You are not My Sheep!

In John 10, the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that He lays His life down for the sheep. John 10:11, I am the Good Shepherd! The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Again in John 10:15 LITV, Jesus says, Even as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

The Lord Jesus clearly tells us who He laid His life down for on the Cross- the sheep.

Jesus also says in John 10:14 LITV, I am the Good Shepherd, and I know those that are Mine, and I am known by the ones that are Mine. The Lord Jesus did not lay His Life down for any sheep, but for His sheep, and His sheep alone. He knows His sheep personally, by name, and because they are His sheep, they will know their Shepherd.

Then later on in the Chapter, Jesus said in John 10:24 LITV, Then the Jews encircled Him, and said to Him, How long do you lift up our soul? If you are the Christ, tell us publicly. V. 25 LITV, Jesus answered them, I told you, and you did not believe. The works which I do in the name of My Father, these bear witness about Me.

Then in v. 26  LITV, Jesus said this to them, But you do not believe for you are not of My sheep. Jesus previously said, "I lay my Life down for the Sheep" (His sheep), and now Jesus is saying to the the people encircling Him, "You are not of My sheep".

Now think about that- You hear Jesus say, "I lay my Life down for the Sheep" (His sheep), and then after says to the people there surrounding Him, "You are not of My sheep"- Put those two statements side by side, and you end up with Limited Atonement. Jesus gave His Life for His sheep alone, His elect people, and not for those who are not of His sheep.

Notice something else in v. 26 LITV, Jesus did not say, "You are not of my sheep because you believe not", but Jesus said, "But you do not believe for you are not of My sheep, as I said to you." The reason they did not believe in the Good Shepherd is because they were not of Christ's sheep, not the other way around.

Jesus after saying this to the people there, in v. 27 LITV, said, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. All of Christ's sheep, who He knows personally by name, will come to their Good Shepherd, and will receive salvation in Him. Those who do not come to the Lord Jesus, who do not follow Him, and die rejecting Jesus, we can go back to v. 26 with the Words of Jesus, "But you do not believe for you are not of My sheep, as I said to you."

The Bible says in John 6:37 LITV, All that the Father give to Me shall come to Me, and the one coming to Me, I will in no way cast out. Then Jesus says in v. 38-39 LITV, For I have come down out Heaven, not that I should do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of the Father sending Me, that of all He has given Me, I shall not lose any of it, but shall raise it up in the last day."

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4 LITV, according as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, - God chose His elect people before the foundation of the world in Christ, the sheep of Christ, and Christ came and died for their sins, and to secure their salvation, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, and now the Holy Spirit is leading and gathering in the very same sheep that Christ died for on the Cross, and everyone of His sheep will believe. This is the grace of God.

Now, if you are not a believer in Jesus, the question is not, "Am I the elect or not the elect?" or, "Did Christ die for me or not?"  The question is, Will you do as God commands you in His Word, Repent and believe in the gospel. Mark 1:15b LITV. The Bible says in John 14:6 LITV, Jesus said to Him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. The Bible says in **John 3:16 LITV, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone believing in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The only way for salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you do come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find Him to be a perfect Saviour, and you can know you have salvation in Him by His grace, and you can read John 10:11,14,15, and know He did that for you.

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:7 LITV, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

** The word 'world' in John 3:16 does not mean every individual who has ever lived. I have written about this on my blog (click here), explaining what it means in its context.