The internet has made it too easy for anyone with a computer to publish just about anything and claim that it is fact. In addition, the exponential effect of more convenience combined with many more “truth-claims” has made us lazy. Combining these trends creates the potential for the body of Christ to be easily deceived.
Adding to this problem, our culture unfortunately makes it hard to get at the truth. The idea of “tolerance” has been twisted to the point where nobody can challenge anything that anyone says (culture says there is no absolute truth, and everything is relative). This is the breeding ground for today’s “pluralism”, which says that it does not matter what you believe.
One of the effects of this is that churches have buckled under the social pressure to be “inclusive” and so have avoided teaching hard things. These churches focus instead on being “seeker-sensitive” and tailor their messages to meet people’s “felt needs” instead of teaching the Bible. As a result doctrines that are not “soft” like Predestination, Perseverance and many others are often neglected.
There is a biblical obligation for us to avoid being deceived which underscores the fact that it does matter what you believe. 1 Timothy 4:16 says “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers”. 2 Peter 3:18 exhorts us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”.
We should always be driven by what Scripture says, and not by our own fallible minds and emotions. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things…” If at any time, our thoughts and feeling seems to contradict what Scripture says, we should reject our thoughts and feelings. As we grow in spiritual maturity, and are exposed to deeper insights into things in Scripture which we may not have been aware of before, and we may then be tempted to compare what we think and feel to what the Bible says. The deep rooted pride in all of us may not want to yield to biblical truth that exalts God and gives Him the due credit for things that the flesh would prefer to take credit for.
Although Predestination and Perseverance are not essential to believe for salvation, they are still important. God has given us His Word, so that we may know Him and understand His plan of redemption. He is glorified when we study His Word and understand what He has done for us. We come to know Him more intimately when we do, which leads to deeper worship. Denying anything which is clearly taught in the Bible is an act of disobedience. If we love Him we should not want to be purposefully disobedient.
We should never evaluate God or His works as if He is like us. In fact, many people struggle to accept hard teachings like Predestination and Perseverance for this reason. God has revealed enough about these issues to make it clear that they are biblical. As humble fallen creatures, we must strive to acknowledge and embrace what God has revealed, and accept that we cannot understand His ways perfectly. John 8:23 says “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. John 18:36 says “My kingdom is not of this world.” Isaiah 55:8-9 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The fact that something does not make perfect sense to us does not make it untrue if it is clearly taught in scripture.
Here are six observations extracted from an exposition by John Piper on John 10:15-16…
1. Jesus Calls Himself a Shepherd
Verse 11: "I am the good shepherd." Verse 14: "I am the good shepherd." Jesus is probably thinking of himself here as the fulfillment of Ezekiel 34:22–24 where God says about his people Israel, I will save my flock, they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them: I, the Lord, have spoken.
The flock of God is the people of Israel
This leads to the second observation, namely, that in John 10 . . .
2. Some Sheep Are Christ's and Some Are Not
Verses 3b–4: "He calls HIS OWN sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them." Verse 14: "I am the good shepherd; I know MY OWN and MY OWN know me."
In other words, not all the people in the flock of Israel
The reason some belonged to Jesus so that he could call them HIS OWN is that . . .
3. The Father Had Given Them to the Son
Verse 29: “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
This is Jesus' way of talking about election. God has chosen a people for his own. These are his elect sheep. He then gives them to his Son so that they can be saved by faith in him. You can see this clearly in John 17:6 where Jesus says to his Father, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”
So Jesus can speak with confidence about some sheep among the flock of Israel that are definitely his, because they first belonged to the Father by election and then were given to the Son by the Father—"Yours they were, and you hast given them to me." (See John 6:37, 6:39, 6:44, 6:65; 17:9, 17:24; 18:9.)
Therefore, knowing those who are his,
4. Jesus Calls Them by Name and They Follow
Verses 3b–4: “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” Verse 27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
He separates sheep from sheep, as Ezekiel said, by calling his own by name. When he calls, his sheep recognize his voice and they follow him, and he gathers them into a new flock, namely, the church, the true Israel of God.
Be sure you see the thrust of these verses: being one of Christ's sheep enables you to respond to his call. It is not the other way around: responding to his call does not make you one of his sheep. That is the offensive thing about this chapter. It strips the unbeliever of the presumption that the final determination of his life lies in his own power. Notice verse 26: "You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep."
Picture yourself as a Pharisee hearing the message of Jesus and saying to yourself, "If he thinks I am going to be sucked in to this movement along with the tax collectors and sinners, he's crazy. I have a will of my own and the power to determine my own destiny." And then picture Jesus, knowing what is in your heart, saying, "You think you are in control of your life. Truly, truly I say to you, you do not believe because the Father has not chosen you to be among my sheep." The final boast of unbelief is destroyed by the doctrine of election. Those whom God chose he also gave to the Son, and those whom he gave to the Son the Son also called, and his sheep hear his voice and they believe.
But that is not all that Jesus does for his sheep.
5. The Good Shepherd Also Lays Down His Life for His Sheep
Verse 11: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Verses 14–15: "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep."
In other words those whom the Father chose, he also gave to the Son; and those whom he gave to the Son, the Son also called; and those whom he called, he also justified by laying down his life for the sheep.
And on the basis of this sacrifice . . .
6. Jesus Gives Eternal Life to His Sheep and It Can Never Be Taken Away
Verses 27–30: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
In other words those whom the Father chose for himself he also gave to the Son, and those whom he gave to the Son the Son also called, and for those he called he also laid down his life, and to those for whom he died he gave eternal life, and it can never be taken away.
The picture we have in John 10 is of a great shepherd who sovereignly saves his sheep. The Father gives them to him. He dies for them. He calls them by name. He gives them eternal life. And he keeps them forever.
