If it is true that God is a father, then it is necessarily true that He is the greatest of fathers. While earthly fathers abandon their children, God does not and cannot, for He has already forsaken His Son on the cross. Since the Son took the place of every member of God's family, no member can be cast out. Rather, all who believe in Him are adopted as children and granted His righteousness which endures for all ages. Does He give the greatest gift only to tease and take it away? No, He grants believers an eternal inheritance, and He remains faithful to His promises to keep the salvation of His children. As He holds us, His children, in the palm of His hand, we ought to grasp His promises. So, let us gaze upon these promises of God.
When the Jews questioned Christ about His divinity, He told them His works bear witness of Him, but they did not believe because they were not among the sheep (John 10:22-27). Sheep are notorious for wandering away from their flock, so they need a Shepherd to keep them. Our Lord is the Shepherd who keeps us from wandering. That is only the beginning of the passage, for Christ goes on to speak of His sheep. Of them, he says, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28). The use of the word eternal implies that no one and nothing can take away our life in Christ. Neither ourselves nor any predatory wolves can drag us down the road of destruction. Is the devil's pull stronger than the Father's grasp on His children? No, for in the next verse, Christ says that the Father is Greater than all. The Father's will to keep His sheep is greater than our will to wander as sheep. Therefore, God gives every child of His a new will that desires to follow the Shepherd.
Further, Scripture doesn't just present us as sheep; it also depicts us as offenders in a court of law. However, every offender who trusts in Christ has everlasting freedom. For Scripture says, "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). When a criminal is justified in a court of law, they do not suffer a penalty. Similarly, all of us in Christ are guilty of sin but declared righteous because Christ took our penalty. What does that mean for our future? This verse clearly reveals to us that God will glorify all of those whom He justified. The justified have so much assurance of glorification that it may as well have already happened, as it is mentioned in the past tense here. It does not say, "If Christ justified you, He might allow you eternity with Him if you remain by your strength." Rather, we know that if Christ saved us by His grace, He will one day perfect us by His grace.
Therefore, God's children need not live as orphans seeking to survive in their own might. For apart from Christ, the human condition is one of condemnation. In the flesh, no one does good, so God does good on our behalf (Romans 3:11). Paul knew this, for he said to the Philippians: "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Believer, Christ will finish the work of salvation that he began. God has shown each child of His the preciousness of Christ. Would a good father entrust their child with the most precious possession without keeping watch over them? Of course not! Likewise, our Heavenly Father makes certain that we do not trade the most precious gift, namely the Spirit of God in us, for the evil of this world.
All things considered, we must guard this doctrine against the rising claim that we should sin because grace abounds. We protect ourselves from this teaching by pointing to the Holy Spirit. Of the Spirit, we are told: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth"(John 16:13 a). So, the Spirit sanctifies believers; therefore, every person in Christ will bear sweet fruit that delights the Father. This same Spirit is our seal for the day of redemption and the guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
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