ own Words, everlasting life begins the very moment we believe in Him, for He said the one who believes HAS everlasting life. We’re not waiting to receive it at some future date. Jesus said the one who believes has already passed from death to life. Therefore, from the moment we believe we shall not come into condemnation, EVER!

Therefore, this whole notion presented by those who believe you can lose your salvation, saying that only those who follow Jesus will inherit eternal life, is totally false. Jesus’ statement that His sheep follow Him is merely a descriptive statement of what someone who is already saved looks like, not a condition for getting saved or staying saved.

When Jesus said:

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,” (John 10:28 KJV)

He really meant eternal life. Eternal life isn’t eternal if you can lose it, either by having someone take it or by giving it up yourself. Eternal means eternal. It will never end. It will never be lost. It can never be forfeited. And so, the one who places their faith in Christ for salvation, from the very moment that they believe, they have eternal life, and they shall never perish. That means, Once Saved, Always Saved.

Jesus goes on to say,

“neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” (John 10:28 KJV)

No man is able to pluck us out of Jesus’ hand. The phrase, “any man,” includes the very person who is saved. This means we’re not able to pluck ourselves out of His hand.

But can’t we forfeit our salvation by not believing anymore, becoming apostate? No! Totally impossible. There is no such thing in the New Testament as a saved believer who once again becomes an unbeliever. We looked at this in earlier lessons. The moment we’re saved, God’s Holy Spirit indwells us and seals us until the day of redemption when we will get our eternal bodies. The Holy Spirit’s mission is to lead us and teach is in the truth about Jesus. So, if a believer starts to drift into unbelief and sin, the Holy Spirit is still there inside that believer, leading and teaching. Believers who start to fall away from God and into repeated sin typically describe it as utter misery. They are not able to go back and live like the world anymore but are convicted of their sin and are taught by the Holy Spirit in them to turn back. The result is that not even one saved believer will be lost by turning to unbelief. Salvation cannot be forfeited.

Jesus goes on to say:

“My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” (John 10:29 KJV)

When I first read that verse, I wanted to correct it by adding the word, “to,” so that it read, “My Father, which gave them ‘to’ Me.” My original thinking was that the Father gave us to Christ. But that’s not what it says. It says the Father gave Christ to us: “My Father, which gave them Me!” Christ was given to us.

John 3:16 says,

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV)

God loves you with an everlasting love so deep that He gave His own Son to ransom you back. Sin had a hold of you. Spending an eternity in hell was what awaited you. But the Father loves you so much that He gave His Son to die in your place, to pay your ransom and buy you back, so that you could spend eternity with Him. Would a Father Who loves you that much allow you then to get lost, so that you lose your salvation? Never. He is a good Father, Who will never let any of His beloved children slip away from Him. Therefore, Jesus said:

“My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” (John 10:29 KJV)

If no one, including you, is able to pluck you out of the Father’s hand, then you can never lose your salvation, either by someone taking it from you or by you giving it up. Once you’re saved, you’re always saved.

And then finally, Jesus concludes with this:

“I and My Father are one.” (John 10:27-30 KJV)

Jesus is God who took on flesh, became a man, just so He could die on a cross to pay for your sins. That’s how much God loves you. Death could not hold Him so three days later, He rose from the dead, showing us that we too can have eternal life in Him. By believing in Him, all of our sins (past, present and future) are forgiven and wiped from our record, literally nailed to His cross. We are declared just, righteous, sanctified, holy and adopted into His family, becoming a child of God for all eternity, a salvation that can never be lost. 

The question is: Does this describe you? If you’re not sure, you can be. It works like this:

Salvation = God’s Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Nothing more. Nothing less. There are no other requirements to be saved than to believe in Jesus. The question is: do you believe this? Or are you like those who are not trusting in the finished work of Christ but are trying to prove themselves worthy through your own obedience. Well, let me give you some help: You’re not worthy! You never will be. None of us are. It is Christ who is worthy. We stand in His obedience by faith, not our own. We stand in His righteousness by faith, not our own. He makes us worthy. He makes us righteous.

Once you believe in Him, you are born again, and you are forever a child of God. Our Father is a good Father Who will never abandon you but will preserve you in the faith and never let you go. 

If you are not certain about your salvation, time is getting very late. Don’t take the chance of missing out on God. Prophetically, the current “Age of Grace” where God is giving people time to turn to Him for forgiveness is almost over. When it ends, it will be too late. God’s judgment is coming. Those who are not saved will be separated from God for all eternity. Don’t take chances with God. Don’t play with Him. Take Him seriously.

If you are not 100% sure you are saved, don’t put it off any longer. You can know with certainty that you have eternal life today. Do it now before it’s too late.

Making Sure You Are Saved Is As Easy As ABC

Admit to God that you have sinned.

Believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died to pay for
your sins 100%, was buried and rose from the dead.

Call upon Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you.

If you make that decision to call upon Him, God gives you this assurance:

“For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 KJV)

If you are still not sure, I’ll include a link to a video I did called, “What is the Gospel (in 6 Words)?”

Thank you for watching.