Jesus: Divine Logician John 10:31-39

Text:  “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18.

Good morning, reasonable Christian!  You and I are defined as ‘reasonable’ Christians on a number of most relevant grounds - all attributable to the Lord God Who has redeemed us; the Lord God Whom we love and seek to serve in Christ Jesus.  Praise God we seek to serve a Divine and reasoning Lord God!

“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel (including all Gentile nations that would later be saved by Christ Jesus); After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, that they shall be My people…for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”  (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

Our Lord God Almighty is not some inanimate rock, or tree, or idol of wood or stone.  Our Lord God is the true Creator of all things, a Lord God Who has condescended to communicate with us, His creatures, by His Spirit, and through His written Word.  The Lord God Jehovah loves us enough to reason with us on things temporal and Eternal.  Wow!  What a most reasonable Lord God!

Definition:  Logician - a person skilled in logic; the science and art of reasoning correctly; the science of promoting the necessary laws of thought; the principles of any branch of knowledge; sound reasoning;  a convincing and compelling force of logical understanding. (Chambers Dictionary p. 946)

In our Bible reading for today, we see Christ Jesus employing His Divine skills as the Eternal Logician.  He is reasoning with the Jews who had taken ‘…up stones again to stone Him.’  (V.31)

A tyrant would have merely crushed all opposition by superior power and force.  Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living Lord God, chose to reason with His opponents using His power of Divine Logic.  What a gracious Lord God.

First of all Christ asked the relevant question to His would-be killers:  “Jesus answered then, Many good works have I shewed you from My Father; for which of those works do ye stone Me?”  (V.32)

The Jewish opponents were compelled to answer Him, “…saying, For a good work we stone Thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God.”  (V. 33)

“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”  (John 5:18)

The Lord Jesus then delivered the knockout blow of sheer and Divine logic.  He reasoned:

 “If I do not the works of My Father (God), believe Me not.  But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works (miracles); that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”  (Vs. 37-38)

Now this is sheer and Divine Logic, my friend.  Surely no sound reasoning mind could refute such visible evidence?  The Lord Jesus had performed ‘…works…’ that only the Creator Lord God could perform; proving Himself without doubt that He was in fact God of very God.  Christ Jesus proved to all that could clearly see that He could heal lepers; give sight to the blind; grant release to all those captivated by sin (as in the case of the palsied man).

By doing such Divine works, Christ Jesus revealed Himself to be the Messiah long awaited - but yet the hardened hearts of the Jewish Nation just would not receive Him.  There is none as blind and he/she who will not see.

Many that can see, physically speaking, are often Spiritually blind!

If you and I declared ourselves to be joiners, carpenters; engineers - or skilled craftsmen and women of every nature - then actually did such skilled work, no one would doubt that we were exactly what we declared ourselves to be.

When Christ Jesus came and declared Himself to be the Messiah promised, He did the Divine works that only God can do - yet the people received Him not.  What a tragedy!  What flying in the face of all logic - human and Divine.  What a consequence for such total unbelief!  Hell will be so very hot.

In today’s Bible passage the Lord Jesus is revealed clearly as God.  He is also proven to be God by the works that He did.  His reasoning power is irrefutable to all those who are granted faith to believe and receive Him.

Thought:  Have you received Christ Jesus - the Divine Logician?  Do so today.

Jesus: Eternal Saviour John 10:22-30

Text:  “And I give unto them Eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man (including ourselves) pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of His hand.  I and My Father are ONE.”

John 10:28-30.

Good morning, Eternally secure Christian!  Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living Lord God, has purchased our souls by the shedding of His own sinless and precious Blood on that cruel Cross at Calvary.  Having finished this great work of Redemption for us - ‘…nothing…’ can pluck us from His hand!  Hallelujah!  We are Eternally secure in Christ Jesus!  What a Saviour!

It never ceases to amaze me the depth of opposition I receive - as a Bible Teacher and Evangelist - when I forthrightly declare the doctrine of the Eternal Security of the Christian Believer.  (I.e. we are Eternally secure in our Salvation in Christ Jesus.  Once saved, we cannot be ‘lost again‘!)

“Oh yes, so you are one of those ‘once saved, always saved’ preachers?”,  I am contemptuously asked.  So I immediately refine this premise with my own fully persuaded belief below: 

Once saved, we are Eternally saved - IF we are truly saved!

We must meet the conditions of God, before we can confidently claim the promises of God - revealed as they are in His written Word.

“For all the promises of God in Him (Christ Jesus) are yea, and in Him amen, unto the glory of God by us.”  (2 Corinthians 1:20)

In other words, IF we can say, 'Yea', for definite that we are ‘…in Him (Christ Jesus)…’; then all the promises of God are ‘…'Amen’ (So be it unto you), for us.

Therefore, IF we are fully persuaded that we are born again, Spiritually regenerated; ‘…new creatures in Christ…’ - then we can first prove that we are by a consistent walk with Him.  

Every Christian sins every day!  There are no sinless Christians!  This is REALITY teaching.

“If we say that we have no sin (written by the apostle John, a Christian, to fellow Christian believers!), we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”   (1 John 1:8)

However, WHEN we Christians sin (not IF), we immediately know we have sinned, because God the Spirit lives within us and is immediately grieved.

We not only know we have sinned, but in quick time sincerely seek God’s forgiveness for our sin, confess our sin to Him and, by faith, we receive His promised forgiveness and progressive cleansing from daily sins.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” 
(1 John 1:9-10)

This process above is generally referred to as Progressive Sanctification.

In our Standing in Christ: past, present and future sins are already forgiven. (1 John 1:7)

In our daily State - as we walk as ‘…pilgrims through this barren land…’: we sin daily, and need to be cleansed from such sin by open confession of sin to God, and a refilling of God the Spirit in our hearts.  (Isaiah 59:1-2)

This is the reason why Paul, in the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, exhorts us to “…Work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling…’; and ‘Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates (rejected of God).’ (Philippians 2:12 (2 Corinthians 13:5)

IF we are truly saved, then we must prove the fact of our Salvation to ourselves DAILY.  IF we are proven faithful, then we are truly saved.

Once saved, we are Eternally saved - IF we are truly saved!  And IF we are truly saved, then we are Eternally saved by Christ Jesus.

Christ has taught us that He gives us ‘…Eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any (the ‘man’ is in italics) pluck them out of My hand.”

Therefore, the moment we truly receive Christ Jesus as our own and personal Saviour, by grace, through faith in His Holy Sacrifice at Calvary’s Cross - we have Eternal life from that very moment; Eternal life is Eternal, now, it is not some future event.

Rejoice, then, true  Spiritually regenerate Christian!  Our Saviour, Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living Lord God, is an Eternal Saviour!  Hallelujah!

Thought:  Once saved, we are always saved, IF truly saved by Christ!

Jesus: The Eternal Divider John 10:19-21

Text:  “When the Son of man (Christ Jesus) shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall SEPARATE them one from another, as a Shepherd DIVIDETH His sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep (saved) on His right hand, but the goats (lost) on the left.  Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Matthew 25:31-34.

Good morning, separated Christian!  When the Lord God redeemed your soul and mine, He made an Eternal division.  He made an Eternal separation when He brought us - by His grace and faith in Christ’s Atonement alone - into His family, the universal Church.  The Lord God made an Eternal division.  Thank you, Lord God, for separating ‘…your people…’ from this world of sin and shame.  Hallelujah!  What a Saviour!

“And she (Mary) shall bring forth a Son, and thou (Joseph) shalt call His Name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.”   (Matthew 1:21)

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him/her that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”  (John 6:37)

You and I are therefore separated Christians; we have been chosen by God the Father for Salvation; given as a gift to God the Son, Christ Jesus, and ‘…sealed…’ by God the Spirit for time and for Eternity.  We are the ‘…sheep…’ of His Heavenly Pasture.  Wow!  What a gracious Lord God!

“O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker.  For He is our God; and we are the people of His Pasture, and the sheep of His hand…”  (Psalm 95:7)

“Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His Pasture.”  (Psalm 100:3)

Our selected Bible verses today inform us that ‘…There was a division therefore AGAIN among the Jews for these sayings.’  (V.19)

So, let us ask ourselves, what causes such ‘divisions’ among men, and families, and even entire nations - when the Lord Jesus Christ speaks?

The Lord Jesus in the previous verses declared openly that He was the ‘Good Shepherd’, that He would ‘…give His life for the sheep…’; that God the Father knew Him personally, and that He not only knew God the Father, but that He was, in fact, God the Son, the Lord of all life, Who had ‘…power…’ to lay down His life, and ‘…power to take it again.’  (Vs. 11; 15-18)

By saying these things, the Lord Jesus Christ was declaring Himself to be the Son of God with power; He was claiming to be co-equal with God the Father!  IF He was genuine, He was making the most significant statements ever made in the Jewish tradition.  IF He were not genuine, then He was committing the biggest act of religious blasphemy ever heard.  The people listening would, personally, determine which truth applied to them.

“There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.” (V.19)

Some immediately decided that Christ Jesus was demon possessed; that He was mad; that His Word was not even worth listening to!  (V.20)

Others were more circumspect, knowing that the words Jesus spoke were not the words of ‘…Him that hath a devil…’; and then brought in the relevant nature of Christ’s miraculous work in healing the blind man. (V.21)

“Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works sake.”  (John 14:11)

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”                (James 2:17)

Jesus spoke.  Some believed.  Some did not.  Has anything changed today?  God’s Eternal Division continues. 

The Word of the Living Lord God is sent forth - as He always has been sent forth - to call God’s elect souls into His Kingdom.  Are we still listening?

“So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me void (empty), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (I.e. granting faith to God’s chosen and Divinely elected people).  (Isaiah 55:11)

“…Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Thought:  On which side of Christ’s Eternal division will you stand?

Jesus: The Lord of Life John 10:16-18

Text:  “In the beginning was the Word (Christ Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.  In Him (Christ Jesus) was LIFE; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

John 1:1-5.

Good morning Spiritually living Christian!  Before the Lord Jesus redeemed your soul and mine, we were ‘…dead in trespasses and sins…’; lost in Spiritual darkness; and without hope for time or Eternity.

Now: We are alive indeed; redeemed from past present and future sins; and filled with certain hope of life abundant today, and Eternal life forever more.  Can we not rejoice together at this truth and shout ‘Hallelujah! Jesus is Life?

“…I am come that they might have LIFE, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  (John 10:10b)

“Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”  (John 14:6)

Let’s you and I who are blessed with such Eternal life continually seek to crown Christ Jesus as the Lord of all life.  Praise His majestic Name!

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the virgin’s Son, the God incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won which now His brow adorn;
Fruit of the mystic rose, as of that rose the stem;
The root whence mercy ever flows, the Babe of Bethlehem.

Crown Him the Son of God, before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where He hath trod, crown Him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own, that all in Him may rest.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of peace, whose power a sceptre sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease, and all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end, and round His piercèd feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend their fragrance ever sweet.

Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side,
Those wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to Whom is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.

Crown Him the Lord of lords, who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, for ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light, where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night, their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou has died for me;
Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.

Matthew Bridges (1800 - 1894)

Words: Verses 1, 4, 5, 6 & 9: Matthew Bridges, The Passion of Jesus, 1852; verses 2 & 3: Godfrey Thring, Hymns and Sacred Lyrics, 1874. Music: Diademata, George J. Elvey (1816-1893), Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1868. Alternate tune: Oliva Speciosa, 18th Century Italian melody.  (© Copy NetHymnal, All rights reserved.)

Thought:  No mere man could take life from the Lord of Life - Christ Jesus!  He laid down His life for sinners, just like you and me.  (John 10:18)

Jesus: The Good Shepherd John 10:11-15

Text:  I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”                                                                   

John 10:11.

Good morning, well-cared for Christian!  In the physical realm of everyday life in rural areas, a person who would shepherd sheep must necessarily be an individual who truly cares for the sheep in his/her charge.  No cruel and careless individual would be permitted to be in a position of charge over any ‘dumb animal’ - and in the Spiritual Realm, praise God, it is no different.

You and I are saved by, worship, know and love, the Good Shepherd - Jesus Christ.  We are cared for by Him every moment of every minute of every day.  Our Good Shepherd gave His very life for us, His sheep.  He has saved us, He has kept us; He has, does, and always will love us and care for us dearly.  Praise God for Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd of our very souls!

“Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture…For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”  (Psalm 100:3;5)

All People That On Earth Do Dwell

(The Old One Hundredth)

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.

O enter then His gates with praise;
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? the Lord our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom Heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.

                                             William Kethe  ?-1594

“William Kethe: ?-1594  Died: June 6, 1594, Dorsetshire, England.

William Kethe was a Scottish clergyman who spent a great deal of time in exile for his faith. He lived in both Frankfurt, Germany, and Geneva, Switzerland, and helped translate the Geneva Bible in 1560. Two dozen of his hymns appeared in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561. He returned to England and served as vicar at Childe Okeford, Dorsetshire (1561-1593), and as a military chaplain under the Earl of Warwick at Havre.

Louis Bourgeois: 1510-1561

Music to the above Hymn: Old 100th, attributed to Louis Bourgeois, in Four Score and Seven Psalms of David (Geneva, Switzerland, 1551)

Born: Circa 1510, Paris, France.  Died: 1561, Paris, France.

Bourgeois followed John Calvin to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1541. He became a cantor at the Church of St. Pierre, and edited the Genevan Psalter. At one point, he was jailed for modifying some well known tunes. Fortunately, hymnists do not face such strict penalties today. Bourgeois reportedly left Geneva in 1557. His works include: Le droit chemin de musique, 1550.”      (© Copy NetHymnal, All rights reserved.)

We have probably all sung the Great ‘Old One Hundredth’ hymn, taken of course from Psalm 100 in our Bibles, but have we really thought it through while singing, and been Spiritually aware of how blessed we are in having Christ Jesus as our Good Shepherd, and not some covetous ‘hireling‘?

“The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.  I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine.  As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10:13-15)  Hallelujah!  What a GREAT Shepherd!

Let us give thanks for this great fact of faith.  Let us be obedient sheep.

Thought:  True love for God is shown in true obedience to Christ Jesus.