Who are Christ's sheep and what does it mean to believe in Him?

Believers, do you believe in our Lord Jesus Christ? Then you are His sheep. You hear His voice. He knows you. You follow Him. You have eternal life. You will never perish and no one will snatch you out of His hand. All very clearly stated by our Saviour in John 10:25-28:

"25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,"

His sheep are all who believe Him.

But many people think: "Saved just by simply believing and not doing God's will and His works? That is too cheap a gospel. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

This is the truth. Without doing God's will, no one shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But such people will never tell you what exactly the will of God is or what the works are that He wants us to do. At best, they say it is keeping the Law, but "the Law is not of faith" and "without faith it is impossible to please God." According to Galatians 5:4:-"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

But do we really for one moment think that our heavenly Father would make His will that is so crucial to our salvation vague in any way? Certainly not!

So what is God's will? What are the works that God wants us to do? Some people asked our Saviour Jesus this question in John 6. No better answer or explanation of God's will and His works that we must do than that which comes from our Saviour Jesus Himself!

28 "Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 "Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

Again, in the same John 6, Christ tells us plainly what God's will is:

39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Believers, according to our Lord Jesus Christ, this is the work of God that we must do: believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is God's will according to our Lord Jesus Christ: "that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

For the New Covenant believer, believing in our Saviour Jesus is obedience. When the believing is right, right living will follow. Under the New covenant, there is only the obedience of faith, not the Law. The Law is not of faith and without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Now let's see what it means to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. See our Saviour's words regarding believing: John 10:25-26

"Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep."

Today, many believers who call our Saviour "Lord" read and hear of His finished work on the cross but do not believe that in His suffering, death and resurrection for our sake, He accomplished all that He accomplished for us; much like how a kind benefactor pays off a loan that a person is powerless to repay but that person still continues to try to pay the bank, even after seeing the evidence of his benefactor's payment.

To such, Christ is neither Lord nor Saviour. They do not believe that He has saved them but they call Him Lord. They are not His sheep. They do not believe Him. For example:

Romans 5:19 tells us "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous." 

But many in the church still believe that their right-standing with God is determined by how well they are keeping the Ten Commandments/their good works and not Christ's obedience, very contrary to Romans 3:20 which says no one can be made righteous in God's sight by doing what the law commands. These ones have been cut off from Christ according to Galatians 5:4 -"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." To such, Christ is not Saviour. They do not believe Him.

Galatians 3:13 tells us that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law but many believe that they still have to redeem themselves from generational and other curses by carnal (human effort) means like bringing their childhood pictures to church for deliverance and fasting to break padlocks of bondage. To such, Christ is not Saviour. They do not believe Him.

Romans 8:32 tells us "He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" 

But many believe that they must do certain things like obey the Law or sow seed first before God can heal or provide for them. Here, receiving from God depends on one's abilities and not on Christ's finished work. To such, Christ is not Saviour. They do not believe Him.

Zacchaeus the tax collector, the woman with the issue of blood and all who were healed and saved by our Lord Jesus Christ wouldn't have stood a chance if there were other terms and conditions for receiving! Only believe.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says "But we with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 

But many try to transform themselves to be godly (be like God) by keeping the Law, even when according to Romans 3:20 "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." To such, Christ is not Saviour. They do not believe Him.

So much more. Many people call Jesus 'Lord, Lord' but do not see Him as Saviour. These ones are not saved by Jesus. They are still trying to save themselves from God's righteous judgment. They do not believe that old things have passed away in their lives so they're still dealing with old things like curses and sin (which Christ has delivered us from) all by themselves. Christ only features in the "in Jesus' name" at the end of each prayer point!

Believers, when the believing is right, right living will follow. This is the logic of heaven. With Christ as our righteousness, we don't HAVE TO live right; we GET TO live right. According to Romans 7:4, we get to produce "a harvest of good deeds for God."

Romans 7:5 tells us that those who still have the old nature, keeping the Law to get right with God (under Law and not under grace) get to produce "a harvest of sinful deeds that lead to death." The letter kills.

This is the logic of heaven. See 1 Corinthians 1:18-

"For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God."

Remember Philippians 2:13 "For it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure." He works His will in us, makes us desire to do it; gives us the ability to do it; does it through us and for us so we please Him and then He rewards us for doing it. Yet not us doing His will but Christ in us. Nothing to do with us. All to do with our Saviour Jesus. Even our being called to believe to enjoy His grace.

That's why in heaven, we will sing "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" and not "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain....and me, I also played my part!"

How we please Him is in His hands. It's unforced. It's grace! It's Christ in us. It's natural because when we rest in Christ's finished work (which He gives us grace to do,) we become like Him. Let's look to the Giver and the gifts, including right living, will follow. All these things shall be added unto you, including the grace to live right.

Doing the will of God is believing in His Son, our Saviour Jesus. Believing Him is to believe ALL that He accomplished for us in His suffering, death and resurrection. He called us to believe and does everything else too. This is His Grace - undeserved, unmerited favour! Trust in Him, "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" Philippians 1:6.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.