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The Irresistible Call of the Gospel (4)

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44

The reader of our letter who sent in this text, submitted it without a question attached, and apparently would like to have some general comments made on the text. This I am happy to do because it is such a crucially important text in the Gospel according to John.

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In commenting in our last article on the meaning of "coming to Christ," we showed that to come to Christ is the same as believing on Him.

And so the question which we face is: How does one believe on Christ?

Throughout most of the church world the answer to that question would be: One believes on Christ by accepting Christ as one's own personal Savior, by opening one's heart to Christ Who stands without knocking; by listening to the pleading of Christ Who longs to save and waits upon the sinner.

It is a tragic fact that such blatant and God-dishonoring Arminianism is almost the universal answer to the question: How does one believe in Christ?

But John 6:44-45 without any equivocation or ambiguity, simply states that such Arminianism is a denial of God's own truth. It is a mockery of God, a caricature of the Almighty, a glob of mud hurled at His perfect holiness. It is an idol, not one bit better than Moloch, or Baal, or Ashteroth.

No one comes to Christ without being drawn by the Father.

The word which Jesus uses in the text and which is translated "draw," is a word which means "to pull with great exertion and difficulty." It is something like pulling on one end of a rope being used for the game of tug-of-war; and the difficulty of pulling is due to the fact that others are on the other end of the rope pulling in their direction.

This is revealing.

The sinner must be drawn because he is not only dead weight which must be pulled along; but more, because he, in his sin, actively resists coming to Christ. The sinner hates Christ and hates God. He would not come to God or to God's Christ for all the wealth of the world. He despises anything that has to do with God - in spite of his seemingly pious speech about religious things, by which he tries to leave the impression that he is very religious.

The difficulty in drawing the sinner to Christ is not due to a limitation in God's omnipotence. He is able to call things that were not as though they were. He Who created the heavens and the earth is able to draw a sinner also. (Although it is striking that the Canons of Dort tell us that it is at least as difficult, if not more difficult, to save a sinner than to create the worlds out of nothing [III & IV, 12].)

The difficulty lies in the great sin of man. To be drawn to Christ requires that severe opposition be overcome, hatred be changed to love, resistance be shattered; hard hearts be softened; stubborn wills be made pliable. That is a great work. It is so great a work that only the Father can do it.

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The emphasis of the text lies precisely here: God, Who is Christ's Father, and Who has sent Christ into the world to accomplish salvation, is the only One Who brings to Christ those whom He has given to Christ. It is a divine work.

Let us be sure on this point, and let us believe it and confess it. Everyone who has ever come to Christ has come because the Father has drawn Him. To that rule there is no exception.

No preacher has saved one soul. No evangelist has brought one sinner to Christ. No man has ever come by the choice of His own will.

That is an objective fact which remains true into all eternity.

And that is the simple truth which the saved saint eagerly confesses, for in it he finds his comfort. If I had to come by my own power, I would never come. I know that. Oh, I know that - beyond a shadow of doubt. I know that I kick against the pricks. I know that, if left to myself for as much as one second, I would dash off in a direction exactly opposite from Christ. There is for sinners one hope: that the Father draws them.

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Additional Info

  • Volume: 6
  • Issue: 21
Hanko, Herman

Prof. Herman Hanko (Wife: Wilma)

Ordained: October 1955

Pastorates: Hope, Walker, MI - 1955; Doon, IA - 1963; Professor to the Protestant Reformed Seminary - 1965

Emeritus: 2001

Website: www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Prof._Herman_Hanko

Contact Details

  • Address
    725 Baldwin Dr. B-25
  • City
    Jenison
  • State or Province
    MI
  • Zip Code
    49428
  • Country
    United States
  • Telephone
    616-667-6033
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