Grace to Hear It

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand."
JOHN 10:28
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Grace to Hear It
You claim that Christ is a judge who punishes sinners severely, and that therefore I must pay and atone for my sins lest Christ slay me with His sword. Thus you teach me work-righteousness and the intercession of the saints. But I know that I am baptized, that I hear God's Word, and that I believe this article of faith, that is, believe in Jesus Christ. God has granted me grace to hear and to believe, and, thus equipped, I came to Him by the will of the Heavenly Father. This is sufficient for me. Why should I fear? And whom should I fear? For He says here: "Him who comes to Me I will not cast out." This I will accept, love, and cherish. Therefore I will surely remain secure with Him. For here I am dearly and unmistakably assured that I will not be rejected and cast out. And in another passage it is written that no one will snatch me out of His hand (John 10:28). Christ is determined to protect and defend me, so that no one will take me from Him, even though all the devils and the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18) were against me.

From Sermons on the Gospel of John, Chapters 6-8 (Luther's Works 23:60)
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