I Told You
John 10:22-26 ESV
“At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.’”
Today there are many people professing to have faith in
Jesus Christ, but they do not have believing faith, the kind of faith which
saves, the kind of faith which comes from God, which is gifted to us by God, and
is persuaded of God, and originates with Jesus, and is perfected by Jesus
Christ.
And the Jesus they are believing in is not the Jesus of the Scriptures.
He is not the divine Son of God. They are believing in “another Jesus” who is a
creation in the minds of humans, who has many semblances of the true Jesus, but
who has been altered to fit with the flesh of humans.
And they are following a false gospel, which is also a
creation in the minds of humans, which is half true, but since it is a
purposeful half-truth, that makes it a lie. For this “different gospel” teaches
“another Jesus,” and it twists the truths of the Scriptures to make them say
what they don’t say.
For, they remove these Scriptures from their context, and
they teach them out of context, and thus they misinterpret them to fit with the
sinful desires of human flesh in order to appease the flesh. And those who are
doing this, who are the ones creating this false gospel, they know better.
It isn’t that they don’t know the truth, the ones who are
creating this. They know what Jesus taught. They know what the apostles taught.
It isn’t that they are ignorant of the truth. It has been told them plainly.
They just refuse to believe because they don’t like what the truth tells them.
And they don’t believe with genuine believing faith in Jesus
Christ, because they are not his true sheep. They have a head knowledge of who
Jesus was and is, which they distort for their own purposes, but they do not
have an intimate relationship with our living Lord, the Savior of the world.
[Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2;
Gal 1:8-9; 2 Co 11:2-4; 2 Jn 1:9-11]
My Sheep
John 10:27 ESV
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
So, those who are promoting this “another Jesus” and this “different
gospel,” and those who are believing in this “another Jesus” and this “different
gospel” are not the Lord’s true sheep. They may profess to be his sheep, but
they don’t fit the profile for what a sheep genuinely is.
Yet, they will claim the promises given here for the Lord’s
true sheep while they leave out the description of who those promises are for,
and while they apply those promises across the board to anyone who makes a
profession of Christ as their Lord, even if they never submit to him as Lord.
So, if you have been quoting John 10:28-30, and if you have
been applying it to anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, you need to go
back and read verse 27 which explains who these promises are for. For these promises
are conditional on the conditions of v. 27 being met.
So, the first criteria for being one of the Lord’s true
sheep is that we listen to our Lord, not just with our ears, but with our
hearts. And we listen to his heart, and to what he says. And we pay attention carefully
to what he says, and we take heed to his words. We do not ignore them nor twist
them.
The second criteria is that we are known by the Lord, not
just in the sense that he has created us, and so he knows us inside and out, but
this is an intimate knowing of us, i.e., in the sense that there is a personal
and vital relationship between our Lord and us. We are his bride.
If we love God, which means we obey him, we are known by
him. Those who are known by the Lord depart from iniquity. If we say we know
him, but we do not keep his commandments, we are liars. For, whoever keeps his
commandments abides in God and God in him. But if sin is our practice, we do
not know him (1 Co 8:3; 2 Tim 2:19; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10, 24).
And the third criteria is that we follow him. And to follow
him is to do what he says and to emulate him. It is to become one of his
disciples. And a disciple is a student, a learner, one who holds fast to and
who sticks by the teachings of the master, who obeys what he says to do.
Therefore, if we are the Lord’s disciples, we are being
conformed to the likeness of Christ, we are submitting to him as Lord, we are going
wherever he sends us, and we are doing and saying whatever it is he commands us
to do and to say. We are his servants to do his bidding. And He owns us.
I Give Them Eternal Life
John 10:28-30 ESV
“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.”
So, here are the promises which many professers of faith in
Jesus Christ are claiming for themselves, but again, we must read these promises
in light of who they are for (v. 27). Eternal life with God is not promised to
us on a mere profession or confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
For, if we have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ,
but we have not died with him to sin, and we are not daily dying with him to
sin and living to him and to his righteousness, but we are still living to
please our sinful flesh, still under the control of sin, then we don’t have
eternal life with God.
The Scriptures make this real clear. Genuine faith in Jesus
Christ, the kind that originates with Jesus Christ, submits to Christ as Lord,
leaves lifestyles of sin behind us, and follows him in obedience to his
commands. It doesn’t mean we never sin, but sin is no longer what we practice.
Instead, righteousness is what we practice. We no longer
walk (in conduct) according to the flesh, but by the grace of God we now walk
(in practice) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God. Now we live
to please the Lord with our lives, and we no longer live to please our sinful
flesh.
So, please know and believe the truth, and please don’t
believe the lies which are teaching “another Jesus” and a “different gospel”
from the Jesus and the gospel of the Scriptures. For, if we walk according to
the flesh, we will die in our sins. But if by the Spirit we are putting to
death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live for eternity with God.
He
Gives Purpose
An
Original Work / June 9, 2012
“Listen to Me when I’m calling to you.
Obey freely My word.
Follow Me in all of My ways.
Do all that I say.
Hear Me gently whisper to you
My will for your life and future.
Give all of your life and heart to
Follow Me always.”
Repent of your sins and worship Jesus.
He’s your Lord and Master.
He died for your sins so you could
Live with Him today.
He has a plan for your life and
He gives purpose and direction.
He gives meaning to your life,
So follow Him today.
“I love you so much I gave My life for
You to walk in My ways,
Living for Me each day as you
Bow to Me and pray.
Witness for Me of your love for Me and
Of My grace and mercy,
How I died to save you of your
Sins now and always.”
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