Sermon25-47 John10 Guide

John 10:7-18 theme verse John 10:14-15

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this forty second Sunday of 2025, on Pentecost Sunday, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, we looked at the doctrine of election and reprobation as the first doctrine of the Canons of Dort, yet this week, we would like to look at Christ’s death and human redemption through it together.

1)    First, to summarize today's text, today’s teachings was followed by the incident in chapter 9, I mean, on the Sabbath, the Lord performed a miracle, giving sight to a blind man. However, the religious leaders attempted to deny this miracle. Yet, the healed blind man insisted that he had been blind and now had sight, and that He could not have done such a thing if He had not come from God. Then the Pharisees said, "Are you teaching us?" and cast him out. So, after the Lord heard that the man who had been healed, had been expelled from the Jews, He met him again and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" And when the man replied, "Lord, I believe," and knelt before Him, the Lord said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." Following this incident, in chapter 10, the Lord speaks of three "I statements,” I mean, “I am the door,” “I am the good shepherd,” and “I am the Son of God” to teach people. First, in the verses 1-10, Jesus declares, “I am the door,” through which he rebuked the religious leaders of Israel who did not care for the blind. But He said, “In the sheepfold, made of rocks, in the evening, many flocks enter through the door and are protected. Yet, in the morning, the shepherds come and call their own sheep, and each flock hears their master’s voice and follows him out through the door to pasture. In this way, the sheep can enter and leave through the door, enjoying a free and abundant life. However, thieves and robbers do not enter the sheepfold through the door, but rather steal and seek to destroy them. Second, following this, in verses 11-21, the Lord declares, “I am the good shepherd.” In other words, He states that Jesus, who is the good shepherd, will not only lay down his life for the sheep (verses 11-13), but will also rise again (verses 17-21). Yet, He also says that he knows his own sheep (verses 14-15) and will lead them and others into His sheepfold (verse 16). In this way, He rebuked the religious leaders for neglecting the Israelites, saying, "A hired hand is not a shepherd, and the sheep are not their own. So when they see a wolf coming, they abandon the sheep and run away, leaving the wolf to snatch them away and scatter them." And then third, two days later, on the Feast of Dedication, an incident happened in Solomon's Colonnade in the Temple and is recorded. When the Jews asked, "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly," the Lord replied, "I told you, but you did not believe." He added, "The works I do in my Father's name bear witness about me. But you did not believe because you are not my sheep." He then said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” And then He declared that he was the "Son of God." But the Jews condemned him, saying, "This is blasphemy," and instead tried to stone him. So Jesus replied, "If I do not do the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father”. After that, John recorded that he left them and went to the other side of the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first.

2)    Anyhow, in verses 11 and 15, as the Lord says that, "I lay down my life for the sheep”, regarding Christ's death and human redemption, the second doctrine of the Canons of Dort says that in Article 1, God is merciful but also just so that He punishes us for our sins. And in Article 2, yet since we human beings cannot satisfy for God's demand of justice or save ourselves from God's wrath, God sent His beloved only Son, Jesus Christ, to bear the penalty and curse for our sins and to save us. Then in Article 3, this Christ’s death is of infinite value, the most perfect sacrifice, and even sufficient to atone for the sins of the entire world. Because He is not only a perfect human being possessed of perfect holiness, but also, is the only begotten Son of God, who possesses the same eternal and infinite essence as the Father and the Holy Spirit in article 4. And then in Article 5, this gospel must be proclaimed to the whole world, promising that anyone who believes in the crucified Christ will not perish but have eternal life.

3)    And then, in the following Article 6, it is said that many who were called to the gospel did not repent, did not believe in Christ, and remained in unbelief. So, consequently, they were destined for destruction. Yet, this was not due to the insufficiency or lack of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, but rather to the individual's failure to believe. However, Article 7 says that those who believed in Christ and were saved from sin confess that their faith and salvation were entirely due to God's grace, not their own merit. And then in the following Article 8, the effectiveness of Christ's death is, due to God's most gracious will and purpose, sufficient to forgive all the sins of God's elect—past, present, and future—and to justify them through faith, thus achieving complete salvation. And in the final Article 9, it is said that this will of God, bestowing His love and grace, has been fulfilled from the beginning until now and will continue in the future, despite the power of death and the blasphemy of sin. And ultimately, in due time, the saints appointed by God will gather in His church, founded on the blood of Christ and serve the Lord of unchanging love to praise to the Lord for His glory forever.

4)    But, regarding this love of God and Christ vicarious redemption and its effectiveness, Arminius raised objections that a) God the Father appointed His Son to death on the cross without a fixed and definite plan to save anyone by name. b) The purpose of Christ’s death was not to establish a new covenant of grace by his blood, but only to acquire for the Father the mere right to enter once more into a covenant with humanity, whether of grace or of works. c) God wished to bestow equality upon all people the benefits gained by Christ’s death, yet life or death depends on their own free choice. d) Christ, by the satisfaction, did not certainly merit for anyone salvation itself and the faith, but only acquired for the Father the authority or plenary will to relate in a new way with humanity and to impose such new condition and that satisfying these conditions depends on human free choice. e) All people were received into the state of reconciliation and into the grace of the covenant, so that no one on account of original sin is liable to condemnation or is to be condemned, but that all are free from the guilt of this sin. f) And also Christ neither could die, nor had to die, nor did die for those whom chose

5)    So in response to these error of Arminius, the Counsel of Dort states that a) the claim that Christ's death was not a special and definitive plan of God to save certain individuals, is not biblical as the Lord said, "I lay down my life for the sheep; I know them" (John 10:15, 17). b) Since the Bible teaches that Christ is the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 7:22; 9:15), the claim that the purpose of Christ's death was not to make new covenant but merely to recover the right to re-enter into the covenant with humanity is grossly contradictory to the Bible. c) The claim that God provided the benefits of Christ's death to all, so that His atonement does not actually contribute to salvation or faith, but rather that salvation is solely dependent on human free will, is not biblical. d) The claim that all people are reconciled to God and freed from the guilt of original sin, and that Christ could not, did not, or did not actually die for the elect, is different from the Bible teachings that we are "by nature children of wrath" (Eph 2:3) and "I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:15).

6)    However, regarding the value of Christ's death on the cross, the Second Canon of Dort, Article 3, clearly states that Christ's death is the only and most perfect sacrifice and expiation for sin, and its value is infinite, more than enough to atone for the sins of the whole world, because He who gave Himself up is not only a true and perfectly holy man, but also the only-begotten Son of God, of one co-eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And it is also said that the reason Christ had to be both a sinless and true man and God with infinite power is because He had to and did personally experience the infinite wrath and curse of God, which we deserved. Therefore, because the death of Christ has infinite value—a value that is more than enough to atone for all the sins of the entire world—and because the promise of the gospel is that anyone who believes in the crucified Christ will not perish but obtain eternal life, and because the path of faith is open to all, this promise of the gospel of salvation by grace, along with the command to repent and believe, must be proclaimed to all people and nations without discrimination or exception. However, even so, the grace of Christ's atonement does not need to flow to the unbelievers, nor does it flow to them, because they have already rejected the gospel of salvation. In this sense, this saving grace is called the limited atonement. This means that even though Christ's atonement is unlimited in its power and infinite in its value, this grace flows to the believers only, possessing infinite power to save them with certainty. In other words, the death of Christ is not, as Arminius said, something uncertain and indeterminate, merely restoring human imperfect free will without a definite effect on faith or salvation, or something that does not lead to salvation even if one believes. Instead, His death on the cross and His active obedience not only remove the guilt of sin from believers, but also impute the righteousness Christ obtained, enabling them to receive certain and effective justification and salvation. Therefore, Romans 8:31-39 says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus who not only died but was raised to life, who is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are killed all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And also, in John 5:24, the Lord said, "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has passed from death to life.” Here the use of the past perfect tense means that at the moment we believe, we have already received eternal life and have passed from death to life, proclaiming the certainty of our salvation. Therefore, we must not doubt the certainty of our Lord Jesus Christ's salvation but rather be deeply grateful for His grace.

7)    That’s why the Lord said in John 10:28-29, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hands.” And also that’s why the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:6, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Therefore, I pray that based on this sure foundation of salvation, we too may stand firm in faith, not waver in any temptation, but overcome to the end, giving thanks, praise, and glory to God.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 Through today’s text, we became to know that the value of Christ’s death for vicarious atonement is infinite and sufficient to redeem all the sins of all humankinds and also enough to save the believers. So, after meditating on this grace and thinking how we enjoy this grace, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also, we became to know that we have to proclaim this Christ’s death which become the sure promise of salvation to the world. So after reviewing our life and checking whether we live in that mission, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.