Come to Christ and Welcome

(Article for publication week of 6-12- AD 2014)

 

"Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37b). Oh! What a wonderful word from the dear Saviour of sinners! Awakened sinner, I bring you good news from Christ's own gracious lips; He will not cast out any who come to Him for salvation.

The Saviour of sinners welcomes you to come to Him this very moment. He will not cast you out though your sins are as black as hell. There are none too sinful for the Lord Jesus Christ to save. It is written of the Son of man that He "receiveth sinners"! And I am so glad that I can read that in the word of God. I was as vile as a sinner could be, but the Lord Jesus Christ received me when I came to Him by faith. And I know that if He did not cast me out, He will not cast you out either, if you come to Him as a sinner to be saved. But one of my readers may be thinking, "oh! but Brother Floyd, you don't know how wicked I have been! I cannot believe that the dear Saviour would receive me. I fear that if I come to Him He would cast me out, and I feel that is just what I deserve." Poor sinner, you have Christ's Own words, "I will in no wise cast out." If you will read the scriptures you will find that Christ received prostitutes, tax collectors, blasphemers, thieves, murderers, persecutors, idolaters and the vilest of the vile who repented of their sins and threw themselves on His mercy. Though you feel yourself to be the very worst of sinners, your case is no worse that many others that Christ has saved. Why, I even read where Christ has saved filthy sodomites (I Corinthians 6:9-11). Every filthy sinner that has come to the cleansing fountain has been washed as white as snow. Christ has made harlots into virtuous women, crooks into honest men, persecutors into preachers, and filthy sodomites into normal people. That is the saving power of Him Who says, "him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." Christ welcomes you poor sinner to  come to Him and be saved from the penalty, power, pollution, and (ultimately) the presence of sin. Do you desire to be saved from your filthy sins and be released from its bondage? Then come to Christ and be saved today.

But perhaps some are thinking, "oh! how I wish to come to Christ, but I  feel my utter inability! I have tried everything, but I  am no better." Poor sinner, though you have no power in yourself, the power is in the Saviour Who bids you come! The first half of my text is a promise that all that the Father gave to the Son shall come to Him. John 6:37 provides two crutches for helpless sinners to hobble to Christ upon. Cry out to the Great Physician right now and beg Him to draw you by His power to Himself.

And then there may be someone else thinking, "I know I cannot come to Christ, for I have rejected Him so many times before. I was raised by Godly parents who pointed me to Christ, but I refused and went my own way. I had a faithful pastor who pleaded with me every Lord's day to repent and come to Christ and be saved, but I would not." Poor sinner, Christ has saved more than a few in just such circumstances. I believe that if you are pained in your soul about such things, it may be the Holy Spirit is dealing with you this very moment.

Let no sinner despair of being saved as long as the Saviour of sinners says "him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." Comet to Christ, and welcome. Come to Christ and be saved.

The Bondage of Free Will

(Article for publication week of 6-5- AD 2014)

"And ye will not come to me that ye might have life" (John 5:40).

In John 6:44 our Lord declared that no man can come to Him without the drawing power of the Holy Spirit. Man is unable to come to Christ by his so-called " free" will. In our text this week, our Lord says that men will not come to Him. Man's plight is desperate, he will not come to Christ, and he cannot come to Christ; and if he does not come to Christ he will perish eternally.

Now, I want you to be sure you understand that God is not going to send you to hell for your inability. God is going to send you to hell for your rebellion, for that is exactly what refusing to believe in Christ is- it is utter rebellion. The reason you will not come to Christ is that you are a rebel intent on having your own way. When you come to the Judgment Seat of Christ you will not be able to plead your inability as a reason for not believing on Christ as Lord and Saviour. That would be like a thief coming before the judge and pleading as a reason he should not be convicted of a crime that he could not help stealing. The judge would likely say that he should receive the full penalty of the law in such a case. And so dear reader, if you refuse to heed the gospel and come to Christ for salvation you are doubly indicted by the High King of Glory: first for breaking God's law, and secondly for refusing to accept God's appointed remedy for sinners- His Son.

In reality man's will is not free, but enslaved. Your will is enslaved to your pride, your self- love, your carnality, your fascination with the world, the opinions of your fellows, the fashions of the day and a thousand other things. Pelagians and Arminians will scream, "but I believe whosoever will may come"! So do I. But what good is that when the world is full of "whosoever won'ts". That is exactly what our text here in John 5:40 says, "whosoever won't"! "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life."

So how can a rebellious sinner ever come to Christ? It is only by the sovereign grace of God! Those that God purposes to save He changes their will so that they gladly and willingly come to Christ. So we read in Psalm 110:3," Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power." When the Holy Spirit calls a sinner out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord Jesus Christ, that sinner then comes most freely to Christ. I wonder if that has ever happened to you? Has your stubborn, rebellious nature been conquered by God's exceptional grace? Have you come by faith to Christ for life? Our text says that is the only way you may have life. While our Lord plainly shows the enmity of our natural, fallen will, He also implies that if we are willing to come to Him, we will have life and be saved. I pray the Lord will make you willing in the day of His power and that you will come to Christ without delay.