John 10:28 - I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
While this seems quite straight forward, many simply do not see anything about eternal security in what Jesus said.
So, this thread will provide a hypothetical example to illustrate what Jesus was actually saying.
In this example, there is a doctor, which relates to Jesus Christ. (biblically accurate as well, since Jesus is the Great Physician - Matt 9:12, Mark 2:17).
There is a patient, which relates to a person needing healing from illness.
There is an elixir, which relates to the gift of eternal life.
Here is the example.
The Doctor tells the patient that he has an elixir that will heal him and he WILL NEVER become ill again.
If this were true, and the patient took the elixir, then he would NEVER GET ILL AGAIN.
Notice a few things: the doctor didn't tell the patient what ELSE he must do in order to never get ill again. Nothing about diet change, specific exercises, or anything else. Doing these things is tantamount to what the conditional security crowd tell people how to "stay saved":
must continue to believe - continue to take the elixir
must repent of EACH sin
In the example, simply taking the elixir results in NEVER GETTING ILL again.
In the SAME WAY, those who receive the gift of eternal life WILL NEVER PERISH.
The point of this thread and example is that the condition for NEVER GETTING ILL again is to take the elixir, and nothing else.
The point is that the conditon for NEVER PERISHING is to RECEIVE eternal life. Not whatever is REQUIRED after that, as the conditional security crowd always adds.
So, the point of John 10:28 is that what Jesus does AT THE BEGINNING OF one's faith will result in that person NEVER PERISHING.
The conditional security crowd simply misses this extremely important point.
While there is no such elixir, that if taken, will result in never getting ill again. We all know that. But if it wre trure, then one who receives the elixir will never get ill again.
In the same way, when one receives the gift of God, eternal life, they are PROMISED that they WILL NEVER PERISH.
Jesus added no conditions following receiving eternal life.
Eternal life is received on the basis of believing the gospel. There are no further conditions to be met to avoid perishing.
While this seems quite straight forward, many simply do not see anything about eternal security in what Jesus said.
So, this thread will provide a hypothetical example to illustrate what Jesus was actually saying.
In this example, there is a doctor, which relates to Jesus Christ. (biblically accurate as well, since Jesus is the Great Physician - Matt 9:12, Mark 2:17).
There is a patient, which relates to a person needing healing from illness.
There is an elixir, which relates to the gift of eternal life.
Here is the example.
The Doctor tells the patient that he has an elixir that will heal him and he WILL NEVER become ill again.
If this were true, and the patient took the elixir, then he would NEVER GET ILL AGAIN.
Notice a few things: the doctor didn't tell the patient what ELSE he must do in order to never get ill again. Nothing about diet change, specific exercises, or anything else. Doing these things is tantamount to what the conditional security crowd tell people how to "stay saved":
must continue to believe - continue to take the elixir
must repent of EACH sin
In the example, simply taking the elixir results in NEVER GETTING ILL again.
In the SAME WAY, those who receive the gift of eternal life WILL NEVER PERISH.
The point of this thread and example is that the condition for NEVER GETTING ILL again is to take the elixir, and nothing else.
The point is that the conditon for NEVER PERISHING is to RECEIVE eternal life. Not whatever is REQUIRED after that, as the conditional security crowd always adds.
So, the point of John 10:28 is that what Jesus does AT THE BEGINNING OF one's faith will result in that person NEVER PERISHING.
The conditional security crowd simply misses this extremely important point.
While there is no such elixir, that if taken, will result in never getting ill again. We all know that. But if it wre trure, then one who receives the elixir will never get ill again.
In the same way, when one receives the gift of God, eternal life, they are PROMISED that they WILL NEVER PERISH.
Jesus added no conditions following receiving eternal life.
Eternal life is received on the basis of believing the gospel. There are no further conditions to be met to avoid perishing.