Temple Baptist Church - 8-2-2023
John 10:28
Introduction:
A. Verse 28 begins with the words “And I give unto them.” Eternal things belong to the Lord as only He lives in the realm of eternity.
1. The life that God gives to the believer is a wonderful gift. A gift is something that you neither do some thing to deserve nor ask for. Eternal life is a gift that God gives to His children out of His loving heart.
2. The life that gives to the believer is an eternal gift. I am not sure what it is about eternal that people do not understand but eternal is infinite, on both sides of time. In math, science, and Theology, the words infinite, infinity, or eternal are often used.
a) In math, it is a number that never ends such as 10n or a power called infinity. A number that cannot be calculated.
b) In Science, it is a distance or power that cannot be measured.
c) In Theology, because eternity cannot be measured in time, it is an eternal now, a never-ending moment, forever and ever and ever. Because it has no time, it is timeless.
B. The word “eternal” is found 47 times on the Bible with 45 of these mentions being found in the New Testament.
1. The First Mention of “Eternal” is found in the Old Testament and speaks of the eternal life of God. Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.
2. The Last Mention of “Eternal” is found in the New Testament and speaks if the eternal life of the believer. Jude 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
C. The main two things found in the Bible that are eternal are eternal life and eternal damnation. Both saved and unsaved have an eternal life but the two lives are so vastly different:
1. The eternal life of the believer is eternal bliss, joy, worship, and praise, etc.
2. While the eternal life of the unbeliever, eternal death, is that of darkness, mist of blackness, punishment, torment, fire, and separation.
D. Tonight, I find it important to re-establish the fact that the child of God is forever saved! I do not want to make this message hard to understand, but it is one that needs to be understood!
E. The doctrine of eternal life has been attacked by both man and devil about as much as the doctrine of the scriptures! No man has or ever will be able to merit salvation through personal righteousness nor will man ever be able to maintain his salvation through the same.
1. Personal Merit goes back to Romans 10:3, which says: “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
2. What righteousness is essential to salvation? The absolutely perfect righteousness that can only be found in Jesus Christ. What righteousness is essential to remaining saved? The same: the absolutely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Romans 3:21-28 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; (22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (27) Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. (28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
F. At this point, let me say that if you lived a perfect, sinless life, you would still die and go to hell for all eternity because you did not come to God through Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) Salvation is not of works according to Ephesians 2:8-9.
G. But salvation is a salvation THAT WORKS according to the bible! I do not work to continue to be saved; I continue to work because I am saved.
H. God has eternal life, and the breath of God gave to Adam eternal life. His body died 930 years later but Adam remains to this day and will live forever. In John, when speaking of the Word, the scripture sets forth this same principle.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
J. The phrase “eternal life” is found 26x and the phrase “life eternal” is found 4x.
1. First Mention of eternal life is found in the New Testament, Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (Give up the world, come and follow Christ.)
2. All mankind will remain in one eternal state or the other. Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Hell and heaven are both eternal.)
3. Eternal Life is a result of believing, not personal merit. John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Believing the record of the gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation brings eternal life.)
1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
4. Eternal Life is just that, eternal that can neither be lost or deminished. John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (Shall never perish is an absolute negative! Never for any reason. Not possible.)
5. Eternal Life comes through a personal faith in the record given in the Word of God. John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God [Romans 10:17]).
6. Eternal Life can be assured to the believer. 1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (Knowing that you are saved eternally is not presumptuous, it is God’s will for His children.)
1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
7. Eternal Life is the life of God and manifested in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John_1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
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