On a list of basic human needs, such as air, food, and water, one often finds listed somewhere the need for security, feeling that one is safe from harm, loved and cared for. Usually such a need is supplied by one’s parents, grandparents, or other care-givers, and later by one’s spouse, and one’s friends. If children feel that their parents might just walk out and leave them at any moment, and never feel loved and secure, they are likely to grow up with some emotional issues. Adults who don’t feel secure in their relationships with their spouse or friends can also be emotionally wounded.
There are some Christians who feel spiritually insecure, as well. They go through their whole Christian lives wondering if God accepts them or not. They feel maybe He did when they first accepted Jesus, but one mistake later and they feel they are lost again. Saved and accepted one day, but not the next. In our Scripture passage today from the Gospel of John, we have God’s assurance of eternal security. Let’s take a look.
As our Scripture opens, John tells us it is the Feast of Dedication, which is today more commonly known as Hanukkah (vs. 22). That Jewish holiday celebrates the Israelite victory over the Greek/Syrian leader Antiochus IV Epiphanes. In 167 BC he conquered Jerusalem and desecrated the rebuilt Jewish Temple by sacrificing a pig upon the altar. The Maccabean revolt freed the Temple and the land from his harsh control, which this festival, also known as the Festival of Lights, celebrates.
Jesus was in Jerusalem for this festival, and while here, the religious leaders gathered around Him, demanding that He let them know whether He was the Messiah or not (vs. 24). They weren’t seeking clarity and understanding of things Jesus had openly said before. Instead, they wanted an open and specific opportunity to, in their minds, justly attack Him. Jesus’ words and actions had indicated who He was, but they did not want to accept Him, because they were not His sheep (vs. 25-26). They were not His sheep because they did not believe Him or desire to be His sheep. The decision was theirs, just as it is everyone’s today.
Those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior become one of His sheep. They have heard the Word of God and responded to it. As believers we should know the Voice of our Shepherd (vs. 27). We hear and read it in the Bible. We hear it in our hearts when we pray and study His Word. We know it because we are His.
In many different passages throughout the Bible, God portrays Himself as the Divine and Good Shepherd, and His people as His sheep. This passage is one of the more familiar ones. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who keeps His sheep safe. As He states most clearly here, no one is able to steal them from God (vs. 27-29). There is absolute eternal security of saved believers. Once saved, always saved! We are eternally secure. Some people grew up feeling insecure with their parent’s love and care. Maybe your parents abandoned you, and you were passed around in foster homes. That isn’t the case with God. No believer needs ever fear that God will change His mind regarding their salvation.
All believers are utterly safe from any creature that might wish to eternally destroy us, including Satan and all of his minions. He may try, but God assures us that he can’t. Sometimes Satan succeeds, though, in making us think that whenever we mess up, we have lost our salvation. God assures us that no one, including ourselves when we fall into a sin, can snatch us out of His Hand. Just as a shepherd protects his sheep, Jesus protects His people from eternal harm. We may go through some difficult times here on earth, but we can rest assured that nothing, and nobody, can take us out of God’s Hands.
Jesus closed out this passage by stating, as the religious leaders had earlier requested, that He and the Father are one (vs. 30). Jesus and the Father are one in essence and nature. Jesus is not merely a good teacher, He is God. Based on Jesus’ assertion, we must make a decision. Either we believe that He really is God, or we must reject everything He says. There is no middle ground. As believers, we know that there is only one God, and that He is three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We know that everything that Jesus said is absolutely true because He is the Truth (John 14:6).
Are you one of Jesus’ sheep? Are you a part of His flock? If you are, you are eternally secure. You need never fear that His love for you will stop, or that His care for you will ever end. That may have happened with your parents, your spouse, or your friends, but it will never happen with God!
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