can I be plucked?

 

One of my favorite songs of all time is In Christ Alone written by the Getty’s. In its last verse comes a very rousing theme of being secure in Christ.

 

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow’r of Christ in me;

From life’s first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.

 

“No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand.” In a previous church context I was a part of I was told we could not sing that 4th verse because of that particular line which struck the pastor as “too reformed” for his comfort, and to not have to deal with whatever issues would come from a line like that, we could sing all the verses but that one. 

I sadly didn’t push back more at that time. I should have. Unfortunately in our day and age the concept of perseverance of the saints has been relegated by many to be only a doctrine of the Reformed tradition. I argue it is not. While the Wesleyan Arminian take on the doctrine may be somewhat different, the core element is the same. If we are found in Christ, we are secure in Him. This thought is directly talked of in Romans 8:38b-39, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Nothing is ever able to take us from God’s hand. If we remain in Christ then we are secure in Him. Of course, we can choose to walk out of His hand if we so choose. The question can then be raised, “what does it mean to be found in Christ?” Simply put it can be asked, Am I, having recognized the truth of the gospel, that Jesus alone is my hope for  salvation by His death and resurrection and no works of my own, and through the enabling power of His Holy Spirit I am living as a representative of Christ and His Kingdom, allegiant to Him alone. If the answer is yes to that question, truly and honestly then you are found in Christ. 

How does this look in practice? We are all human. We suffer and struggle with the reality of our fallen humanity. Maybe there is a habit that we have desperately been asking the Lord to break in us. Does that mean I am not saved if I stumble and fall? The question is, like King David after his sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah: do I remain loyal to the Lord alone? Unlike the other Kings in Israel’s history before their captivity, they would start worshiping other idols. Even though David horrifically sinned, he remained loyal to God. 

So as we look at our own lives, we may have times where we stumble and fall (I certainly have in my past). But, if we remain loyal to Christ, pursuing Him and getting back up again with His help we will be found in Him and persevere no matter what comes against us. No power of hell, or scheme of man can ever pluck us from His hand!