Q: In John 10:27 Jesus said "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." We cannot claim to be of His sheep when we don't hear His voice and we follow our own lusts and desires. If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness. We cannot claim to be in fellowship with Him when we have chosen to walk in the dark. Does that mean once a believer gets saved genuinely, he will lose his salvation if he was not able to follow Jesus in his strength?
A: The promise of Jesus stands true that once saved, true believer cannot be lost. Or else it is like the words of Jesus doesn't stand to its authenticity. Either it must be true or else it must be false. I believe what Jesus said in John 10:28-29 about losing not even one believer who gets born again stands true. God is not man that he should lie, that he should speak and then change his word (Num 23:19). There is so shadow of turning to what God has said (Jam 1:17). Jesus meant it 100% and will never lose even one believer who has got born again. What He has agreed to do, he has not broken even once in eternity past and will also never break even once in the eternity future.
The very nature of the sheep is to get lost by disobeying the voice of the shepherd many many times. This is why this following Scripture describes the nature of the sheep by saying, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way...." (Isa 53:6). Thus it is the nature of the sheep to get lost and it is the benevolent nature of the shepherd to seek for the lost sheep which cries out to him. Even David man after God's own heart confessed and agreed with this truth saying, " I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments." (Psa 119:176). In other words, when we have got lost in sin, we do not have the power to bring ourselves back in to fellowship with God that was there before we have sinned. We can only cry to God expecting Him to seek us and bring us in to fellowship with Himself again. Jesus for this reason have clearly revealed in the New Covenant that he had come to seek and save those souls that were lost from the presence of God by the oppressive presence of sin nature in them (Luke 19:10). And after we are born again, we become his sheep and start to hear his voice slowly. So when Jesus said about going after that one lost sheep in a parable, he meant about the lost believers who get lost from the presence of God now and then because of giving in to the influence of their sin nature (Luke 15:1-9). All that the believer needs to do when he has fallen in to sin is to call on the name of Jesus to again make Him find us (Rom 10:10; 1 John 1:10, 9). He is faithful to find us again and again as we keep confessing and calling on His name.
Another great word of encouragement that Jesus gave to all believers who feel the burden of sin nature that makes them trip was the word He spoke to woman who was caught in adultery and brought by the religious Pharisees to be judged and stoned to death. Jesus challenged all those accusers to cast the first stone by him who has no sin at all in his life. But one by one from the old to the young went away and only Jesus stood there. In fact, the only one person who had the perfect right to throw stones and kill this sinful woman was Jesus only who had no sin and have done no sin in His life. Finally Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”, "11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”" (John 8:11-12). Taking this verse many people go to the extent of saying that a believer should not sin after Jesus forgives them. But when Jesus says as the Messiah of God, "go and sin no more", He gives the power to overcome sin along with the Rhema-word that he speaks. Hence that adulterous woman from that day must have received a great grace to overcome that particular sin of adultery through out her life ahead, but that does not mean that she will never do any sin at all. As she was saved that day, only after her physical death on earth and her rising up in the new glorious sin-free body on the day of rapture of the saints, she could become sin-free forever. Until then she might have fought against other areas of sin in her life. Yet it would not have been her own strength that would have helped her overcome other sins further in her life, but the grace of Jesus as before. Jesus has encouraged that woman and all believers who fight with sin to keep fighting because he who follows Jesus will have the light of life transferred in to him to overcome the darkness of sin nature that will try to lure and destroy all believers like it did to that woman. If Jesus had said, 'He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but [should] have the light of life', then there is no way we can keep the salvation if we do not continue to walk in the light. But when He has instead said, "but have the light of life", it means Jesus Himself has guaranteed all believers that they will walk in the light because of the light that will come to them from Him continuously. O what a encouragement to know that Jesus Himself has guaranteed to lead us in His very own light of holiness and purity. This shows that Jesus Himself will lead us in to His pastures and will keep us safe in His love until our very end. ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE A NAUGHTY SHEEP THAT GET LOST MANY TIMES AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR GREAT SHEPHERD NEVER LOSES EVEN ONE OF HIS SHEEP'S. In the twelve disciples whom He chose, only one was lost because he was not born again (John 17:12). All other disciples of His He kept them even for eternity because of His faithfulness in spite of their failings and shortcomings (Luke 22:31-34). Blessings...
A: The promise of Jesus stands true that once saved, true believer cannot be lost. Or else it is like the words of Jesus doesn't stand to its authenticity. Either it must be true or else it must be false. I believe what Jesus said in John 10:28-29 about losing not even one believer who gets born again stands true. God is not man that he should lie, that he should speak and then change his word (Num 23:19). There is so shadow of turning to what God has said (Jam 1:17). Jesus meant it 100% and will never lose even one believer who has got born again. What He has agreed to do, he has not broken even once in eternity past and will also never break even once in the eternity future.
The very nature of the sheep is to get lost by disobeying the voice of the shepherd many many times. This is why this following Scripture describes the nature of the sheep by saying, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way...." (Isa 53:6). Thus it is the nature of the sheep to get lost and it is the benevolent nature of the shepherd to seek for the lost sheep which cries out to him. Even David man after God's own heart confessed and agreed with this truth saying, " I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments." (Psa 119:176). In other words, when we have got lost in sin, we do not have the power to bring ourselves back in to fellowship with God that was there before we have sinned. We can only cry to God expecting Him to seek us and bring us in to fellowship with Himself again. Jesus for this reason have clearly revealed in the New Covenant that he had come to seek and save those souls that were lost from the presence of God by the oppressive presence of sin nature in them (Luke 19:10). And after we are born again, we become his sheep and start to hear his voice slowly. So when Jesus said about going after that one lost sheep in a parable, he meant about the lost believers who get lost from the presence of God now and then because of giving in to the influence of their sin nature (Luke 15:1-9). All that the believer needs to do when he has fallen in to sin is to call on the name of Jesus to again make Him find us (Rom 10:10; 1 John 1:10, 9). He is faithful to find us again and again as we keep confessing and calling on His name.
Another great word of encouragement that Jesus gave to all believers who feel the burden of sin nature that makes them trip was the word He spoke to woman who was caught in adultery and brought by the religious Pharisees to be judged and stoned to death. Jesus challenged all those accusers to cast the first stone by him who has no sin at all in his life. But one by one from the old to the young went away and only Jesus stood there. In fact, the only one person who had the perfect right to throw stones and kill this sinful woman was Jesus only who had no sin and have done no sin in His life. Finally Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”, "11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”" (John 8:11-12). Taking this verse many people go to the extent of saying that a believer should not sin after Jesus forgives them. But when Jesus says as the Messiah of God, "go and sin no more", He gives the power to overcome sin along with the Rhema-word that he speaks. Hence that adulterous woman from that day must have received a great grace to overcome that particular sin of adultery through out her life ahead, but that does not mean that she will never do any sin at all. As she was saved that day, only after her physical death on earth and her rising up in the new glorious sin-free body on the day of rapture of the saints, she could become sin-free forever. Until then she might have fought against other areas of sin in her life. Yet it would not have been her own strength that would have helped her overcome other sins further in her life, but the grace of Jesus as before. Jesus has encouraged that woman and all believers who fight with sin to keep fighting because he who follows Jesus will have the light of life transferred in to him to overcome the darkness of sin nature that will try to lure and destroy all believers like it did to that woman. If Jesus had said, 'He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but [should] have the light of life', then there is no way we can keep the salvation if we do not continue to walk in the light. But when He has instead said, "but have the light of life", it means Jesus Himself has guaranteed all believers that they will walk in the light because of the light that will come to them from Him continuously. O what a encouragement to know that Jesus Himself has guaranteed to lead us in His very own light of holiness and purity. This shows that Jesus Himself will lead us in to His pastures and will keep us safe in His love until our very end. ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE A NAUGHTY SHEEP THAT GET LOST MANY TIMES AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR GREAT SHEPHERD NEVER LOSES EVEN ONE OF HIS SHEEP'S. In the twelve disciples whom He chose, only one was lost because he was not born again (John 17:12). All other disciples of His He kept them even for eternity because of His faithfulness in spite of their failings and shortcomings (Luke 22:31-34). Blessings...
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