Perseverance in Grace

 

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:26-28)

 

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him” (Eccles. 3:14). If salvation is, as the Scriptures declare, the work of God alone, it is an everlasting work, a work that cannot be destroyed or overturned by anything in heaven, earth, or hell. It must be granted that if salvation is in any measure the work of man, it is subject to failure. If salvation is attributed to the will of man or the works of man, eternal security and sure perseverance is a vain delusion. But that is not the case. “Salvation is of the Lord.” It is God’s work alone. Therefore, it is eternal. And God’s work never fails!

 

“Never Perish”

 

This is the doctrine of Holy Scripture: All who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, all who are born of God, shall continue to believe on Christ and continue in the grace of God until they enter glory. — They shall never perish(John 10:28). We sin; but God will not charge us with sin (Romans 4:8). We fall; but the Lord raises us up (Psalm 37:24). We are weak; but our Savior is strong. We meet with enemies everywhere, trials at every turn, temptations from every quarter; but his grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). Salvation is the gift of God (Romans 6:23), and “The gifts and callings of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). We are kept by the power of God.

 

“Not of Us”

 

Many do fall from grace, from the doctrine of salvation by grace alone (Galatians 5:4), but they never were truly in the grace of God. Many do depart from Christ (John 6:66). Many who profess to be his disciples cease to follow him, when the cost of following him becomes evident. But those who do, never really knew him. They were disciples in name only. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19).

 

“Assurance of Hope”

 

Our immutable God is a God of immutable grace. Once bestowed, the grace of God is never retracted! Because God changes not, the sons of his grace shall never perish (Malachi 3:6). Sin shall never be charged to them (Romans 4:8). Temptations shall not destroy them (1 Corinthians 10:13). Satan shall not devour them (Romans 16:20). Grace is our assurance and our security (2 Timothy 1:9-12). Every chosen sinner was redeemed. Every redeemed sinner shall be born again, saved by the grace of God. And every saved sinner is saved forever and “shall never perish!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

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