THIS IS A STUDY OF JESUS PROMISING THAT NONE WHO COME TO HIM WILL BE CAST OUT. BEING ACCEPTED IN PROMISED.

1. JESUS WAS PROMISING NONE CAST OUT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
New American Standard Bible
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the
one who comes to Me I will certainlynot cast out.
The Sum and Substance ofAll Theology
Unpublished Notes of a Sermon
Intended for Reading on Lord's-Day, April 17th, 1892,
Deliveredby
C. H. SPURGEON,
Deliveredat Bethesda Chapel, Swansea
On June 25th, 1861.
From Sword and Trowel
Note:On Tuesday, June 25th, 1861, the belovedC. H. Spurgeon visited
Swansea. The day was wet, so the services couldnot be held in

2. the open-air; and, as no building in the town was large enough to hold the vast
concoursesofpeople who had come from all parts to hear the renowned
preacher, he consentedto deliver two discourses in the morning; first at
Bethesda, and then at Trinity Chapel. At eachplace he preachedfor an hour
and a quarter. The weatherclearedup during the day; so, in the evening, Mr.
Spurgeonaddressedan immense gathering of people in the open-air.—
T.W.M.
FORWARDED BYPASTOR T. W. MEDHURST, CARDIFF.
"All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that comethto Me I
will in no wise castout."—John6:37.
hat a difference there is betweenthe words of Christ, and those of all mere
men! Mostmen speak many words, yet say but little; Christ speaks few words,
yet says very much. In modern books, youmay read scores ofpages, and
scarcelycome acrossa new thought; but when Christ speaks, everysyllable
seems to tell. He hits the nail on the head eachtime He lifts the hammer of His
Word. The Words of Christ are like ingots of solid gold; we preachers too
often beat out the gold so thin, that whole acres ofit would scarcelybe worth a
farthing. The Words of Christ are always to be distinguished from those of
His creatures, notonly for their absolute truthfulness, but also for their
profound fulness of matter. In all His language He is "full of grace and truth."
Look at the text before us. Here we have, in two small sentences, the sum and
substance of all theology. The greatquestions which have divided the Church
in all ages, the apparently contradictorydoctrines which have setone minister
of Christ againsthis fellow, are here revealedso simply and plainly, "that he
may run that readeth" (Habakkuk ii.2). Even a child may understand the
Words of Christ, though perhaps the loftiest human intellect cannotfathom
the mystery hidden therein.
Take the first sentence ofmy text: "All that the Fathergiveth Me shall come
to Me." What a weighty sentence!Here we have taught us what is called, in
the presentday, "High Calvinistic doctrine"—the purpose of God; the
certainty that God's purpose will stand; the invincibility of God's will; and the

3. absolute assurance thatChrist "shallsee of the travail of His soul, and shall be
satisfied."
Look at the secondsentence ofmy text: "And him that cometh to me I will in
no wise castout." Here we have the richness, the fulness, the unlimited extent
of the powerof Christ to save those who put their trust in Him. Here is a text
upon which one might preacha thousand sermons. We might take these two
sentences as a life-long text, and never exhaust the theme.
Mark, too, how our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the whole truth. We have many
ministers who can preach wellupon the first sentence:"All that the Father
giveth Me shall come to Me." Just setthem going upon Election, or
everlasting covenantengagements,and they will be earnestand eloquent, for
they are fond of dwelling upon these points, and a well-instructed child of God
can hear them with delight and profit. Such preachers are often the fathers of
the Church, and the very pillars thereof; but, unfortunately, many of these
excellentbrethren cannot preach so well upon the secondsentence ofmy text:
"And him that cometh to Me I will in no wise castout." When they get to that
truth, they are half afraid of it; they hesitate to preach what they considerto
be a too open salvation. They cannot give the gospelinvitation as freely as they
find it in the Word of God. They do not deny it, yet they stutter and stammer
sadly, when they getupon this theme.
Then, on the other hand, we have a large number of goodministers who can
preach on this secondclause ofthe text, but they cannotpreach on the first
clause. How fluent is their language as they tell out the freeness ofsalvation!
Here they are much at home in their preaching;but, we are sorry to be
compelled to saythat, very often, they are not much at home when they come
to doctrinal matters, and they would find it rather a difficult matter to preach
fluently on the first sentence ofmy text. They would, if they attempted to
preach from it, endeavour to cut out of it all that savours of Divine
Sovereignty. They do not preach the whole "truth" which "is in Jesus."
Why is it that some of us do not see both sides of God's revealedtruth? We
persist in closing one eye; we will not see all that may be seenif we open both
our eyes;and, sometimes, we getangry with a brother because he can see a

4. little more than we do. I think our text is very much like a stereoscopic
picture, for it presents two views of the truth. Both views are correct, forthey
are both photographedby the same light. How can we bring these two truths
together? We get the stereoscopeofthe scripture, and looking with both eyes,
the two pictures melt into one. God has given us, in His Word, the two
pictures of divine truth; but we have not all got the stereoscope properly
adjusted to make them melt into one. When we getto heaven, we shall see how
all God's truth harmonizes. If we cannot make these two parts of truth
harmonize now, at any rate we must not dare to blot out one of them, for God
has given them both.
Now, as God shall help me this morning, I want to expand both sentences of
my text with equal fidelity and plainness. I shall not expectto please some of
you while speaking on the first sentence, and I shall not be surprised if I fail to
please others of you when I come to the secondsentence;but, in ether case,it
will be a small matter to me if I have an easyconsciencebecauseIhave
proclaimed what I believe to be the whole truth of God. I am sure you will be
willing to give a patient hearing to that which you may not fully receive, if you
believe it to be declaredin all honesty. RejectwhatI say, if it be not true, but
if it be the Word of God, receive it; and, be it known unto you that it is at your
peril if you dare to rejectthe truthful Word of the glad tidings of God.
I. I will begin with the first sentence ofthe text: "All that the Father giveth Me
shall come to Me." We have here, first, THE FIRM FOUNDATION UPON
WHICH OUR SALVATION RESTS.
It rests, you perceive, not on something which man does, but on something
which God the Fatherdoes. The Father gives certainpersons to His Son, and
the Sonsays, "All that the Father giveth Me Shall come to Me." I take it that
the meaning of the text is this,—that, if any do come to Jesus Christ, it is those
whom the Father gave to Christ. And the reasonwhy they come,—ifwe
searchto the very bottom of things,—is, that the Fatherputs it into their
hearts to come. The reasonwhy one man is saved, and another man is lost, is
to be found in God; not in anything which the saved man did, or did not do;
not in anything which he felt, or did not feel; but in something altogether
irrespective of himself, even in the sovereigngrace ofGod. In the day of God's

5. power, the savedare made willing to give their souls to Jesus. The language of
Scripture must explain this point. "As many as receivedHim, to them gave He
powerto become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God" (John i. 12, 13). "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of
him that runneth, but of God that shewethmercy" (Romans ix. 16). If you
want to see the fount of grace, youmust go to the everlasting God; even as, if
you want to know why that river runs in this direction, and not in that, you
must trace it up to its source. In the case ofevery soul that is now in heaven, it
was the will of God that drew it thither. In the case of every spirit that is on its
way to glory now, unto God and unto Him alone must be the honour of its
salvation;for He it is who makes one "differ from another" (1 Cor. iv. 7).
I do not care to argue upon this point, except I put it thus: If any say, "It is
man himself who makes the difference," I reply, "You are involving yourself
in a greatdilemma; if man himself makes the difference, then mark—man
himself must have the glory." Now, I am certainyou do not mean to give man
the glory of his own salvation; you would not have men throw up their caps in
heaven, and shout, "Unto ourselves be the glory, for we, ourselves, were the
hinge and turning point of our own salvation." No, you would have all the
savedcasttheir crowns at the feetof Jesus, andgive to Him alone all the
honour and all the glory. This, however, cannotbe, unless, in that critical
point, that diamond hinge upon which man's salvationshall turn, God shall
have the control, and not the will of man. You know that those who do not
believe this truth as a matter of doctrine, do believe it in their hearts as a
matter of experience.
I was preaching, not very long ago, at a place in Derbyshire, to a
congregation, nearly all of whom were Methodists, and as I preached, they
were crying out, "Hallelujah! Glory! Bless the Lord!." They were full of
excitement, until I went on to say in my sermon, "This brings me to the
doctrine of Election." There was no crying out of "Glory!" and "Hallelujah!"
then. Instead, there was a greatdeal of shaking of the head, and a sortof
telegraphing round the place, as though something dreadful was coming. Now,
I thought, I must have their attention again, so I said, "You all believe in the
doctrine of Election?" "No, we don't, lad," said one. "Yes, you do, and I am

6. going to preach it to you, and make you cry 'Hallelujah!' over it." I am certain
they mistrusted my power to do that; so, turning a moment from the subject, I
said, "Is there any difference betweenyou and the ungodly world?" "Ay! Ay!
Ay!" "Is there any difference betweenyou and the drunkard, the harlot, the
blasphemer?" "Ay! Ay! Ay!" Ay! there was a difference indeed. "Well, now,"
I said, "there is a greatdifference; who made it, then?" for, whoevermade the
difference, should have the glory of it. "Did you make the difference?" "No,
lad," saidone; and the restall seemedto join in the chorus. "Who made the
difference, then? Why, the Lord did it; and did you think it wrong for Him to
make a difference betweenyou and other men?" "No, no," they quickly said.
"Very well, then; if it was not wrong for God to make the difference, it was
not wrong for Him to purpose to make it, and that is the doctrine of Election."
Then they cried, "Hallelujah!" as I said they would.
The doctrine of Electionis God's purposing in His heart that He would make
some men better than other men; that He would give to some men more grace
than to other men; that some should come out and receive the mercy; that
others, left to their own free will, should rejectit; that some should gladly
acceptthe invitations of mercy, while others, of their own accord, stubbornly
refuse the mercy to which the whole world of mankind is invited. All men, by
nature, refuse the invitations of the gospel. God, in the sovereigntyof His
grace, makes a difference by secretlyinclining the hearts of some men, by the
powerof His Holy Spirit, to partake of His everlasting mercy in Christ Jesus.
I am certainthat, whether we are Calvinists or Arminians, if our hearts are
right with God, we shall all adoringly testify: "We love Him, because He first
loved us." If that be not Election, I know not what it is.
II. Now, in the secondplace, note THE CERTAINTYOF THE ETERNAL
SALVATION OF ALL WHO WERE GIVEN TO JESUS;"All that the
Father giveth Me shall come to Me."
This is eternally settled, and so settledthat it cannot be altered by either man
or devil. All whose names are written in the Book ofLife of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, all whom God the Fatherdesignedto save
when He gave up His well-belovedSon to die upon the cross of Calvary, shall
in time be drawn by the Holy Spirit, and shall surely come to Christ, and be

7. kept by the Spirit, through the precious blood of Christ, and be folded for
ever with His sheep, on the hill-tops of glory.
Mark! "All that the Fathergiveth Me shall come to Me." Notone of those
whom the Father hath given to Jesus shallperish. If any were lost, the text
would have to read: "Almost all," or, "All but one;" but it positively says
"All," without any exception;even though one may have been, in his
unregenerate state, the very chief of sinners. Yet even that chosenone, that
given one, shall come to Jesus;and when he has come, he shall be held by that
strong love that at first chose him, and he shall never be let go, but shall be
held fast, even unto the end. Miss Much-afraid, and Mrs. Despondency, and
Mr. Feeble-mind, shall as certainly come to the arms of Christ, as Mr. Great-
heart, and Mr. Faithful, and Mr. Valiant-for-Truth. If one jewelwere lost
from Christ's crown, then Christ's crown would not be all-glorious. If one
member of the body of Christ were to perish, Christ's body would not be
complete. If one of those who are one with Christ should miss his way to
eternal life, Christ would not be a perfectChrist.
"All that the Father giveth Me Shall come to Me." "But suppose they will not
come?" I cannotsuppose any such thing, for He says they "shallcome." They
shall be made willing in the day of God's power. Godknows how to make a
passagethrough the heart of man; and though man is a free agent, yet God
can incline him, willingly, to come to Jesus. There are many sentences evenin
Wesley's hymn-book which containthis truth. If God took awayfreedom
from man, and then saved him, it would be but a small miracle. For God to
leave man free to come to Jesus, and yet to so move him as to make him come,
is a divinely-wrought miracle indeed. If we were for a moment to admit that
man's will could be more than a match for God's will, do you not see where we
should be landed? Who made man? God! Who made God? Shall we lift up
man to the sovereignthrone of Deity? Who shall be master, and have his way,
God or man? The will of God, that says they "shall come", knows how to
make them come.
"But suppose it should be one of those who are living in the interior of Africa,
and he does not hear the gospel;what then?" He shall hear the gospel;either
he shall come to the gospel, or the gospelshall go to him. Even if no minister

8. should go to such a chosenone, he would have the gospelspeciallyrevealedto
him rather than that the promise of the Almighty God should be broken.
"But suppose there should be one of God's chosenwho has become so bad
that there is no hope for him? He never attends a place of worship; never
listens to the gospel;the voice of the preacher never reaches him; he has
grown hardened in his sin, like steelthat has been seventimes annealed in the
fire; what then?" That man shall be arrestedby God's grace, and that
obdurate, hard-hearted one shall be made to see the mercy of God; the tears
shall stream down his cheeks, andhe shall be made willing to receive Jesus as
Saviour. I think that, as Godcould bend my will, and bring me to Christ, He
can bring anybody.
"Why was I made to hear His voice,
And enter while there's room;
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?
"'Twas the same love the spreadthe feast,
That sweetlyforcedme in;
Else I had still refused to taste,
And perish'd in my sin."
Yes, "sweetlyforcedme in;"—there is no other word that can so accurately
describe my case.Oh, how long Jesus Christ stoodat the door of my heart,
and knocked, andknocked, and knockedin vain! I asked:"Why should I
leave the pleasures ofthis world?" Yet still He knocked, and there was music
in every sound of His pleading voice;but I said, "Nay, let Him go elsewhere."
And though, through the window, I could see His thorn-crowned head, and
the tears standing in His eyes, and the prints of the nails in His hands, as He

9. stoodand knocked, and said, "Open to Me," yet I heeded Him not. Then He
sent my mother to me, and she pleaded, "letthe Saviour in, Charlie;" and I
replied, in action, though not in words, "Nay, I love thee, my mother; but I do
not love Christ, thy Saviour." Then came the black hours of sickness;but in
effectI said, "Nay, I fear not sickness, nordeath itself; I will still defy my
Maker." Butit happened, one day, that He graciouslyput in His hand by the
hole of the door, and I moved towardHim, and then I openedthe door, and
cried, "Come in! Come in!" Alas! alas!He was gone;and for five long years I
stood, with tears in mine eyes, and I sought Him weeping, but I found Him
not. I cried after Him, but He answeredme not. I said, "Whither is He gone?
Oh, that I had never rejectedHim? Oh, that He would but come again!"
Surely the angels must then have said, "A greatchange has come over that
youth; he would not let Christ in when He knocked, but now he wants Christ
to come." And when He did come, do you think my soul rejectedHim? Nay,
nay; but I fell down at His feet, crying, "Come in! Come in! thou Blessed
Saviour. I have waitedfor Thy salvation, O my God!"
There is no living soul beyond the reach of hope, no chosenone whom Christ
cannot bring up even from the very gates ofhell. He can bare His arm, put out
His hand, and pluck the brand "out of the fire" (Zechariah iii.2). In a horrible
pit, in the miry clay, His jewels have been hidden; but down from the throne
of light He cancome, and thrusting in His arm of mercy, He can pull them
out, and cause them to glitter in His crownfor ever. Let it be settledin our
hearts, as a matter of fact, that what Godhas purposed to do, He will surely
accomplish.
I need not dwell longerupon this point, because I think I have really brought
out the essenceofthis first sentence ofmy text: "All that the Fathergiveth Me
shall come to Me." Permit me just to remark, before I pass on, that I am
sometimes sadon accountof the alarm that some Christians seemto have
concerning this precious and glorious doctrine. We have, in the Baptist
denomination,—I am sorry to have to sayit,—many ministers, excellent
brethren, who, while they believe this doctrine, yet never preach it. On the
other hand, we have some ministers, excellentbrethren, who never preach
anything else. They have a kind of barrel-organthat only plays five tunes, and
they are always repeating them. It is either Election, Predestination,

10. Particular Redemption, Effectual Calling, Final Perseverance, orsomething of
that kind; it is always the same note. But we have also a greatmany others
who never preach concerning these doctrines, though they admit they are
doctrines taught in SacredScripture. The reasonfor their silence is, because
they say these truths are not suitable to be preachedfrom the pulpit. I hold
such an utterance as that to be very wicked. Is the doctrine here—in this
Bible? If it is, as God hath taught it, so are we to teachit. "But," they say,
"not in a mixed assembly." Where canyou find an unmixed assembly? God
has sentthe Bible into a mixed world, and the gospelis to be preachedin " all
the world", and "to every creature." "Yes,"they say, "preachthe gospel, but
not these specialtruths of the gospel;because, if you preachthese doctrines,
the people will become Antinomians and Hyper-Calvinists." Not so; the
reasonwhy people become Hyper-Calvinists and Antinomians, is because
some, who profess to be Calvinists, often keepback part of the truth, and do
not, as Paul did, "declare allthe counselof God";they selectcertainparts of
Scripture, where their ownparticular views are taught, and pass by other
aspects ofGod's truth. Such preachers as John Newton, and in later times,
your own Christmas Evans, were men who preachedthe whole truth of God;
they kept back nothing that God has revealed; and, as the result of their
preaching, Antinomianism could not find a foot-hold anywhere. We should
have eachdoctrine of Scripture in its proper place, and preachit fully; and if
we want to have a genuine revival of religion, we must preachthese doctrines
of Jehovah's sovereigngrace againand again. Do not tell me they will not
bring revivals. There was but one revival that I have ever heard of, apart
from Calvinistic doctrine, and that was the one in which Wesleytook so great
a part; but then George Whitefieldwas there also to preach the whole Word
of God. When people are getting sleepy, if you want to arouse and wake them
up thoroughly, preach the doctrine of Divine Sovereigntyto them; for that
will do it right speedily.
III. I shall now turn very briefly to the secondsentence ofmy text: "And him
that cometh to Me I will in no wise castout."
"Now," says somebody, "he is going to knock down all that he has been
building up." Well, I would rather be inconsistent with myself than with my

11. Master;but I dare not alter this secondsentence, andI have no desire to alter
it. Let it stand as it is, all its glorious simplicity:—
"HIM THAT COMETHTO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT."
Let the whole world come, still this promise is big enough to embrace them all
in its arms. There is no mistake here, the wrong man cannotcome. If any
sinner come to Christ, he is sure to be the right one. Mark, too, as there is no
limitation in the person coming, so there is no limitation in the manner of the
coming. Says one, "Suppose I come the wrong way?" You cannotcome the
wrong way; it is written, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which
hath sent Me draw him." "No man can come unto Me, except it were given
unto him of My Father" (John vi.44,65). If, then, you come to Christ in any
way, you are drawn of the Father, and He cannotdraw the wrong way. If you
come to Christ at all, the powerand will to come have been given you of the
Father. If you come to Christ, He will in no wise castyou out; for no possible
or conceivable reasonwill Jesus evercastout any sinner who comes to Him.
There is no reasonin hell, or on earth, or in heaven, why Jesus should castout
the soulthat comes to Him. If Satan, the foul accuserofthe brethren, brings
reasons why the coming sinner should not be received, Jesus will "castdown"
the accuser, but He will not "castout" the sinner. "Come unto Me, all ye that
labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest," is still His invitation
and His promise, too.
Let us suppose a case by the way of illustration. Here is a man in Swansea,—
ragged, dirty, coal-begrimed,—who has receiveda messagefrom Her Most
Gracious Majesty, QueenVictoria. It reads in this wise:"You are hereby
commanded to come, just as you are, to our palace at Windsor, to receive
greatand specialfavours at our hand. You will stay awayat your peril." The
man reads the message, andat first scarcelyunderstands it; so he thinks, "I
must washand prepare myself." Then, he re-reads the royal summons, and
the words arresthim: "Come just as your are." So he starts, and tells the
people in the train where he is going, and they laugh at him. At length he

12. arrives at Windsor Castle;there he is stopped by the guard, and questioned.
He explains why he has come, and shows the Queen's message;and he is
allowedto pass. He next meets with a gentlemen in waiting, who, after some
explanations and expressions ofastonishment, allows him to enter the ante-
room. When there, our friend becomes frightened on accountof his begrimed
and raggedappearance;he is half inclined to rush from the place with fear,
when he remembers the works of the royal command: "Stayaway at your
peril." Presently, the Queenherself appears, and tells him how glad she is that
he has come just as he was. She says she purposes that he shall be suitably
clothed, and be made one of the princes of her court. She adds, "I told you to
come as you were. It seemedto be a strange command to you, but I am glad
you have obeyed, and so come."
I do think this is what Jesus Christsays to every creature under heaven. The
gospelinvitation runs thus: "Come, come, come to Christ, just as you are."
"But, let me feelmore." No, come just as you are. "But let me gethome to my
own room, and let me pray." No, no, come to Christ just as you are. As you
are, trust in Jesus, andHe will save you. Oh, do dare to trust Him! If anybody
shall ask, "Who are you?" answer, "I am nobody." If anyone objects, "You
are such a filthy sinner," reply, "Yes,'tis true, so I am; but He Himself told me
to come." If anyone shall say, "You are not fit to come," say, "Iknow I am
not fit; but He told me to come." Therefore,—
"Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity join'd with power;
He is able,
He is willing; doubt no more.
"Let not conscience make youlinger,

13. Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth,
Is to feel you need of Him:
This He gives you;
'Tis the Spirit's rising beam."
Sinner, trust in Jesus:and if thou dost perish trusting in Jesus, I will perish
with thee. I will make my bed in hell, side by side with thee, sinner, if thou
canstperish trusting in Christ, and thou shalt lie there, and taunt me to all
eternity for having taught thee falsely, if we perish. But that can never be;
those who trust in Jesus shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of
His hand. Come to Jesus, and He will in no wise castthee out.
May the Lord bless the words I have spoken!Though hastily suggestedto my
mind, and feebly delivered to you, the Lord bless them, for Christ's sake!
Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Father's Will And Its Executor
John 6:37-40
B. Thomas
We see:

14. 1. That the majority of Christs hearers disbelieved him. His verdict at last
was, "Ye believe not;" "Ye will not come."
2. That they disbelieved him in spite of the greatestadvantages to faith. (Ver.
36.)
3. That in spite of their obstinate unbelief and cruel rejection, the gracious
purposes of Godand the mission of Jesus will not be void. "Forall that the
Father giveth me," etc. Notice -
I. THE FATHER'S WILL. We see in this will:
1. That he has given a certain number of the human family to Christ. In a
generaland a true sense all the human family have been given him; they are
the objects ofhis saving love and grace. All are invited to the gospelfeast, and
commanded to repent. The earth is Immanuel's land, and the human race,
without exceptionor partiality, are the objects of his saving mercy. But there
are some speciallygiven to Christ; they are spokenof as such: "All that the
Father giveth me." They have been given in the past in purpose; they are
given in the present in fact. This suggests:
(1) That the salvationof the human family is carried on according to the
eternal purpose and plan of God. Everything has been arrangedfrom the
beginning. Nothing happens by accident;neither the Father nor the Son is
ever takenby surprise.
(2) That the mission of Christ is not a speculation, but with regardto him an
absolute certainty. Speculationis a term unapplicable to Divine proceedings;
they are fixed and determined as to their mode and result. Jesus lived and
actedon earth in the full consciousnessofthis. And who would not rejoice that
the blessedRedeemerwas notin this hostile world as the creature of chance
and at the mercy of fate, but ever fortified with the knowledge ofhis Father's
will and purpose, the consciousness ofhis Father's love, and the certainty of
the success ofhis own mission?
2. That the Father gave these to Christ, because he knew that they would
come to him. Let it be remembered that the division of time, as past, present,
and future, is nothing to God. All time to him is present. In his plans and

15. electionhe experiencedno difficulty arising from ignorance, but all was
divinely clearto him. And we see that he is not arbitrary in his selections, We
know that his authority is absolute;that he has the same authority over man
as the potter over the clay. He cando as he likes, and perhaps this is the only
answerhe would give to some questioners, "I cando as I like." But we know
that he cannot like to do anything that is wrong, unreasonable, orunfair. He
cannot actfrom mere caprice, but his actions are harmonious with all his
attributes, as well as with the highest reason;and can give a satisfactory
reasonfor all acts, and justify himself to his intelligent creatures. The
principle on which he gave certain of the human family to Christ was
willingness on their part to come to him. In the gifts of his providence he has
regard to adaptation - he gives waterto quench thirst, etc. But, in giving
human souls to Christ, he had a specialregard to the human will. He knew as
an absolute fact that some would refuse his offer of grace in Christ, and that
others would gladly acceptthe same offer under the same conditions. The
former he neither would nor could, the latter he graciouslygave. It is an
invariable characteristicofthose given to Christ that they give themselves to
him.
3. Those givento Christ shall certainly come to him. "All that the Father
giveth me shall," etc. Jesus was certainof this. And if given, they come; and if
they come, they were given. Divine foreknowledgeis never at fault, and Divine
grace cannever fail to be effective with regard to those thus given to Christ.
Their coming was included in the gift. There was the knowledge oftheir
coming, and every grace, motive, and help was promised with the gifts; so that
their arrival to Christ is certain. They shall come, in spite of every opposition
and difficulty from within and without.
4. That these were given to Christ in trust for specialpurposes. These are set
forth:
(1) Negatively. "ThatI should lose nothing" (ver. 39). Notone, not the least,
and not even anything necessaryto the happiness of that one.,
(2) Affirmatively. "Mayhave everlasting life." The highest goodthey could
wish and enjoy.

16. (3) That they should have these blessings on the most reasonable and easy
terms. By simple acceptanceofthe gift, and simple and trustful faith in the
Giver (ver. 40).
II. JESUS AS THE EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE OF THE FATHER"S
WILL. In these capacities:
1. He is most gracious, for
(1) the work involves the greatestresponsibilities. Itis true that those given
shall come to him. But look at their miserable condition. They are guilty; he
must procure their pardon. They are condemned; he must justify them. They
are corrupt; he must cleanse and sanctify them. They are sick;he must heal
them. They are in debt; he must pay it. The responsibilities are infinite.
(2) It involves the greatestself-sacrifice.To meetthese responsibilities
required the greatestselfsacrifice possible.Before theycould be justified, he
himself must be condemned; to heal them, he must be mortally wounded; to
make them rich, he must become poor; to pay their debt, he must lay down his
life as a ransom; and to bring them unto glory, he must be made "perfect
through sufferings." What but infinite love would acceptthe trust and execute
the will?
2. He is most tenderly and universally inviting. "Him that cometh to me I
will," etc. These words are most tender and inviting. They were uttered in the
painful consciousness thatmany would not come to him, although there were
infinite provisions and welcome. The door of salvationneed not be wider, nor
the heart of the Saviourmore tender, than this. There is no restriction, no
favouritism. "Him that cometh."
3. He is most adapted for his position. This will appearif we consider:
(1) That he is divinely appointed. "The Father which sent me." The Father
appointed him to be the Trustee and Executorof his will. And he knew whom
to appoint. He acts under the highest authority.
(2) He was willing to undertake the trust. It is true that he was sent, but as
true that he came. "I am come down from heaven" (ver. 38). There was no

17. coercion. His mission was as acceptable to him as it was pleasing to the
Father, so that he has great delight in his work.
(3) He is thoroughly acquainted with the Divine will. Perfectknowledge is
essentialto perfect execution. Many profess to know much, but where is the
proof? Jesus proves his knowledge by revelation. "This is my Father's will,"
etc. He was acquaintedwith all its responsibilities, its purposes, and
sufferings, as well as all the difficulties in carrying it out. This he knew from
the beginning before he undertook the trust.
(4) He is enthusiasticallydevoted to both parties - to the Testatorand the
legatees. He is devoted to the Father. "I am come down from heaven, not to do
mine own will, but," etc. He had a will of his own, but in his mediatorial office
it was entirely merged in that of his Father. He is equally devoted to the
objects of his Father's love; for "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out." And he could say more - he would help and almost compel him to come
in.
(5) He is divinely competent. He is the Sonof God, the Electof the Father,
ever conscious ofhis capacities forthis work. Nota shadow of doubt in this
respectever came across his mind. He was serenelyconscious offulness, of
power, of life - the fulness of the Godhead;and he gave ample proof of his
Divine competencyas he went along. The sick were healed, the dead were
raised, the guilty were pardoned, and all penitents who appealed to him were
saved. Naturally and well he might say, "I will raise him up at the last clay."
And being able to do this, he can do all. All the qualifications necessaryto
execute the Divine will with regardto the human race fully meet in him. "His
will be done."
LESSONS.
1. The purposes of the Divine will are in safe hands. Notone shall suffer on his
account.
2. The lives of believers are in safe custody. Nothing will be lost.
3. The mission of Jesus is certain of success. "Allthat the Father giveth me,"
etc.

18. 4. The perdition of man must come entirely from himself. All the purposes
and dispensations of God, all the mediatorial work of Jesus, are forhis
salvation. All that God in Christ could do for his deliverance is done. Nothing
but his own will canstand betweenhim and eternal life.
5. The duty of all to come to Jesus and accepthis grace. There is a marked
difference betweenthe conduct of Jesus and the conduct of those who reject
him. He receives the vilest; they rejectthe most holy and gracious One. He
opens the door to the most undeserving; they close it againstthe pride of
angels, the inspiration of the redeemed, and the glory of heaven and earth.
Beware oftrifling with the long suffering mercy of Jesus. The lastthing he can
do is to castout; but when he casts out, he casts out terribly. - B.T.
Biblical Illustrator
All that the Father hath given Me shall come unto Me, and him that cometh
unto Me I will in no wise castout.
John 6:37

19. The certainty and freeness ofDivine grace
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. GRACE TRIUMPHANT IN SPECIALITY.
1. Christ leads us up to the original position of all things. All men are
naturally from the beginning in the hand of the Father as Creator, Governor,
and Source and Fountain of election.
2. He proceeds to inform us of a greattransaction. That His Father put His
people into the hands of His Son as the Mediator. Here was the Father's
condescensionin giving, and the Son's compassion in receiving.
3. He assures us that this transactionin eternity involves a certain change in
time. The only token of electionis the definite open choosing of Christ.
4. He hints at a powerpossessedby Him to constrainwanderers to return. Not
that any force is used, but by His messengers, Word, and Spirit, He sweetly
and graciouslycompels men to come in accordancewith the laws of the
human mind, and without impairing human freedom. We are made willing in
the day of Christ's power.
5. He declares that there is no exceptionto this rule of grace. Notsome but all,
individually and collectively.
II. GRACE TRIUMPHANT IN ITS LIBERALITY.
1. The liberality of its character:"him that cometh," the rich, poor, great,
obscure, moral, debauched.
2. The liberality of the coming: no adjective or adverb to qualify. Notcoming
to the sacraments orworship, but to Christ. Some come at once; some are
months in coming; some come running; some creeping;some carried; some
with long prayers; some with only two words;some fearfully; some hopefully,
but none are castout.
3. The liberality of the time. It doesn't say when. He may be seventy or only
seven;at any season;on any day.

20. 4. The liberality of the duration. "Nevercastthee out," neither at first nor to
the last,
5. Something of the liberality is seenin the certainty, "in no wise." It is not a
hope as to whether Christ will acceptyou. You cannotperish if you go.
6. There is greatliberality if you will notice the personality. In the first clause,
where everything is special, Jesus usedthe large word "all";in the second,
which is general, He uses the little word "him." Why? Becausesinners want
something that will suit their case. This means me.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
An accountof the persons that come to Christ
T. Horton, D. D.
1. What is meant by coming to Christ?(1) An outward coming in application
of the means. When we come to His ordinances we come to Him.(2) Closing
with Christ, embracing Him, believing on Him, and submitting to Him.
Coming not with the feet but with the heart.
2. What is meant by the Fathergiving men to Christ?(1)In God's eternal
purpose and counsel.(2)In the drawing of our hearts to Him when God by His
Spirit persuades us to close with Christ. This giving is mutual: Christ is given
to us and we to Him, so there is a marriage-knotdrawn and contracted
betweenus.
I. ALL THAT THE FATHER HATH GIVEN ME SHALL COME TO ME.
1. This is an expressionof some latitude and universality — "all" (Ephesians
1:4, 5; 2 Peter 3:9). From which we learn how to make our calling and election
sure, viz., by closing with the conditions of the gospel. We may know whether
we are given to Christ by coming to Him.
2. This is an expressionof restriction. None come to Christ but such as are
given to Him (John 6:44; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 2:13). The reasons
why none come to Christ but those whom God gives to Him are —(1) Because

21. all others are ignorant of Him, and without the knowledge ofChrist there is
no coming to Him (Matthew 16:16, 17).(2)There is a perverseness in their
wills and affections, so that though many know Him, they hang off from Him
(John 3:19), so there must also be a drawing of their hearts which is the work
of God alone.
3. From the word "come" we learnthat men by nature are distant from
Christ.
4. From the word "given" we see that all men are in the hands of God, for
none can give what they have not got.
II. CHRIST'S ENTERTAINMENT OF THOSE WHO COME TO HIM.
1. His reception.(1)He will take them into friendship with Himself (Matthew
11:28;Isaiah 55:7; Ezekiel33:11).(2)None excepted(Revelation22:17). There
is nothing to exclude (Isaiah 1:18; 1 Timothy 1:15).(3) What an
encouragementto all men to close with Christ.
(a)The nature of our sins cannotexclude us, since Paul, Manasseh, Mary
Magdalene, etc., found mercy (Psalm 25:11). The ground of God's pardon is
not our sin, but His grace (Isaiah44:3, 24, 25).
(b)Nor the Humber of our sins (Hosea 14:4; Jeremiah3:1).
(c)Nor any supposed imperfection in our humiliation. We are humbled
sufficiently if we come.(4)Considerthe greatadvantage of coming.
(a)Pardon and the life of justification (Isaiah 55:7; Micah7:19).
(b)Powerover sin and the life of sanctification.
(c)Comfort and peace ofconscience.(5)To enlarge, we may come not only in
conversion, but after it, for assurance, greatermeasures ofgrace, and
progress. Letus then come boldly (Hebrews 4:16).
2. His custody and preservation. "I will keephim in."
(T. Horton, D. D.)

22. The Father's gift the sinner's privilege
Dr. Andrews.
I. THE EXPRESSION. "Allthat the Father," etc.
1. Number. Who can measure the amplitude of "all"?
2. Definiteness. Notone more or less.
3. Relation. The Father sends His Son to men and men to His Son. The
conditions of this relation are the Incarnation and Atonement on the part of
Christ; coming or believing on the part of men.
4. Donation. This was mediatorial.
5. Value. What must be the worth of that which the Father could give and
Christ accept?
II. THE PROMISE. "Shallcome unto Me."
1. The certainty. "He shall see of the travail of His soul."
2. The act.
(1)Externally, they shall be brought in the providence of God under the means
of grace.
(2)Spiritually. If you have come to Christ you have entered into the meaning
of four words — conviction of sin, the suitableness ofChrist, venturing on
Christ, continual coming to Christ.
III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT."Iwill in no wise castout."
1. Personality. "Him." Sin is personal, so must salvationbe.
2. Extent. Christianity is the only universal religion; it can take root
everywhere because it makes its offer to everybody.
3. The removal of doubts.(1) On the part of sinners.
(a)When they have been calledlate in life; but remember the dying thief.

23. (b)Sin suggests doubts. It is not what you have been, but what you are willing
to be.
(c)Unworthiness and infirmity create doubts.
(d)Doubts arise from ignorance. All these are removed by the invitation.(2)
On the part of saints.
(a)Many feel a sense ofinward corruption.
(b)Others are conscious ofstupidity and perverseness.
(c)Lowness ofattainment suggestsdoubts; and
(d)Remaining guilt and imperfection. But what are these in the light of the
promise, "Him that," etc.?
(Dr. Andrews.)
Encouragementto seekers fromthe purposes and promises o
W. Hancock, M. A.
f God: —
I. GOD'S GRACIOUS PURPOSE.
1. God the Father is the prime Moverin the scheme of redemption. Beware of
regarding the Father as an enemy and the Son as a friend. The Father's love is
perpetually magnified in Scripture.
2. The Father hath given His Son a multitude which no man can number.
3. This gift was a very burdensome one to the Son. A ransom must be paid
and satisfactiongiven.
4. The acceptance ofthe gift was mostwilling, for the Son gave Himself to
receive it (Ephesians 5:25).

24. II. THE ARTICLE OF THE COVENANT which secures the actualunion of
His people to the Redeemer. "Shallcome unto Me."
1. What is meant by coming to Christ?
(1)Seeking, implying a sense ofneed, danger, misery, condemnation, ruin.
(2)Finding, including an enlightened understanding, and the revelation of the
Saviour as suited to the sinner's necessities.
(3)Appropriation.
2. The instrument of calling sinners is the Word, the Law with its warnings
and threatenings, the gospelwith its invitations and promises.
3. The effectual agentis the Spirit. We preach like Ezekielto dry bones until
the heavenly breath breathes upon them.
III. THE PROMISE. "Him that cometh," etc. The preacher's commissionis
as unlimited as this promise. "Go ye into all the world," go.
1. Our encouragementto go forth under this commissionis drawn from our
knowledge ofGod's purpose. This assures us that our labour shall not be in
vain.
2. No degree or kind of guilt will be a bar to the sinner's receptionif he will
but come.
3. Surely then the expostulationis timely, "Why will ye die?"
(1)Why go on in ways you know to be ruinous?
(2)Why keepawayfrom Jesus when you are sure of a welcome?
4. Whose fault will it be if you perish? Yours, not God's.
(W. Hancock, M. A.)
Comers welcomed

25. T. Whitelaw, D. D.
I. GROUNDS ON WHICH THEY FEAR REJECTION.
1. Supposedomissionfrom the number of the given, in which case they deem
it hopeless to come.
2. Greatness ofguilt — they are too bad to be received.
3. Absence of merit — they are not goodenoughto be accepted.
4. Lateness ofrepenting — they are too old to be welcomed.
5. Defects in believing — their faith is too feeble or not of the right sort.
II. REASONS WHY THEY ARE SURE OF A WELCOME. Christ will not
castthem out.
1. Fortheir sakes. He knows —
(1)The value of the soul.
(2)The greatnessofthe peril.
(3)The blessednessofsalvation.
2. ForHis Father's sake. To do so would be to place dishonour upon Him
whose will He had been sent to perform.
3. ForHis own sake. Since everysinner saved is —
(1)An increase to His glory.
(2)A triumph of His grace.
(3)A trophy of His power.
(4)A subject added to His empire.
4. Forthe world's sake. How could the gospelprevail if it gotnoised abroad
that one was rejected. Lessons —
1. Despairfor none.

26. 2. Hope for all.
(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
High doctrine and broad doctrine
C. H. Spurgeon.
Consider—
I. THE ETERNALPURPOSE.
1. If all that the Fathergiveth to Christ shall come to Him, then some shall
come, and why should you not be among them? One says, "Suppose I am not
one of the elect";but suppose you are — or, better still, leave off supposing
altogetherand go to Christ and see.
2. Those who come to Christ come because ofthe Fatherand the Son. They
come to Christ not because of any goodin them, but because ofthe Father's
gift. There never was a soul who wanted to come but Jesus wantedhim to
come a hundred times as much.
3. They are all savedbecause they come to Christ, and not otherwise. There is
no way of salvation for peculiar people. The King's highway is for all.
4. If I come to Christ, it is most clearthat the Father gave me to Christ.
II. THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL.
1. "Him that cometh," go., is one of the most generous ofgospeltexts.
Generous —(1) As to the characterto whom the promise is made. "Him," the
atrocious sinner, the backslider, you.(2) The text gives no limit to the coming,
save that they must come to Christ. Some come running, some limping, etc.(3)
There is no limit as to time. Young and old.
2. The blessedcertainty of salvation — lit. "I will not, not," or "never, never
castout."
3. The personality of the text — "Him," that is, thee.

27. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Coming to Christ
The Pulpit.
Every stage of the Redeemer's life confirmed the delightful fact, that "God
sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world," etc.
I. THE OBJECTOF APPROACH. Prophets spake of Him, that around Him
should throng the sons and daughters of woe. Jacobsaid, when dying, "Unto
Him shall the gathering togetherof the people be." Isaiahsaid, "Unto Him
shall men come";and He Himself said, "All that the Fatherhath given Me,"
etc. "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me." He possesses
qualifications to relieve our wants, in opposition to all assumedcharacters.
1. He is infinitely wise.
2. He is of illimitable power.
3. He is of boundless compassion:and by possessionofthese, He is able to save
to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.
II. THE PURPOSES FOR WHICHWE ARE TO COME.
1. Forinstruction. We are ignorant of ourselves — of God — of Christ — of
the wayof salvation. He is the light of the world — the greatprophet. "All thy
children shall be taught of the Lord," etc.
2. Forpardon. We are guilty, and need pardon. "Him hath God exaltedwith
His right hand," etc. "In whom we have redemption through His blood — the
forgiveness ofsins," etc. Whosoeverbelievethin Him shall receive remission
of sins.
3. Forstrength. We have duties to perform, difficulties to encounter, trials to
endure. Without Him we can do nothing: but He has said, "My grace is
sufficient for thee," and always remember as a check to indolence and

28. supineness, that though without Him we can do nothing, "we cando all things
through Christ, which strengthenethus."
4. Forpeace. He is the Prince of Peace. "Mypeace Ileave with you," etc.; and
we, as ministers of Christ, preach peace through the blood of His cross.
5. Foreternal life. "I give unto My sheepeternal life." He is the record, "God
hath given unto us eternallife, and this life is in His Son."
III. HOW WE ARE TO COME. A bodily act is not intended; many do this,
and not come at all. Jesus said, when they thronged around Him, "Ye will riot
come unto Me that ye might have life"; but a spiritual act is meant; and does
it not remind us that we are naturally at a distance, not locally, but
spiritually; and hence arises the necessityofthe agencyof the Holy Spirit —
"No man cancome unto Me," etc.
1. We come by prayer: "Hence," says Paul, "letus come boldly to the throne
of grace."
2. By faith. "Without faith it is impossible to please God," etc.
(1)It regards His Divinity.
(2)His humanity.
(3)That He is the appointed medium of approach — "I am the way, the truth,
and the life."
3. With humility on accountof our sin.
4. Contrition. Not sorrow merely for its consequences,but from a view of its
nature, and the Being againstwhom it is committed. "Thatgodly sorrow
which workethrepentance to salvation," etc.
IV. THE CERTAINTYOF ACCEPTANCE. "Iwill in no wise castout."
1. From the promises and invitations of Scripture. "And the Spirit and the
Bride say, Come." " Ho, every one that thirsteth." "Come unto Me, all ye that
labour." "Wherefore, He also is able to save to the uttermost." "As I live,
saith the Lord, I have no pleasure." "Notwilling that any should perish," etc.

29. 2. From the examples of the Scripture. There stands a Manasseh, a Magdalen,
St. Luke, a Thief on the Cross, and a Saul of Tarsus. Go to heaven, and ask if
Jesus was willing to receive them? The question shall give a fresh impulse to
the song, while they swellthe strains, and cry, "He loved me, and gave
Himself for me." Go to the regions of darkness, and ask of them, Is one there
that applied to Him? and, while anguish swells their bosoms, they will answer,
No; we despisedand rejectedHim, and would not have Him to reign over us.
Go to the north, east, west, and south, and ask believers whether Jesus did not
receive them graciously. Theywill all give their testimony — While a great
way off, He ran and met me, and fell upon my neck and kissedme.
Conclusion:address to those already come — those coming — and those at a
distance.
(The Pulpit.)
Coming to Christ
D. L. Moody.
I have read of an artist who wantedto paint a picture of the prodigal son. He
searchedthrough the mad-houses, and the poor-houses, and the prisons, to
find a man wretchedenough to represent the prodigal, but he could not find
one. One day he was walking down the streets and met a man whom He
thought would do. He told the poor beggarhe would pay him well if he came
to his room and satfor his portrait. The man agreed, and the day was
appointed for him to come. The day came, and a man put in his appearance at
the artist's room. "You made an appointment with me," he said, when he was
shown into the studio. The artist lookedat him, and said, "I never saw you
before." "Yes," he said, "I agreedto meet you to-day at ten o'clock." "You
must be mistaken; it must have been some other artist; I was to see a beggar
here at this hour." "Well," said the man, "I am he." "You? Yes." "Why,
what have you been doing? Well, I thought I would dress myself up a bit
before I got painted." "Then," saidthe artist," I do not want you; I wanted
you as you were;now you are no use to me." That is the way Christ wants
every poor sinner, just as he is.

30. (D. L. Moody.)
Coming to Christ
ClericalLibrary.
"My next step," said an anxious inquirer, "is to get deeper conviction." "No,"
said a Christian friend, "your next stepis to go to Christ just as you are. He
does not say, come to conviction, come to a deepersense of sin, which you
have been labouring to get, but 'Come unto Me.'" "Ah," she exclaimed, "I see
it now. Oh, how self-righteous I have been, really refusing Christ, while all the
time I thought I was preparing to come to Him." "Will you go to Jesus now?"
Humbly, yet decisively, she responded, "Yes, I will." And the Lord in the
richness of His grace and mercy enabled bet to do so.
(ClericalLibrary.)
Christ the Saviour of all who come to Him
I. OUR DUTY TO CHRIST. To come to Him.
1. How.(1)By repentance (Matthew 11:28;Mark 1:15).(2)By faith.(a)
Assenting to Him (Hebrews 11:6) that He is an only (Acts 4:12) and all-
sufficient Saviour (Hebrews 7:12).(b) Receiving Him (John 1:12) for our
Priest, to atone (Hebrews 9:12) and to make intercession(Hebrews 7:25; 1
John 2:1); for our Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22), to make known
God's will and to enable us to know it (John 16:13); for our King (Isaiah 9:6;
John 18:36; Matthew 28:18), to subdue our enemies (Hebrews 2:14), to rule
over us (Psalm 110:1-3).
2. What for.
(1)Pardon (Acts 5:31).
(2)Acceptance (Romans 5:1).
(3)Purity (Titus 2:14; Acts 3:26).

31. (4)Eternal life (John 5:40; Matthew 11:28).
II. CHRIST'S PROMISE, thatif we come to Him He will in no wise castus
out.
1. What are we to understand by this? That He will receive us (Titus 2:14)
into —
(1)The number of His people (1 Peter2:9);
(2)His love and favour (John 13:1);
(3)His care and protection (John 17:12);
(4)An interest in his death and passion;
(5)A participation of His grace and spirit (John 16:7);
(6)His intercession(John 17:9);
(7)His presence and glory (John 17:24).
2. How does this appear.
(1)We have His promise.
(2)This was the end of His coming (John 3:16; John 6:39, 40).
III. MOTIVES TO COME TO CHRIST.
1. Are we in debt? He will be our Surety (Hebrews 7:22).
2. Are we in prison? He will be our Redeemer.
3. Are we sick? He will be our Physician (Matthew 9:12).
4. Are we arraigned? He will be our Advocate, (1 John 2:1).
5. Are we condemned? He will be our Saviour (Romans 8:34).
6. Are we estrangedfrom God? He will be our Mediator(1 Timothy 2:5).
7. Are we in misery? He will be our Comforter (Psalm 94:19).

32. 8. Are we weary? He will give us rest (Matthew 11:28). Wherefore come to
Him.
(1)Presently.
(2)Cheerfully.
(3)Sincerely.
(4)Resolutely.
(Bp. Beveridge.)
The all-important advent
J. Vaughan, M. A.
I. THE EVENT. There are various advents.
1. The incarnation.
2. Through the Spirit.
3. At the judgment.
4. That of our text — a man's coming to Christ. This is dependent on the first,
is made effectualthrough the second, and secures that the third shall be
blessedand glorious.
II. THE CONSEQUENCE. Thosewho come will not be castout.
1. Becauseit is not in Christ's nature to do so.
2. BecauseHe has shed His blood for this very purpose.
3. BecauseHe has said it, which is enough.
III. THE MANNER.
1. Direct— not through any mediator.
2. As you are.

33. 3. As you can.
4. Now.
(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Coming unto Jesus
S. Miller.
Take everyother verse out of the Scriptures, and leave but this, and you have
a foundation on which a world of souls may build their hopes and never be
put to shame. Hear it, impenitent sinners, alarmed souls, desponding
believers, rejoicing saints.
I. THE PERSONPOINTEDOUT. What is meant by coming to Him.
1. Negatively.
(1)Notto the Scriptures, they only testify of Him (John 5:39, 40).
(2)Notthe Church, that is only a means, not the fountain of grace.
(3)Notprayer, that is a well of salvationbut not salvation.
(4)Vers. 5, 22-24, show how possible it is to come, and yet not to come to
Christ Himself.
2. Positively. Christ addresses the spiritual part of man's nature, and the
invitation implies —
(1)A forsaking of sin. To come to is to come from (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
(2)A renouncing of self.
(3)Faith which workethby love (vers. 35, 68, 69).
I. THE ASSURANCE GIVEN CONCERNINGTHE PERSON INDICATED.
1. The assurance itself.

34. (1)It is unrestricted.
(2)Personal.
(3)Basedupon the good"will" of Christ.
(4)Emphatic, "in no wise."
2. The grounds of the assurance.
(1)The purposes of the Father.
(2)The death of Christ.
(3)The resurrectionof Christ.
(4)The work of the Spirit.
(5)All God's attributes make it sure.Conclusion.
1. What say you to this?
2. Transpose the text, "Him that cometh not to Me I will castout."
(S. Miller.)
The gospelwelcome
D. Moore, M. A.
I. THE STATES OF MIND WITH WHICH WE SHOULD COME. The
previous part of the text need prove no stumbling-block. All it affirms is that
those whom the Father gives do come to Christ. Put the two togetherand they
affirm the absolute freeness ofthe Divine grace, and exhibit that grace as
acting in concurrence with our voluntary powers. Salvationis neither
arbitrary, mechanical, nor compulsory. We must corneal. With childlike and
dependent trust.(1) The primary element of all true faith, which is the
movement of mind and heart towards God, is simple reliance on the gospel
testimony that Christ is all-sufficient for the purposes of salvation.(2)The
greatstrength and stay of this faith is that it enables the soul to rely

35. exclusively upon a personalRedeemer.(3)This absolute casting of ourselves
on Christ is not offeredas a permission, but as a positive command.
2. With chastenedhumility and godly sorrow, repentance and faith stand
togetherin the gospelcommission, and are always united in the experience of
the faithful. "Going and weeping." The prodigal.
3. In the spirit of total self-renunciation. Leave self, righteousness,sin, etc.,
and come to ME.
II. THE ENCOURAGEMENTAND CONFIDENCE we have in coming to
Christ.
1. "Him that cometh" or is coming, in the very actof coming now. It is a
constantly repeatedact; alike necessaryin regenerationand sanctification.
This includes all of whatsoevercountry, church, condition, rank.
(1)Hear it, ye young. There is a sense in which your coming to Christ may be
too late, but there is none in which it canbe too early.
(2)Ye middle agedwhom harassing cares disquiet. He will allow for
everything but a refusal to come.
(3)Ye aged. Perhaps the harvestis passedand ye are not saved.
2. "In no wise."
(1)But I have stayed awaytoo long.
(2)I am a backslider. No matter.
3. Has Jesus ever castany one out? No.
(1)All the glorious perfections of His nature bend Him to welcome you.
(2)The mighty price paid for your redemption.
(3)The purpose and promises of God.Conclusion:Not to come is to be
rejected;not to be saved is to be lost; there is no middle state.
(D. Moore, M. A.)

36. Invitations of the gospel -- the sinner's warrant
C. H. Spurgeon.
In the courts of law if a man be calledas a witness, no sooneris his name
mentioned, though he may be at the end of the court, than he begins to force
his wayup to the witness-box. Nobodysays, "Why is this man pushing here?"
or, if they should say, "Who are you?" it would be a sufficient answerto say,
"My name was called." "Butyou are not rich, you have no gold ring upon
your finger!" "No, but that is not my right of way, but I was called." "Sir, you
are not a man of repute, or rank, or character!" "It matters not, I was called.
Make way." So make way, ye doubts and fears, make way, ye devils of the
infernal lake, Christ calls the sinner. Sinner, come, for though thou hast
nought to recommend thee, yet it is written, "Him that cometh unto Me I will
in no wise castout."
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The essentialin religion
W. Hoyt.
I. WHAT TRUE RELIGION IS.
1. Negatively.
(1)It cannot consistin any feeling of moral fitness. What need of coming to
Christ if our own nature is morally sufficient?
(2)Nor in the observance ofexternal ritual. The source of the corruptions of
Christianity is the tendency to put form for faith.
(3)Nor in simple orthodoxy.
2. Positively. A living relation with a living Christ.
II. THE METHOD OF GAINING TRUE RELIGION.

37. 1. Notthronging about Christ.
2. But coming to Christ by faith.
III. THE PROOF OF THE POSSESSIONOF TRUE RELIGION.
1. Notin an old experience preservedin the memory.
2. Norin a present releasefrom the fear of death.
3. Norin the fervent glow of feeling (these may accompanyit), but in the
present proneness of the soul on these words of Christ.Conclusion:Why will
you not come to Christ?
1. Is it because you are afraid of ridicule and what others may say?
"Whosoevershallbe ashamedof Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of
man be ashamed."
2. Is it because ofthe inconsistenciesofChristians? "Every man Shall give
accountof himself to God."
3. Is it because you are not willing to give up all to Christ? "What shall it
profit a man," etc.
4. Is it because you are thinking you will do as well as you can, and that God
ought to be satisfiedwith that? "Whosoevershallkeepthe whole law, and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
5. Is it because you are postponing the matter without any definite reason?
"Boastnotthyself of to-morrow," etc.
6. Is it because you fearyou will not be accepted? "Him that cometh unto Me
I will in no wise castout."
(W. Hoyt.)
Scripture difficulties
W. Hancock., C. H. Spurgeon.

38. To thread a needle in the dark is a thing which no one can do. The difficulty
and impossibility, however, does not lie in the thing itself, but in the
circumstances under which it is attempted. Only let there be light, and the
thing is not only possible, but perfectly easy. This will serve to illustrate our
inability to reconcile, understand, and explain certain mysteries in Divine
things; for instance, to reconcile God's fixed decrees andinfallible
foreknowledgewith man's free will and responsibility. Our Lord plainly
declares, that "no man can come to Him except the Father draw him"; but, at
the same time, He gives the widest and most unlimited invitation — "Come
unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
"Whosoeverwill, let him take of the water of life freely." And He charges it as
entirely their own fault, if any refuse to come, and so perish: "Ye are not
willing to come to Me, that ye might have life."
(W. Hancock.)Iwas cruising one day in the westernHighlands. It had been a
splendid day, and the glorious sceneryhad made our journey like an
excursionto Fairy Land; but it came to an end, for darkness and night
assertedtheir primeval sovereignty. Right ahead was a vast headland of the
isle of Arran. How it frowned againstthe evening sky! The mighty rock
seemedto overhang the sea. Justat its base was a little bay, and into this we
steamed, and there we lay at anchorage allnight, safe from every wind that
might happen to be seeking outits prey. In that calm loch we seemedto lie in
the mountain's lap while its broad shoulders screenedus from the wind. Now,
the first part of my text, "All that the Fathergiveth Me shall come to Me,"
rises like a huge headland high into the heavens. Who shall scale its height?
Upon some it seems to frown darkly. But here at the bottom lies the placid,
glassylake of infinite love and mercy: "Him that comethto Me I will in no
wise castout." Steam into it, and be safe under the shadow of the greatrock.
You will be the better for the mountain-truth as your barque snugly reposes
within the glittering waters at its foot; while you may thank God that the text
is not all mountain to repel you, you will be grateful that there is enough of it
to secure you.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

39. Characternot needed for salvation
J. F. B. Tinling, B. A.
In the mission at George Yard, Whitechapel, a convertedstreet-singer, who
had experiencedmuch difficulty in getting work for want of a "character,"
but who afterwards became a licensedhawkerand distributed tracts as he
walkedalong, said: "Bless God, I have found out that Jesus will, take a man
without a character."
(J. F. B. Tinling, B. A.)
The essenceofthe gospel
W. Hoyt.
Pluck a green leaffrom a bough and look at it. That leaf, science tells us, is the
typical tree. The tree is built upon the pattern of that leaf. The tree is only the
leaf expanded, and with its various parts altered to suit new requirements; but
the idea manifest in the leaf is the idea according to which the tree is made
and shaped. For instance, science tells us that the seed — the starting-point of
life to the tree — is only a leaf rolled tight and changedin tissue and in
contents, and so fitted for its specialuses. The tree-trunk is only the leaf-stem
made to take columnar form, and greatly lengthened and strengthenedand
enlarged. All the mingling mass of branch and bough and twig, lifting their
manifold tracery againstthe sky, is but the reproduction and increasing of the
delicate tangle of veins striking through the greensubstance of the leaf. In
short, the tree is only the leafcut in larger pattern. Everything in the huge
tree is adjusted to the method of the little leaf. In the leafyou have the tree in
germ and type. So it is, it has seemedto me, with this short text I have read to
you, "Him that comethto Me I will in no wise castout." It is the typical
gospel. In this text we have the whole greatgospelin germ and type. The
entire system of the revelationof salvation is shaped after the pattern of this
text.
(W. Hoyt.)

40. The accessiblenessofChrist
C. H. Spurgeon.
Have you never read the story of the goodship that had been a long time at
sea, and the captainhad lost his reckoning;he drifted up the mouth of the
greatriver Amazon, and, after he had been sailing for a long time up the river
without knowing that he was in a river at all, they ran short of water. When
another vesselwas seen, theysignalled her, and when they gotnear enough for
speaking they cried, "Water!We are dying for water!" They were greatly
surprised when the answercame back, "Dip it up! Dip it up! You are in a
river. It is all around you." They had nothing to do but to fling the bucket
overboard, and have as much wateras ever they liked. And here are poor
souls crying out, "Lord, what must I do to be saved?" whenthe greatwork is
done, and all that remains to them is to receive the free gift of eternal life.
What must you do? You have done enough for one life-time, for you have
undone yourself by your doing. That is not the question. It is, "Lord, what
hast thou done?" And the answeris, "It is finished. I have done it all. Only
come and trust Me." Sinner, you are in a river of grace and mercy. Over with
the bucket, man, and drink to the full.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Human perversity
H. G. Guiness.
If a compassionateprince wrote over his palace gate — "Him that cometh to
Me I will in no wise castout," would poor beggars reading it need to have
these words explained before they could understand them? And if the good
man kept his word, and receivedall who askedhis help, would his porch be
ever empty night or day? Yet has Jesus, the Prince of Life, emblazoned these
words in large, shining letters above His gates ofgrace, and ever kept His
promise to help all the destitute and miserable who come to Him, and

41. thousands of sinners are found to this hour who will not understand them,
and millions of sinners who care nothing about them.
(H. G. Guiness.)
Abundant mercy
T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.
You say, "Do not getthe invitation too large, for there is nothing more
awkwardthan to have more guests than accommodation." Iknow it. The
Seamen's Friend Societyare inviting all the sailors. The TractSocietyis
inviting all the destitute. The Sabbath schools are inviting all the children. The
American and ForeignChristian Union is inviting all the Roman Catholics.
The MissionarySocietyis inviting all the heathen. The printing-presses of
Bible Societies are going night and day, doing nothing but printing invitations
to this greatgospelbanquet. And are you not afraid that there will be more
guests than accommodation? No!All who have been invited will not half fill
up the table of God's supply. There are chairs for more. There are cups for
more. God could with one featherof His wing coverup all those who have
come;and when He spreads out both wings, they coverall the earth and all
the heavens.
(T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
None castout by Christ
H. O. Mackey.
In some of the hotels on the road to the lead and gold mines of California,
there is constantly to be found in the registerthe names of persons with
"D.B." opposite to them. This means "dead broke," and it is the customnever
to refuse a meal to these poor fellows who have riskedand lost their all in
these precarious ventures.
(H. O. Mackey.)

42. Whosoevercomes is saved
A messengercame to a Hasten as quick as you can, there is a Sunday-school
superintendent and said: "A boy in a garret that wants to see you: he is
dying." The Sunday-schoolsuperintendent hastenedto the place, and in the
garret, in the straw, lay a boy who had been crushed by a cart. He was dying;
and as the superintendent entered, the boy said: "Oh! I am so glad you have
come. Didn't I hear you say the other Sunday that ' whomsoevercomes to God
he would be saved?'" "Yes," repliedthe superintendent, "I said about that."
"Well," saidthe boy," then I am saved. I have been a bad boy, but I have been
thinking of that, and I have been saying that over to myself, and I am saved."
After he had seenhis superintendent, his strength seemedto fail, and in a few
moments he expired, and the last words on his lips were:"Whomsoever
cometh to God, He will in no wise be castout." He did not getthe words
exactly right, but he got the spirit.
Mercy for all
T. Guthrie, D. D.
Men are going to ruin; but not like the boat that was seenshooting the rapid,
and had reacheda point above the cataractwhere no power could stem the
raging current. To the horror of those who watchedit shooting on to
destruction, a man was seenon board, and asleep. The spectators ran along
the banks. They cried; they shouted; and the sleeperawokeatlength to take
in all his danger at one fearful glance. To spring to his feet, to throw himself
on the bench, to seize the oars, to strain every nerve in superhuman efforts to
turn the boat's head to the shore, was the work of an instant. But in vain.
Away went the bark to its doom, like an arrow from the bow. It hangs a
moment on the edge of the gulf; and then, is gone for ever. Suppose a man to
be as near hell! — if I could awakenhim, I would. The dying thief was saved
in the actof going over into perdition. Christ caught and saved him there.
And He who is mighty to save, saving at the uttermost cansave, though all our

43. life were wastedto its lastbreath, if that lastbreath is spent in gasping out St.
Peter's cry, "Save, Lord, or I perish!"
(T. Guthrie, D. D.)
A Saviour for the lost
"I am lost," saidMr.Whitefield's brother to the Countess ofHuntingdon. "I
am delighted to hear it," said the Countess. "Oh," criedhe, "whata dreadful
thing to say!" "Nay," saidshe, "'for the Sonof man is come to seek and to
save that which was lost'; therefore I know He is come to save you." O sinner,
it would be unreasonable to despair. The more broken thou art, the more
ruined thou art, the more vile thou art in thine own esteem, so much the more
room is there for the display of infinite mercy and power.
The gospelfor dying hours
C. H. Spurgeon.
You may know the name of Mr. Durham, the author of a famous book on
Solomon's Song, one of the most earnestof Scotland's ancientpreachers.
Some days before he died he seemedto be in some perplexity about his future
well-being, and said to his friend Mr. Carstairs, "Dearbrother, for all that I
have written or preached, there is but one Scripture which I can now
remember or dare grip unto now that I am hastening to the grave. It is this —
'Whosoevercomethunto Me, I will in no wise castout.' Pray tell me if I dare
lay the weight of my salvation upon it." Mr. Carstairs justly replied,
"Brother, you may depend upon it, though you had a thousand salvations at
hazard." You see it was a plain, sinner's text that He restedon. Just as Dr.
Guthrie wanted them to sing a bairn's hymn, so do dying saints need the plain
elementary doctrines of the gospelto restupon.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

44. Jesus a greatSaviour
C. H. Spurgeon.
Remember He never did castany one out. Neveryet! Neverone! I have
declaredthis everywhere, and I have said, "If Jesus Christ casts any one of
you out when you come to Him, pray let me know; for I do not want to go up
and down the country telling lies." Again I give the challenge. If my Lord does
eastout one poor soul that comes to Him, let me know it, and I will give up
preaching. I should not have the face to come forward and preach Christ after
that; for He Himself has saidit, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast
out"; and He would be a false Christ if He acted contrary to His word. He
cannot castyou out; why should He? "Oh, but then I am so bad." So much
the less likelyis He to refuse you, for there is the more room for His grace.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ never fails
C. H. Spurgeon.
When a man brings out a patent medicine, he publishes verifications of the
efficacyof his physic. He gets a number of cases,and he advertises them. I
suppose they are genuine. I should not like to be hanged if they were not. I
suppose, therefore, they are all accurate and authentic. But there is one thing
which you never knew a medicine advertiserdo: he never advertises the
failures of the medicine. The number of persons that have been induced to
buy the remedy, and have derived no goodfrom it: if these were all
advertised, it might occupymore room in the newspaperthan those who write
of a cure. My Lord Jesus Christis a Physician who never had a failure yet —
never once. Neverdid a soul washin Christ's blood without being made
whiter than snow. Neverdid a man, besottedwith the worstof vice, trust in
Jesus without receiving power to conquer his evil habits. Not even in the
lowestpit of hell is there one that dares to say, "I trusted Christ, and I am
lost. I sought His face with all my heart, and He castme away." There is not a
man living that could say that, unless he dared to lie; for not one has with

45. heart and soul soughtthe Saviour, and trusted in Him, and then had a
negative from Him. He must save you if you trust Him. As surely as He lives
He must save you, for He has put it, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise
castout." I will repeat it, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise castout."
You have never come if He has not receivedyou; for He must save those who
trust in Him.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The forgiving mercy of God
J. Spencer.
It is reported of Julius Caesar, thathe never entertained hatred againstany so
deeply but he was willing to lay down the same upon the tender of submission.
As when C. Memnius put in for the consulship, he befriended him before
others of the competition, notwithstanding that Memnius had made bitter
invectives againsthim. Thus the great Godof Heaven, to whom all the
Caesarsand kings of the earth are tributaries and homagers, doth never hate
so irreconcilably but that true humiliation will work a reconciliation — let but
the sinner appear before Him in a submissive posture, and His angerwill be
soonappeased.
(J. Spencer.)
How to come to Christ
Ira D. Sankey.
At a gathering in the WestEnd of London the Rev. CaesarMalanfound
himself seatedby a young lady. In the course ofconversationhe askedher if
she were a Christian. She turned upon him, and somewhatsharply replied,
"That's a subject I don't care to have discussedhere this evening." "Well,"
answeredMr. Malan, with inimitable sweetnessofmanner, "I will not persist
in speaking of it, but I shall pray that you may give your heart to Christ, and

46. become a useful workerfor Him." A fortnight afterwards they met again, and
this time the young lady approachedthe minister with marked courtesy, and
said, "The question you askedme the other evening has abided with me ever
since, and causedme very greattrouble. I have been trying in vain in all
directions to find the Saviour, and I come now to ask you to help me to find
Him. I am sorry for the way in which I previously spoke to you, and now come
for help." Mr. Malanansweredher, "Come to Him just as you are." "Butwill
He receive me just as I am, and now? Oh, yes," said Mr. Malan, "gladly will
He do so." Theythen knelt togetherand prayed, and she soonexperiencedthe
holy joy of a full forgiveness through the blood of Christ. The young lady's
name was Charlotte Elliot, and to her the whole Church is indebted for the
pathetic hymn commencing, "Just as I am, without one plea.
(Ira D. Sankey.)
None castout
C. H. Spurgeon.
I went the other day to St. Cross Hospitalnear Winchester. There they give
awaya piece of bread to everybody who knocks atthe door. I knockedas bold
as brass. Why should I not? I did not humble myself particularly and make
anything specialof it. It was for all, and I came and receivedas one of the
people who were willing to knock.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The comfort of the gospelin a dying hour
DeanStanley.
When the greatBishop Butler was lying on his death-bed, he was observedto
be unusually pensive and dejected, and on being askedthe cause, ha replied,
"ThoughI have endeavoured to avoid sin and please God to the utmost of my
power, yet from the consciousnessofperpetual infirmities, I am still afraid to

47. die." A friend who stoodby read him this text. "Ah," saidthe dying man, I
have read that a thousand times, but I never felt its full force till this moment,
and now I die happy.
(DeanStanley.)
GreatTexts of the Bible
Christ’s Doctrine of Election
All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise castout.—John6:37.
1. After claiming to be the Bread of Life, and condemning the Jews’attitude
towards Himself, Jesus announcedHis assurance that notwithstanding their
unbelief all that the Fathergave Him would come to Him, and then
immediately uttered the gracious words whichhave given confidence and
courage to all approaching Him through the centuries, “Him that cometh to
me I will in no wise castout.” In this twofold declarationthe Lord revealed
two aspects ofone greateffect, the heavenly and the earthly. The heavenly
takes in the whole result, “All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto
me.” The earthly declares the individual responsibility, and utters the word
creating confidence, “Him that comethto me I will in no wise castout.”
2. The tone in which the words are spokensupplies another element in the
picture. Jesus seems to pause after saying, “Ye have seenme, and yet believe
not.” It is a sorrowfulfact, and it is very mysterious. Here are His own people
rejecting Him, or at any rate coming to Him in such a wrong fashionthat He
has to discourage them. It looks as though God’s plan of salvation were not
working out right. Is it going to fail at the outset? Suchquestions must crowd

48. into the Saviour’s mind, as He faces the fact that these people will not accept
Him. But they are not allowedto cloud His faith for an instant. At once the
Son acquiescesin the Father’s plan. It is all right; it cannot fail. “All that
which the Father giveth me shall come unto me.” Nobody will be lost whom
the Fatherdesignedto save. “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out.” I am doing My part correctly. So all must be well.
The Commander-in-Chief at the base of operations decides upon the plan of
campaign, and entrusts its execution to another Generalwho never doubts the
strategythough it does not appear successfulimmediately, and never doubts
His own perfectfulfilment of the plan.1 [Note: J. E. Roberts.]
Mark well this passage, “Iwill in no wise casthim out.” Our Saviour doth
plainly import that there neither is nor can be devised—no, not by God
Himself—any one considerationwhatsoeverwhichmight occasionHim to put
off or saynay to any person that doth come. No considerationin the world, I
say, can so aggravate a man’s condition, could he make it as bad as the devils
themselves, yet, if there be a coming to Christ, there can be no consideration
in the highest pitch of sinfulness for Christ to reject, or put by, a person
coming to Him. Foryou must know, beloved, Christ is well acquainted with
all the objections the heart of man (nay, the devil) can objectagainstthe
freeness ofHis grace and life by Him. To save labour, therefore, in this one
passage(I will in no wise castout) Christ at once answers allthe objections
that could be made. And I dare be bold to maintain, in the name and stead of
Christ, let a personbut sayand lay down this for granted, that come he
would—that he would have Christ rather than his life,—letthis be granted for
a truth, I will be bold with Christ out of this passageto answerten thousand
objections, evenfully to the silencing of every objectionthat canbe made; “I
will in no wise casthim out”; I will in no wise, that is, I will upon no
considerationthat can be imagined or conceived.2 [Note:Tobias Crisp.]

49. I
The Father’s Part
“All that which the Fathergiveth me shall come unto me.”
At once the question suggestsitself, Who are given by the Fatherto the Son?
The context supplies an answer. The charge brought by Jesus againstthese
Jews is, “Ye see and believe not.” He has declaredalready, “This is the work
of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” It seems evident,
therefore, that “that which the Father giveth” includes all who believe on the
Son. That may include everybody. “Whosoeverwill” may believe. But to
believe is the essentialcondition. Therefore the greattruth of our text is that
all who believe are saved. It sounds a commonplace:but considerwhat it
means. Take a few cases. A is a denizen of the slums, poor in pocketand in
education; B is a University professor, ofhigh moral instincts and intellectual
attainments; C is a RomanCatholic scientist; D is a cannibal on a mission
station on the Congo. Now suppose eachofthese convictedof sin and desiring
to trust Jesus. Theircircumstances vary enormously. Coming to Christ and
reaching Him mean very different experiences. A never uttered a prayer in his
life, and scarcelyunderstands any article of the Christian creed;B has
consideredthe creed carefully and critically, and has been accustomedto
reverent worship; C has to acceptdogmas on the authority of the Church,
though his reasonmay contradictthem; D has dim conceptions of Godand is
governedby savage instincts which cannotbe eradicatedin a brief time. Does
it seemat all likely that four men placedin such different circumstances
should eversucceedin finding God in Christ? Jesus says they shall. “All that
which the Father giveth me shall come unto me.” No lack of knowledge, no
spirit of caution, no church dogma, no savage instinctshall hide the face of
God in Christ or keepa seeking soulfrom the Saviour. Coming from Eastand

50. Westand North and South, the guiding starshall gather them all at the feet of
the Sonof God.
The Christian doctrine of electionusedto be freely preached; but it was
sometimes mis-stated, and therefore it was misunderstood. So it fell into
disuse. Now it seems to be too much neglected. If it means what some people
think it means—that God electeda certain number of individuals without
reference to their moral fitness for salvationand consignedall the restof
mankind to eternalperdition—I do not wonder it is neglected. Suchteaching
conflicts with our knowledge ofGod and has no shred of evidence in the
Scriptures. Its true meaning is given in this verse. God has electedfor
salvationnot this or that individual, but all people who believe in His Son
whom He hath sent. This may be all. God wants it to be all. All who believe
are saved. That is, God elects, not the individuals, but the means, and
guarantees that all who use the means shall be saved.1 [Note:J. E. Roberts.]
As to this matter of election, I would to God that some who objectto it had as
much common sense in this matter as they have in the daily actions of
ordinary life. I ask for no higher degree ofcommon sense. Let me assume that
a purse has been lost in the street adjoining our place of meeting; the purse
contains a thousand guineas; whoeverfinds that purse may keepit. “Ha!” we
say, “well, only one canfind it; therefore what is the goodof a thousand
seeking it? Only one can have it; and if I am electedto be the man, it will come
in my way.” I never heard people reasoning so with regard to an affair of that
kind. Though only one may have it, ten thousand will strive for it if they know
the conditions. There is a prize to be given in the school. It is one prize; there
are five hundred scholars in the school. The boys say, “Well, only one of us
can getit, why should five hundred of us be toiling and fagging for it?”
Another boy says, “I know if I am to have the prize, I will getit; so I shall read
no books, and make no preparation.” You would not allow a boy to reasonso.
Yet there are men who say this, “If we are calledto heaven, we’ll getto
heaven; if we are electedto be saved, we need not make any effort about it.”

51. Thou wickedand slothful servant; out of thine ownmouth I condemn thee;
the whole actionof thy evil life shall be thy answeron the day of judgment,
and thou shalt be condemned to an ignominious silence because ofa self-
accusing conscience.1[Note:J. Parker.]
I am thankful to believe that my final salvationdoes not depend wholly on
myself. If it did, it would be at stake to the very last! Salvationinvolves so
much. It includes deliverance from sin, development of character, fitness to
dwell with God. Man’s faith is often such a frail thing. It were a poor refuge, if
there were no Divine purpose to support it. It becomes a sure defence if God
says, “I pledge that man’s deliverance.” Here is a man battling with a rough
sea. A belt is flung to him. What hope of deliverance canhe have by clinging
to a few pounds of cork? This hope, that there are fifty strong arms pulling
him through the surf to the shore. Do not push the simile too far. The
Christian life is not simply clinging to a belt; it is a daily conflict with
temptation. But it is gloriously true that faith in Christ transfers the
responsibility of salvationto the Saviour, and makes deliverance certain.
Though I graspthe hand of Christ I might lose it in a moment of doubt or
weakness,orwhen my feet enter the chill waters of the river of death. Thanks
be unto God for the assurance that if I claspthe hand of Christ He grips mine,
and none can pluck me out of that strong clasp. It is my sheetanchor amidst
the storms of life and the floods of death.2 [Note: J. E. Roberts.]
BecauseI seek Thee not, oh seek Thoume!
Becausemy lips are dumb, oh hear the cry
I do not utter as Thou passestby,

52. And from my life-long bondage setme free!
BecausecontentI perish, far from Thee,
Oh seize me, snatchme from my fate, and try
My soulin Thy consuming fire! Draw nigh
And let me, blinded, Thy salvationsee.
If I were pouring at Thy feet my tears,
If I were clamouring to see Thy face,
I should not need Thee, Lord, as now I need,
Whose dumb, dead soul knows neither hopes nor fears,
Nor dreads the outer darkness of this place—
BecauseI seek not, pray not, give Thou heed!1 [Note:Louise Chandler
Moulton.]

53. II
Man’s Part
“Him that cometh to me.”
1. “Coming” is the only way of salvation. If there could have been any other
way, this one would never have been opened. It is not conceivable that God
would have given His only-begotten and well-belovedSon to die upon the
cross ofCalvary in order to save sinners if there had been any other wayof
saving them that would have been as consistentwith the principles of infallible
justice. If men could have enteredinto everlasting life without passing along
the path stainedand consecratedby the blood of Jesus, surely that blood
would never have been “shedfor many for the remissionof sins.” The very
fact that this new and living way has been openedproves that there is no
other, for God would never have provided it unless it had been absolutely
necessary.
2. But what is “coming”? The people He was addressing had followedHim for
miles, and had found Him and were speaking to Him, but they had not
“come” to Him. To come to Him is to approachHim in spirit, and with
submissive trust; it is to commit ourselves to Him as our Lord; it is to restin
Him as our all; it is to come to Him with open heart, accepting Him as He
claims to be; it is to meet the eye of a present, living Christ, who knows what is
in man, and to sayto Him, “I am Thine, Thine most gladly, Thine for
evermore.”
An Irish boy was askedwhat was meant by saving faith. “Grasping Christ
with the heart,” said he. The truest answerpossible. And faith is only another

54. word for coming. The man who grasps Christ with the heart, “comes.”1
[Note:R. D. Dickinson.]
3. The one essentialin coming is the desire to come. Christ pledges His gift to
readiness of heart. As to the open eye the light pours in, and to the listening
ear the music enters, so to the longing heart Christ gives the pardon and the
purity and the peace which, though it has not shaped its need into those
words, are in reality the gifts for which it yearns. The value of a photographic
plate consists not in what it is, but in its readiness to receive the impression
when the shutter of the camera is opened and the light streams in. If a mere
piece of common glass were there insteadof the plate, the light might shine on
it for everand no impressionwould be made; it is the prepared plate that
receives the impression which the light conveys. So, too, it is the prepared soul
that receives the gift of Christ. The one thing that the Saviour asks for is
readiness, willingness, some movementof the life towards Him; if there is that
within us we need not fear that Christ, who is light, will fail to bring His
blessing to us or to leave His mark on us. Everything is possible to us if we are
open to the influence of God. What is it that we want Christ to do for us? Is it
to cleanse awayour sin? He points us to His cross. Do we want restfrom an
accusing conscience and from the weary load of loneliness? “Come unto me,”
He says, “and I will give you rest.” Is what is deepestin us still unsatisfied,
although we have been seeking many fountains and drinking from many
cups? “He that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
At one critical time during this period of soul-conflicthe stated in one of his
addresses thatthe question, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” was made a
word of life to him. He writes: “I was very near death; I was almost
despairing. The only thing that kept my head above waterwas the promise,
‘Him that cometh to me I will in no wise castout.’ I repeatedit againand
again, and prayed very earnestly, when the word came to me with such power,
and with such a rebuke, ‘Believe ye that I am able to do this?’ He was able,

55. and I believed Him, and He did it.”1 [Note:K. Moody-Stuart, Brownlow
North, 41.]
(1) Unfitness is no barrier to coming.—It is strange how people are inclined to
wait a little, to try to prepare themselves for Christ! They know how unlike
Him they are, and how unfit they are for His presence and service;so, as a
youth who waits awhile to prepare himself for some important examination,
or as a soldierwaits awhile to perfect himself in drill for some promotion—so
they think they can wait. But their waiting never changes their nature or
renews their heart. Fortheir case is rather like that of those who suffer from a
malignant disease.No amount of waiting or even of attention to the outward
signs of the disease is of any avail, and the time spent over that but increases
the danger;for the disorder is within, the whole system is poisonedand needs
renewing, and it is to save their life that they at once put themselves in the
hands of a qualified physician. Christ Jesus is the qualified physician, and His
blood is a “full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfactionfor
the sins of the whole world.”
I have heard of a cavalierwho lost his life because he stopped to curl his hair
when Cromwell’s soldiers were after him. Some of you may laugh at the
man’s foolishness;but that is all that your talk about fitness is. What is all
your fitness but the curling of your hair when you are in imminent danger of
losing your soul? Your fitness is nothing to Christ. Remember the hymn—
Let not consciencemake you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth

56. Is to feel your need of Him.2 [Note: C. H. Spurgeon.]
(2) Emptiness and not fulness is required.—Before a building is erectedit is
necessaryto excavate fora foundation, which involves the removal of much
that seems important. And it is literally true that Christ wants not our fulness
but our emptiness, that He may “build us up in our most holy faith.” We think
ourselves full, and are reluctant to part with anything; whereas we are
“poor”—destitute ofeverything that is necessaryto appear before Godwith;
we are “wretched,” being altogetherout of harmony with the eternal joys of
heaven; and we are “blind” to our actualcondition, to our own welfare, and
even to the salvationso freely provided and so fully revealedby Christ our
Saviour, till the eyes of our understanding are opened, and we are led to see
and desire the many things we need. And the faith that saves is that which
takes us out of ourselves, where there is nothing, to Christ, where there is
fulness for all we need—purity, peace, and joy, “without money and without
price.”
From all thou holdestprecious, for one hour
Arise and come away,
And let the calling Voice be heard in power;
Desertthyself to-day;
If with thy Lord for once thou turn aside,

57. With Him thou’lt fain abide.1 [Note:J. E. A. Brown.]
4. The coming is a personal coming to a personalSaviour.—How personalthe
text is concerning both the one coming and the One to whom he is to come:
“him that cometh to me.” That is the long and the short of the whole matter,
its Alpha and Omega, its beginning and its end; there must be a personal
coming to the personalChrist. It will not suffice for us to come to Christ’s
doctrines. We must, of course, believe what He taught; but believing His
teaching will not save us unless we come to Him. It will not be enough merely
to come to Christ’s precepts, and to try to practise them,—an utterly
impossible task for our own unaided strength; we must first come to Christ,
and then, when we trust in Him for salvation, His gracious Spirit will “take of
the things of Christ, and shew them unto” us.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.2 [Note:Whittier.]
III

58. Christ’s Part
“I will in no wise castout.”
1. Christ’s accessibility.—“Jesusneverslept in a walledtown” is the striking
remark of a literary writer. There never lived so open a man, so accessible
always to all. Sitting at the well of Sychar, and talking freely to the first
comer; receiving Nicodemus by night; listening to the Syro-Phœnician
mother, who breaks through His concealment;preaching to the five thousand,
who disturb His retirement,—He is the property of every man that wants
Him, and leaves us an example to follow His steps.
2. Christ’s longing for response.—“Ionce knew a mother,” says Canon
Duncan, “who had a sonwho suffered from paralysis of the brain. Yet, how
she loved and caredfor him! But the cause ofher greatgrief was this; she
said: ‘I have nursed him from childhood, cleansed, fed, and clothed him,
watchedover him and supplied his every want, tried to please him, and to
teachhim little things, and now, though in years he is a man, yet he does not
even know me, and shows no return of my love, but just lies there to eat and
drink and sleep!And I feel that I cannotgo on; I am just longing for some
recognition—someresponse to my lifelong love and care!” How many are
there, though not afflicted like that son, who nevertheless treattheir God and
Saviour much the same!He sacrificedHis very life for them; fed, clothed, and
caredfor them day by day; and has called them by His providence, by His
word, and by every token of love, and yet they give no response.
He utters this word Himself, that, howeverlong men may neglectit, however
long it may be that they see and hear, and yet believe Him not, when they do

59. finally come, He cannot, and will not, and must not castthem away.1 [Note:
Schleiermacher.]
It is the greatness ofThy love, dear Lord, that we would celebrate
With sevenfold powers.
Our love at best is cold and poor, at best unseemly for Thy state,
This best of ours.
Creatures that die, we yet are such as Thine own hands deigned to create:
We frail as flowers,
We bitter bondslaves ransomedat a price incomparably great
To grace Heaven’s bowers.
Thou callest:“Come at once”—andstill Thou callestus: “Come late, tho’
late”—
(The moments fly)—

60. “Come, every one that thirsteth, come—Come prove Me, knocking at My
gate”—
(Some souls draw nigh!)—
“Come thou who waiting seekestMe—Come thou for whom I seek and
wait”—
(Why will we die?)—
“Come and repent: come and amend: come joy the joys unsatiate”—
—(Christ passethby …)—
Lord, pass not by—I come—andI—and I. Amen.1 [Note: Christina G.
Rossetti, Poems, 164.]
3. The certainty of Christ’s welcome.—Everyone who will come to Christ is
sure of a welcome. Thatis the emphatic messageofthe text. The words used
by our Lord are the strongestpossible. Sweetlyfamiliar as the music of the
English version is, it scarcelyrepresents their double emphasis. Literally they
read, “Him that comethto me I will not, not castout.” That is to say, to use a
modern phrase, there is not the slightestfearof his being castout. A heart
burdened with a spiritual need will never be repelled; a man panting with a
spiritual desire may be absolutelycertain that when he comes to Christ he will
be welcome. “Oh!” cries Bunyan, “the comfort that I have had from this word