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No One Can Take Us Out of His Hand

by Jon von Ernst
8/09/2023 / Bible Studies

To begin our consideration of this teaching of once saved, always saved, as with any other teaching, we must begin with all humility, being willing to lay aside all preconceptions based on what men have taught us. We must have such a deep desire to know the truth, that we are willing to let the Holy Spirit and the scriptures be the final authority to arbitrate between truth and error.

Now, let us prayerfully allow the Holy Spirit to direct us and to teach us. We will begin by considering some of the passages that are used to support the “once saved, always saved” teaching. Let’s start by examining the passage in John 10:27-30.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. 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. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

To understand this passage, it is important to pay close attention to the sequence of events that Jesus mentions. First, His sheep hear His voice. This attentiveness by the sheep to His voice enables Jesus to develop a relationship with them. He describes this relationship with His sheep saying, “I know them.”

As a result of this relationship, His sheep follow Him. Because of the intimacy of His relationship with His sheep, His sheep obediently follow Him. They follow Him because their love for Him produces a desire to please Him in all things. The result of their faithfully following Him is that He gives them eternal life.

We now need to focus on the time when each of these events takes place. Turning to Mark 10:29-30 will help us with this. “Jesus said, ‘Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time: houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal life.’”

We see this again in Luke 18:29. Jesus said to His disciples, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for God’s Kingdom’s sake, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.”

In each of these passages, the events are laid out in the same sequence. These people hear the Lord’s voice and enter into a relationship with Him that results in them following Him, even to the point of leaving spouse, parents, children, or siblings. They trust Him so much that they gladly follow Him, leaving houses and lands for His sake, even while enduring persecutions in this life. Then in the next age, in the world to come, they receive eternal life.

In light of this time frame for these events, we can take a fresh look at this passage in John 10. In the world to come, in the new Jerusalem, on the new earth the faithful believers will receive the promised inheritance of eternal life.

In Genesis 3:22-24 we read, “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’ So the Lord God banished him (man) from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”

According to this passage, it is by eating the fruit of the tree of life that man can receive eternal life and live forever. The righteous God could not allow the sinful man to eat from the tree of life and live forever. Therefore God drove man from the Garden of Eden and blocked the way to the tree of live by placing cherubim there with a flaming sword.

In His letter to the church in Ephesus, Jesus says, “The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7, NASB).

John writes in Revelation 22:1-2, “He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

Finally, in Revelation 22:14-15 we read, “Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

We see from these passages that the tree of life that was available to man in the Garden of Eden before he sinned and rebelled against God is now again made available to any person who by faith in Christ continues to walk in obedience to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The one that overcomes, enduring to the end, remaining steadfast, holding firm to the confidence that he had received in the beginning, will be granted access to the tree of life in the new Jerusalem and receive eternal life.

Only the overcoming believer, the one who washed his robes by persevering in faith, abiding in Christ, are allowed the right to the tree of life and to enter the city, the new Jerusalem. Outside are those that continued practicing sin. They have forfeited their right to the tree of life and the right to enter the holy city. They did not live their lives in this age in a manner worthy of the kingdom.

Now we can understand why those that Jesus has given eternal life to can never be taken out of His hand. No one can take them out of His hand or the Father’s hand because the faithful, victorious believers are now safely inside the heavenly kingdom. Their destiny is finally secure. They are no longer in the body of flesh wherein sin dwells. They are no longer tempted by Satan. His power has been destroyed, he has been cast into the lake of fire,.

Now we can see that this passage in John 10 is not referring to believers in this age being eternally secure. Our eternal destiny is secure when we have gained entrance into the heavenly kingdom and have obtained the right to take of the tree of life in the new Jerusalem.

Paul explains his understanding of this in Philippians 3:12-15. “Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

“Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way.”

Again Paul expresses his awareness that his eternal destiny has not been secured. “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:25-27, NIV).

Paul was keenly aware that even though he relentlessly preached the gospel to others, his eternal destiny was not secure. He fully understood the definite possibility of being disqualified from winning the prize that he so desperately sought, if he did not endure to the end, faithfully abiding in Christ.

Paul writes to the believers in the church in Colossae explaining to them that they have been qualified to share in the inheritance of God’s holy people in the kingdom of light. His prayer is that they would be filled with a knowledge of God’s will that they might live lives worthy of the Lord, being pleasing to Him in all things. He is concerned that they would not be ignorant of God’s will and that they would not live carelessly and become disqualified from that wonderful inheritance.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

In Matthew 24 Jesus tells us that the good news of the gospel is simply this, “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” At the beginning of this chapter the disciples were pointing out to Jesus the majesty of the temple buildings and Jesus replied to them that not a stone of the buildings would be left that would not be thrown down.

So the disciples approached Jesus privately, while He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, and asked Him to explain to them three things. “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

At the end of the first part of His answer to them Jesus says, “This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Now, as you read through Jesus’ reply to them, pay close attention and tell me as soon as you hear something that is “Good News.” Okay, here we go!

Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then they will deliver you up to oppression and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray. Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:4-14).

That’s right! That is the good news Jesus referred to. “He who endures to the end will be saved.” This good news of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as a testimony to every nation, then the end will come. We need to proclaim this good news. Believers must understand the necessity of faithfully enduring to the end.

Paul tells the believers in the church in Thessalonica that he boasts in the other churches about them. He writes, “We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5, KJV).

Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 9:24 about a race that we are in. He says, “Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win.”

Again, in Hebrews 12:1-2, we are told that we are in a race. “Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We start this race by being born again. That is how everyone starts. This race continues from the time we are born of the Spirit until we go to meet the Lord, whether through death or at His coming.

Once we are born again, the most crucial thing we must keep in mind is the absolute necessity of enduring to the end, that we finish the race, that we finish our course. We must lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with perseverance.

We do this by looking away to Jesus, by keeping our focus on Him. We do this by encouraging one another daily, while it is called today, so that none of us is hardened by sin’s deception, so that none of us fall into the same pattern of disobedience as those that rebelled and fell in the desert.

The writer of Hebrews warns us, “Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God; but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called ‘today’, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:12-14).

Paul again writes to the church in Thessalonica, “This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, punishing those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus, who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Paul finishes his course saying, “For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. From now on, the crown of righteousness is stored up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

It is only after we have completed our life in this body, after we have run our race and stood before the judgment seat of Christ on the day of the Lord, and been found worthy of the kingdom that we will be granted the right to enter into that city, the new Jerusalem. It is then that we will have access to the tree of life. It is then that we shall inherit all the promises made to the faithful overcoming believers. It is then that we will be able to eat of the fruit of the tree of life that we might finally receive that eternal life that we have long hoped for.

Our eternal destiny is very much dependent on our continuing to abide in Christ, enduring faithfully to the end. This is the good news of the kingdom that needs to be preached throughout the entire world, then the end shall come.

Writings By Jon von Ernst

The Lord of All Things Series - A Trilogy of Truth
Books in this series:
Book 1 - The Gospel of the Kingdom
Book 2- The Victorious Christian
Book 3 - Walking in the Light - Following in His Steps

*- Audio of these books are available free of charge at thepureword.net.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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