Whose Hand Are You In? - From His Heart - May 9
WHOSE HAND ARE YOU IN?
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:27-28
For years, Allstate Insurance Company told us, "You're in good hands with Allstate." That has been a catchy ad slogan... one designed to give Allstate customers a great sense of security. Now as good a company as Allstate may be, not all can testify that Allstate never let them down. As with any insurance carrier, if you have too many claims in a given year, they will drop you like a hot rock.
SAFE AND SECURE IN JESUS
The Lord Jesus said that He would NEVER drop even one of his children. Once you truly receive Him as Savior and Lord and are born again, you are placed in His hand of love and grace... and are kept there forever.
While some believe a true Christian can lose his/her salvation, I do not hold to that teaching... and here are a few reasons why:
The Promise of the Scripture - "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6). You and I may start something and not finish (a model airplane, a college or advanced degree, a work-out regimen), but Jesus never starts something and fails to complete it. He began a good work of salvation in me when He came into my life as a high school senior... and He will see that good work to completion. How do I know? God's Word promises it.
The Present Tense of Salvation - "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" (Jn. 5:24). Eternal life is not something you get when you die... it is something you get the day you believe. If you could lose your salvation after five years, you had five year life, not eternal life. If it is eternal, and you have it right now, you have it for all eternity. Anything less than that is not eternal life.
The Power of the Savior - Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in His glorious presence blameless with great joy... (Jude 24). Sometimes we get the idea that we keep our relationship with Jesus by our power. Not so. We are kept by His power (see 1 Pet. 1:5). He is the One who keeps us from stumbling and falling away from Him. He holds us, we do not hold Him.
Noah's ark is presented to us as an illustration of salvation (1 Pet. 1:20). Notice that Noah and his family were not saved by holding onto the ark for all those days of the flood, but they were saved by simply entering the ark and resting in it. Remember this important truth:
YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY YOUR SWEAT; YOU ARE SAVED BY HIS BLOOD. YOU ARE NOT KEPT BY YOUR PERSONAL RIGHTEOUS; YOU ARE KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD... BY HIM WHO IS ABLE... BY HIM WHO WILL NOT EVER LET YOU GO FROM HIS HAND.
ONE IMPORTANT FINAL NOTE
Eternal security is only for true believers. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). Pretenders are not possessors of eternal life. Pretenders don't go to heaven, regardless of how religious they may look to the outside world. Only those who have truly seen their sinfulness and have opened their hearts to Jesus and surrendered their all to Him are truly His. Have you done that? Are you sure you have done that?
If not, pray this prayer from your heart: Lord Jesus, I am not sure that I am yours... but I want to be sure. I know I am a sinner and cannot save myself. You died for me, Jesus... and rose again on the third day... I believe in You, and I give my life to you. Forgive me of all my sins... come into my heart and live inside of me. I want to be changed. I want to be yours forever. Amen.
If you truly prayed that prayer and meant it, please let me know. I would love to send you some materials to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus. Write to me at pastorjeff@fromhisheart.org.
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
Dr. Jeff Schreve believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a wonderful plan just for you. From His Heart provides real truth, love and hope on over 700 radio stations each day, in 182 countries each week on TV, and is always available online. Pastor Jeff takes no income from this ministry. All donations go to furthering the broadcast outreach. As a listener/viewer supported ministry, we thank you for joining with us to help speak the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Go to www.fromhisheart.org for more information.
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