Title: HELD BY GOD

Focus: From the beginning to the end our triune God initiates, develops, and completes his work of saving grace in his people throughout the ages. God preserves and holds his people safe and secure.

Function: To evoke and encourage in the people a deep trust and confidence in God’s gracious work and promise of salvation.

Text: John 10:22-30

The universal language of the Christian faith declares with confidence that God brings salvation to a fallen humanity and world. That language comes to expression in articles of the Christian faith as summarized in the Apostles’ Creed. Yes, indeed, in Christ Jesus, God saves!

Christians, however, speak that language of faith with various “accents.” One very common accent among Christians in North America is the emphasis on the human effort to believe and to hold on to one’s faith “lest we lose our faith and eternal salvation.” Implied in that accent is the notion that it is possible for the devil, or the world, or for us to cut short or derail God’s work of election.

Very often, Christians who speak with that kind of accent demonstrate a spiritual anxiety that moves them to seek and value religious experiences and spiritual “highs” on a regular basis.

One Christian brother, for example, told me with some passion that his journey of faith is marked by a number of baptisms. His first baptism came when he was a teenager. But in his twenties he realized that his spiritual fervor and faith were at a low point, and so he decided to get baptized again. When he talked to me about his spiritual ups and downs, he had been baptized three times already. He also believed that he needed to respond as much as possible to the weekly altar calls in his church. He was a spiritually anxious man.

Christians in the Reformed segment of the Christian Church speak of God’s saving grace with a clear measure of assurance. At Calvary Church, for example, we emphasize that God preserves and holds his people safe and secure. We declare with confidence that our triune God, from the beginning to the end, initiates, develops, and completes his work of salvation in Christ Jesus.

Thus when you should ask: is it possible for a person who is born again, who has received the seed of regeneration, to lose her eternal salvation, we answer: No! Should you ask if it is possible that the people whom God elects, and draws to himself, and gives to Jesus Christ, can lose their eternal salvation and perish everlastingly, we say: No! It is not biblical to say that God’s work of salvation can be cut short or derailed by the devil, the world, or by our own corrupt and fallen human nature.

That’s why the Reformed accent declares with joy that God’s born-again people persevere in faith because God holds us in the palm of his hand from the beginning to the end, working out his purpose and promise and work of salvation in Christ Jesus. The acronym F.A.I.T.H defines the Reformed accent as we speak the universal language of faith. F—fallen humanity. A—adopted by God; I—Intentional atonement; T—transformed by the Holy Spirit; H—held by God.

This morning the Scriptures evoke and encourage within us a deep trust and confidence in God’s gracious work and promise of salvation. I pray that you are “all ears” and embrace the truth of God’s Word.

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In the gospel reading from John 10, we encounter the Lord Jesus facing a hostile and anxious crowd who ask him the question: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Like you and me today, the Jews in Jesus’ days must come to grips with Jesus—who is he? What is he about? Is he really the Christ, the eternal Son of God who has been anointed by God’s Spirit to save the lost and bring eternal life? Their question frames the gospel reading for today.

Jesus responds to their question in verses 25-30. Basically, Jesus does two things: He affirms his identity as the Messiah, the Christ by revealing his relationship with God the Father, and he affirms his identity as Christ, the Savior and Good Shepherd by underscoring his relationship with God’s people, the sheep under his care.

1) Jesus’ relationship with God the Father comes out in his three-part response to the question or plea of the Jews: “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Listen (first part, v. 25) “I did tell you but you did not believe.” (second part, v. 25b) “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.” (third part, v. 30) “I and the Father are one.” You see? Jesus appeals to his preaching and his miracles and then he connects these references with God the Father, emphasizing that in essence or being the Father and the Son are one. In other words, Jesus is divine, he truly is the Christ! The Holy One sent from heaven.

2). Jesus also affirms his identity as Christ, the Savior and Good Shepherd by underscoring his relationship with God’s people. Listen (vs. 27) “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” And Jesus makes clear that his sheep are safe and secure. (vs. 28,29) “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” There is great comfort and assurance in this claim of Jesus: the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--holds his people in his hand.

When my parents buried my 5-year old sister, they wrote these words on her tombstone: “Safe in the arms of Jesus.” Why could they do such a thing? Because no one can snatch one of God’s sheep out of the hands of Christ. The work of salvation begun by God will also be completed by God. Ah, held by God!

Such teaching comes with powerful assurance and comfort! And that Biblical teaching is part of the Reformed accent as we speak the language of faith. But I know that you have questions about this accent. So let’s explore that Reformed accent a bit further and take note of the following: (Note Canons of Dort, articles in V)

1. Reformed Christians readily and consistently acknowledge the need for daily repentance and renewal all throughout life. In this life, God’s born-again people are “not entirely free from the flesh and from the body of sin.” We find within ourselves “daily sins of weakness arising, and blemishes cling to even the best work of God’s people.”

Thus we find reason to “flee for refuge to Christ crucified, to put the flesh to death” more and more by the Spirit of prayer and by spiritual disciplines. And Reformed Christians, too, with the Apostle Paul, “strain toward the goal of perfection,” until we are freed from this body of death, and reign with the Lamb of God in heaven.” Though God holds his people in his hand, a daily dying to sin and a daily coming alive in Christ is part and parcel of the normal Christian life.

2. The Reformed accent appeals to God’s mercy and grace. Since we know that in our own strength we cannot persevere in faith and inherit eternal life, we appeal to the saving grace and mercy of God and we rest in his powerful, preserving work. We acknowledge that born-again Christians always face the danger of falling into serious sins. Temptation comes to all Christians. Therefore, we pray and appeal to God for mercy and deliverance.

In light of Scripture, however, we declare that God, who is rich in mercy, according to his unchangeable purpose of election does not take his Holy Spirit from his own completely, even when they fall grievously. Neither does God let us fall down so far that we forfeit the grace of adoption and the state of justification, or commit the sin which leads to death (the sin against the Holy Spirit, and plunge ourselves, entirely forsaken by him, into eternal ruin. (Canons, V.6). Reformed Christians, then, appeal to God’s mercy and grace, for we know that in ourselves there is no prevailing strength to persevere in the journey of faith and to inherit eternal life.

3. We speak the Reformed accent of assurance and comfort in being held by God in life and in death solely on the basis of our trust in God’s Word. That Word of God stands forever. And God abides by his Word. We maintain that our triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—initiates, develops, and completes his saving grace in his people throughout the ages. So let’s explore this truth from the Scriptures by placing the spotlight on the work of the Father, then on the Son, and then on the Holy Spirit.

God the Father—has elected his people before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4). God the Father has appointed his sheep unto eternal life (Acts 13:48). God the Father has begun that work of salvation in his people so that they “may be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). In other words, God does not do half-baked work; no, he initiates, develops, and brings to completion that work of salvation, which includes becoming conformed to the likeness of God’s Son.

God the Father’s work of election is irrevocable; it cannot be reversed (Romans 11:9). Listen also to this text in Hebrews 6:17ff) “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure….”

So secure is God the Father’s work of salvation that Paul is able to present us with the chain of God’s saving work when he says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Such is the work of God the Father.

Here are some biblical references to the saving work of God the Son: In Christ, God’s promises find their “yes” and “amen” (II Cor. 1:20. Those promises find their fulfillment in Jesus’ intentional work of dying and rising from the dead and making all things new. That saving work of God the Son is clearly emphasized in John 17:6-12 where Jesus prays to the Father on behalf of his sheep. Jesus prays for his disciples as well as for all future believers (cf. John 17:20ff).

And surely, do not forget these priceless words of Jesus found in the gospel reading today: “I give (my sheep) eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” What God the Father has begun in his work of saving grace, the Son of God has accomplished in his intentional death and resurrection, and he completes that work today and in the age to come through the work of God the Holy Spirit.

That work of the Holy Spirit is awesome indeed. The Holy Spirit, for example, works new birth in people; and he remains or abides with God’s people. In John 14:6 we hear the Lord Jesus say: “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” Note the abiding presence of God’s Spirit. In life and in death, God’s people are counseled by the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 1:13—“Having believed, you were marked in (Christ) with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” Note these terms and verbs of assurance: “seal”, “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance,” “until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.” Clearly, we say it with joy and conviction: God holds us and preserves his people until the day of eternal salvation.

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Many Christians do not dare to speak with this Reformed accent, because, they say, “all these Bible passages that exhort, warn, and admonish Christians to beware of apostasy imply that it is possible for a Christian to lose his or her faith and eternal salvation.” As a result, these believers wrestle with a spiritual anxiety that is burdensome—and unnecessary, I would add.

Let’s be clear on this: admonition, warnings, and exhortations play an important role in the life of faith. It is possible for God’s sheep to fall into serious sins. Think of David, think of Solomon, think of Peter who denied his Lord. It is possible for born-again believers to be tempted, to betray the name of Jesus, and to wander away from Jesus’ flock, the church. And it is possible for true believers to “grieve the Holy Spirit.” But remember, it is God who holds us—and them in his hand—and God will complete his work in us all.

God works rebirth or regeneration in a person by way of his Holy Word and Holy Spirit. Through preaching and teaching, the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts and makes us alive. And the Holy Spirit preserves us and completes his work in us and through us by means of that same Holy Word—by means of exhortations, admonitions, warnings, and words of encouragement and hope.

Here’s how we emphasize this point in the Canons of Dort (Art. 7, point V): God preserves in his “saints when they fall his imperishable seed from which they have been born again, lest it perish or be dislodged.” Also, “…by his word and Spirit he certainly and effectively renews them to repentance so that they

-have a heartfelt and godly sorrow for the sins they have committed; (so that they)

-seek and obtain, through faith and with a contrite heart, forgiveness in the blood of the Mediator; (so that they)

-experience again the grace of a reconciled God; (so that they)

-through faith adore his mercies, and so that they

-from then on more eagerly work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.”

In other words, God completes in us what he has begun. He holds us in his hand forever more.

This biblical truth, when rightly appropriated and understood, does NOT lead to hubris or spiritual pride; it does NOT make us oblivious to the transformative power of faithful living in accordance with God’s Word; and it does NOT make Christians presume that they can get away “with all kinds of sins, simply because they are born-again.”

On the contrary, this awesome truth calls us to put our trust and confidence deeply in God and his Word. It leads us to put our hope—NOT in our self-efforts to enter God’s kingdom and inherit eternal life in our own strength (for no one is able to do so)—but in God’s faithfulness, and mercy and grace.

The knowledge that God holds his people in his hand and preserves them unto eternal life is a knowledge that kindles and cultivates humility and gratitude and a quiet, deep-rooted assurance that “all is well with my soul” because it is God who initiates, develops and completes his work of grace in all his people. To him be the glory, both now and forever. Amen!