Sally sure got her back up quick. All I had said was "I am worried about that Dan. By the decisions that he is making, it does not seem that he is taking his relationship with God seriously. I am worried about him."
Sally replied, "Oh? What is going on?"
"Well," I replied, "He just left his wife and has moved out of the house."
"That doesn't sound good. Though to tell you the truth, they weren't that compatible anyway."
"That may be, but he made a commitment before God to be committed to her and he seems to be throwing that out the window. It is almost like he does not understand how Holy God is and how he needs to be striving for holiness. I wonder sometimes if he understands any of the biblical teaching he has had all these years."
"It's not that serious is it? I mean it's not like he is not a Christian."
"His actions are sure making me wonder..."
"Seriously?" She exclaimed " Who are you to say if a person is going to heaven or not? What makes you so important that you can say that?! Isn't there a verse in the Bible that says the devil can not snatch us out of His hand?"
So now what do you say to that?
My first response usually happens in my head because I don't like confrontation. But if I had an answer, what would it be?
- Never read a verse. As in only one verse. What is the context?
- What about my heart? Am I willing to let God decide what the verse means or are my idols and desires getting in the way?
John 10:22-30
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me,[a] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
When I look at this I see a theme that jumps out at me. It seems evident that there is a difference between a person who follows and a person who does not follow. Verse 27 is the key verse for understanding verse 28. Some questions come to mind.
- What does "hear my voice" mean?
- What does it mean for Jesus to "know" them?
- What does "follow" look like?
- Which comes first, following or believing?
- What about Judas? From what I can see, he was snatched. Hmmm......
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