The Book of John: Message Fifty
Seven
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
Evangeline
Booth had a pet monkey when she was just a little
girl. One day she dressed her monkey in the uniform
of the Salvation Army. It grieved her mother, and she
quickly undressed the monkey. Cried the girl,
"Why?" "Because," answered the
mother, "the monkey can't live the life."
There are many people who dress like Christians but
they can't live the life. They go to church and take
part in the services for a while. But when the
newness wears off they're back in the world. People
say, "Poor souls! They're backsliders."
But, "They were never front sliders." They
had never heard the voice of the Son of God and they
had never followed Him. Our Lord said in John 10:27,
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and
they follow Me." Does that mean that one becomes
a sheep by following the shepherd? Oh, no. But if
you're one of His sheep you'll follow this Shepherd.
To them He says, "I give...eternal life."
Let's meet the
Giver. He's the Lord Jesus, and He is life! Eternal
life comes from Him. You can't generate life by your
goodness, or produce life by your penance, or create
life by your church attendance. Life comes only from
the Lord. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord."
Let's consider
the gift. The Lord said, "I give unto them
eternal life." You can't earn a gift with your
wealth or your works. When you do, it ceases to be a
gift. In New York a wealthy woman built a beautiful
church. When it was dedicated, her agent walked to
the platform and handed a deed to the bishop. The
bishop gave the agent $1.00 and it was accepted and
acknowledged. Then the property was turned over to
the church. Many said, "What a wonderful
gift!" Yes, it was. The giving of the dollar for
the deed was simply a legal observance. But in the
true Bible sense it wasn't a gift. For the papers
were made out not as a gift, but as a deed of sale.
If you had to
do something to have eternal life, it would not be a
gift. If you had to pray or pay, work or worship,
raise your hand or rush to the front, it wouldn't be
a gift. You could say, "This is what I've done
to be saved!" But eternal life isn't merited as
a prize, earned as a wage, purchased as an article,
or won as a crown. It's the free gift of God and it's
eternal! Because it's eternal, the believer will
never perish. I didn't say a believer would never
backslide. Backslide he may. Perish he can't. It's
impossible for a sheep to become a goat, and for one
who is born to be unborn.
Look at the
guarantee. Our Lord said in John 10:28, "Neither
shall any man pluck them out of My hand." The
original has it, "Neither shall any pluck them
out of My hand," whether of man, angel or devil!
Why? Because he's in the hands of our all-powerful
Savior! "Oh," but you say, "it's true
that the devil or demons can't take a Christian out
of the hand of Christ. But he can jump out if he
wants to, can't he?" No, our Lord says, "My
Father which gave them Me, is greater than all: and
none is able to pluck them out of My Father's
hand." You see, the hand of Christ is beneath
the believer, and the hand of the Father is above the
believer. So the believer is safe between the closed
hands of the Father and the Son. He was a gipsy, and
he loved the Lord and he preached the word. One day
he came home from a revival and his daughter ran and
jumped into his arms. Lovingly he drew her to his
heart and held her tightly in his hands. Her brother
felt she had been in the father's hands long enough.
So he shouted, "If you don't get out of his
hands, I'll pull you out!" "Brother,"
she answered, "you can't pull me out, but
there's room for you, too." No one can pull me
out of my Father's hands, but there's room for you
too.
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version.
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the book of John.
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
