Sermon for Sunday, July 19th, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ESV] 6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.
New Testament Reading:
[Romans 8:26-30 ESV] 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Gospel Reading:
[Matthew 18:10-14 ESV] 10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Sermon Text:
[John 10:27-28 ESV] 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Introduction:
Jesus has an exact count of the all of His sheep. He is the perfect sheep counter. He never misses a beat. He never misses a sheep. And YOU are counted among Christ’s sheep.
I’ve long enjoyed learning how to count to ten in various languages. Perhaps it is a small accomplishment to feel good. Or a way to surprise and connect with foreigners.
So I’ve learned to count to ten in English (quite naturally), Spanish, German, Dutch, French, Korean, Chinese, Hebrew, and Greek. And then I learned to count from one to “tin” in North Carolinian Mountain English.
But only a year or so ago I learned to count to ten in a much rarer language. A language in which sheep are counted.
In various rural places in the island of Great Britain there are shepherds who count their sheep, not in English, but in the language people who lived there before the Anglo-Saxon invasion. You might call it a form of Celtic of Gaelic or Brythonic. While the languages has been entirely forgotten for all other purposes, the counting of sheep remains.
The say: Yan – tan – tether – mether – pip – azer – sezar – akker – conter – dick
And they actually go up to 20 before starting over again. They count their sheep by 20s, perhaps like how we count the money in our wallets. When you’ve counted 5 of them, you have 100.
But of course, it doesn’t do much good to count the sheep, if you don’t know how many you own.
You might count to 100, but if you have no idea how many you own, you won’t know whether any are missing!
A good shepherd knows (1) how many sheep he has, and (2) he knows them individually; their characteristics and ways about them.
We ought to be comforted in knowing that Jesus knows his sheep.
I. Be comforted in knowing that Jesus knows his sheep.
The greatest shepherd is the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
He says of his sheep, “I know them.”
Surely that means he his sheep PERSONALLY; he “knows all about them.”
But it also must mean that he knows them NUMERICALLY. He knows WHO are his sheep, and HOW MANY there are.
That is a beautiful truth of Scripture. And it is much like the Old Testament which speaks of “the people of God” and “the chosen people”
The Scriptures are clear – there are “sheep” who Jesus “knows” – there are chosen people of God.
This is to be comforting to the believing.
This passage is on the topic of “assurance of salvation.”
And if you ask someone, “how do you know you will be in heaven?” there are a few answers given. How do you know? What is your assurance?
1) Most find their assurance in their own abilities. “I’m not that bad.” Or even, “I (I!) chose God while others were not so good as me to do the same.
2) Others say God loves absolutely everyone, so of course I’ll be in heaven because I’m one of those “absolutely everyone.” That’s the error of Universalism. And Scripture does not teach it.
3) But we say something else. Christians are assured of our salvation because we are the elect of God.
But for some it becomes greatly distressing, for they are stuck on the question “How can I know that I am of the elect of God?” For, if there some are “my sheep” (if there are some who are chosen of God) then, but force of logic there are some who are NOT “my sheep” (there are some who are NOT chosen of God.) And this is not only a logical conclusion; it is a Biblical one. There is a “vessel of mercy which God has prepared beforehand for glory” and there is a “vessel of wrath which is prepared for destruction to make know the riches of God’s glory.” (Romans 9:22-23) There are, as Peter says “those who stumbled because they disobey the word, AS THEY WERE DESTINED TO DO.” (1 Peter 2:8) [So the doctrine of DOUBLE Predestination is logical and Biblical.] There are some who are NOT COUNTED as Christ’s sheep. Just one verse back in John’s Gospel we read that Jesus tells unbelieving Jews “you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.” (verse 26). He doesn’t say it the other way around “you are not among my sheep because you do not believe;” he says “you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.” They are of the SOME who are NOT his sheep, never were and never will be.
So then, how is one to be comforted? How is one to KNOW that they are of the elect of God?
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
The people of God (his sheep) hear His voice. The comfort then, the assurance, is that if you know his voice, you are one of his sheep.
I saw a great example of this. A short one minutes video with a flock of sheep out in a meadow. And three volunteers each came out one by to call in the sheep. Each one spoke to the sheep, and in each case the sheep ignored them. THEN, the farmer (the shepherd) came out and called to the sheep … and they came RUNNING to him. They knew his voice.
The people of God (his sheep) hear His voice.
Those who have faith in Jesus Christ are those who hear his voice. So if you have faith in Christ, you are of the sheep he counts and of the sheep he knows.
It really is a simple answer. And a Biblical one: “if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you shall be saved.” (Acts 16:31). “Whoever believes in the son has eternal life.” (John 3:36) “Those whom he predestined he also called.” (Romans 8:30)
“My sheep hear my voice.”
It is not just the Calvinists who are elect; it is all Christians; all who believe in Jesus Christ are those who “hear his voice” and the same people are those of whom Christ says “I know them.”
So if you believe in Jesus Christ, KNOW that YOU are of his sheep.
[REPEAT: So if you believe in Jesus Christ, KNOW that YOU are of his sheep.]
I got a letter recently from an inmate in a New York prison. He’s been there 17 years. He said he’s been going to a lot of Bible studies and learning a lot about Jesus, but not feeling any closer to him. He even had his doubts saying something like “I’m not sure that I’m a Christian.” How does one respond to this? Some respond by saying “look at your works.” Amazingly, even Reformed preachers sometimes say this. But looking to our own deeds is sure to limit our assurance. We rather are to look to the Lord, and believing in Him we are assured of our salvation, for we can only believe in Jesus Christ by the work of God. If you believe in Jesus Christ you are of the elect of God.
While the Westminster Confession tells us that good works are indeed “fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith,” is says that INFALLIBLE assurance is “OF FAITH.”
If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are of His sheep.
And then, “follow him.”
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, AND THEY FOLLOW ME.”
It is right for the sheep to follow the shepherd who has saved them from the dangers of the wild and continues to protect them. We “hear his voice” and know that he protects us, so we follow him. It is not our “following” that gives us assurance of being his, but rather our “following” is the result of the assurance we have that we are His; that we hear his voice.
II. Jesus gives eternal life.
Then, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life.”
She same sheep he COUNTED as his own, known by him, are giving eternal life.
They do not earn eternal life. It is given.
The Grace of God is a gift; it is the greatest gift.
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”
Of course, even believer do “die,” but we shall “never perish.” We shall never cease to exist, nor fall forever into the pit, but we shall have “eternal life.” Not only existing, but “living,” flourishing, ever basking in the glory of God in heaven. All because God gives us that gift.
For each of the people of God whom he COUNTS as his own, there is the gift of eternal life. It is not some gift that is only for the “best of the best;” it is for ALL BELIEVERS.
“I give them” [all the COUNTED sheep] “eternal life.”
III. No one will snatch them out of his hand.
Then there is one more phrase at the end of these verses: “and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” There is no power greater than the Lord. Be comforted, dear believer, NO ONE, NOTHING can separate you from the love of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.
This is perhaps the most “Reformed” passage there is.
I know them – God is sovereign.
I give them eternal life – divine election.
And
“No one will snatch them out of my hand” – the perseverance (or preservation) of the saints.
From beginning to end, we hear of God’s comforting plan: all who believe in Christ are to be assured that God KNOWS YOU, HE GIVES YOU ETERNAL LIFE, and THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE; no one can snatch you out of his hand.
Jesus says the same just a few chapters earlier in John’s Gospel:
[John 6:37 ESV] 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 3
And Paul speaks of that same CONTINUANCE, that same perseverance through which the Christian remains united with Christ through all things.
[Philippians 1:6 ESV] 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
The sheep God counts, he remembers.
And if anyone should stray, Christ seeks them and finds them.
The parable of the lost sheep fits in so well with this message, because there we find that Christ’s love is great for ALL of His people, even when they have gone astray. He finds them, saves them, calls them and they hear his name and follow him. What a great picture of God’s love.
If you are counted, you are COUNTED! There is no UN-COUNTING. Those to whom God gives eternal life shall never perish.
And sheep are so applicable in the parables of Christ, because NOTHING MAKES A BETTER EXAMPLE FOR WHAT WE ARE.
Oh, we don’t like to hear this. We are sheep. What are sheep?
Sheep are dumb.
They have eyesight problems.
No natural defenses. No claws or great strength of great speed. They need help in birthing. They are totally helpless without the shepherd.
And you know what else about sheep, they are “prone to wonder.”
That’s us. Prone to wonder, prone to leave the God I love.
If we are separated from the shepherd, our end is quick.
So we ought to STAY CLOSE, very close, to our shepherd.
And we ought to be comforted, and to rest assure, in the truth that the shepherd cares for you.
He knows you intimately; your cares, your fears, your struggles, and your hearts.
Jesus protects his sheep from every enemy and every attack.
The greatest enemy is death, but the Good Shepherd “GIVES eternal life” which the sheep do not have of themselves. It is given from God. Such is the greatest way in which God cares for his sheep. The proper understanding of John 3:16 is like that: “for IN THIS WAY God loved the world (both the sheep of this flock, the Jews, and His sheep among the Gentiles) that he gave His only son that any and all of those who believe in Christ should KNOW they have eternal life.”
All forces are aligned against us that we might “perish.” But God is more powerful that Satan, Sin, and the World combined.
And, the Lord knows when one of his sheep is “missing” and he brings them back.
I once was lost, but now am found. Found by the Good Shepherd.
The life that the sheep receive from Jesus Christ they can never lose. Nothing can snatch the sheep away. No enemy, and no enemy within.
Conclusion
So certain is the salvation of the sheep of Jesus that they can NEVER perish.
Here in John 10:28 there is a double negative in the Greek. “ou me” They shall NEVER EVER perish.
Double negatives are bad English, but good Greek.
There’s an old Irish Song like this. My good friend years ago played it in a fairly successful Irish Bad. “No, nay, never” he’s sing. “No, nay, never, no more, will I play the wild rover.”
That’s for emphasis.
And Jesus says “no, nay, never” will you perish.
MY SHEEP!
Rest assured in knowing that your shepherd cares for you! You personally. He knows the exact number of his sheep, and he knows the exact number of the hairs on your head. And YOU ARE HIS. You’ve been given to Christ by the Father, and NO ONE WILL EVER SNATCH YOU OUT OF HIS HAND.
You are counted among the Christ’s sheep. Praise the Lord, and let us follow Him.
Let us pray.