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A shepherd is leading his flock of sheep and goats
crossing the road. July 08, 2021) |
#RightlyDividingTheWordOfTruth
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
These words of the Lord Jesus Christ below are
precious when rightly understood; His gracious and sovereign bestowal of
eternal life is certain and immutable. When sincere folks twist them, they not
only contradict the other part of the Scriptures, but they also confound
sonship and discipleship, to the injury of many of God's children.
John 10 - KJT
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and
they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater
than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
These words were quoted by a sincere man to
teach that all of Christ's redeemed are obedient disciples; they hear the voice
of Christ and they follow Christ in obedience. He understands these words to
teach that Christ has no disobedient disciples. He makes these words to teach
the practical and temporal aspects of salvation even though he claims to
understand the distinction between eternal salvation and temporal salvation. He
is probably attempting to refute the idea that the goats in Mt 25:32 are
speaking of God's disobedient children.
These three verses are obviously speaking of
the eternal aspect of salvation:
1. The voice of Christ in v. 27 is the
life-giving voice of the Life-giver addressed to the dead in trespasses and
sins; as a result of this divine, effectual life-giving voice, all without
exception are quickened with eternal life; they follow him, not in the sense of
practical obedience but in the sense of being united with him, always with Him;
all without exception are firmly in His hand; they follow Him and are with
Him.
- If understood in the practical sense, it
contradicts so many other parts of the Scriptures; just look at the parable of
the four types of grounds.
- It's through the sound of the gospel
ministry that Christ's redeemed people are taught and called to practical
obedience, "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Amen." Mt 28:20.
- Others twist these verses to teach that
those without eternal life, i.e. dead in trespasses and sin, can hear the voice
of Christ and fellow Him, THEN they are given eternal life by Him.
2. This is further elaborated in v28 as,
"And I give unto them eternal life; and
they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
- Christ's life-giving voice brought eternal
life to those dead in trespasses and sin; this bestowal of that eternal life is
steadfast and immutable; nothing can undo that divine bestowal of eternal life.
3. The steadfastness and immutability of that
bestowal of eternal life by the voice of Jesus Christ are repeated and
emphasized again in v29, "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than
all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."
The Scriptures abound with passages that
speak of the disobedience of God's redeemed people; these are just dismissed,
"they can't be Christ's sheep." Why? "Because Christ has no
disobedient sheep; His sheep hear His voice and follow Him."
