I'm going to speak to you this
morning from a very familiar passage of Scripture, John chapter
6, verse 37 through 45. Now, I'd like very much for you
to follow in your Bibles while I read the Word, but if you do
not wish to open your Bible and follow with me while I read,
will you just listen carefully as I read the Scripture? And
see how many times the Lord talks about our coming to Him, coming
to Christ. Now, that's my subject. Him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. That's our subject.
And our text is the sixth chapter of John, beginning with verse
37. Now, listen carefully. I'm going to read about three
or four verses of Scripture. Our Lord said, all that the Father
giveth to me shall come to me. and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. No man can come to me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him
up at the last day. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God, every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh to me." You
see, coming to Christ is a phrase that is frequently used in the
Word of God. It's very common to the Word
of God. It's the same as receiving Christ. To as many as received
him, to them gave he the right, the privilege to become sons
of God. Coming to Christ is the same
as receiving Christ. It's the same also as believing
on Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. That's the same as coming to
Christ. It's the same as trusting Christ, in whom you trusted after
you heard the word of truth. Now, what is it to come to Christ?
Now, that's what we're going to talk about in the first part
of the message, and I'm going to try to answer that question
for you. So often, preachers ask questions
and then never get around to answering the question. But what
is it to come to Christ? Let's get right into the answer.
First of all, now remember that coming to Christ is the same
as believing on him, as receiving him, as trusting him. Well, coming
to Christ, first of all, is coming to him personally, to him personally. He says, you come to me and I'll
give you rest. Not come to the minister. The
minister can't give you peace and pardon and rest and eternal
life. He cannot give you hope. It is
not come to the law. The law says nothing but guilty.
The law cannot save, it only condemns. It is not come to my
church. It is not come to my doctrines.
It is not come to my ordinances. Christ says, come to me. Him
that cometh to me, I'll in no wise cast out. And every man
that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh to me. So coming
to Christ, first of all, is coming to him personally. Coming to
Christ as my prophet. to reveal the Father. Moses,
way back there in the Old Testament, in the book of Genesis and Exodus,
talked about that prophet whom God would send, that prophet
that God would raise up from among the brethren, you listen
to him. And when the Lord Jesus came,
the Father said, now this is my beloved Son, you hear him,
you hear him, no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he
to whom the Son will reveal him. We come to Him as the prophet
to reveal the Father. The mercy of God, the wisdom
of God, the love of God, the grace of God is revealed in Christ. And we come to Christ as our
priest, not only to atone for us by His substitutionary death,
but also to intercede for us as our mediator. He is our priest. We have a priest. Believers are
priests. They're priests and kings under
God. They're royal priesthood, a holy nation. But they also
have a priest, a great high priest, and that person is the Lord Jesus
Christ, who by His own blood makes atonement for our souls,
and by His own pleading intercedes for us, and then it's coming
to Christ as King to reign over us, to rule over us. He is our
Lord, our prophet, priest, and King. So coming to Christ, first
of all, is coming to Him personally, not to anyone who represents
Him, but to Him, not to anything that represents Him, but to Him.
In Psalm 130, verse 7, the Scripture says, Let Israel hope in the
Lord. For with the Lord there's mercy,
and with Him there's plenteous redemption. Let Israel hope in
the Lord. It doesn't say, Let Israel hope
for mercy. Let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with Him there's mercy. It doesn't say, Let Israel hope
for redemption. It says, let Israel hope in the
Lord. Redemption is in the Lord. You
see that? If I have the tree, I have the
fruit. If I have the physician, I have
the cure. If I have the giver, I have the
gift. So our faith, our hope, our trust
is to be not in the blessings of Christ, but in Christ. And
if we have Him, we have the blessings. We're not to set our affections
on the benefits of Christ. We're to set our affections on
Christ. And if we have Him, we have all the blessings and all
the benefits. It's foolish to make peace your
aim, to make peace and rest your aim. Make Christ your aim. Make
Christ the object of your love and your faith. And if you have
Him, you have all that Christ brings and all that Christ gives.
Come unto me, he said, and I will give you rest. Come unto me and
I will give you rest. It's possible for Satan for evil
spirits to give you a false peace and a false rest. And you miss
Christ. So the first thing in coming
to Christ is coming to Him personally. Personally. All right? Secondly,
coming to Christ is coming to Him as He is. As He is. As He is revealed in the Word
of God. Now listen to Romans 10. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how
shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? And how
shall they believe in him of whom they've not heard? And how
shall they hear without a preacher? You can't trust an unrevealed
Christ. You can't come to an unknown
Christ. And the only way you can have Christ revealed to you,
and the only way you can know who Christ is, and what Christ
did, and why he did it, and where he is now, is from the Scriptures. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. We've got to come to the Christ
who's revealed in the Scriptures, not the Christ of some denomination,
not the Christ of some preacher's imagination, not the Christ of
some person's thoughts. We're going to have to find out
who he is as he's revealed in God's Word. Because Paul talked
about preachers preaching another Jesus and preaching another gospel
and preaching another spirit. My friends, we're going to have
to find out who he is. The Scripture says, He's the
Lord from heaven. The first man is of the earth,
earthy. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. That's who he is. Thomas found
that out, and Thomas fell at his feet and cried, My Lord and
my God. Christ is not only our Savior,
he's our Lord. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. He said to those Jews in his
day, I and my Father are one. And they took up stones to stone
him. And he says, now many good works
have I done among you, for which of these do you stone me? And
they said in John chapter 10, verse 31, we stone thee not for
good work, but because you're a man and you claim to be God.
And that's who he is. We've got to call upon him who
is the God-man, who is revealed in the scripture as our God and
as our Lord and as the Son of Man. Then we call upon Him, as
He's revealed in the Scripture, the only way to God. There are
not two ways to God. There are not two foundations
upon which we can build. There are not two ways of salvation.
Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh
to the Father but by Me. The Apostle said, Other foundations
can no man lay than that which is laid, Christ the Lord. I am
the door. By Me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. He that climbeth up some other
way is a thief and a robber. There's no other way to be saved
except through Christ, the Christ of the Bible. He's the only mediator. The Bible says there's one God
and one mediator between God and man, and that's the man Christ
Jesus. The Scripture says He's our only
righteousness. Those people in Romans 10 sought
another righteousness. They would not submit to the
righteousness of God, but they sought to make themselves acceptable
before God by their own righteousness and would not submit to Christ
who is God's righteousness. Everything the believer needs
is in Christ. Everything that the Father gives
is in Christ. Everything that the Father requires
is in Christ. He of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, all we need.
We're complete in Christ. So coming to Christ is coming
to Him personally. It's coming to Him who is revealed
in the Scriptures as He is revealed in the Scriptures. Now, that's
important. Who is your Savior? Who is your
Lord? Well, it's the Christ of God.
Where did you learn about Him? I learned about Him in God's
Word. These things are written that you might believe on the
name of the Son of God and believing that you might have eternal life.
All right, thirdly, are you with me? What is it to come to Christ?
It is to come to Christ leaving all things that are contrary
to Christ. Coming to Christ is not only
coming to him personally. It's not only coming to him as
he's revealed in the Scriptures. But when you come to Christ,
you leave something else. If you turn your face toward
Christ, you turn your back on evil and on righteousness. You turn your back on something.
Listen to the Scripture in Luke 14, 33. Whosoever he be of you
that forsaketh not all that he hath, He cannot be my disciple. Listen to Matthew 10, 37. He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of
me. He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
me. No man can serve two masters. Two masters. A man can have more
than one friend, but not more than one master. He can have
more than one companion, but he can't have but one Lord. Jesus
Christ demands to be all. If he's not Lord of all, he's
not Lord at all. So when I come to Christ and
bow to him as my God and my Lord and my Master, then I turn my
back on everything that's contrary to Jesus Christ. I must be willing
to. I must turn away from my works
to his righteousness. As Paul said, we cease from our
labors and enter into his rest. We turn our backs on our tradition
and receive his truth. This is what happened to the
Pharisees. They could not turn loose of their tradition. They
could not bow to the truth. That's the reason our Lord said,
Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
But to them, tradition was more important than truth. We turn
from our will to His Word. We turn from our worldly companions
to walk with and be identified with the people of God. Paul
asked this question. When he says, come apart and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, he says, what fellowship does
darkness have with light? What communion does Baal, the
god of evil, have with the Lord Jesus Christ? It's impossible
for me to walk with the world and walk with Christ. He that
would save his life, that is, he that would deliver his life,
that would have his own way, shall lose his life. But he that
will give up his life and lose his life for my sake, Christ
said, shall find it. So coming to Christ is coming
to Him personally. It's coming to Him as He's revealed
in the Scriptures. It's coming to Him forsaking
all others. It's looking to Christ and Christ
alone. First in your life, first in your heart, first in your
home. First in your present, first in your future. And then
fourthly, coming to Christ is coming to Him, now listen to
me, continually, continually. Now my friends, repentance. is
not an isolated act. Somebody said, well, I repented
one time. No. Repentance is a state of
being. I have repented. I am repenting.
By God's grace, I shall continue to repent. I have believed. Faith is not an isolated act.
You don't talk about faith as something you did 30 years ago.
This thing of faith is an attitude. It's a principle of life. It's
a state of the heart. It's a condition. I have believed. I am believing. You know, the
Bible regards salvation in three tenses. In Ephesians 2, 8, and
9, the Scripture says, For by grace have you been saved. That's
right. That's the correct translation
of that Scripture. Ask your minister. For by grace
have you been saved through faith. And that's not of yourselves.
Faith's not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. And then in 1 Corinthians 1,
18, the Scripture says, The preaching of the cross is to them that
are perishing. Foolishness. But to us who are
being saved, it's the power of God. And then Paul in Romans
13, 11 says this, our salvation is nearer now than when we believe. So we have been saved, we are
being saved, and our salvation is nearer than when we believe.
When I come to Christ, it's a continual coming to Christ, as Peter wrote
in 1 Peter 2, 4. To whom coming? To whom coming? Always coming to Christ. always
believing Christ, always feeding on Christ, always looking to
Christ. It's a continual coming to Christ.
We obtain all that we need and all that is required for time
and eternity from Him to whom we continually come. Out of my
bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come, and I keep coming. Into
Thy freedom, gladness and light, Jesus, I come to Thee. Out of
my sickness, into thy health, out of my want, into thy wealth,
out of my sin, and into thyself. Jesus, I come, and I keep coming. Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come. Into thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to thee. Out of myself to dwell in thy
love, out of despair into raptures above, Jesus, I come to thee. What is it to come to Christ?
Well, it's a whole lot more than just turning over a new leaf.
It's a whole lot more than just getting religion. It's a whole
lot more than just raising your hand in a revival meeting. It's
a whole lot more than just walking down an aisle and shaking a preacher's
hand and accepting a few facts. Coming to Christ. And those are
the ones who are saved, who come to Christ. Come to me, and I'll
give you rest. All that my Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I don't know why
it's cast out. It's to come to Him personally.
It's to come to Him, not another Jesus, not a Jesus of your imagination,
but the Christ of the Bible. It's to come to the Christ of
the Bible, and it's to come leaving everything behind. Like the old
Roman general who took a half a dozen ships and invaded a country,
and when he landed on the shores of that country, and all of his
men and all of his supplies were brought ashore, He gave orders
to burn the ships, just burn the ships in the bay. And one
of his men looked out there and saw those ships burning and he
said, General, what are we going to do if we have to retreat?
He said, we didn't come here to retreat. What are we going
to do if we have to go back? We didn't come here to go back.
We came here to stay. And that's what coming to Christ
is. You come to stay. And it's coming to him continually,
continually. Now then, take your Bible and
look at John 6, 37 again. In these verses, our Lord has
some important things to say about these people who do come
to Christ. Who do come to Christ. First
of all, He says this about them in John 6, 37. He says, All that
my Father giveth me shall come to me. The first thing I know
about those who come to Christ is that they were given to Him
by the Father. Who are these people given to
Christ? Well, they're out of Adam's race, fallen sinners.
Our Lord came to seek and to save the lost. 1 Timothy 1, verse
15 says, this is a faithful saying. It's worthy of acceptation by
all men that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
Who are the people that the Father gave him? They're sinners. They're
sinners, guilty sinners. Christ came to die for sinners.
He died for the ungodly. He saved the lost. Well, why
were these people given to Christ? Well, the Bible says that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren. That's the reason
God the Father gave him a people, that he might populate heaven
with a people like Christ, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. I'll tell you another reason
why the Father gave the Son a people as numerous as the stars of the
sky and the sands of the seashore, out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, and tongue unto heaven, that in the ages to come he might
show in them the riches of His grace. That's right. And then,
that all might honor the Son as they honor the Father. That
throughout the ageless eons of eternity, we might forever praise
the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb. Christ is going to be praised.
That at His name, every knee should bow and every tongue should
confess that He's Lord. That's why the Father gave Him
a people. When did the Father give Him these people? When were
they given to the Son? Well, the Bible tells us, I thank
God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you unto salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. In Ephesians 1, 3, and
4, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
That's when God the Father gave the Son of people, before the
foundation of the world. And Christ said, All that my
Father giveth me, they shall come to me. Isn't that what it
says? John 6, 37. Now, what's the second thing he says about
him? And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. The gifts and calling of God
are without repentance. Whom he foreordained, he did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. And
whom he predestinated, he called. And whom he called, he justified.
And whom he justified, he glorified. That's right. Everybody whom
the Father gave to the Son, they will come to Christ, and they
will never be cast out. They will never be ashamed. They
will never be confounded. They will never be brought into
judgment. They will never be brought into condemnation. They
will never be cast out of His presence. Read that 8th chapter
of Romans, beginning with verse 28, and go down and see those
four questions that are asked. After the Apostle Paul wrote
this great chapter, and he said, All things, we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are called according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow
and so forth. Down in verse 31 he says this,
if God be for us, who can be against us? If God's for us in
eternal mercies, if God's for us in redeeming graces, if God
is for us in effectual calling, if God is for us in persevering
and preserving power, who can be against us? The law can't.
It's God's law. Satan can't because he's under
the dominion of Christ. His power's been crushed by the
blood of Christ. Who can be against us? And then
in the next verse, verse 33, it says, Who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. And
then verse 34 says, Who is he that condemneth? It's Christ
that died. And then verse 35 says, Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or
distress or famine, or neckedness, or peril, or sore day. In all
these things, we're more than conquerors through him that loved
us. So here are two things the Lord Jesus says about those who
come to him. He says, they come because my
Father gave them to me. And the purpose of God cannot
be defeated. And when they come, I'll never
cast them out. And then fourthly, look at verse
44. He says, those who come, come supernaturally. They come
powerfully drawn by God the Father. No man can come to me except
my Father which sent me, draw him. You know, the average person
describes coming to Christ as the simplest, easiest thing in
the world. There's nothing to it, they say.
Anybody can come to Christ. That's not what the Lord says
here. Anyone is not able. He says no man can come to me.
The Bible says it's utterly impossible for any man apart from the Holy
Spirit, apart from the Heavenly Father, to come to Christ. Why? Well, it's not a physical inability.
It's not a mental inability. The inability is in the sinner's
nature. He does not want to come. He
must be made willing to come. There must be a drawing upon
his soul and heart by the power of God. Take, for example, a
sheep. A sheep eats grass. Well, a wolf can, but he won't.
It's not his nature. The sheep come when the shepherd
calls. The shepherd calls the sheep
by name and he comes. The wolf won't come. He can hear
the shepherd, but he won't come because he don't want to come.
It's not in his nature to come. Our Lord said, you will not come
to me that you might have life. How oft would I gather you unto
myself, but you would not. Something must happen. No man,
whoever he may be, whatever his natural ability, can come to
me. in a saving, believing fashion, except the Father which sent
me, draw him." And Psalm 110, verse 3 says, "...thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power." Someone says, well,
preacher, men can be saved if they will. My dear sir, that's
absolutely correct. Men can be saved if they will. But who will? Do you know anybody
who will? They've got to want Christ, desire
Christ. covet Christ, seek Christ. That's
the only way. And that desire and that will
to come to Christ is a work of God. Men must be awakened from
a dead condition, quickened by the power of God, begotten by
the Holy Spirit, or they will not come. But when they do come,
they come willingly. They come willingly. And they
come completely, and they come forever. Now notice the fourth
thing, verse 45. And everyone that Heareth of
the Father, and learneth of the Father, cometh to me. It is written
in the prophets, They shall be taught of God. And everyone that
is taught of God, and learns of God, cometh unto me. The Father
teaches men by the Holy Spirit. The Father teaches men by the
Word of God. The Father teaches men through
anointed messengers, ambassadors of Christ. What does He teach
them? Well, let me give you four or five things, and I'll close.
He teaches them, first of all, who He is. Who is God? Who is God? Job said, I've heard
of thee by the hearing of the ear, and now, man, I see of thee. Saul of Tarsus, very religious,
very devout, very consecrated, very holy, didn't know God. And on the road to Damascus,
he said, who are you, Lord? Who are you? What does God teach
men who come to Christ? He teaches them who He is. to
whom they come. He teaches them who they are.
He teaches them that they're sinners. A man'll never be saved
till he's lost. He'll never be found till he's lost. He'll never
be raised till he's dead. God's got to teach us what we
are. We'll never cry for mercy till we need it. The law's got
to shut our mouths. Paul said, I'd have never known
sin if the law had not said, thou shalt not covet. He teaches
us who Christ is. What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? He teaches us what Christ did for us. He was wounded
for our transgressions. Why he did it, that God might
be just and justified. And all those who are taught
of God, Christ said, they'll come to me. They'll come to me.
Those given me by the Father, those taught of the Father, and
wooed and drawn by the Father, they'll come to me. And I'll
never cast them out.