Never Lost

Finally, notice that these verses also speak at length of God’s perseverance with his saints. That is, they teach us that none whom God has called to faith in Christ will be lost. Indeed, how can they be, if God is responsible for their salvation? Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (v. 28).

“But,” says someone, “suppose they jump out of their own accord?”

“They shall never perish,” says the Lord.

“Never?”

“No, never,” says Jesus. “They shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

永不失落

最後，請注意這些經文也詳細講述了神對祂聖徒的堅忍。也就是說，他們教導我們，神呼召相信基督的人都不會失落。事實上，如果神對他們的拯救負有責任，他們怎麼可能會這樣呢？耶穌說：“我又賜給他們永生。他們永不滅亡，誰也不能從我手裡把他們奪去。”（28節）。

“但是，”有人說，“如果他們是自願跳出來的呢？”

主說：“他們永不滅亡。”

“絕不？”

耶穌說：“不，永遠不會。” “他們永不滅亡，誰也不能從我手裡把他們奪去。”

This does not mean that there will not be dangers, of course. In fact, it implies them; for if Jesus promises that no one will succeed in plucking us from his hands, it must be because he knows that there are some who will try. The Christian will always face dangers—dangers without, from enemies, and dangers within. Still the promise is that those who have believed in Jesus will never be lost. We may add that the Christian may well be deprived of things. He may lose his job, his friends, his good reputation. Still he will not be lost. The promise is not that the ship will not go to the bottom, but that the passengers will all reach shore. It is not that the house will not burn down, but that the people will escape safely.

當然，這並不意味着不會有危險。事實上，它暗示了它們；因為如果耶穌承諾沒有人能成功地將我們從祂手中奪走，那一定是因為他知道有人會嘗試。基督徒總是會面臨危險——來自外部的危險、來自敵人的危險以及內部的危險。但仍應許那些相信耶穌的人將永遠不會迷失。我們可以補充一點，基督徒很可能被剝奪了一些東西。他可能會失去工作、朋友和良好聲譽。但他仍然不會迷失。承諾的不是船不會沉入海底，而是乘客都會到達岸邊。不是房子不會被燒毀，而是人們能夠安全逃生。