 there are a lot of Bible verses that seemingly warn about a person possibly losing their salvation. So the question is if I believe, and I do, that you cannot lose your salvation, well then why are there so many verses in the Bible that offer a warning? How could you or why would you warn about something that's not impossible? In other words, why would you warn about someone losing their salvation or someone not being saved if that's an impossibility? There are these passages that say, if you do this, for example in John 15, if a Christian abides, if a Christian, if a person remained and bears fruit, that person will be blessed with eternal security. That person will be with the Father forever. If a person does not remain, if a person does not abide, what will happen to that person? Well, that person will be cut off according to John 15. However, it does not end where some might want to cut off. In verse six, it says, if anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. So it seems clear that if you abide, then you'll be saved. If you don't abide, then you'll be cut off, withered up, gathered together and thrown into the fire. That is an absolutely true statement. However, that does not nullify once saved, always saved, or eternal security. Now we know this passage should be read in its entirety because we'll finish reading going further into John 15. If we look at verse 16, it says, you did not choose me, but I chose you and I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. And the word that's used for appointed is the word epheka, which means to put, to make, to appoint. So in other words, God has, the Lord has appointed, He's going to cause us to remain and to bear fruit. Now again, why then for all the need for the warning passage? But let me put it this way. What if there are people who go to church? What if there are people who like today say that they are Christians? There are many people today who call themselves believers who are not. There are people who go to church, who read their Bibles, who may say a few phrases, who have memorized some passages and are not Christian. You all would agree that not everyone who says that they're a Christian is a Christian. As a matter of fact, Jesus even offers a warning. In Matthew chapter seven, verse 21, Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father was in heaven. So in other words, Jesus says that not everyone who calls himself a Christian is going to be a Christian. He ultimately ends by saying, I never knew you depart from me. So there's not a such thing as I used to know you. I once knew you. He says I never knew you. But again, why the warning? Why would you give a warning for something that is an impossibility? Why would you give a warning to someone who is a Christian if they can never not be a Christian? Well, the answer is this. Again, there are people who believe that they are and are not. There are people who think that they are Christians and are not. Paul gives a warning in 2 Corinthians. Let's go to him. He says in chapter 13, verse 5, he says, examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves or do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail to meet the test. So make sure that you do have Christ. So what would you do? How would you tell a person? How would the Bible tell someone? How would God let someone know who thinks they are a Christian, who believes they are a Christian, who shows outwardly the signs of being a Christian? Why would there be so many warnings? Well, how else would you tell someone who happens to read the Bible that you might want to check and make sure? Because just as there are many passages to warn about a person not being a Christian, there are just as many, if not more, passages to describe what a Christian is. As a matter of fact, there's more passages to tell us how a Christian ought to behave. There are passages not only to warn about someone who not is a Christian, how they might miss heaven, how they will miss heaven. No, there are also passages to tell us what a Christian looks like. So it wouldn't be enough for there to be all these warning passages alone. We have those, but we also have passages to describe what an actual Christian looks like. What an actual sheep is. Since he's a shepherd, he even tells us what a sheep is. As a matter of fact, if we go to John 10, Jesus does just that. He says in John 10, chapter 10, verse 4, he says, when he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them of his sheep and the sheep follow him because they know him. So he's telling us that in this verse that his sheep will follow him. Let's continue. A stranger, they simply will not follow, but will flee from him because they do not know the voice of the strangers. So Jesus says a couple of things. One, they hear him, they know him, they follow him. And a stranger, they will not follow, they will not listen to that stranger, they will not follow him. And Jesus even goes a step further when he speaks about the Gentile sheep, the sheep of another flock, these Gentiles. Look what he says about them. He says in verse 16, I have sheep of other, I have other sheep which are not of this fold, many Gentiles. I must bring them also. And look what he says about those sheep. They will hear my voice and they will become one flock with one shepherd. So Jesus is clear. He gives a description in John 10 that sheep will listen, they will follow, that we know him. And that sheep also will not listen to a stranger and will not follow the stranger, but will turn and run away from a stranger. So that's a description of what sheep do. As a matter of fact, James even goes a little bit more into it, I think he's a little bit more forceful when he says that you all say that you have faith. Here's a way that you can test your faith, examine whether you have faith. James says, I'll show you my faith, as he says in chapter two. He says, I'll show you my faith by my work. Look what he says. Verse 18, but someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith, apart from your works, I will show you my faith by my works. Not that we're saying this is a works-based salvation, no, but after you are saved, an indication of it is going to be some works. Is that the be all to end all? No, but again, there should be some works. Now there are people who also have some works as well, because Jesus says, have we not cast out demons or your name and done many wonders in your names and so forth. There'll be folks who will have done all these things, saying in the choir, ushered, passed out, tracks all these different things, but obviously the end is, I never knew you, but are you witnessing? Are you a good witness for Christ? Are you a light in the world? And so he wants us to look and to examine ourselves. Why? Because we can be deceived. The enemy wants us to believe that we are something that we're not. And so again, if the Bible is concerned about someone not knowing the truth, but thinking they do, well then naturally, it would make sense that they would warn them. Now if a person disagrees with that assessment, my question is this, obviously you believe that there are people who say they're Christians and are not, how do you warn them? What would you say to them? My guess is you'll say exactly what the Bible says and you'll also give a description of what a Christian is. Well guess what? The Bible did just that. And the Bible is clear that every believer, all believers, all the sheep will follow him. And if you're not following him, if you don't testify of him, if there's nothing at least that you can tell, not others, but at least you can tell, well then maybe, as Paul says, you ought to examine yourself and see, find out what the issue is. Maybe you don't have Christ. But if you do have Christ, if a person genuinely has Christ, then that person can rest assured that they have life right now into eternity. Amen.