Great Bible Invitations – Sermon #8

 

John 6:37-40

THE INVITATION OF CONFIDENCE

Intro: We have just read one of the most profound passages in the Bible today. These verses contain truths that will never be fully comprehended by the mind of man until we stand complete in His image in glory. In these verses short verses there are 110 words. 98 have just one syllable. Eleven have two syllables. One has three syllables. Jesus uses the simplest language possible, yet He teaches us a truth that is so deep that no man who has ever lived can comprehend it completely. Still, it is truth so simple that even small children can grasp the heart of it.

      In these verses we find yet another invitation from our Lord. It is an invitation designed to inspire confidence. These words speak of the confidence that rested within the heart of our Savior as He looked toward Calvary. These words speak of the confidence that sinners can have as they see the horror, and understand the penalty, of their sins. These words speak of the confidence that can be possessed by the saints of God as they journey toward their home in Heaven.

      This is The Invitation Of Confidence and it has much to say to us today. Let’s take some time and consider together the great blessings that our Savior has embedded for us in His words.

 

  I.  v. 37a                          THE SAVIOR’S GIFT

(Ill. Jesus has just declared His identity to the Jews. He has declared Himself to be the Bread of Life, v. 35. He tells them very clearly that any one who will receive Him will neither hunger nor thirst. Then, in verse 36, Jesus makes a sad statement. He says, “ye also have seen me, and believe not”. This statement brings into sharp focus the fact that the Jews had rejected Jesus as their Messiah. In fact, John went so far as to say, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not”, John 1:11.

      Some people might have seen this rejection by the Jews as an indication that the ministry of Jesus Christ was a failure. The very people He had come to turned a deaf ear to His preaching. If anyone thought the ministry of Jesus was a failure, they were missing the big picture.

      The first part of verse 37 tells us about the Father’s gift to the Son. This gift is given to Jesus as His reward for all that He suffered here on earth. This gift is the proof and the promise that His mission into this world was not in vain. This gift, though hard to comprehend for us mortals, is a greater blessing than we can fathom. Let’s examine it for a moment.)

A.  The Character Of This Gift – “all that the Father giveth me” – The character of this gift is seen in the word “all”. That word encompasses within it every sinner who will ever be saved. That word speaks of every redeemed sinner from the sweet little girl saved in her Sunday School class, to the brazen streetwalker saved from a life of debauchery. That word speaks of that small boy who places his faith in Jesus and is saved at a young age; it also embraces that drunkard who has lived his life in a drunken stupor. That word speaks all of those who would ever place their faith in Jesus for salvation.

            If you are saved, or if you will ever be saved, you are God’s gift to His Son! You are God’s love gift to Jesus for coming into this world and dying on the cross. From my perspective, that doesn’t seem like too much of a gift. I know what I was when the Lord found me, Rom. 3:10-23. And, I am pretty sure that you weren’t much better than I was! So, God gave us to Jesus and He died for us on the cross. It sounds like Jesus got the short end of the stick, but He got just want He wanted, Luke 19:10; Heb. 12:2.

B.  The Contributor Of This Gift – “the Father giveth Me” – I have already made mention of this, but God is the One behind the gift. Yet, the entire Trinity is involved in this great gift of salvation. The Father gave us to His Son in eternity past, Eph. 1:4. Jesus died for us when He went to the cross, John 15:14-16. The Holy Spirit drew me to Jesus and saved me when I was a sinner, John 6:44; 65.

            I believe the Word of God is very clear about the matter of salvation. No one simply chooses to be saved; they are chosen! No one just comes to Jesus Christ of their own free will. The sinner’s will is fallen and he is incapable of coming to Jesus on his own. The sinner cannot respond to Jesus unless Jesus first comes to the sinner. Left to himself, the lost sinner will always seek the things of the world and of the flesh, Eph. 2:2-3. Like it or not, the lost sinner is dead in trespasses and sins, Eph. 2:1, and he cannot come to God. In this thing called salvation, God must make the first step. He calls us to Jesus so that we might be saved! (Ill. 1 John 4:19)

C.  The Consequences Of This Gift – “All…shall come to me” – The work that God began in eternity past will be carried out fully in time. Every person the Father has given to the Son will be saved by the grace of God! According to this verse “all…shall…come”. I came to Him because He first came to me!

      When we speak of these matters, we have stepped out into deep waters. We are treading in waters that the greatest human minds have not been able to fathom. We are discussing concepts so difficult to understand that few can articulate them accurately or with understanding. We are talking about the great matters of election and human responsibility.

      There can be no doubt that salvation is based on God’s choice. Salvation is a matter of grace and He saves whomsoever He will! But, there is also no denying the fact that man is responsible to believe in Jesus and to receive Him as Savior. Here is the truth; if anyone is saved it will be because of God’s free grace. God will get all the glory! If anyone goes to Hell; it will be their own fault! They will have no one to blame but themselves.

      God makes a universal offer of salvation to all people. He cries that “whosoever will” may come! Anyone who will come to Jesus will be saved. Those who will not come to Jesus will never be saved. That is the bottom line!

 

(Ill. Once when Spurgeon commented on God’s election and human responsibility, he described them as a pair of railroad tracks. They run parallel to one another and never meet, but if you look far enough into the distance, they appear to come together. These doctrines are confusing and often appear to be contradictory in this life, but in eternity they will make perfect sense!

      On one occasion someone asked Spurgeon how he reconciled the doctrine of election with the doctrine of human responsibility. Spurgeon said, “I never reconcile friends!” While we may not understand election, predestination and human responsibility, they are all still biblical doctrines that must be believed. As Spurgeon said on another occasion, “If you try to explain election, you will lose your mind; but if you try to explain it away, you will lose your soul.” We have a hard time understanding these things down here, but we must still believe them!)

 

(Note: This is a verse brimming with confidence. It looked, from a human perspective, like the ministry of Jesus was a failure. Jesus knew, however, that God had given Him many sheep. He could face the rejection and go to the cross to die knowing that His death would not be in vain, but that He would actually save every one that the Father and given to Him.

 

 II.  v. 37b                         THE SAVIOR’S GRACE

(Ill. Jesus had confidence because of the Father’s gift. He knew that His death would accomplish salvation for the elect. But, sinners also have confidence in this thing called salvation. We can have confidence because of the Savior’s grace.)

A.  The Extent Of His Grace – “him that cometh to me” – The phrase “cometh to me” is essential. It declares the way of salvation! Being saved is not about joining a church, being a better person, stopping sinning, or doing good things. Being saved is coming to a Person. Being saved is about coming to Jesus Christ by faith.

      That phrase is explained in verse 40. The phrase “every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life” describes the plan of salvation. All you have to do is see Jesus for Who He is and place your faith in Him. When you do that, He will save your soul.

      Of course, all those who see Jesus as He is will see themselves as they are! When they see the holiness of the Savior, they can be no longer blind to the wickedness of self! This realization of sin leads the sinner to come to Jesus Christ for salvation.

      Being saved is not some difficult, mystical process. You don’t have to “pray through” to be saved. You don’t have to memorize the “sinner’s prayer”. You don’t have to walk the “Roman Road”. All you have to do is look away to Jesus by faith and trust that His death on the cross and His resurrection are sufficient to save your soul, Rom. 10:9. The rest is up to Him!

B. The Energy Of His Grace – “I will in no wise cast out” – Jesus promises all those who hear God’s call and come to Him that He will not turn them away. The words “cast out” have the idea of “driving someone away”. They are violent words! The lost sinner need never fear coming to Jesus: He will not drive them away! Regardless of where the path of life has taken you, Jesus will not turn you away if you will come to Him.

      The personal pronoun “him” covers a lot of ground! Jesus opens the door for any person, from any race, any place, or any background to come to Him. He doesn’t care what you have done. He doesn’t care who you are. He promises you that if you will come to Him, He will not turn you away from His offer of salvation.

      Your past sins are no hindrance to His saving grace! Your present condition is no hindrance to His saving grace! Your future failures are no hindrance to His saving grace either! If you will come to Him, He will not turn you away, but He will save your soul.

      Ill. When Jesus was here in earth, He raised three people from the dead. He raised the daughter of Jairus, Mark 5:41-42. He raised the widow of Nain’s son, Luke 7:11-15. He also raised Lazarus, John 11. Each of these individuals was dead. Now, these three shared a similarity and they shared a difference.

      The one thing similar between their cases was the fact that each one was dead. Lazarus, who had been dead four days, was no deader than the widow of Nain’s son or Jairus’ daughter, they were all dead. The only difference was in the degree of their decomposition.

      The same is true when it comes to lost sinners. Every lost sinner is dead in trespasses and sin, and none is deader than another. The lost church member is just as dead as the drunkard, the harlot or that good old redneck boy. If they are lost they are all dead.

      The only difference in them is the degree of their decomposition. While the lost church member is dead is just as dead as the drunk, the drunk smells worse! His sins have worked more corruption in his life than they have in the life of the lost religious person.

      So, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve been. If you are lost, Jesus will save your soul if you will come to Him by faith. That is His promise! He will not cast you out!

 

III.  v. 38-40                  THE SAVIOR’S GUARANTEE

(Ill. The truth that “all the father gives” to Jesus “will come” to Jesus gives the Savior confidence. The truth that “him that cometh to” Jesus He will “in no wise cast out” gives confidence to the repenting sinner. The rest of our verses give great confidence to the saints of God. In these verses we find the personal guarantee of our Savior to all those who come to Him.)

A.  v. 39-40a  Confirmed By His Plan – God’s plan is to save the sinner by “grace through faith”. When lost people come to Jesus for salvation, God will save them. When He saves them, He saves them for time and eternity. It is the Father’s will that Jesus should “lose nothing”. The word “lose” has reference to being lost in Hell. When Jesus saves a soul, the saved person will never, ever be lost again!

      Jesus said that this was the Father’s “will”. There are two Greek words translated “will” in the New Testament. One is the word “boulomai”, pronounced “boo-lom-ahee”. This word refers to a “wish or a fond desire”. The other word is the word “qelema”, pronounced “thel-ay-mah”. This word refers to “what one has determined will be done”. The boulamai is a hope so thing while qelema is a divine, sovereign declaration of that which will come to pass!

      God does not just hope that none of His people will be lost. He has declared that not a single one of those He has saved by His grace will ever be lost! God did not send Jesus to this world to live and die so that some people might be saved, if they can hold out. God sent Jesus here to die for His people so that everyone who looked to Jesus by faith for salvation would have the guarantee of eternal life. That is His plan!

B.  v. 40b  Confirmed By His Promise – “may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” – What a promise! Jesus tells all those who trust Him that they are safe in this world and in the world to come. If you are saved, you are saved forever! Call it “once saved always saved”. Call it “eternal security”. Call it “eternal life”. Call it anything you want to, but when you are saved, you can never be lost again. The Bible is very clear about that. Consider the following verses:

·         We are kept by His power – 1 Pet. 1:5

·         We are promised “everlasting life” – John 3:16; John 5:24 (Ill. 11 times!)

·         We are promised “eternal life” – John 10:28; 1 John 2:25

·         We are promised that we will “never perish” – John 10:28

·         We are promised that we cannot be “plucked out” of His hand – John 10:28-29  (Ill. “Pluck” = “To seize or carry off by force”)

      There are many more, but you get the picture! When He saved us, He did so forever! Praise His name! By the way, if you ever do lose your salvation, you can never be saved again, Heb. 6:4-6!

C.  v. 38  Confirmed By His Performance – It is God’s will that we will never be lost again. It is the Savior’s promise that we will never be lost again. These things are guarantee by the Savior’s performance. When Jesus came to this world, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and died on the cross, He did those things to purchase our salvation. When He died on the cross, Jesus was able to declare “It is finished”, John 19:30. That simply means that He perfectly completed the task that had been assigned to Him.

            He came to this world to pay our sin debt and He did just that. He came to this world to shed His blood so that God’s wrath might be turned away from all those who receive Jesus and He did just that, Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10. (Ill. “Propitiation” = “Satisfaction” Jesus satisfied the just demands of a holy God and now all those who receive Him as their Savior are guaranteed eternal life!)

      Now, if you want to miss hell and go to Heaven, you must come to Jesus! If you want your sins to be forgiven, you must come to Jesus! If you want to be saved by the grace of God, you must come to Jesus!

 

Conc: What kind of confidence do you have today? If your life came to an end today and you went out into eternity, what kind of confidence do you have? Have you trusted Jesus as your personal Savior? Have you “come to” Jesus as these verses invite you to? Are you saved by the grace of God?

      I praise the name of Jesus that He died in our place. He paid it all, all to Him we owe! Now, all we have to do to be saved is come to Him. If you are lost today, you need to come to Him. Is He calling you? Is He speaking tenderly to your heart and drawing you to Himself? Don’t delay! Run to Jesus and be saved! Don’t put it off! Don’t wait for a more convenient day! Come to Jesus now!

      Has He spoken to you? Come to Jesus! Do you want to thank Him and love on Him for what He did for you? Come to Jesus! Do you want to come back home to Him and make some things right? Come to Jesus! Have you wandered far away from home? Come to Jesus! Whatever the need, come to Jesus!