John 10:27,28 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”
Yesterday, I talked about how the Lord Jesus and His real sheep have a special relationship. The primary distinction as given in these verses is that they hear His voice and they follow Him. These two things identify who they are.
Today, I want to look at these same verses and see what they have – according to our Savior. The same verse that reveals who His sheep are reveals a gift that Christ gives to each of them. He gives them eternal life.
A lot of people like to argue about this. In spite of their arguments, the statement is clear and simple. If you are His sheep, then – you have been given eternal life.
Jesus said nothing about having to be faithful to the end, keeping the commandments, being a member of a particular religious group, or being baptized. This is not to minimize those things – they are important – but they are not part of being saved. He simply said that you must be one of His sheep to be given “eternal life.”
Notice also that Jesus said: “I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” Now, if you have been given “eternal life” – when does it end? Of course, the obvious answer is that there is no end to eternal life.
In order to be saved, Jesus asks that you believe Him. Yet many people do not believe this aspect of Christ’s word. Many verses of His words connect believing with having – not hoping to have – eternal life. Here are two of them:
- John 3:16 “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 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
I hope and pray that you do not doubt your eternal destination. Having this confidence in His Word is a great source of joy and power for service. If you think about it – how can you say you are saved if you are not saved from Hell? And, if someone is saved from Hell, the only possible result is that they are on their way to Heaven! And it’s all because of Jesus paid the full price of our sin for us – and nothing is left to pay!