“All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” -John 17:10-12
There comes a time, probably in every Christian’s life, when we may question whether we are really “saved” or not. (I put “saved” in quotation marks because it is common Christian parlance for being “in Christ”.)
However, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that we are not saved by our own merit, that we who are saved are part of the elect, and that those who are truly in Christ can never be taken away from Him.
Jesus, in the High Priestly Prayer quoted above, says this:
“All mine are yours.”
”Holy Father, keep them in your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”
”While I was with them, I kept them.”
”I have guarded them.”
Notice all the actions (verbs) taking place here, and notice who is doing the action. Jesus keeps us. He guards us. He presents us to the Father.
I emphasize this because it can become tempting to believe that we have something to do with our salvation. But the Bible makes it abundantly clear — we really don’t have that much to do with it. Man cannot come to God unless God would first draw him. This is essentially what the entire epistle of Romans is about. Man is utterly depraved (Romans 1:8-22); no one seeks God, nor looks to the things of God (Romans 3, Psalm 14); all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We were all “children of wrath” and lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of our body and mind (Ephesians 2:3-4).
But God, “who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” GOD HAS MADE US ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST. I don’t think I can emphasize this any more, the Bible makes it clear! God draws us to Himself because of His mercy. And if He has made us alive through Christ, NO ONE has the power to snatch us out of the Father’s hand! That’s why Jesus rose again — proving once and for all that death does NOT have the final word! JESUS is the final Word! (John 1:1).
Just listen to what Jesus says in John 10.
“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. 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.”
NO ONE IS ABLE TO SNATCH THEM OUT OF THE FATHER’S HAND!!! If it were up to us, we’d never make it! If salvation were dependent on our own works, no one would be able to obtain grace! (And then it wouldn’t really be grace, it would be a wage that we earn. And that’s NOT salvation.)
As an aside, when it comes to the Great Commission, how are we supposed to “go into all the world and preach the good news” IF we’re not even believing the Good News ourselves? Why would I want to share the gospel with someone if it goes like this: “Hey there’s this great God that you HAVE to follow. And if you do really good, then maybe He’ll have mercy on you and let you into heaven” NO! That is the opposite of good news. That is the opposite of the “light yoke” that Jesus has called us to bear in His name.
Our salvation is all about Jesus: His perfect life, His death and resurrection, His continual intercession for us at the Father’s right hand. It’s not about us. And that should give us immense hope! He who lived a perfect, sinless life, in whom every promise is “yes and amen…” He has called me. And He will keep me. “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:30 He has sealed me until the day of redemption: “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:22-23
Let the promise of blessed assurance ring into your heart today!