The Shepherd Seeks the Sheep -
Excerpt from J. Preston Eby
In Luke 15:4 we read, "What man of
you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go
after that which is lost UNTIL HE FIND IT?" In this
passage we find that at the end of the day, the shepherd
finds that he is just one little sheep short of
completeness. There is only one outside - so why bother
to go after that one, for perhaps that one is one of the
rebellious ones anyway and will not choose to come back!
But the Shepherd we are dealing with in
this story is not an ordinary shepherd. This is the Great
and Good Shepherd of the sheep and nothing will stop Him
or prevent Him from finding that last sheep. This
Shepherd will not be content with even an extraordinary
effort to find the sheep and then give up, feeling that
He has done His duty. Neither does He "call"
the sheep, and then wait to see if the sheep decides to
come, and if not, just leave him there in his lost
condition to die. This Shepherd searches UNTIL HE FINDS.
And the FINDING of this Shepherd is not only the locating
of the sheep, but it also includes the bringing back into
the fold of that sheep.
Most of the religious teaching today
would have us believe that Christ has done all He can for
the sinner, so He has now gone back to His heaven and is
seated upon His golden throne waiting for all who will to
be saved. According to this thinking, God through Jesus
has done all He can possibly do and has now left the work
of saving souls to the Church, hoping that some, at
least, will be persuaded to accept the Saviour.
The Church must go out and contact all the sinners
they can and see if they cannot get them to "accept Christ."
But, of course, if the sinner does not want to be saved,
then even God in all His power cannot intervene
and nothing is left but eternal hell fire and
damnation for that sinner. But just what does this line
of reasoning reveal? The tragedy of it is that it
shows us nothing but a POWERFUL MANKIND
and a WEAK GOD!
Another thing this line of teaching
suggests is that God, having finished the work of
redemption, then turns it all over to a rather carnal
Church that does not truly know God, does not even
understand God's great plan of the ages, and cares far
more about making proselytes to a denomination than in
bringing people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
The average Church today cares more about its programs,
its missionary efforts, its buildings, its committee meetings
and its budget than it does about making known
to the world the glad news that God has
reconciled the whole world to Himself and He shall not
rest until every heart has surrendered and the very last
sheep has been carried back to the fold. Nothing stops or
hinders this Shepherd, for if He did fail in this effort,
He could never rest knowing that one of His sheep was
lost and eternally destroyed. He does not send anyone
else or leave it to the sheep to find its way back.
HE HIMSELF GOES UNTIL HE FINDS.
The popular Churches ridiculously assert
that spiritually dead men must somehow
"choose" the Lord, but God's testimony
about it is just the opposite. The bluntest affirmation
that man does not do the choosing of God is that our Lord
Jesus Christ Himself testified, "You have not chosen Me,
but I HAVE CHOSEN YOU" (Jn. 15:16). In fact,
according to Paul, that choice was made by God
before He ever made so much as one single thing!
"According as HE HAS CHOSEN US in Christ before
the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). It is
tantamount to blasphemy for anyone to argue that man is
capable, of his own "free will," to make a decision for Christ.
Note the testimony of Luke:
"And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad,
and glorified the Word of the Lord; and as many as
were ordained to eternal life, believed" (Acts 13:48).
The Lord Jesus insists that Life and Faith are
the work of God, not the work of man. He said.......
the Son gives life to whom He will" and
"this is the work of God, that you believe
on Him whom God has sent" (Jn. 6:29; 5:21). In all
fairness, the evangelist who says to the crowd,
"Whosoever comes to Jesus will in no wise be cast out,"
should add the preceding words of Christ:
"All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me" (Jn. 6:37).
Who is it that will not be cast out? All who
come to Him! Who, then, will come to the Saviour?
He says, "All whom the Father gives Me."
The choice as to who will come to Christ
at any given moment is God's, not man's.
God does not call all men at the same time.
Some are ordained to eternal life, right now, while
others will be called later. "For as in Adam ALL DIE,
even so in Christ shall ALL BE MADE ALIVE. BUT EVERY
MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER..." (I Cor. 15:22-23).
Man Is A Free Moral Agent: Just What Do You Mean Man is A Free Moral Agent; The Sinner Must Decide; The Shepherd Seeks The Sheep; The Will Of Man; I Will Draw All Men Unto Me; By One Man
Excerpt from J. Preston Eby
In Luke 15:4 we read, "What man of
you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go
after that which is lost UNTIL HE FIND IT?" In this
passage we find that at the end of the day, the shepherd
finds that he is just one little sheep short of
completeness. There is only one outside - so why bother
to go after that one, for perhaps that one is one of the
rebellious ones anyway and will not choose to come back!
But the Shepherd we are dealing with in
this story is not an ordinary shepherd. This is the Great
and Good Shepherd of the sheep and nothing will stop Him
or prevent Him from finding that last sheep. This
Shepherd will not be content with even an extraordinary
effort to find the sheep and then give up, feeling that
He has done His duty. Neither does He "call"
the sheep, and then wait to see if the sheep decides to
come, and if not, just leave him there in his lost
condition to die. This Shepherd searches UNTIL HE FINDS.
And the FINDING of this Shepherd is not only the locating
of the sheep, but it also includes the bringing back into
the fold of that sheep.
Most of the religious teaching today
would have us believe that Christ has done all He can for
the sinner, so He has now gone back to His heaven and is
seated upon His golden throne waiting for all who will to
be saved. According to this thinking, God through Jesus
has done all He can possibly do and has now left the work
of saving souls to the Church, hoping that some, at
least, will be persuaded to accept the Saviour.
The Church must go out and contact all the sinners
they can and see if they cannot get them to "accept Christ."
But, of course, if the sinner does not want to be saved,
then even God in all His power cannot intervene
and nothing is left but eternal hell fire and
damnation for that sinner. But just what does this line
of reasoning reveal? The tragedy of it is that it
shows us nothing but a POWERFUL MANKIND
and a WEAK GOD!
Another thing this line of teaching
suggests is that God, having finished the work of
redemption, then turns it all over to a rather carnal
Church that does not truly know God, does not even
understand God's great plan of the ages, and cares far
more about making proselytes to a denomination than in
bringing people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
The average Church today cares more about its programs,
its missionary efforts, its buildings, its committee meetings
and its budget than it does about making known
to the world the glad news that God has
reconciled the whole world to Himself and He shall not
rest until every heart has surrendered and the very last
sheep has been carried back to the fold. Nothing stops or
hinders this Shepherd, for if He did fail in this effort,
He could never rest knowing that one of His sheep was
lost and eternally destroyed. He does not send anyone
else or leave it to the sheep to find its way back.
HE HIMSELF GOES UNTIL HE FINDS.
The popular Churches ridiculously assert
that spiritually dead men must somehow
"choose" the Lord, but God's testimony
about it is just the opposite. The bluntest affirmation
that man does not do the choosing of God is that our Lord
Jesus Christ Himself testified, "You have not chosen Me,
but I HAVE CHOSEN YOU" (Jn. 15:16). In fact,
according to Paul, that choice was made by God
before He ever made so much as one single thing!
"According as HE HAS CHOSEN US in Christ before
the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). It is
tantamount to blasphemy for anyone to argue that man is
capable, of his own "free will," to make a decision for Christ.
Note the testimony of Luke:
"And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad,
and glorified the Word of the Lord; and as many as
were ordained to eternal life, believed" (Acts 13:48).
The Lord Jesus insists that Life and Faith are
the work of God, not the work of man. He said.......
the Son gives life to whom He will" and
"this is the work of God, that you believe
on Him whom God has sent" (Jn. 6:29; 5:21). In all
fairness, the evangelist who says to the crowd,
"Whosoever comes to Jesus will in no wise be cast out,"
should add the preceding words of Christ:
"All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me" (Jn. 6:37).
Who is it that will not be cast out? All who
come to Him! Who, then, will come to the Saviour?
He says, "All whom the Father gives Me."
The choice as to who will come to Christ
at any given moment is God's, not man's.
God does not call all men at the same time.
Some are ordained to eternal life, right now, while
others will be called later. "For as in Adam ALL DIE,
even so in Christ shall ALL BE MADE ALIVE. BUT EVERY
MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER..." (I Cor. 15:22-23).
Man Is A Free Moral Agent: Just What Do You Mean Man is A Free Moral Agent; The Sinner Must Decide; The Shepherd Seeks The Sheep; The Will Of Man; I Will Draw All Men Unto Me; By One Man
