Saturday, January 19, 2019

An Unfailing Grip

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man 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 my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”

John 10:27–30

There are about twenty different contests held around the world each year to determine who has the strongest hands. One of the most common competitions is the “pinch grip” where a weight is held only between the fingers and the thumb, and is not allowed to touch the palm of the hand. In 2010 at the World of Grip championships, David Horne set a new world record, lifting more than 260 pounds with just his fingers. He then went on to win the championship in five of the next six years as well.

While David Horne’s hands are certainly very, very strong, they are nothing compared to God’s hands which hold His children safe and secure. Many Christians live with insecurity, doubt, and fear when God wants them to live in perfect confidence. The idea that someone who has been saved can then somehow lose that salvation is contrary to what Jesus taught. Anyone who has genuinely trusted Christ as His Saviour is as safe as if he were already in Heaven.

There are certainly things we can do which will displease God and bring difficult consequences into our lives. We surely must not use the fact that we are secure to indulge in sin. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1–2). But when we sin God does not turn His back on us. He does not take away the free gift of salvation that He has given to us.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

The same God who provided our salvation protects our membership in His family.