Revelation: Christ and the Churches

What is Coming to Christ

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2008-08-17

Synopsis: John Weaver examines the biblical meaning of coming to Christ, contrasting it with common misconceptions. He first explains why people do not come—ignorance, prejudice, doctrinal error, Satanic assault, pride, and love of sin. He then clarifies what coming to Christ is not: a physical act, an experience, or going to an altar. Positively, coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought by God's grace, involving being drawn by the Father through teaching, conviction, and revelation of Christ, leading to repentance, faith, and submission to Christ's lordship.

[John Weaver] I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, this morning to the book of John, chapter 5 and chapter 6. John, chapter 5 and chapter 6. We're going to read a passage from John 5 and then look at a couple of verses in John 6. John, chapter 5. Beginning with verse 32. I want to bring a message this morning, which I've just entitled Coming to Christ or What is Coming to Christ? John 5, verse 32, our Lord says, There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses to me is true. You sent unto John, and he beareth witness unto the truth.

[John Weaver] But I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that you might be saved. He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John. For the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, beareth witness of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me.

[John Weaver] You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent you believe not. Search the scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, and there they which testify of me. And you will not come unto me that you might have life. I receive not honour from men, but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe? Who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in John chapter 6, beginning there with verse 43, John 6 verse 43, Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me, except the Father which sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. I suppose one of the greatest and most important subjects in the word of God is that of coming to Christ. The truth remains, however, that many still do not really know what it means to come to Christ.

[John Weaver] In fact, if you would go to the average church, you would find that a large percentage of professing Christians believe that if they've been baptized, if they've joined the church, if they've made a verbal profession or verbal commitment or performed some kind of good works, then verily they have come to Christ. But coming to Christ is not only the most important subject in the Bible, it is an absolute necessity because without it, there is no salvation. Our Lord Himself said in John 14 in verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me. Now you can read through the Bible. And as you read through the Bible, you will discover, especially in the New Testament, there are many wonderful invitations to come to Christ. In fact, in Matthew 11, Verses 28 and verse 30, which most of you know, our Lord said, Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.

[John Weaver] For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. In Mark 1 and verse 17, our Lord said, Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And then in John 21 and verse 12, our Lord just simply said, Come and dine. And then a passage that everyone is familiar with, Revelation 22 and verse 17, where the Bible says,"...and the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him who is aheareth say, Come, and let him who is athirst come, and whosoever will let him drink of the water of life freely." So there are many invitations in the Bible to come to Christ. And sinners are encouraged to come to Christ. But the question has to be asked, what is coming to Christ? Now before I answer that question, I want to show you from the Bible why, generally speaking, men do not come to Christ.

[John Weaver] Isn't it amazing that you can have empty pews on the Lord's Day? I mean, why is it that people are not breaking the doors down to get to Christ when you realize salvation is found only in Jesus Christ? What is it that hinders men and keeps them away? Well, let me just give you several things that the Bible reveals. First of all, the first reason people do not come to Christ is because of ignorance. If you look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 4, and you will remember our Lord is speaking there to the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, John chapter 4 and verse 10, notice what Jesus said. She asked our Lord in verse 9, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?

[John Weaver] For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst ask of him, and he would have given thee living water. Notice what our Lord said, If you knew who I was, and if you knew the gift that I had, you would have asked me. But the truth is, she was totally ignorant of Jesus Christ. She was ignorant of His gift. How in the world can you ask for something when you're absolutely, totally ignorant of it?

[John Weaver] You know, the Bible says in Ephesians 4 and 18, talking about the unsaved, He says, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts. Our Lord in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 14 talks about this and He says, but their minds were blinded. They can't see. They're totally, absolutely ignorant concerning Jesus Christ. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4, But the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, whose image of God, should shine unto them." So very obviously, one of the main reasons people do not come to Christ, they don't even know who He is. They don't know the gift that He has. They don't know one thing about Him. I used to tell people before my uncle died, I had one of the most lovable, kind, and gracious uncles you've ever seen in your life.

[John Weaver] You couldn't help but love him. And he died when he was about 80, 89, something like that. And I would tell people all about my uncle. And I'd say, now, what I would like you to do is this. I would like you to love my uncle. And they would look at me funny. I said, you know, it's just impossible to love someone you don't know, isn't it? And it's impossible to come to someone you do not know. And one of the reasons men do not come to Christ is simply because of ignorance.

[John Weaver] Here's the second reason the Bible tells us, and that's prejudice. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 7, whole John 5, we will come back there. But if you'll look in Mark chapter 7, you'll notice in this passage, beginning there with verse 5, what our Lord says. Mark chapter 7, notice if you would please verse 5. Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?

[John Weaver] And he answered and said unto them, Well, hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites? As it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

[John Weaver] Now watch, howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, for laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. You know, I find it absolutely amazing that people love tradition more than the Word of God. I have been in churches, and I've had not only pastors, but I've had people tell me, now, Brother Weaver, we've always done it like this. Well, let me tell you something, folks. Just because you have always done something like this does not necessarily mean it's right. does not necessarily mean it's scriptural or biblical. Now, there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as it's biblical, and there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as, even if it's a man-made tradition, as long as everybody realizes it's not binding on the consciences of other people. But the problem is, we get our traditions going and we want to bind them upon the conscience of other people when there's no biblical foundation for them.

[John Weaver] And consequently, when someone comes along preaching and teaching the Word of God, whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't believe that. We've always done it like this. We don't want anything upset. I told Brother Nelson's people, and I've told most churches this, I could go into the average church and split it with one sermon. All I've got to do is preach against their tradition, because people like their traditions more than the Word of God. So there's a prejudice against the Word of God, especially among religious people. The Pharisees were the most religious in our Lord's day. And he said, full well, you reject the commandment of God that you might keep your own traditions. But there's another reason why men do not come to Christ. That's doctrinal error.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1. Your pastor read about it from this passage the other night. Notice 1 Corinthians 1. And notice what the Word of God says. especially in verse 23. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 in verse 23. Our Lord made this statement through the apostle. He says this, But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. Do you realize that the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ is to a lot of people absolutely foolish?

[John Weaver] That's one reason why this building is not packed out today. People believe that it's more important to go fishing or to go boating or to go skiing or to do a hundred of other things rather than to hear the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, our Lord says the preaching of the cross is to the Jews a stumbling block, that is, they stumble over it. And to the Greek, it is absolutely foolishness. How in the world would you ever come to someone? How in the world could you ever embrace someone that you really didn't believe in or that you thought He was an absolutely fool and absolutely foolish to hear anything he said.

[John Weaver] You see, the truth of the matter is there are so many people who are in error concerning the person of Jesus Christ and the work of Jesus Christ, and consequently, because of that error, they will never come to Christ. So it's not just simply prejudice. It's not just simply ignorance. It is doctrinal error. But there's a fourth reason, and that's because of the assault of Satan. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 9, if you would please, and look at what happens in this particular passage. And as you turn there, let me quote Matthew 12 and verse 29.

[John Weaver] Our Lord said this, or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he'll spoil his house. So the strong man has to be bound. And let me just show you how you have an assault of Satan, someone who's coming to Christ. In Luke chapter 9, if you would look there, please, at verse 40. Here's a man who brought his son, who had demons, to the disciples of our Lord, and they could not cast him out. And he said in verse 40, And I brought thy disciples, For I besought my disciples to cast him out, and they could not.

[John Weaver] And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring my son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tarried him. And Jesus rebuked him, rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again unto his father." Note, while he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tarried him. Do you realize the devil will do anything to distract people?

[John Weaver] I have noticed, so help me, I've seen this hundreds of times. You go into the church and you're preaching as hard as you can preach, and right when you're trying to make an important point, one little kid in the front gets up to go to the bathroom, and every set of eyes in that house follows that little kid. Just like you've never seen a kid go to the bathroom before. I've actually seen people look up Start counting the tiles on the ceiling.

[John Weaver] What in the world's going on? There's an assault going on. You need to read Pilgrim's Progress. You need to read about the episode where Satan attacked Pilgrim. You need to read about the argument there. And certainly there is indeed the assault of Satan. But there's another reason people do not come to Christ, and that's because of pride of heart. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 9.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Matthew 9, verse 10. Notice, if you would, the pride and the arrogance of the human heart. Notice in Matthew 9, verse 10. And it came to pass, as Jesus said it, meet in the house. Behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him as disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, the self-righteous religious hypocrites, when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, why is your Master with publicans and sinners?

[John Weaver] In other words, if Christ was as holy as we were and are, He wouldn't be associating with these people. He wouldn't be eating with them. Why is your Master eating with publicans and sinners? Very obviously, He can't be the Holy Son of God that He's claiming, because certainly He's eating with these people. And then notice, if you would please, And it came to pass in verse 10, He said, Jesus said it, at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why, eat of your master with publicans and sinners. But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick.

[John Weaver] Go ye and learn what that meaneth, and I will have mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Do you realize there are some people that really do not believe that they are genuinely, totally depraved? They don't believe that they're wicked and sinful and in rebellion against God. The Puritans had a saying, I have wonderful news for a sinner if I can ever find one. But you say there are sinners everywhere. Oh, I know. But they do not think themselves to be sinners.

[John Weaver] I was preaching in North Carolina. And there was a lady who came every night and she sat in the pews and wept. And I mean, she had mascara on and big old black streaks came down her cheeks. I mean, she would weep openly every night while I preached. And finally, about the fourth night, she came up to me and said, Would you and the pastor please come by and talk to me tomorrow?

[John Weaver] I said, We'd be delighted to. So I just said to myself, boy, this is one I believe the Lord might really have ready. And I was eager to talk to her. So we got to her house and I said, did you want us to share with you from the word of God? She said, yes, I did. I said, well, good. I said, let me take the Bible and show you. what God says about sinners and what God says about sin. And I began to take her through the Bible, and I began to show her how awful and how wicked her sins were before God, and how God says that man is defiled from the top of his head to the bottom of his foot. There's no good thing in them. I showed them where, He says, our righteousness were as filthy rags. I showed her where we were as cast out as a newborn child in all of our blood and pollution.

[John Weaver] I showed her how we were the scum of a boiling pot wearing as a detestable carcass. I showed her all these pictures that God gives us of sin in the Bible. And just before I could get through, she kind of dried her eyes and she said, well, I might be bad, but I'm not that bad. I looked at the pastor and I said, neither is she a candidate for salvation either. We're wasting our time.

[John Weaver] We need to go on. Let me tell you something, folks, someone that's convicted by the Holy Ghost believes they're the worst sinner that ever lived. Someone that's genuinely convicted by the Holy Spirit would be willing to fight the Apostle Paul when the Apostle Paul said, I am the chief of sinners. Notice it's the pride of human heart that do not think we need a savior. We don't think we need saving. We don't think that we're that bad. We don't think that we're really that depraved. Our Lord said, listen to what He said, They that behold need not a physician, but go ye and learn what that meaneth. As long as you don't think you need saving, you will never come to Christ. Never. There's the pride of heart. Then if you'd go back in your Bibles to John 5 where we started, there's another reason men don't come to Christ, and that's certainly sin. I want you to notice what happens in John chapter 5. In John chapter 5, our Lord said, You came unto John, and he bare witness of me.

[John Weaver] Notice if you would, verse 33. You sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I received not testimony from man. But these things I say unto you, that you might be saved. He, John the Baptist, was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in that light. Now our Lord says in verse 36, But I have greater witness than that of John. Now watch. First of all, our Lord says, you want a witness to the truth? Here's the first one, John the Baptist. You were willing to rejoice in his witness. Now he says in verse 36, I have greater witness than that of John. What is the greater witness?

[John Weaver] The works which the Father had given me to do. The same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father sent me. Look at all the miracles. Look at all the wonders. Look at the life of our Lord. And then he says in verse 37, there's another witness, not just John, not just my works, but the Father himself who had sent me, hath borne witness of me.

[John Weaver] You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent you, believe not.

[John Weaver] Now he says, I've got another witness. Skip down to verse 39. Search the Scriptures. For in them you think you have eternal life. That is their interpretation of them. He says, but they are they which testify of me. Now look. Here our Lord is talking to these people and said, You want witnesses to the truth? You want testimony to the truth? You can check with John. You can check with the works. You can check with the Father. You can check with the Scriptures. I want you to look now. Look carefully. It is not from a lack of testimony. It is not from a lack of witnesses. It is not from a lack of truth that reason being that people will not come to Christ. Look in verse 40, in light of all that evidence, our Lord says, but you will not come to Me that you might have life. Why? Because their wills are locked in stubborn rebellion to Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] We had a fellow attend our church occasionally. He was one of the most likable, lovable men you would ever meet. He was unsaved, and he was a drunk. He did not get drunk all the time. He had a good job. He had a wonderful family. His wife was a wonderful Christian. His children attended a Christian school. Everybody prayed for him. But this guy, about once a month, would have to pinch a good drunk.

[John Weaver] Other times he was as sober and as hard working as he could be. He would give you literally the shirt off his back. He was kind. He was gracious. And one day I was talking with him. I said, Carl, let me ask you a question. Why is it that you do not come to church more often? You know I want you to come. Your wife wants you to come. Your children want you to come. Our people want you to come. Why is it you do not come to church more often when you know that everyone here wants you here?

[John Weaver] I never will forget what he said. He said, Preacher, you want me to tell you the truth or you want me to lie to you? Well, I said, Carl, I want you to tell me the truth. Well, he said, I'll tell you the truth. The reason I don't come more often is because I love my sin too much. He said, I know you're right. He said, I know that Bible's right. And when I come, I get convicted, and I know I'm wrong. And so I don't want to be convicted, and I want to keep doing what I'm doing, so I stay away." You know, at least he was honest. But sin is a reason people do not come to Christ. Now, having noted why men do not come to Christ, let me answer the question, what is coming to Christ? And I want to answer that question two ways. I want to answer it, first of all, negatively. And then I want to answer it positively. I want to tell you, first of all, what is not coming to Christ.

[John Weaver] OK? First of all, coming to Christ is not a physical act. How can I say that? Well, if you look in verse 40, these people had come to where Jesus Christ was. They had physically walked or ridden an animal to get to where He was, and yet our Lord looked at them and said, You will not come unto Me that you might have life. They had come to Him physically, but they certainly had not come unto Him spiritually. Look in John chapter 6, beginning there with verse 1. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed Him. Why?

[John Weaver] Because they saw the miracles which He did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up to a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. And notice, if you would, they followed Him. They went where He was literally and physically. But they did not come to Him savingly. They did not come to Him in faith. In fact, if you'll skip down to verse 26 of John chapter 6, let me show you how plain old fleshly and carnal these people were. At first, you see, they were following Him because they saw these miracles and they were impressed.

[John Weaver] And then, of course, our Lord fed the 5,000. But when you get to verse 26, look what He says, Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek Me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. He said the only reason you're coming now is you want a free meal. But they were there where He was physically.

[John Weaver] They had gone to where He was. And when I say that coming to Christ is not a physical act, I mean coming to Christ is not walking down an aisle. It's not raising your hand for prayer. It's not joining a church. It's not performing good deeds. It's not doing any of these things. All of those things are physical. Multitudes have done physical things, and yet they've never come savingly to Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, it is true that Christians are baptized. It's true that Christians join churches. It's true that Christians pray and raise their hands and do many wonderful works. But they don't do those things in order to come to Christ. They do those because they've already come to Christ. So many associate walking down an aisle as coming to Christ. When I lived in Greenville, South Carolina, I used to preach every Sunday morning at the jail. The jailer was a Christian and he would always fill me in before I went back there to preach as to who was there and what was going on. And there was a man who lived in Greenville there who murdered his wife and his mother-in-law. And the jailer told me, he said, we've got him back there and we're going to turn him out in the bullpen with the rest of the men. So I went back and preached and I already knew who this fellow was.

[John Weaver] And he stood up against the back wall with his foot against the wall, listening, while everybody else was crowded around the front. So after the service was over, I noticed he hung around for a little while. And then he came up to me and said, Preacher, that was a good message. He said, the men in here really needed it. Well, I said, you mean you didn't? No, he said, I'm already a Christian. I said, you are.

[John Weaver] I said, let me let me clear something up in my mind. Are you not so and so? And I called his name. He said, well, yes, that's me. I said, are you not in here because you're charged with murdering your wife and murdering your mother-in-law? He said, yes, that's what I'm in here for. I said, well, let me ask you a question now, since you just told me that you were a Christian, and the Bible says, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him, how can you associate the fact that you're a Christian and yet at the same time you're violating God's commandments and you're guilty of murder?

[John Weaver] So help me, this is his answer. I know I'm a Christian because I went forward in the Billy Graham crusade. He had done something physically. He had walked down an aisle. And he thought that he had come to Christ. And yet his life was contrary to Christ and contrary to the word. Coming to Christ is not a physical act. Listen carefully. Secondly, coming to Christ is not an experience. I'll explain that. Coming to Christ is not certain feelings. It is not certain sensations.

[John Weaver] It is not hair raising experiences. It is not hearing the clapping of thunder and seeing the flash of lightning. Do you understand that the flesh and the devil can give you those experiences? If you want a real experience, I can tell you how to have one. All you have to do is before you go to bed, you eat you a peanut butter, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and pickle sandwich and probably you're going to have an experience before morning. You're going to be sick. You can get experiences.

[John Weaver] You can come to my house and I can let you grab hold of electric wire. I can assure you it will be a hair raising experience. You know what the Bible says? And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Today, everybody places emphasis upon their experience. Like, boy, my experience is standard. Let's suppose Deborah asked my wife, Have you ever been in labor 48 hours in delivering a child? And my wife says, well, of course not. Most I've ever been in labor is a couple hours. And then Deborah looks at my wife and says, well then, since you've never been in labor 48 hours like I have, you've never had a child. Well, the truth is my wife has had more children than she has.

[John Weaver] The point I'm trying to make is this. It is not the experience that counts. It is not the degree of the experience. It is not the length of the experience. It's not anything really about the experience. What really counts is, was there a real live child born? So many want to use their experience and measure everyone else by their experience. If you have not had this experience, then you are not saved. If you hadn't had this sensation, you're not saved. Let me show you some folks who had an experience for at least one man, and yet he was unsaved.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 8. You should be aware of this man. His name was Simon. He was a sorcerer. Look in Acts, chapter 8, beginning there with verse 5. Philip is preaching in Samaria. The Bible said, Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people of one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

[John Weaver] For unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies that were lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city, but there was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because at a long time he had bewitched them with his sorceries. But when they, that is the people, believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and in the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized, both men and women, are you looking? Then Simon himself believed also. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, wondering, beholding the miracles and signs which were done." Here's a man who had an experience. In fact, the Bible says he believed. He was baptized. He continued without wondering.

[John Weaver] Well, skip down, if you would, please, to verse 14. Now, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, watch, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. Give me also this power."

[John Weaver] In other words, you've got these people in the palm of your hand. I want this power too. But Peter said of him, verse 20,"'Thy money perish with thee,' note he says, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money, Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter in Christianity. Why? For thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this, thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." Now notice what Peter said back in verse 20. Thy money perish with thee.

[John Weaver] Now, I'll tell you, you can look up the word perish in the Greek. You can look it up in Concordance. All you want to, all day long, is a strong word. Literally, it means this. Your money go to hell with you, for that's exactly where you're going. That's what Peter told him. Here was a man who had an experience. But it was not a saving experience. It was not a converting experience. It was not a regenerating experience. He had an experience. But Peter says you're lost, and your money perish with you.

[John Weaver] You have neither partner, Lord, in this matter. Your heart's not right in the sight of God.

[John Weaver] Now, folks, let me tell you, if you want an experience your flesh can give you one, the devil will give you one. But that doesn't mean you're saved. It doesn't mean that you've come to Christ. Let me ask you. Turn in your Bibles, Luke 23. As you turn there, I will ask you this question. Then I'll show it to you. Look in Luke 23. Get ready. Here's my question.

[John Weaver] Do you know the only man in the New Testament to whom our Lord would not speak? Our Lord would not even speak to him. And do you know why our Lord refused to speak to him? I'll tell you why. Because he wanted an experience. Look in Luke 23, beginning there with verse 8. Luke 23, verse 8. And when Herod, and may I remind you that is King Herod, when King Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad. Isn't it wonderful? Here's a civil ruler that was glad to see Jesus. But why was he glad? For he was desirous to see Him of a long time, because he'd heard many things of Him. Are you looking?

[John Weaver] And he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he, Herod, questioned with him Jesus in many words, but he, Jesus, answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and accused him vehemently. And Herod, with his men of war, set him at naught, and mocked him, and raped him in gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod made friends together, for before they were an enmity between themselves." So here Christ is brought before King Herod. And King Herod is so happy, he wants to see Christ. Why? For he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. He wanted to experience. He wanted to see something first. He wanted to see our Lord perform some little trick for him. Our Lord will not even speak to him. How wicked to desire just an experience. Coming to Christ is not a physical act. Coming to Christ is not an experience. Thirdly, are you listening? Coming to Christ is not going to an old-fashioned altar. I was brought up in fundamental independent Baptist churches, and I would always hear the preacher say, well, you need to come forward to an old-fashioned altar.

[John Weaver] Do you realize the old-fashioned altar, as we know it, was actually begun in the 1800s with Charles G. Finney? Charles G. Finney was a semi-Pelagian. Charles G. Finney was not even an Arminian. He was worse than an Arminian. He was a semi-Pelagian. He denied the doctrine of total depravity, and he believed that sinners could actually initiate their own salvation. He believed that sinners had to take the first step and then God would do the rest. And so he invited them to take the first step. He invited them to come forward to the morning's bench.

[John Weaver] And here was his theology. He believed this, that if you took the first step, if you initiated salvation, then God was obligated to finish it.

[John Weaver] Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to say, because I'm going to show you some scriptures, OK? There is no such thing as an old-fashioned physical altar in any church, especially in a Bible-believing church. Now, how can I say that? Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 8, and look at verse 5. In fact, let's begin reading the verse 1. Verse 5 is the key, but let's begin reading verse 1 just so you can see the entire context. Hebrews 8, verse 1, Now the things which we have spoken, this is the sum.

[John Weaver] We have such a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty of the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, now look, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched to not man. Now the tabernacle that Moses set up was not the true one. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. Wherefore, it is a necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest. Why?

[John Weaver] Christ was not of the Levitical tribe. He was of the tribe of Judah, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law. So there were Levites that served that tabernacle, that shadow. Now he says in verse 5, who serve unto the example, that's these Levitical priests who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for seeth he, that is God, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown thee in the mount."

[John Weaver] Now, let's stop and do some thinking. Did it happen like this? One day Moses said, I know what I'll do. I'll build a tabernacle. And I'll divide it into the court and holy place and most holy. I'll do this and I'll do that. Is that how it happened? Well, of course not. In order for there to have been a tabernacle and in order for there to have been an altar, a real, genuine, physical altar, it had to be of divine origin. God told Moses to build the tabernacle. God, knowing he told Moses to build the tabernacle, God gave him the pattern and he said, see that thou build it according the pattern that was given thee. Not only must it be of divine origin, it must be made of divinely ordained materials. Moses couldn't go out and say, well, I know, I'll just build this altar out of old pine wood. No, no, no, no. God said, Moses, here's how you build this altar. Here's how you build this. You build it. A certain way.

[John Weaver] Here's the materials that you use. Here's the materials you use for the tent. Here's the materials you use for the curtain. God not only gave a divinely ordained pattern, He also gave a divinely ordained materials and He said, you make sure that you follow this pattern. Since that altar had a divine origin, since that altar was made of divinely ordained materials, since it followed a divinely ordained pattern, when it was set up in the tabernacle, if you wanted to worship God, if you wanted to come to God, are you listening? You had to go to that altar.

[John Weaver] You couldn't go anywhere else. You couldn't sacrifice that in the field and it be acceptable to God. You had to go to that altar. It was the only place where you could really, truly worship God. Later, when it was transferred to the temple, it was the same thing. You had to go to the temple. There is no such thing as a physical altar in any Bible-believing church. Now, listen carefully. But in every Bible-believing church, there is an altar. It is not a physical altar.

[John Weaver] What am I talking about? Well, look in Hebrews chapter 13.

[John Weaver] Now, remember, if you would please, everything in the tabernacle, everything in the temple was nothing more than shadows and types and emblems and symbols. They were pictures and representations of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ fulfilled all of those Old Testament types. So in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 10, the author says this, We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle. What? Now what's the author of Hebrews saying? If you want to go back to the physical, if you want to go back to the types and the shadows and the emblems and the symbols, you have no right to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our altar. And because Jesus Christ is our altar, grace may be mediated sinners anywhere at any time. We do have an altar.

[John Weaver] We do have a high priest. We do have a temple. But it's all Jesus Christ. And He says, they who serve the tabernacle Those Old Testament types, emblems and symbols, those who want to go back there, they have no right to Jesus Christ. We do have an altar, but it's not a physical altar. It's a person of Jesus Christ. When, after Charles Adams Spurgeon died, R.A. Torrey preached in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, and when Torrey finished preaching, He gave an invitation for people to come forward. That had never been done in the tabernacle. What Charles Haddon Spurgeon would do was this, he would say, if God has spoken to your heart, if you need help or if you have questions, I will be in my office in the morning at nine o'clock. Please come and see me. So after Torrey had finished, There was a member of Spurgeon's Tabernacle who came up to Dr. Torrey to ask him some questions. And this member also happened to be a newspaper man, and he was reporting Torrey's meeting in the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

[John Weaver] And he asked Dr. Torrey, he said, Dr. Torrey, when you finished preaching, he said, I noticed you gave an invitation for people to come forward. That's never been done in the tabernacle before. May I ask you why you did it? Dr. Torrey responded, well, I believe in striking while the iron is hot. And the newspaperman, who was a member of the tabernacle, kind of put his pen down and he looked down in a minute, then he looked back up to Dr. Torrey and he said, me think, sir, if the governor were alive today, and that's what they call Spurgeon the governor, Methinks, sir, if the governor were alive today, he would say if the Holy Spirit heated the iron, it would stay hot till morning. Well, that's certainly true.

[John Weaver] But I'm just simply pointing out just because someone comes forward physically. And they think they've come forward to an old fashioned altar does not necessarily mean that they've come to Christ. Well, what is coming to Christ? Let me answer that positively. Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought in grace by the power of God. Where is Christ? Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Since Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and since he is our author, grace may be mediated at any center, at any time, at any place.

[John Weaver] You do not have to be in one particular building in order to be saved. When you understand that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenlies, you have to understand what He said in John 6 and verse 44, no man can come unto Me except the Father who sent Me drawing. How in the world can a sinner get to Christ when Christ is seated at the right hand of God? Can he scale the heavenlies?

[John Weaver] Is there a ladder they can reach to the skies? Is there any way that he can climb on his own to get to Christ? Listen, the Bible teaches that fallen man cannot even see or enter into the Kingdom of God apart from regeneration. Jesus Christ said in John 3 and verse 3,"...verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again," he cannot see the Kingdom of God. He's blind to it. In verse 5 he said,"...verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again," he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. How can you come to Christ if you're blind and can't get there on your own? Look in John 6 and verse 44. Look at what our Lord says. He says this, John 6 verse 44. He says, No man can come unto me except the Father that sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. No man can come unto Me, except the Father which sent Me, draw him." In other words, in order to come savingly to Jesus Christ, you must be drawn of the Father.

[John Weaver] And by the way, the word is drawn, not dragged. He said, You can't come to Me unless the Father draw you. Well, you say, How does the Father draw me? Well, look at John 6, verse 45. He says this, It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." What does God do? You remember that passage in Matthew 11, verse 27. Our Lord said, All things are given to me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Father save the Son. And no man know the son, but the father and to whomsoever he revealed him. So how does the father draw? The father draws us through teaching us. He opens our understanding. He opens our eyes.

[John Weaver] He lets us see our wickedness. He lets us see our sins. He lets us see our rebellion. He convicts us. He shows us without Christ we're lost, we're doomed and dead and dying. Then He shows us the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ, how He is our substitute. He is our sacrifice. He is our only salvation. He puts in us an understanding of our helplessness and our hopelessness apart from Jesus Christ. And then he shows us that Jesus Christ alone is the answer of salvation, and he puts in us a desire to come to Christ, to bow to Him, to believe in Him, and to trust in Him. If there are longings in your breast to be holy and to be godly and to turn from sin and to live obediently, I can assure you those longings did not come from your fallen nature.

[John Weaver] You know, folks, the Bible says in Philippians 2, verse 13, For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure. God must not only put the to will in us to come to Christ, but when he puts the to will, he always puts the to do as well. I had a young lady when I went to pastor the first church I ever pastored. She was a member of that church.

[John Weaver] She came to me and wanted to talk with me, and I said, fine. She sat across from me in my office and told me her salvation experience, quote unquote, and wanted to know what I thought. Well, when she finished, I said, well, I'll tell you what your problem is. You're lost. You're unsaved. I said, you may be a member of this church and you may be a professing Christian, But you've never come to savingly to Jesus Christ." And you know what she did?

[John Weaver] She got mad at me. She not only stormed out of my office, she left the church. And she went in some other church for several years. Well, one day I was preaching. I looked out there and I saw her sitting in the congregation. And as I preached, she was weeping. I mean, You talk about Mascara running. She was weeping. I spoke to her afterwards. She came to ask me, could you speak to me?

[John Weaver] And I said, yes, you may. She came back into my office and she said, Pastor said, the first thing I want to do is to apologize to you for getting mad and for leaving this church. She said, you were right. My problem was and still is that I'm lost. She says, I know I can't be a church member, but would it be all right with you if I just came and sat and listened to the Word of God? I said, it would not only be all right, I'd be pleased to have you. She sat and she would weep. She would sit and she would weep Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday after Wednesday. Finally, She went out one Sunday evening, tears streaming down her eyes, mascara run all over her face, and a couple of our ladies were back at the door as she came out, and one of our ladies was so tender and so compassionate.

[John Weaver] When this young woman went out, Gloria grabbed my hand and fell on my neck, weeping, and she said, Is it there something that you can do for her?" I said, Gloria, the trouble she's in now is somebody did something for her besides God. I said, I can tell her the truth, but I can't convict her and I can't convert her. Only God can do that. I said, the best thing that you can do is pray for her.

[John Weaver] I'd already talked to her. You know what? It wasn't a month. before the woman was gloriously converted. And the first thing she said, Pastor, I don't have to have any man tell me now that I'm a Christian and that I'm saved. She said, I've come to Jesus Christ. You know, the Bible said in Psalm 110 in verse 3, Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. It's God who makes us willing to come. You see, coming to Christ is a believing with all of our heart and soul. That's why the Scripture says, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised thee from the dead, thou shalt be saved. You've got to remember, Scripture says, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That is true. But then the Bible said, How can they call on Him whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in Him whom they've not heard?

[John Weaver] And how can they hear not hear? without a preacher? And how can they preach without being sent? Coming to Christ is a spiritual act. I could go on and on, but let me just sum it up for you. Coming to Christ means that you leave something and someone. When my wife came to me to be my wife, She left her mother and father. She didn't leave her mother and father. She left her sisters. She didn't leave her sisters. She left her old boyfriends as well. When you come to Christ, you leave your sins. You leave your self-righteousness. You leave your wickedness. You come to Him as He is fully and freely offered in the gospel, and you receive Him not just as Savior, but as Lord. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords and God of gods.

[John Weaver] Let me give you one last illustration. Can you imagine? Here is a man who has led a revolt against his king, a lawful king. And the man has sought to overthrow the king. and dethrone him. But yet he sees he's losing the war. And he knows there's no way that he can prevail. So he thinks, well, I better sue for peace, I better try to work something out. And so the man then comes into the presence of the king. Chewing his chewing gum flippantly, He's got an AK-47 on his arms, an AR-15 over here, pistols over here, bandoliers of bullets all about him, and he kind of sashays up and says, well, old kingy-wingy old boy, it kind of looks like you're winning, and I just kind of think that maybe we can work things out, and maybe I can sue for peace, and you might could use me maybe as commander-in-chief of your army. Let me ask you, what do you think the king How do you think the king would respond to something like that?

[John Weaver] I'll tell you how I would respond. I'd say, take that reprobate and cut his head off. But if that same man came in my presence and threw away his weapons of warfare, and bowed himself to me and pled for mercy and said I was wicked, wrong, ungodly, rebellious. I don't deserve life. I don't deserve anything. Just have mercy upon me. I'd probably say, let him live. So many people want to come to Christ and bring all their baggage, all their sins, all their self-righteousness, all their works, and expect our Lord to receive them with open arms. No. When you come to Christ, you bow to His sovereign authority. You bow to His Lordship. You acknowledge that you're wicked and wrong and ungodly. And you come, not just physically, but you come spiritually. You come in your mind. You come in your heart.

[John Weaver] You come in the power of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, because you've been taught and drawn by God. And when you come to Christ, Christ is the one then who will bring you back to the Father. And say, look, Father, I brought another of your children home. Here he is. You can only come to God through Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Christ, we ask for your blessing, for your mercy, for your help. Teach us, Lord, what it really means to come savingly to Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] It's not just a physical act. It's not just coming forward. It's not just going to an old-fashioned altar. It's not just being a church member. We must be drawn by the Father and bow the knee to the Son of God. Trust in His work and His sacrifice and His atonement and His propitiation alone. We have to come. with the understanding if Christ does not save us, we're lost, we're undone. For salvation is only in Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You, Father, for Your grace. In Christ's name, Amen.

What is Coming to Christ

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9708227593
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Christ and the Churches
Genre	Sermon
Date	2008-08-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 139: Revelation: Christ and the Churches — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	84

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver reads John 5:32-44 and John 6:43-45, introducing the topic of coming to Christ as the most important subject in the Bible.

I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, this morning to the book of John, chapter 5 and chapter 6. John, chapter 5 and chapter 6. We're going to read a passage from John 5 and then look at a couple of verses in John 6. John, chapter 5, beginning with verse 32. I want to bring a message this morning, which I've just entitled "Coming to Christ" or "What is Coming to Christ?" John 5, verse 32, our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — John 5:32-44

"There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses to me is true. You sent unto John, and he beareth witness unto the truth." "But I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that you might be saved. He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John. For the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, beareth witness of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me." "You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent you believe not. Search the scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, and there they which testify of me. And you will not come unto me that you might have life. I receive not honour from men, but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe? Who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?"

Now, if you look in John chapter 6, beginning there with verse 43, John 6 verse 43, "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me, except the Father which sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." I suppose one of the greatest and most important subjects in the word of God is that of coming to Christ. The truth remains, however, that many still do not really know what it means to come to Christ.

The Necessity of Coming to Christ

Coming to Christ is an absolute necessity for salvation, as Jesus is the only way to the Father, and the Bible contains many invitations to come.

In fact, if you would go to the average church, you would find that a large percentage of professing Christians believe that if they've been baptized, if they've joined the church, if they've made a verbal profession or verbal commitment or performed some kind of good works, then verily they have come to Christ. But coming to Christ is not only the most important subject in the Bible, it is an absolute necessity because without it, there is no salvation. Our Lord Himself said in John 14 and verse 6,

Scripture Reading — John 14:6

"I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me."

Now you can read through the Bible. And as you read through the Bible, you will discover, especially in the New Testament, there are many wonderful invitations to come to Christ. In fact, in Matthew 11, verses 28 and verse 30, which most of you know, our Lord said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls."

"For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." In Mark 1 and verse 17, our Lord said, "Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men." And then in John 21 and verse 12, our Lord just simply said, "Come and dine." And then a passage that everyone is familiar with, Revelation 22 and verse 17, where the Bible says, "...and the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him who heareth say, Come, and let him who is athirst come, and whosoever will let him drink of the water of life freely." So there are many invitations in the Bible to come to Christ. And sinners are encouraged to come to Christ. But the question has to be asked, what is coming to Christ? Now before I answer that question, I want to show you from the Bible why, generally speaking, men do not come to Christ.

Reasons People Do Not Come to Christ

Weaver lists six biblical reasons: ignorance, prejudice, doctrinal error, assault of Satan, pride of heart, and love of sin.

Isn't it amazing that you can have empty pews on the Lord's Day? I mean, why is it that people are not breaking the doors down to get to Christ when you realize salvation is found only in Jesus Christ? What is it that hinders men and keeps them away? Well, let me just give you several things that the Bible reveals. First of all, the first reason people do not come to Christ is because of ignorance. If you look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 4, and you will remember our Lord is speaking there to the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, John chapter 4 and verse 10, notice what Jesus said. She asked our Lord in verse 9, "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?"

"For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst ask of him, and he would have given thee living water." Notice what our Lord said, "If you knew who I was, and if you knew the gift that I had, you would have asked me." But the truth is, she was totally ignorant of Jesus Christ. She was ignorant of His gift. How in the world can you ask for something when you're absolutely, totally ignorant of it? You know, the Bible says in Ephesians 4 and 18, talking about the unsaved, He says,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18

"having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts."

Our Lord in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 14 talks about this and He says, "but their minds were blinded." They can't see. They're totally, absolutely ignorant concerning Jesus Christ. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4, "But the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, whose image of God, should shine unto them." So very obviously, one of the main reasons people do not come to Christ, they don't even know who He is. They don't know the gift that He has. They don't know one thing about Him. I used to tell people before my uncle died, I had one of the most lovable, kind, and gracious uncles you've ever seen in your life.

You couldn't help but love him. And he died when he was about 80, 89, something like that. And I would tell people all about my uncle. And I'd say, now, what I would like you to do is this. I would like you to love my uncle. And they would look at me funny. I said, you know, it's just impossible to love someone you don't know, isn't it? And it's impossible to come to someone you do not know. And one of the reasons men do not come to Christ is simply because of ignorance.

Here's the second reason the Bible tells us, and that's prejudice. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 7, whole John 5, we will come back there. But if you'll look in Mark chapter 7, you'll notice in this passage, beginning there with verse 5, what our Lord says. Mark chapter 7, notice if you would please verse 5. "Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" And he answered and said unto them, "Well, hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites? As it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."

Now watch, "howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, for laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition." You know, I find it absolutely amazing that people love tradition more than the Word of God. I have been in churches, and I've had not only pastors, but I've had people tell me, now, Brother Weaver, we've always done it like this. Well, let me tell you something, folks. Just because you have always done something like this does not necessarily mean it's right. It does not necessarily mean it's scriptural or biblical. Now, there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as it's biblical, and there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as, even if it's a man-made tradition, as long as everybody realizes it's not binding on the consciences of other people. But the problem is, we get our traditions going and we want to bind them upon the conscience of other people when there's no biblical foundation for them.

And consequently, when someone comes along preaching and teaching the Word of God, whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't believe that. We've always done it like this. We don't want anything upset. I told Brother Nelson's people, and I've told most churches this, I could go into the average church and split it with one sermon. All I've got to do is preach against their tradition, because people like their traditions more than the Word of God. So there's a prejudice against the Word of God, especially among religious people. The Pharisees were the most religious in our Lord's day. And he said, "full well, you reject the commandment of God that you might keep your own traditions." But there's another reason why men do not come to Christ. That's doctrinal error.

Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1. Your pastor read about it from this passage the other night. Notice 1 Corinthians 1. And notice what the Word of God says, especially in verse 23. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 in verse 23. Our Lord made this statement through the apostle. He says this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 1:23

"But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness."

Do you realize that the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ is to a lot of people absolutely foolish?

That's one reason why this building is not packed out today. People believe that it's more important to go fishing or to go boating or to go skiing or to do a hundred of other things rather than to hear the Word of God. Now, our Lord says the preaching of the cross is to the Jews a stumbling block, that is, they stumble over it. And to the Greek, it is absolutely foolishness. How in the world would you ever come to someone? How in the world could you ever embrace someone that you really didn't believe in or that you thought He was an absolutely fool and absolutely foolish to hear anything he said. You see, the truth of the matter is there are so many people who are in error concerning the person of Jesus Christ and the work of Jesus Christ, and consequently, because of that error, they will never come to Christ. So it's not just simply prejudice. It's not just simply ignorance. It is doctrinal error. But there's a fourth reason, and that's because of the assault of Satan. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 9, if you would please, and look at what happens in this particular passage. And as you turn there, let me quote Matthew 12 and verse 29.

Our Lord said this, "or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he'll spoil his house." So the strong man has to be bound. And let me just show you how you have an assault of Satan, someone who's coming to Christ. In Luke chapter 9, if you would look there, please, at verse 40. Here's a man who brought his son, who had demons, to the disciples of our Lord, and they could not cast him out. And he said in verse 40, "And I brought thy disciples, For I besought my disciples to cast him out, and they could not." And Jesus answering said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring my son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tare him. And Jesus rebuked him, rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again unto his father." Note, while he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tare him. Do you realize the devil will do anything to distract people?

I have noticed, so help me, I've seen this hundreds of times. You go into the church and you're preaching as hard as you can preach, and right when you're trying to make an important point, one little kid in the front gets up to go to the bathroom, and every set of eyes in that house follows that little kid. Just like you've never seen a kid go to the bathroom before. I've actually seen people look up and start counting the tiles on the ceiling. What in the world's going on? There's an assault going on. You need to read Pilgrim's Progress. You need to read about the episode where Satan attacked Pilgrim. You need to read about the argument there. And certainly there is indeed the assault of Satan. But there's another reason people do not come to Christ, and that's because of pride of heart. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 9.

And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Matthew 9, verse 10. Notice, if you would, the pride and the arrogance of the human heart. Notice in Matthew 9, verse 10.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 9:10-13

"And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house. Behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him as disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, the self-righteous religious hypocrites, when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, why is your Master with publicans and sinners?"

In other words, if Christ was as holy as we were and are, He wouldn't be associating with these people. He wouldn't be eating with them. Why is your Master eating with publicans and sinners? Very obviously, He can't be the Holy Son of God that He's claiming, because certainly He's eating with these people. And then notice, if you would please, "And it came to pass in verse 10, He said, Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why, eat of your master with publicans and sinners. But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick."

"Go ye and learn what that meaneth, and I will have mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Do you realize there are some people that really do not believe that they are genuinely, totally depraved? They don't believe that they're wicked and sinful and in rebellion against God. The Puritans had a saying, "I have wonderful news for a sinner if I can ever find one." But you say there are sinners everywhere. Oh, I know. But they do not think themselves to be sinners. I was preaching in North Carolina. And there was a lady who came every night and she sat in the pews and wept. And I mean, she had mascara on and big old black streaks came down her cheeks. I mean, she would weep openly every night while I preached. And finally, about the fourth night, she came up to me and said, "Would you and the pastor please come by and talk to me tomorrow?"

I said, "We'd be delighted to." So I just said to myself, boy, this is one I believe the Lord might really have ready. And I was eager to talk to her. So we got to her house and I said, "Did you want us to share with you from the word of God?" She said, "Yes, I did." I said, "Well, good." I said, "Let me take the Bible and show you what God says about sinners and what God says about sin." And I began to take her through the Bible, and I began to show her how awful and how wicked her sins were before God, and how God says that man is defiled from the top of his head to the bottom of his foot. There's no good thing in them. I showed them where He says, "our righteousness were as filthy rags." I showed her where we were as cast out as a newborn child in all of our blood and pollution.

I showed her how we were the scum of a boiling pot wearing as a detestable carcass. I showed her all these pictures that God gives us of sin in the Bible. And just before I could get through, she kind of dried her eyes and she said, "Well, I might be bad, but I'm not that bad." I looked at the pastor and I said, "Neither is she a candidate for salvation either. We're wasting our time." We need to go on. Let me tell you something, folks, someone that's convicted by the Holy Ghost believes they're the worst sinner that ever lived. Someone that's genuinely convicted by the Holy Spirit would be willing to fight the Apostle Paul when the Apostle Paul said, "I am the chief of sinners." Notice it's the pride of human heart that do not think we need a savior. We don't think we need saving. We don't think that we're that bad. We don't think that we're really that depraved. Our Lord said, listen to what He said, "They that behold need not a physician, but go ye and learn what that meaneth." As long as you don't think you need saving, you will never come to Christ. Never. There's the pride of heart. Then if you'd go back in your Bibles to John 5 where we started, there's another reason men don't come to Christ, and that's certainly sin. I want you to notice what happens in John chapter 5. In John chapter 5, our Lord said, "You came unto John, and he bare witness of me."

Notice if you would, verse 33. "You sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I received not testimony from man. But these things I say unto you, that you might be saved. He, John the Baptist, was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in that light." Now our Lord says in verse 36, "But I have greater witness than that of John." Now watch. First of all, our Lord says, you want a witness to the truth? Here's the first one, John the Baptist. You were willing to rejoice in his witness. Now he says in verse 36, "I have greater witness than that of John." What is the greater witness?

"The works which the Father had given me to do. The same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father sent me." Look at all the miracles. Look at all the wonders. Look at the life of our Lord. And then he says in verse 37, there's another witness, not just John, not just my works, but "the Father himself who had sent me, hath borne witness of me." "You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent you, believe not."

Now he says, I've got another witness. Skip down to verse 39. "Search the Scriptures. For in them you think you have eternal life." That is their interpretation of them. He says, "but they are they which testify of me." Now look. Here our Lord is talking to these people and said, "You want witnesses to the truth? You want testimony to the truth? You can check with John. You can check with the works. You can check with the Father. You can check with the Scriptures." I want you to look now. Look carefully. It is not from a lack of testimony. It is not from a lack of witnesses. It is not from a lack of truth that reason being that people will not come to Christ. Look in verse 40, in light of all that evidence, our Lord says, "but you will not come to Me that you might have life." Why? Because their wills are locked in stubborn rebellion to Jesus Christ.

We had a fellow attend our church occasionally. He was one of the most likable, lovable men you would ever meet. He was unsaved, and he was a drunk. He did not get drunk all the time. He had a good job. He had a wonderful family. His wife was a wonderful Christian. His children attended a Christian school. Everybody prayed for him. But this guy, about once a month, would have to pinch a good drunk.

Other times he was as sober and as hard working as he could be. He would give you literally the shirt off his back. He was kind. He was gracious. And one day I was talking with him. I said, "Carl, let me ask you a question. Why is it that you do not come to church more often? You know I want you to come. Your wife wants you to come. Your children want you to come. Our people want you to come. Why is it you do not come to church more often when you know that everyone here wants you here?"

I never will forget what he said. He said, "Preacher, you want me to tell you the truth or you want me to lie to you?" Well, I said, "Carl, I want you to tell me the truth." Well, he said, "I'll tell you the truth. The reason I don't come more often is because I love my sin too much." He said, "I know you're right. He said, I know that Bible's right. And when I come, I get convicted, and I know I'm wrong. And so I don't want to be convicted, and I want to keep doing what I'm doing, so I stay away." You know, at least he was honest. But sin is a reason people do not come to Christ. Now, having noted why men do not come to Christ, let me answer the question, what is coming to Christ? And I want to answer that question two ways. I want to answer it, first of all, negatively. And then I want to answer it positively. I want to tell you, first of all, what is not coming to Christ.

What Coming to Christ Is Not (Negatively)

Coming to Christ is not a physical act (like walking an aisle), not an experience or feeling, and not going to a physical altar.

OK? First of all, coming to Christ is not a physical act. How can I say that? Well, if you look in verse 40, these people had come to where Jesus Christ was. They had physically walked or ridden an animal to get to where He was, and yet our Lord looked at them and said, "You will not come unto Me that you might have life." They had come to Him physically, but they certainly had not come unto Him spiritually. Look in John chapter 6, beginning there with verse 1. "After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed Him." Why?

"Because they saw the miracles which He did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up to a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples." And notice, if you would, they followed Him. They went where He was literally and physically. But they did not come to Him savingly. They did not come to Him in faith. In fact, if you'll skip down to verse 26 of John chapter 6, let me show you how plain old fleshly and carnal these people were. At first, you see, they were following Him because they saw these miracles and they were impressed.

And then, of course, our Lord fed the 5,000. But when you get to verse 26, look what He says, "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek Me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled." He said the only reason you're coming now is you want a free meal. But they were there where He was physically. They had gone to where He was. And when I say that coming to Christ is not a physical act, I mean coming to Christ is not walking down an aisle. It's not raising your hand for prayer. It's not joining a church. It's not performing good deeds. It's not doing any of these things. All of those things are physical. Multitudes have done physical things, and yet they've never come savingly to Jesus Christ.

Now, it is true that Christians are baptized. It's true that Christians join churches. It's true that Christians pray and raise their hands and do many wonderful works. But they don't do those things in order to come to Christ. They do those because they've already come to Christ. So many associate walking down an aisle as coming to Christ. When I lived in Greenville, South Carolina, I used to preach every Sunday morning at the jail. The jailer was a Christian and he would always fill me in before I went back there to preach as to who was there and what was going on. And there was a man who lived in Greenville there who murdered his wife and his mother-in-law. And the jailer told me, he said, "We've got him back there and we're going to turn him out in the bullpen with the rest of the men." So I went back and preached and I already knew who this fellow was.

And he stood up against the back wall with his foot against the wall, listening, while everybody else was crowded around the front. So after the service was over, I noticed he hung around for a little while. And then he came up to me and said, "Preacher, that was a good message." He said, "The men in here really needed it." Well, I said, "You mean you didn't?" "No," he said, "I'm already a Christian." I said, "You are." I said, "Let me let me clear something up in my mind. Are you not so and so?" And I called his name. He said, "Well, yes, that's me." I said, "Are you not in here because you're charged with murdering your wife and murdering your mother-in-law?" He said, "Yes, that's what I'm in here for." I said, "Well, let me ask you a question now, since you just told me that you were a Christian, and the Bible says, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him, how can you associate the fact that you're a Christian and yet at the same time you're violating God's commandments and you're guilty of murder?"

So help me, this is his answer. "I know I'm a Christian because I went forward in the Billy Graham crusade." He had done something physically. He had walked down an aisle. And he thought that he had come to Christ. And yet his life was contrary to Christ and contrary to the word. Coming to Christ is not a physical act. Listen carefully. Secondly, coming to Christ is not an experience. I'll explain that. Coming to Christ is not certain feelings. It is not certain sensations.

It is not hair raising experiences. It is not hearing the clapping of thunder and seeing the flash of lightning. Do you understand that the flesh and the devil can give you those experiences? If you want a real experience, I can tell you how to have one. All you have to do is before you go to bed, you eat you a peanut butter, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and pickle sandwich and probably you're going to have an experience before morning. You're going to be sick. You can get experiences.

You can come to my house and I can let you grab hold of electric wire. I can assure you it will be a hair raising experience. You know what the Bible says? "And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Today, everybody places emphasis upon their experience. Like, boy, my experience is standard. Let's suppose Deborah asked my wife, "Have you ever been in labor 48 hours in delivering a child?" And my wife says, "Well, of course not. Most I've ever been in labor is a couple hours." And then Deborah looks at my wife and says, "Well then, since you've never been in labor 48 hours like I have, you've never had a child." Well, the truth is my wife has had more children than she has.

The point I'm trying to make is this. It is not the experience that counts. It is not the degree of the experience. It is not the length of the experience. It's not anything really about the experience. What really counts is, was there a real live child born? So many want to use their experience and measure everyone else by their experience. If you have not had this experience, then you are not saved. If you hadn't had this sensation, you're not saved. Let me show you some folks who had an experience for at least one man, and yet he was unsaved.

Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 8. You should be aware of this man. His name was Simon. He was a sorcerer. Look in Acts, chapter 8, beginning there with verse 5. Philip is preaching in Samaria. The Bible said,

Scripture Reading — Acts 8:5-23

"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people of one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did."

"For unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies that were lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city, but there was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because at a long time he had bewitched them with his sorceries. But when they, that is the people, believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and in the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized, both men and women, are you looking? Then Simon himself believed also. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, wondering, beholding the miracles and signs which were done." Here's a man who had an experience. In fact, the Bible says he believed. He was baptized. He continued without wondering.

Well, skip down, if you would, please, to verse 14. "Now, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, watch, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. Give me also this power." In other words, you've got these people in the palm of your hand. I want this power too. But Peter said of him, verse 20, "'Thy money perish with thee,' note he says, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money, Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter in Christianity. Why? For thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this, thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." Now notice what Peter said back in verse 20. "Thy money perish with thee."

Now, I'll tell you, you can look up the word perish in the Greek. You can look it up in Concordance. All you want to, all day long, is a strong word. Literally, it means this: "Your money go to hell with you," for that's exactly where you're going. That's what Peter told him. Here was a man who had an experience. But it was not a saving experience. It was not a converting experience. It was not a regenerating experience. He had an experience. But Peter says you're lost, and your money perish with you.

"You have neither part nor lot in this matter. Your heart's not right in the sight of God." Now, folks, let me tell you, if you want an experience your flesh can give you one, the devil will give you one. But that doesn't mean you're saved. It doesn't mean that you've come to Christ. Let me ask you. Turn in your Bibles, Luke 23. As you turn there, I will ask you this question. Then I'll show it to you. Look in Luke 23. Get ready. Here's my question.

Do you know the only man in the New Testament to whom our Lord would not speak? Our Lord would not even speak to him. And do you know why our Lord refused to speak to him? I'll tell you why. Because he wanted an experience. Look in Luke 23, beginning there with verse 8. Luke 23, verse 8.

Scripture Reading — Luke 23:8-12

"And when Herod, and may I remind you that is King Herod, when King Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad."

Isn't it wonderful? Here's a civil ruler that was glad to see Jesus. But why was he glad?

Scripture Reading — Luke 23:8-12

"For he was desirous to see Him of a long time, because he'd heard many things of Him."

Are you looking?

"And he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he, Herod, questioned with him Jesus in many words, but he, Jesus, answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and accused him vehemently. And Herod, with his men of war, set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod made friends together, for before they were an enmity between themselves." So here Christ is brought before King Herod. And King Herod is so happy, he wants to see Christ. Why? "For he hoped to see some miracle done by Him." He wanted to experience. He wanted to see something first. He wanted to see our Lord perform some little trick for him. Our Lord will not even speak to him. How wicked to desire just an experience. Coming to Christ is not a physical act. Coming to Christ is not an experience. Thirdly, are you listening? Coming to Christ is not going to an old-fashioned altar. I was brought up in fundamental independent Baptist churches, and I would always hear the preacher say, "Well, you need to come forward to an old-fashioned altar."

Do you realize the old-fashioned altar, as we know it, was actually begun in the 1800s with Charles G. Finney? Charles G. Finney was a semi-Pelagian. Charles G. Finney was not even an Arminian. He was worse than an Arminian. He was a semi-Pelagian. He denied the doctrine of total depravity, and he believed that sinners could actually initiate their own salvation. He believed that sinners had to take the first step and then God would do the rest. And so he invited them to take the first step. He invited them to come forward to the mourner's bench.

And here was his theology. He believed this, that if you took the first step, if you initiated salvation, then God was obligated to finish it. Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to say, because I'm going to show you some scriptures, OK? There is no such thing as an old-fashioned physical altar in any church, especially in a Bible-believing church. Now, how can I say that? Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 8, and look at verse 5. In fact, let's begin reading the verse 1. Verse 5 is the key, but let's begin reading verse 1 just so you can see the entire context. Hebrews 8, verse 1, "Now the things which we have spoken, this is the sum."

"We have such a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty of the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, now look, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched to not man." Now the tabernacle that Moses set up was not the true one. "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. Wherefore, it is a necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest." Why? Christ was not of the Levitical tribe. He was of the tribe of Judah, "seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law." So there were Levites that served that tabernacle, that shadow. Now he says in verse 5, "who serve unto the example, that's these Levitical priests who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for see, saith he, that is God, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown thee in the mount."

Now, let's stop and do some thinking. Did it happen like this? One day Moses said, "I know what I'll do. I'll build a tabernacle. And I'll divide it into the court and holy place and most holy. I'll do this and I'll do that." Is that how it happened? Well, of course not. In order for there to have been a tabernacle and in order for there to have been an altar, a real, genuine, physical altar, it had to be of divine origin. God told Moses to build the tabernacle. God, knowing he told Moses to build the tabernacle, God gave him the pattern and he said, "See that thou build it according the pattern that was given thee." Not only must it be of divine origin, it must be made of divinely ordained materials. Moses couldn't go out and say, "Well, I know, I'll just build this altar out of old pine wood." No, no, no, no. God said, "Moses, here's how you build this altar. Here's how you build this. You build it a certain way."

"Here's the materials that you use. Here's the materials you use for the tent. Here's the materials you use for the curtain." God not only gave a divinely ordained pattern, He also gave a divinely ordained materials and He said, "You make sure that you follow this pattern." Since that altar had a divine origin, since that altar was made of divinely ordained materials, since it followed a divinely ordained pattern, when it was set up in the tabernacle, if you wanted to worship God, if you wanted to come to God, are you listening? You had to go to that altar. You couldn't go anywhere else. You couldn't sacrifice that in the field and it be acceptable to God. You had to go to that altar. It was the only place where you could really, truly worship God. Later, when it was transferred to the temple, it was the same thing. You had to go to the temple. There is no such thing as a physical altar in any Bible-believing church. Now, listen carefully. But in every Bible-believing church, there is an altar. It is not a physical altar.

What am I talking about? Well, look in Hebrews chapter 13. Now, remember, if you would please, everything in the tabernacle, everything in the temple was nothing more than shadows and types and emblems and symbols. They were pictures and representations of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ fulfilled all of those Old Testament types. So in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 10, the author says this,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:10

"We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle."

What? Now what's the author of Hebrews saying? If you want to go back to the physical, if you want to go back to the types and the shadows and the emblems and the symbols, you have no right to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our altar. And because Jesus Christ is our altar, grace may be mediated sinners anywhere at any time. We do have an altar.

We do have a high priest. We do have a temple. But it's all Jesus Christ. And He says, "they who serve the tabernacle"—those Old Testament types, emblems and symbols, those who want to go back there, they have no right to Jesus Christ. We do have an altar, but it's not a physical altar. It's a person of Jesus Christ. When, after Charles Haddon Spurgeon died, R.A. Torrey preached in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, and when Torrey finished preaching, He gave an invitation for people to come forward. That had never been done in the tabernacle. What Charles Haddon Spurgeon would do was this, he would say, "If God has spoken to your heart, if you need help or if you have questions, I will be in my office in the morning at nine o'clock. Please come and see me." So after Torrey had finished, there was a member of Spurgeon's Tabernacle who came up to Dr. Torrey to ask him some questions. And this member also happened to be a newspaper man, and he was reporting Torrey's meeting in the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

And he asked Dr. Torrey, he said, "Dr. Torrey, when you finished preaching, he said, I noticed you gave an invitation for people to come forward. That's never been done in the tabernacle before. May I ask you why you did it?" Dr. Torrey responded, "Well, I believe in striking while the iron is hot." And the newspaperman, who was a member of the tabernacle, kind of put his pen down and he looked down in a minute, then he looked back up to Dr. Torrey and he said, "Methinks, sir, if the governor were alive today," and that's what they call Spurgeon the governor, "Methinks, sir, if the governor were alive today, he would say if the Holy Spirit heated the iron, it would stay hot till morning." Well, that's certainly true.

But I'm just simply pointing out just because someone comes forward physically and they think they've come forward to an old fashioned altar does not necessarily mean that they've come to Christ. Well, what is coming to Christ? Let me answer that positively. Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought in grace by the power of God. Where is Christ? Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Since Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and since he is our altar, grace may be mediated at any sinner, at any time, at any place.

The True Altar Is Christ

Using Hebrews 8 and 13, Weaver argues that the Old Testament altar was a shadow; Christ is the true altar, so grace can be mediated anywhere.

Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to say, because I'm going to show you some scriptures, OK? There is no such thing as an old-fashioned physical altar in any church, especially in a Bible-believing church. Now, how can I say that? Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 8, and look at verse 5. In fact, let's begin reading the verse 1. Verse 5 is the key, but let's begin reading verse 1 just so you can see the entire context. Hebrews 8, verse 1, "Now the things which we have spoken, this is the sum."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:10

"We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle."

What Coming to Christ Is (Positively)

Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought by God's grace, involving being drawn by the Father through teaching, conviction, and revelation of Christ.

You do not have to be in one particular building in order to be saved. When you understand that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenlies, you have to understand what He said in John 6 and verse 44, "no man can come unto Me except the Father who sent Me drawing." How in the world can a sinner get to Christ when Christ is seated at the right hand of God? Can he scale the heavenlies? Is there a ladder they can reach to the skies? Is there any way that he can climb on his own to get to Christ? Listen, the Bible teaches that fallen man cannot even see or enter into the Kingdom of God apart from regeneration. Jesus Christ said in John 3 and verse 3, "...verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again," he cannot see the Kingdom of God. He's blind to it. In verse 5 he said, "...verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again," he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. How can you come to Christ if you're blind and can't get there on your own? Look in John 6 and verse 44. Look at what our Lord says. He says this, John 6 verse 44. He says, "No man can come unto me except the Father that sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. No man can come unto Me, except the Father which sent Me, draw him." In other words, in order to come savingly to Jesus Christ, you must be drawn of the Father.

And by the way, the word is drawn, not dragged. He said, "You can't come to Me unless the Father draw you." Well, you say, "How does the Father draw me?" Well, look at John 6, verse 45. He says this, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." What does God do? You remember that passage in Matthew 11, verse 27. Our Lord said, "All things are given to me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Father save the Son. And no man know the son, but the father and to whomsoever he revealed him." So how does the father draw? The father draws us through teaching us. He opens our understanding. He opens our eyes.

He lets us see our wickedness. He lets us see our sins. He lets us see our rebellion. He convicts us. He shows us without Christ we're lost, we're doomed and dead and dying. Then He shows us the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ, how He is our substitute. He is our sacrifice. He is our only salvation. He puts in us an understanding of our helplessness and our hopelessness apart from Jesus Christ. And then he shows us that Jesus Christ alone is the answer of salvation, and he puts in us a desire to come to Christ, to bow to Him, to believe in Him, and to trust in Him. If there are longings in your breast to be holy and to be godly and to turn from sin and to live obediently, I can assure you those longings did not come from your fallen nature.

You know, folks, the Bible says in Philippians 2, verse 13, "For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure." God must not only put the to will in us to come to Christ, but when he puts the to will, he always puts the to do as well. I had a young lady when I went to pastor the first church I ever pastored. She was a member of that church.

Coming to Christ Means Leaving and Submitting

True coming involves leaving sin and self-righteousness, bowing to Christ's lordship, and trusting in His work alone.

I'd already talked to her. You know what? It wasn't a month before the woman was gloriously converted. And the first thing she said, "Pastor, I don't have to have any man tell me now that I'm a Christian and that I'm saved." She said, "I've come to Jesus Christ." You know, the Bible said in Psalm 110 in verse 3, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." It's God who makes us willing to come. You see, coming to Christ is a believing with all of our heart and soul. That's why the Scripture says, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised thee from the dead, thou shalt be saved." You've got to remember, Scripture says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." That is true. But then the Bible said, "How can they call on Him whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in Him whom they've not heard?"

"And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach without being sent?" Coming to Christ is a spiritual act. I could go on and on, but let me just sum it up for you. Coming to Christ means that you leave something and someone. When my wife came to me to be my wife, she left her mother and father. She didn't leave her mother and father. She left her sisters. She didn't leave her sisters. She left her old boyfriends as well. When you come to Christ, you leave your sins. You leave your self-righteousness. You leave your wickedness. You come to Him as He is fully and freely offered in the gospel, and you receive Him not just as Savior, but as Lord. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords and God of gods.

Let me give you one last illustration. Can you imagine? Here is a man who has led a revolt against his king, a lawful king. And the man has sought to overthrow the king and dethrone him. But yet he sees he's losing the war. And he knows there's no way that he can prevail. So he thinks, well, I better sue for peace, I better try to work something out. And so the man then comes into the presence of the king. Chewing his chewing gum flippantly, he's got an AK-47 on his arms, an AR-15 over here, pistols over here, bandoliers of bullets all about him, and he kind of sashays up and says, "Well, old kingy-wingy old boy, it kind of looks like you're winning, and I just kind of think that maybe we can work things out, and maybe I can sue for peace, and you might could use me maybe as commander-in-chief of your army." Let me ask you, what do you think the king—how do you think the king would respond to something like that?

I'll tell you how I would respond. I'd say, "Take that reprobate and cut his head off." But if that same man came in my presence and threw away his weapons of warfare, and bowed himself to me and pled for mercy and said I was wicked, wrong, ungodly, rebellious. I don't deserve life. I don't deserve anything. Just have mercy upon me. I'd probably say, "Let him live." So many people want to come to Christ and bring all their baggage, all their sins, all their self-righteousness, all their works, and expect our Lord to receive them with open arms. No. When you come to Christ, you bow to His sovereign authority. You bow to His Lordship. You acknowledge that you're wicked and wrong and ungodly. And you come, not just physically, but you come spiritually. You come in your mind. You come in your heart.

You come in the power of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, because you've been taught and drawn by God. And when you come to Christ, Christ is the one then who will bring you back to the Father. And say, "Look, Father, I brought another of your children home. Here he is." You can only come to God through Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Christ, we ask for your blessing, for your mercy, for your help. Teach us, Lord, what it really means to come savingly to Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer

Weaver prays for understanding and grace to come savingly to Christ, emphasizing dependence on His atonement.

It's not just a physical act. It's not just coming forward. It's not just going to an old-fashioned altar. It's not just being a church member. We must be drawn by the Father and bow the knee to the Son of God. Trust in His work and His sacrifice and His atonement and His propitiation alone. We have to come with the understanding if Christ does not save us, we're lost, we're undone. For salvation is only in Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You, Father, for Your grace. In Christ's name, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Necessity of Coming to Christ

Summary: Salvation is impossible without coming to Christ, as He is the only way to the Father.

Evidence: Our Lord Himself said in John 14 and verse 6, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me.'

Human Inability and Divine Drawing

Summary: No one can come to Christ unless drawn by the Father through teaching and revelation.

Evidence: John 6:44: 'No man can come unto me except the Father that sent me draw him.'

The Deception of Physical Acts and Experiences

Summary: Walking an aisle, raising a hand, or having an emotional experience does not constitute saving coming to Christ.

Evidence: These people had come to where Jesus Christ was... yet our Lord looked at them and said, 'You will not come unto Me that you might have life.'

Christ as the True Altar

Summary: The Old Testament altar was a shadow; Christ is the true altar, so physical altars are unnecessary for salvation.

Evidence: Hebrews 13:10: 'We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle.'

Repentance and Submission to Christ's Lordship

Summary: Coming to Christ involves leaving sin, self-righteousness, and bowing to His sovereign authority.

Evidence: When you come to Christ, you bow to His sovereign authority. You bow to His Lordship.

Key Arguments

Ignorance prevents coming to Christ

Summary: People do not come because they are ignorant of who Christ is and the gift He offers.

Evidence: John 4:10: 'If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst ask of him.'

Prejudice and tradition hinder coming

Summary: Religious people often reject Christ because they prefer their traditions over God's Word.

Evidence: Mark 7:9: 'Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.'

Doctrinal error makes the cross seem foolish

Summary: The preaching of the cross is a stumbling block or foolishness to those in error, keeping them from Christ.

Evidence: 1 Corinthians 1:23: 'But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness.'

Satan actively assaults those coming to Christ

Summary: The devil distracts and attacks people to prevent them from coming to Christ.

Evidence: Luke 9:42: 'And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tare him.'

Pride of heart rejects the need for a Savior

Summary: People do not come because they do not believe they are truly sinful and depraved.

Evidence: Matthew 9:12: 'They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick.'

Love of sin keeps people away

Summary: Many will not come because they love their sin more than they desire Christ.

Evidence: John 5:40: 'But you will not come to Me that you might have life.'

Coming to Christ is not a physical act

Summary: Physical proximity or actions like walking an aisle do not equal saving faith.

Evidence: John 5:40: 'You will not come unto Me that you might have life'—said to those physically present.

Coming to Christ is a spiritual act of God's grace

Summary: It is wrought by God through drawing, teaching, and enabling the sinner to believe.

Evidence: John 6:44-45: 'No man can come unto me except the Father... draw him... Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.'

Scripture References

John 5:32-44

Context: Read as the primary text showing witnesses to Christ and the refusal to come.

John 6:43-45

Context: Read to show that no one can come unless drawn by the Father.

John 14:6

Context: Quoted to emphasize that Christ is the only way to the Father.

Matthew 11:28-30

Context: Cited as an invitation to come to Christ for rest.

Mark 1:17

Context: Mentioned as an invitation: 'Come ye after Me.'

John 21:12

Context: Mentioned as an invitation: 'Come and dine.'

Revelation 22:17

Context: Cited as the final invitation to come and drink freely.

John 4:9-10

Context: Used to illustrate ignorance as a barrier to coming.

Ephesians 4:18

Context: Quoted to show the darkened understanding of the unsaved.

2 Corinthians 3:14

Context: Referenced to show minds are blinded.

2 Corinthians 4:4

Context: Quoted to show Satan blinds minds to the gospel.

Mark 7:5-9

Context: Used to show prejudice and tradition hinder coming.

1 Corinthians 1:23

Context: Quoted to show doctrinal error makes the cross a stumbling block.

Matthew 12:29

Context: Quoted to illustrate the strong man (Satan) must be bound.

Luke 9:40-42

Context: Used to show Satan's assault on those coming to Christ.

Matthew 9:10-13

Context: Used to illustrate pride of heart and self-righteousness.

Acts 8:5-23

Context: Simon the sorcerer as an example of false experience and belief.

Luke 23:8-12

Context: Herod wanted an experience; Jesus refused to speak to him.

Hebrews 8:1-5

Context: Used to show the earthly tabernacle was a shadow of heavenly things.

Hebrews 13:10

Context: Quoted to show Christ is our altar.

Historical References

Charles G. Finney and the mourner's bench

Context: Weaver states Finney introduced the 'old-fashioned altar' in the 1800s and held semi-Pelagian views.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon and R.A. Torrey

Context: Torrey gave an invitation at Spurgeon's tabernacle; a member remarked Spurgeon would say the iron stays hot till morning.

Important Quotes

You will not come unto me that you might have life.

Significance: Jesus' direct statement that refusal to come is a matter of the will, despite abundant witness.

No man can come unto me, except the Father which sent me draw him.

Significance: Key verse establishing divine sovereignty in drawing sinners to Christ.

We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle.

Significance: Shows Christ is the true altar, making physical altars unnecessary.

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.

Significance: Psalm 110:3 quoted to show God makes His people willing to come.

I know I'm a Christian because I went forward in the Billy Graham crusade.

Significance: Illustration of false assurance based on a physical act rather than true conversion.

The reason I don't come more often is because I love my sin too much.

Significance: Honest admission illustrating love of sin as a barrier to coming to Christ.

Discussion Questions

What are some common misconceptions about what it means to come to Christ, and how does this sermon correct them?

Context: Weaver spends significant time explaining what coming to Christ is not.

How does the doctrine of divine drawing in John 6:44 affect our understanding of evangelism and personal responsibility?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that no one can come unless drawn by the Father.

In what ways can religious traditions become a barrier to truly coming to Christ?

Context: Weaver discusses prejudice and tradition from Mark 7.

Why is it dangerous to base assurance of salvation on an experience or physical act?

Context: Weaver uses Simon the sorcerer and the man at the jail as examples.

What does it mean practically to 'leave something and someone' when coming to Christ?

Context: Weaver concludes that coming involves leaving sin and self-righteousness.

Applications

Examine the basis of your assurance

Summary: Do not trust in a physical act, experience, or church membership; ensure your faith is in Christ alone.

Evidence: Weaver warns against false assurance from walking an aisle or having an experience.

Recognize your inability and depend on God's drawing

Summary: Acknowledge that you cannot come to Christ in your own strength; pray for the Father to draw you.

Evidence: John 6:44 and the explanation of divine drawing.

Repent of self-righteousness and sin

Summary: Come to Christ by leaving your sins and self-righteousness, not bringing them with you.

Evidence: Illustration of the rebel coming before the king with weapons versus in submission.

Submit to Christ's lordship

Summary: True coming involves bowing to Christ's authority, not just seeking a Savior from consequences.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:10:12Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:10:28Z

Clean Transcript

What is Coming to Christ

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, this morning to the book of John, chapter 5 and chapter 6. John, chapter 5 and chapter 6. We're going to read a passage from John 5 and then look at a couple of verses in John 6. John, chapter 5, beginning with verse 32. I want to bring a message this morning, which I've just entitled "Coming to Christ" or "What is Coming to Christ?" John 5, verse 32, our Lord says, "There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses to me is true. You sent unto John, and he beareth witness unto the truth."
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"But I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that you might be saved. He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John. For the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, beareth witness of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me."
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"You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent you believe not. Search the scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, and there they which testify of me. And you will not come unto me that you might have life. I receive not honour from men, but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe? Who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?"
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Now, if you look in John chapter 6, beginning there with verse 43, John 6 verse 43, "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me, except the Father which sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." I suppose one of the greatest and most important subjects in the word of God is that of coming to Christ. The truth remains, however, that many still do not really know what it means to come to Christ.
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In fact, if you would go to the average church, you would find that a large percentage of professing Christians believe that if they've been baptized, if they've joined the church, if they've made a verbal profession or verbal commitment or performed some kind of good works, then verily they have come to Christ. But coming to Christ is not only the most important subject in the Bible, it is an absolute necessity because without it, there is no salvation. Our Lord Himself said in John 14 and verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me." Now you can read through the Bible. And as you read through the Bible, you will discover, especially in the New Testament, there are many wonderful invitations to come to Christ. In fact, in Matthew 11, verses 28 and verse 30, which most of you know, our Lord said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls."
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"For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." In Mark 1 and verse 17, our Lord said, "Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men." And then in John 21 and verse 12, our Lord just simply said, "Come and dine." And then a passage that everyone is familiar with, Revelation 22 and verse 17, where the Bible says, "...and the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him who heareth say, Come, and let him who is athirst come, and whosoever will let him drink of the water of life freely." So there are many invitations in the Bible to come to Christ. And sinners are encouraged to come to Christ. But the question has to be asked, what is coming to Christ? Now before I answer that question, I want to show you from the Bible why, generally speaking, men do not come to Christ.
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Isn't it amazing that you can have empty pews on the Lord's Day? I mean, why is it that people are not breaking the doors down to get to Christ when you realize salvation is found only in Jesus Christ? What is it that hinders men and keeps them away? Well, let me just give you several things that the Bible reveals. First of all, the first reason people do not come to Christ is because of ignorance. If you look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 4, and you will remember our Lord is speaking there to the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, John chapter 4 and verse 10, notice what Jesus said. She asked our Lord in verse 9, "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?"
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"For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst ask of him, and he would have given thee living water." Notice what our Lord said, "If you knew who I was, and if you knew the gift that I had, you would have asked me." But the truth is, she was totally ignorant of Jesus Christ. She was ignorant of His gift. How in the world can you ask for something when you're absolutely, totally ignorant of it?
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You know, the Bible says in Ephesians 4 and 18, talking about the unsaved, He says, "having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts." Our Lord in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 14 talks about this and He says, "but their minds were blinded." They can't see. They're totally, absolutely ignorant concerning Jesus Christ. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4, "But the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, whose image of God, should shine unto them." So very obviously, one of the main reasons people do not come to Christ, they don't even know who He is. They don't know the gift that He has. They don't know one thing about Him. I used to tell people before my uncle died, I had one of the most lovable, kind, and gracious uncles you've ever seen in your life.
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You couldn't help but love him. And he died when he was about 80, 89, something like that. And I would tell people all about my uncle. And I'd say, now, what I would like you to do is this. I would like you to love my uncle. And they would look at me funny. I said, you know, it's just impossible to love someone you don't know, isn't it? And it's impossible to come to someone you do not know. And one of the reasons men do not come to Christ is simply because of ignorance.
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Here's the second reason the Bible tells us, and that's prejudice. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 7, whole John 5, we will come back there. But if you'll look in Mark chapter 7, you'll notice in this passage, beginning there with verse 5, what our Lord says. Mark chapter 7, notice if you would please verse 5. "Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"
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And he answered and said unto them, "Well, hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites? As it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."
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Now watch, "howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, for laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition." You know, I find it absolutely amazing that people love tradition more than the Word of God. I have been in churches, and I've had not only pastors, but I've had people tell me, now, Brother Weaver, we've always done it like this. Well, let me tell you something, folks. Just because you have always done something like this does not necessarily mean it's right. It does not necessarily mean it's scriptural or biblical. Now, there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as it's biblical, and there's nothing wrong with tradition as long as, even if it's a man-made tradition, as long as everybody realizes it's not binding on the consciences of other people. But the problem is, we get our traditions going and we want to bind them upon the conscience of other people when there's no biblical foundation for them.
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And consequently, when someone comes along preaching and teaching the Word of God, whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't believe that. We've always done it like this. We don't want anything upset. I told Brother Nelson's people, and I've told most churches this, I could go into the average church and split it with one sermon. All I've got to do is preach against their tradition, because people like their traditions more than the Word of God. So there's a prejudice against the Word of God, especially among religious people. The Pharisees were the most religious in our Lord's day. And he said, "full well, you reject the commandment of God that you might keep your own traditions." But there's another reason why men do not come to Christ. That's doctrinal error.
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Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1. Your pastor read about it from this passage the other night. Notice 1 Corinthians 1. And notice what the Word of God says, especially in verse 23. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 in verse 23. Our Lord made this statement through the apostle. He says this, "But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness." Do you realize that the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ is to a lot of people absolutely foolish?
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That's one reason why this building is not packed out today. People believe that it's more important to go fishing or to go boating or to go skiing or to do a hundred of other things rather than to hear the Word of God.
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Now, our Lord says the preaching of the cross is to the Jews a stumbling block, that is, they stumble over it. And to the Greek, it is absolutely foolishness. How in the world would you ever come to someone? How in the world could you ever embrace someone that you really didn't believe in or that you thought He was an absolutely fool and absolutely foolish to hear anything he said.
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You see, the truth of the matter is there are so many people who are in error concerning the person of Jesus Christ and the work of Jesus Christ, and consequently, because of that error, they will never come to Christ. So it's not just simply prejudice. It's not just simply ignorance. It is doctrinal error. But there's a fourth reason, and that's because of the assault of Satan. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 9, if you would please, and look at what happens in this particular passage. And as you turn there, let me quote Matthew 12 and verse 29.
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Our Lord said this, "or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he'll spoil his house." So the strong man has to be bound. And let me just show you how you have an assault of Satan, someone who's coming to Christ. In Luke chapter 9, if you would look there, please, at verse 40. Here's a man who brought his son, who had demons, to the disciples of our Lord, and they could not cast him out. And he said in verse 40, "And I brought thy disciples, For I besought my disciples to cast him out, and they could not."
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And Jesus answering said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring my son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tare him. And Jesus rebuked him, rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again unto his father." Note, while he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tare him. Do you realize the devil will do anything to distract people?
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I have noticed, so help me, I've seen this hundreds of times. You go into the church and you're preaching as hard as you can preach, and right when you're trying to make an important point, one little kid in the front gets up to go to the bathroom, and every set of eyes in that house follows that little kid. Just like you've never seen a kid go to the bathroom before. I've actually seen people look up and start counting the tiles on the ceiling.
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What in the world's going on? There's an assault going on. You need to read Pilgrim's Progress. You need to read about the episode where Satan attacked Pilgrim. You need to read about the argument there. And certainly there is indeed the assault of Satan. But there's another reason people do not come to Christ, and that's because of pride of heart. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 9.
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And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Matthew 9, verse 10. Notice, if you would, the pride and the arrogance of the human heart. Notice in Matthew 9, verse 10. "And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house. Behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him as disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, the self-righteous religious hypocrites, when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, why is your Master with publicans and sinners?"
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In other words, if Christ was as holy as we were and are, He wouldn't be associating with these people. He wouldn't be eating with them. Why is your Master eating with publicans and sinners? Very obviously, He can't be the Holy Son of God that He's claiming, because certainly He's eating with these people. And then notice, if you would please, "And it came to pass in verse 10, He said, Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why, eat of your master with publicans and sinners. But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick."
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"Go ye and learn what that meaneth, and I will have mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Do you realize there are some people that really do not believe that they are genuinely, totally depraved? They don't believe that they're wicked and sinful and in rebellion against God. The Puritans had a saying, "I have wonderful news for a sinner if I can ever find one." But you say there are sinners everywhere. Oh, I know. But they do not think themselves to be sinners.
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I was preaching in North Carolina. And there was a lady who came every night and she sat in the pews and wept. And I mean, she had mascara on and big old black streaks came down her cheeks. I mean, she would weep openly every night while I preached. And finally, about the fourth night, she came up to me and said, "Would you and the pastor please come by and talk to me tomorrow?"
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I said, "We'd be delighted to." So I just said to myself, boy, this is one I believe the Lord might really have ready. And I was eager to talk to her. So we got to her house and I said, "Did you want us to share with you from the word of God?" She said, "Yes, I did." I said, "Well, good." I said, "Let me take the Bible and show you what God says about sinners and what God says about sin." And I began to take her through the Bible, and I began to show her how awful and how wicked her sins were before God, and how God says that man is defiled from the top of his head to the bottom of his foot. There's no good thing in them. I showed them where He says, "our righteousness were as filthy rags." I showed her where we were as cast out as a newborn child in all of our blood and pollution.
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I showed her how we were the scum of a boiling pot wearing as a detestable carcass. I showed her all these pictures that God gives us of sin in the Bible. And just before I could get through, she kind of dried her eyes and she said, "Well, I might be bad, but I'm not that bad." I looked at the pastor and I said, "Neither is she a candidate for salvation either. We're wasting our time."
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We need to go on. Let me tell you something, folks, someone that's convicted by the Holy Ghost believes they're the worst sinner that ever lived. Someone that's genuinely convicted by the Holy Spirit would be willing to fight the Apostle Paul when the Apostle Paul said, "I am the chief of sinners." Notice it's the pride of human heart that do not think we need a savior. We don't think we need saving. We don't think that we're that bad. We don't think that we're really that depraved. Our Lord said, listen to what He said, "They that behold need not a physician, but go ye and learn what that meaneth." As long as you don't think you need saving, you will never come to Christ. Never. There's the pride of heart. Then if you'd go back in your Bibles to John 5 where we started, there's another reason men don't come to Christ, and that's certainly sin. I want you to notice what happens in John chapter 5. In John chapter 5, our Lord said, "You came unto John, and he bare witness of me."
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Notice if you would, verse 33. "You sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I received not testimony from man. But these things I say unto you, that you might be saved. He, John the Baptist, was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in that light." Now our Lord says in verse 36, "But I have greater witness than that of John." Now watch. First of all, our Lord says, you want a witness to the truth? Here's the first one, John the Baptist. You were willing to rejoice in his witness. Now he says in verse 36, "I have greater witness than that of John." What is the greater witness?
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"The works which the Father had given me to do. The same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father sent me." Look at all the miracles. Look at all the wonders. Look at the life of our Lord. And then he says in verse 37, there's another witness, not just John, not just my works, but "the Father himself who had sent me, hath borne witness of me."
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"You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent you, believe not."
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Now he says, I've got another witness. Skip down to verse 39. "Search the Scriptures. For in them you think you have eternal life." That is their interpretation of them. He says, "but they are they which testify of me." Now look. Here our Lord is talking to these people and said, "You want witnesses to the truth? You want testimony to the truth? You can check with John. You can check with the works. You can check with the Father. You can check with the Scriptures." I want you to look now. Look carefully. It is not from a lack of testimony. It is not from a lack of witnesses. It is not from a lack of truth that reason being that people will not come to Christ. Look in verse 40, in light of all that evidence, our Lord says, "but you will not come to Me that you might have life." Why? Because their wills are locked in stubborn rebellion to Jesus Christ.
#33 | 19:23 to 20:10 | cleaned
We had a fellow attend our church occasionally. He was one of the most likable, lovable men you would ever meet. He was unsaved, and he was a drunk. He did not get drunk all the time. He had a good job. He had a wonderful family. His wife was a wonderful Christian. His children attended a Christian school. Everybody prayed for him. But this guy, about once a month, would have to pinch a good drunk.
#34 | 20:13 to 20:42 | cleaned
Other times he was as sober and as hard working as he could be. He would give you literally the shirt off his back. He was kind. He was gracious. And one day I was talking with him. I said, "Carl, let me ask you a question. Why is it that you do not come to church more often? You know I want you to come. Your wife wants you to come. Your children want you to come. Our people want you to come. Why is it you do not come to church more often when you know that everyone here wants you here?"
#35 | 20:43 to 21:13 | cleaned
I never will forget what he said. He said, "Preacher, you want me to tell you the truth or you want me to lie to you?" Well, I said, "Carl, I want you to tell me the truth." Well, he said, "I'll tell you the truth. The reason I don't come more often is because I love my sin too much." He said, "I know you're right. He said, I know that Bible's right. And when I come, I get convicted, and I know I'm wrong. And so I don't want to be convicted, and I want to keep doing what I'm doing, so I stay away." You know, at least he was honest. But sin is a reason people do not come to Christ. Now, having noted why men do not come to Christ, let me answer the question, what is coming to Christ? And I want to answer that question two ways. I want to answer it, first of all, negatively. And then I want to answer it positively. I want to tell you, first of all, what is not coming to Christ.
#36 | 21:15 to 22:18 | cleaned
OK? First of all, coming to Christ is not a physical act. How can I say that? Well, if you look in verse 40, these people had come to where Jesus Christ was. They had physically walked or ridden an animal to get to where He was, and yet our Lord looked at them and said, "You will not come unto Me that you might have life." They had come to Him physically, but they certainly had not come unto Him spiritually. Look in John chapter 6, beginning there with verse 1. "After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed Him." Why?
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"Because they saw the miracles which He did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up to a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples." And notice, if you would, they followed Him. They went where He was literally and physically. But they did not come to Him savingly. They did not come to Him in faith. In fact, if you'll skip down to verse 26 of John chapter 6, let me show you how plain old fleshly and carnal these people were. At first, you see, they were following Him because they saw these miracles and they were impressed.
#38 | 23:01 to 23:37 | cleaned
And then, of course, our Lord fed the 5,000. But when you get to verse 26, look what He says, "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek Me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled." He said the only reason you're coming now is you want a free meal. But they were there where He was physically.
#39 | 23:39 to 24:01 | cleaned
They had gone to where He was. And when I say that coming to Christ is not a physical act, I mean coming to Christ is not walking down an aisle. It's not raising your hand for prayer. It's not joining a church. It's not performing good deeds. It's not doing any of these things. All of those things are physical. Multitudes have done physical things, and yet they've never come savingly to Jesus Christ.
#40 | 24:02 to 24:24 | cleaned
Now, it is true that Christians are baptized. It's true that Christians join churches. It's true that Christians pray and raise their hands and do many wonderful works. But they don't do those things in order to come to Christ. They do those because they've already come to Christ. So many associate walking down an aisle as coming to Christ. When I lived in Greenville, South Carolina, I used to preach every Sunday morning at the jail. The jailer was a Christian and he would always fill me in before I went back there to preach as to who was there and what was going on. And there was a man who lived in Greenville there who murdered his wife and his mother-in-law. And the jailer told me, he said, "We've got him back there and we're going to turn him out in the bullpen with the rest of the men." So I went back and preached and I already knew who this fellow was.
#41 | 24:25 to 25:24 | cleaned
And he stood up against the back wall with his foot against the wall, listening, while everybody else was crowded around the front. So after the service was over, I noticed he hung around for a little while. And then he came up to me and said, "Preacher, that was a good message." He said, "The men in here really needed it." Well, I said, "You mean you didn't?" "No," he said, "I'm already a Christian." I said, "You are."
#42 | 25:25 to 25:59 | cleaned
I said, "Let me let me clear something up in my mind. Are you not so and so?" And I called his name. He said, "Well, yes, that's me." I said, "Are you not in here because you're charged with murdering your wife and murdering your mother-in-law?" He said, "Yes, that's what I'm in here for." I said, "Well, let me ask you a question now, since you just told me that you were a Christian, and the Bible says, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him, how can you associate the fact that you're a Christian and yet at the same time you're violating God's commandments and you're guilty of murder?"
#43 | 26:00 to 26:39 | cleaned
So help me, this is his answer. "I know I'm a Christian because I went forward in the Billy Graham crusade." He had done something physically. He had walked down an aisle. And he thought that he had come to Christ. And yet his life was contrary to Christ and contrary to the word. Coming to Christ is not a physical act. Listen carefully. Secondly, coming to Christ is not an experience. I'll explain that. Coming to Christ is not certain feelings. It is not certain sensations.
#44 | 26:41 to 27:29 | cleaned
It is not hair raising experiences. It is not hearing the clapping of thunder and seeing the flash of lightning. Do you understand that the flesh and the devil can give you those experiences? If you want a real experience, I can tell you how to have one. All you have to do is before you go to bed, you eat you a peanut butter, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and pickle sandwich and probably you're going to have an experience before morning. You're going to be sick. You can get experiences.
#45 | 27:30 to 28:03 | cleaned
You can come to my house and I can let you grab hold of electric wire. I can assure you it will be a hair raising experience. You know what the Bible says? "And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Today, everybody places emphasis upon their experience. Like, boy, my experience is standard. Let's suppose Deborah asked my wife, "Have you ever been in labor 48 hours in delivering a child?" And my wife says, "Well, of course not. Most I've ever been in labor is a couple hours." And then Deborah looks at my wife and says, "Well then, since you've never been in labor 48 hours like I have, you've never had a child." Well, the truth is my wife has had more children than she has.
#46 | 28:04 to 29:13 | cleaned
The point I'm trying to make is this. It is not the experience that counts. It is not the degree of the experience. It is not the length of the experience. It's not anything really about the experience. What really counts is, was there a real live child born? So many want to use their experience and measure everyone else by their experience. If you have not had this experience, then you are not saved. If you hadn't had this sensation, you're not saved. Let me show you some folks who had an experience for at least one man, and yet he was unsaved.
#47 | 29:14 to 29:52 | cleaned
Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 8. You should be aware of this man. His name was Simon. He was a sorcerer. Look in Acts, chapter 8, beginning there with verse 5. Philip is preaching in Samaria. The Bible said, "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people of one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did."
#48 | 29:52 to 30:17 | cleaned
"For unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies that were lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city, but there was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because at a long time he had bewitched them with his sorceries. But when they, that is the people, believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and in the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized, both men and women, are you looking? Then Simon himself believed also. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, wondering, beholding the miracles and signs which were done." Here's a man who had an experience. In fact, the Bible says he believed. He was baptized. He continued without wondering.
#49 | 30:17 to 31:23 | cleaned
Well, skip down, if you would, please, to verse 14. "Now, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, watch, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. Give me also this power."
#50 | 31:24 to 32:06 | cleaned
In other words, you've got these people in the palm of your hand. I want this power too. But Peter said of him, verse 20, "'Thy money perish with thee,' note he says, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money, Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter in Christianity. Why? For thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this, thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." Now notice what Peter said back in verse 20. "Thy money perish with thee."
#51 | 32:06 to 32:41 | cleaned
Now, I'll tell you, you can look up the word perish in the Greek. You can look it up in Concordance. All you want to, all day long, is a strong word. Literally, it means this: "Your money go to hell with you," for that's exactly where you're going. That's what Peter told him. Here was a man who had an experience. But it was not a saving experience. It was not a converting experience. It was not a regenerating experience. He had an experience. But Peter says you're lost, and your money perish with you.
#52 | 32:41 to 33:16 | cleaned
"You have neither part nor lot in this matter. Your heart's not right in the sight of God."
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Now, folks, let me tell you, if you want an experience your flesh can give you one, the devil will give you one. But that doesn't mean you're saved. It doesn't mean that you've come to Christ. Let me ask you. Turn in your Bibles, Luke 23. As you turn there, I will ask you this question. Then I'll show it to you. Look in Luke 23. Get ready. Here's my question.
#54 | 33:20 to 33:46 | cleaned
Do you know the only man in the New Testament to whom our Lord would not speak? Our Lord would not even speak to him. And do you know why our Lord refused to speak to him? I'll tell you why. Because he wanted an experience. Look in Luke 23, beginning there with verse 8. Luke 23, verse 8. "And when Herod, and may I remind you that is King Herod, when King Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad." Isn't it wonderful? Here's a civil ruler that was glad to see Jesus. But why was he glad? "For he was desirous to see Him of a long time, because he'd heard many things of Him." Are you looking?
#55 | 33:48 to 34:36 | cleaned
"And he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he, Herod, questioned with him Jesus in many words, but he, Jesus, answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and accused him vehemently. And Herod, with his men of war, set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod made friends together, for before they were an enmity between themselves." So here Christ is brought before King Herod. And King Herod is so happy, he wants to see Christ. Why? "For he hoped to see some miracle done by Him." He wanted to experience. He wanted to see something first. He wanted to see our Lord perform some little trick for him. Our Lord will not even speak to him. How wicked to desire just an experience. Coming to Christ is not a physical act. Coming to Christ is not an experience. Thirdly, are you listening? Coming to Christ is not going to an old-fashioned altar. I was brought up in fundamental independent Baptist churches, and I would always hear the preacher say, "Well, you need to come forward to an old-fashioned altar."
#56 | 34:36 to 36:06 | cleaned
Do you realize the old-fashioned altar, as we know it, was actually begun in the 1800s with Charles G. Finney? Charles G. Finney was a semi-Pelagian. Charles G. Finney was not even an Arminian. He was worse than an Arminian. He was a semi-Pelagian. He denied the doctrine of total depravity, and he believed that sinners could actually initiate their own salvation. He believed that sinners had to take the first step and then God would do the rest. And so he invited them to take the first step. He invited them to come forward to the mourner's bench.
#57 | 36:07 to 36:38 | cleaned
And here was his theology. He believed this, that if you took the first step, if you initiated salvation, then God was obligated to finish it.
#58 | 36:38 to 36:47 | cleaned
Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to say, because I'm going to show you some scriptures, OK? There is no such thing as an old-fashioned physical altar in any church, especially in a Bible-believing church. Now, how can I say that? Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 8, and look at verse 5. In fact, let's begin reading the verse 1. Verse 5 is the key, but let's begin reading verse 1 just so you can see the entire context. Hebrews 8, verse 1, "Now the things which we have spoken, this is the sum."
#59 | 36:52 to 37:32 | cleaned
"We have such a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty of the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, now look, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched to not man." Now the tabernacle that Moses set up was not the true one. "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. Wherefore, it is a necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest." Why?
#60 | 37:33 to 38:01 | cleaned
Christ was not of the Levitical tribe. He was of the tribe of Judah, "seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law." So there were Levites that served that tabernacle, that shadow. Now he says in verse 5, "who serve unto the example, that's these Levitical priests who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for see, saith he, that is God, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown thee in the mount."
#61 | 38:02 to 38:36 | cleaned
Now, let's stop and do some thinking. Did it happen like this? One day Moses said, "I know what I'll do. I'll build a tabernacle. And I'll divide it into the court and holy place and most holy. I'll do this and I'll do that." Is that how it happened? Well, of course not. In order for there to have been a tabernacle and in order for there to have been an altar, a real, genuine, physical altar, it had to be of divine origin. God told Moses to build the tabernacle. God, knowing he told Moses to build the tabernacle, God gave him the pattern and he said, "See that thou build it according the pattern that was given thee." Not only must it be of divine origin, it must be made of divinely ordained materials. Moses couldn't go out and say, "Well, I know, I'll just build this altar out of old pine wood." No, no, no, no. God said, "Moses, here's how you build this altar. Here's how you build this. You build it a certain way."
#62 | 38:36 to 39:46 | cleaned
"Here's the materials that you use. Here's the materials you use for the tent. Here's the materials you use for the curtain." God not only gave a divinely ordained pattern, He also gave a divinely ordained materials and He said, "You make sure that you follow this pattern." Since that altar had a divine origin, since that altar was made of divinely ordained materials, since it followed a divinely ordained pattern, when it was set up in the tabernacle, if you wanted to worship God, if you wanted to come to God, are you listening? You had to go to that altar.
#63 | 39:46 to 40:23 | cleaned
You couldn't go anywhere else. You couldn't sacrifice that in the field and it be acceptable to God. You had to go to that altar. It was the only place where you could really, truly worship God. Later, when it was transferred to the temple, it was the same thing. You had to go to the temple. There is no such thing as a physical altar in any Bible-believing church. Now, listen carefully. But in every Bible-believing church, there is an altar. It is not a physical altar.
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What am I talking about? Well, look in Hebrews chapter 13.
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Now, remember, if you would please, everything in the tabernacle, everything in the temple was nothing more than shadows and types and emblems and symbols. They were pictures and representations of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ fulfilled all of those Old Testament types. So in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 10, the author says this, "We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle." What? Now what's the author of Hebrews saying? If you want to go back to the physical, if you want to go back to the types and the shadows and the emblems and the symbols, you have no right to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our altar. And because Jesus Christ is our altar, grace may be mediated sinners anywhere at any time. We do have an altar.
#66 | 41:10 to 42:15 | cleaned
We do have a high priest. We do have a temple. But it's all Jesus Christ. And He says, "they who serve the tabernacle"—those Old Testament types, emblems and symbols, those who want to go back there, they have no right to Jesus Christ. We do have an altar, but it's not a physical altar. It's a person of Jesus Christ. When, after Charles Haddon Spurgeon died, R.A. Torrey preached in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, and when Torrey finished preaching, He gave an invitation for people to come forward. That had never been done in the tabernacle. What Charles Haddon Spurgeon would do was this, he would say, "If God has spoken to your heart, if you need help or if you have questions, I will be in my office in the morning at nine o'clock. Please come and see me." So after Torrey had finished, there was a member of Spurgeon's Tabernacle who came up to Dr. Torrey to ask him some questions. And this member also happened to be a newspaper man, and he was reporting Torrey's meeting in the Metropolitan Tabernacle.
#67 | 42:16 to 43:46 | cleaned
And he asked Dr. Torrey, he said, "Dr. Torrey, when you finished preaching, he said, I noticed you gave an invitation for people to come forward. That's never been done in the tabernacle before. May I ask you why you did it?" Dr. Torrey responded, "Well, I believe in striking while the iron is hot." And the newspaperman, who was a member of the tabernacle, kind of put his pen down and he looked down in a minute, then he looked back up to Dr. Torrey and he said, "Methinks, sir, if the governor were alive today," and that's what they call Spurgeon the governor, "Methinks, sir, if the governor were alive today, he would say if the Holy Spirit heated the iron, it would stay hot till morning." Well, that's certainly true.
#68 | 43:48 to 44:37 | cleaned
But I'm just simply pointing out just because someone comes forward physically and they think they've come forward to an old fashioned altar does not necessarily mean that they've come to Christ. Well, what is coming to Christ? Let me answer that positively. Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought in grace by the power of God. Where is Christ? Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Since Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and since he is our altar, grace may be mediated at any sinner, at any time, at any place.
#69 | 44:39 to 45:12 | cleaned
You do not have to be in one particular building in order to be saved. When you understand that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenlies, you have to understand what He said in John 6 and verse 44, "no man can come unto Me except the Father who sent Me drawing." How in the world can a sinner get to Christ when Christ is seated at the right hand of God? Can he scale the heavenlies?
#70 | 45:13 to 45:37 | cleaned
Is there a ladder they can reach to the skies? Is there any way that he can climb on his own to get to Christ? Listen, the Bible teaches that fallen man cannot even see or enter into the Kingdom of God apart from regeneration. Jesus Christ said in John 3 and verse 3, "...verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again," he cannot see the Kingdom of God. He's blind to it. In verse 5 he said, "...verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again," he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. How can you come to Christ if you're blind and can't get there on your own? Look in John 6 and verse 44. Look at what our Lord says. He says this, John 6 verse 44. He says, "No man can come unto me except the Father that sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. No man can come unto Me, except the Father which sent Me, draw him." In other words, in order to come savingly to Jesus Christ, you must be drawn of the Father.
#71 | 45:38 to 46:49 | cleaned
And by the way, the word is drawn, not dragged. He said, "You can't come to Me unless the Father draw you." Well, you say, "How does the Father draw me?" Well, look at John 6, verse 45. He says this, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." What does God do? You remember that passage in Matthew 11, verse 27. Our Lord said, "All things are given to me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Father save the Son. And no man know the son, but the father and to whomsoever he revealed him." So how does the father draw? The father draws us through teaching us. He opens our understanding. He opens our eyes.
#72 | 46:51 to 47:52 | cleaned
He lets us see our wickedness. He lets us see our sins. He lets us see our rebellion. He convicts us. He shows us without Christ we're lost, we're doomed and dead and dying. Then He shows us the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ, how He is our substitute. He is our sacrifice. He is our only salvation. He puts in us an understanding of our helplessness and our hopelessness apart from Jesus Christ. And then he shows us that Jesus Christ alone is the answer of salvation, and he puts in us a desire to come to Christ, to bow to Him, to believe in Him, and to trust in Him. If there are longings in your breast to be holy and to be godly and to turn from sin and to live obediently, I can assure you those longings did not come from your fallen nature.
#73 | 47:53 to 48:44 | cleaned
You know, folks, the Bible says in Philippians 2, verse 13, "For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure." God must not only put the to will in us to come to Christ, but when he puts the to will, he always puts the to do as well. I had a young lady when I went to pastor the first church I ever pastored. She was a member of that church.
#74 | 48:44 to 49:28 | cleaned
She came to me and wanted to talk with me, and I said, "Fine." She sat across from me in my office and told me her salvation experience, quote unquote, and wanted to know what I thought. Well, when she finished, I said, "Well, I'll tell you what your problem is. You're lost. You're unsaved." I said, "You may be a member of this church and you may be a professing Christian, but you've never come to savingly to Jesus Christ." And you know what she did?
#75 | 49:32 to 50:06 | cleaned
She got mad at me. She not only stormed out of my office, she left the church. And she went in some other church for several years. Well, one day I was preaching. I looked out there and I saw her sitting in the congregation. And as I preached, she was weeping. I mean, you talk about mascara running. She was weeping. I spoke to her afterwards. She came to ask me, "Could you speak to me?"
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And I said, "Yes, you may." She came back into my office and she said, "Pastor," said, "the first thing I want to do is to apologize to you for getting mad and for leaving this church." She said, "You were right. My problem was and still is that I'm lost." She says, "I know I can't be a church member, but would it be all right with you if I just came and sat and listened to the Word of God?" I said, "It would not only be all right, I'd be pleased to have you." She sat and she would weep. She would sit and she would weep Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday after Wednesday. Finally, she went out one Sunday evening, tears streaming down her eyes, mascara run all over her face, and a couple of our ladies were back at the door as she came out, and one of our ladies was so tender and so compassionate.
#77 | 50:40 to 51:44 | cleaned
When this young woman went out, Gloria grabbed my hand and fell on my neck, weeping, and she said, "Is it there something that you can do for her?" I said, "Gloria, the trouble she's in now is somebody did something for her besides God." I said, "I can tell her the truth, but I can't convict her and I can't convert her. Only God can do that." I said, "The best thing that you can do is pray for her."
#78 | 51:46 to 52:20 | cleaned
I'd already talked to her. You know what? It wasn't a month before the woman was gloriously converted. And the first thing she said, "Pastor, I don't have to have any man tell me now that I'm a Christian and that I'm saved." She said, "I've come to Jesus Christ." You know, the Bible said in Psalm 110 in verse 3, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." It's God who makes us willing to come. You see, coming to Christ is a believing with all of our heart and soul. That's why the Scripture says, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised thee from the dead, thou shalt be saved." You've got to remember, Scripture says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." That is true. But then the Bible said, "How can they call on Him whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in Him whom they've not heard?"
#79 | 52:22 to 53:22 | cleaned
"And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach without being sent?" Coming to Christ is a spiritual act. I could go on and on, but let me just sum it up for you. Coming to Christ means that you leave something and someone. When my wife came to me to be my wife, she left her mother and father. She didn't leave her mother and father. She left her sisters. She didn't leave her sisters. She left her old boyfriends as well. When you come to Christ, you leave your sins. You leave your self-righteousness. You leave your wickedness. You come to Him as He is fully and freely offered in the gospel, and you receive Him not just as Savior, but as Lord. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords and God of gods.
#80 | 53:22 to 54:40 | cleaned
Let me give you one last illustration. Can you imagine? Here is a man who has led a revolt against his king, a lawful king. And the man has sought to overthrow the king and dethrone him. But yet he sees he's losing the war. And he knows there's no way that he can prevail. So he thinks, well, I better sue for peace, I better try to work something out. And so the man then comes into the presence of the king. Chewing his chewing gum flippantly, he's got an AK-47 on his arms, an AR-15 over here, pistols over here, bandoliers of bullets all about him, and he kind of sashays up and says, "Well, old kingy-wingy old boy, it kind of looks like you're winning, and I just kind of think that maybe we can work things out, and maybe I can sue for peace, and you might could use me maybe as commander-in-chief of your army." Let me ask you, what do you think the king—how do you think the king would respond to something like that?
#81 | 54:41 to 55:56 | cleaned
I'll tell you how I would respond. I'd say, "Take that reprobate and cut his head off." But if that same man came in my presence and threw away his weapons of warfare, and bowed himself to me and pled for mercy and said I was wicked, wrong, ungodly, rebellious. I don't deserve life. I don't deserve anything. Just have mercy upon me. I'd probably say, "Let him live." So many people want to come to Christ and bring all their baggage, all their sins, all their self-righteousness, all their works, and expect our Lord to receive them with open arms. No. When you come to Christ, you bow to His sovereign authority. You bow to His Lordship. You acknowledge that you're wicked and wrong and ungodly. And you come, not just physically, but you come spiritually. You come in your mind. You come in your heart.
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You come in the power of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, because you've been taught and drawn by God. And when you come to Christ, Christ is the one then who will bring you back to the Father. And say, "Look, Father, I brought another of your children home. Here he is." You can only come to God through Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Christ, we ask for your blessing, for your mercy, for your help. Teach us, Lord, what it really means to come savingly to Jesus Christ.
#83 | 57:21 to 58:08 | cleaned
It's not just a physical act. It's not just coming forward. It's not just going to an old-fashioned altar. It's not just being a church member. We must be drawn by the Father and bow the knee to the Son of God. Trust in His work and His sacrifice and His atonement and His propitiation alone. We have to come with the understanding if Christ does not save us, we're lost, we're undone. For salvation is only in Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You, Father, for Your grace. In Christ's name, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:10:12Z

What is Coming to Christ

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines the biblical meaning of coming to Christ, contrasting it with common misconceptions. He first explains why people do not come—ignorance, prejudice, doctrinal error, Satanic assault, pride, and love of sin. He then clarifies what coming to Christ is not: a physical act, an experience, or going to an altar. Positively, coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought by God's grace, involving being drawn by the Father through teaching, conviction, and revelation of Christ, leading to repentance, faith, and submission to Christ's lordship.

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver reads John 5:32-44 and John 6:43-45, introducing the topic of coming to Christ as the most important subject in the Bible.

Scripture Reading — John 5:32-44

"There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses to me is true. You sent unto John, and he beareth witness unto the truth." "But I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that you might be saved. He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John. For the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, beareth witness of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me." "You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent you believe not. Search the scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, and there they which testify of me. And you will not come unto me that you might have life. I receive not honour from men, but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe? Who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?"

The Necessity of Coming to Christ

Coming to Christ is an absolute necessity for salvation, as Jesus is the only way to the Father, and the Bible contains many invitations to come.

Scripture Reading — John 14:6

"I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me."

Reasons People Do Not Come to Christ

Weaver lists six biblical reasons: ignorance, prejudice, doctrinal error, assault of Satan, pride of heart, and love of sin.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:18

"having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts."

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 1:23

"But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness."

Do you realize that the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ is to a lot of people absolutely foolish?

And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Matthew 9, verse 10. Notice, if you would, the pride and the arrogance of the human heart. Notice in Matthew 9, verse 10.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 9:10-13

"And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house. Behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him as disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, the self-righteous religious hypocrites, when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, why is your Master with publicans and sinners?"

What Coming to Christ Is Not (Negatively)

Coming to Christ is not a physical act (like walking an aisle), not an experience or feeling, and not going to a physical altar.

Scripture Reading — Acts 8:5-23

"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people of one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did."

Scripture Reading — Luke 23:8-12

"And when Herod, and may I remind you that is King Herod, when King Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad."

Isn't it wonderful? Here's a civil ruler that was glad to see Jesus. But why was he glad?

Scripture Reading — Luke 23:8-12

"For he was desirous to see Him of a long time, because he'd heard many things of Him."

Are you looking?

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:10

"We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle."

The True Altar Is Christ

Using Hebrews 8 and 13, Weaver argues that the Old Testament altar was a shadow; Christ is the true altar, so grace can be mediated anywhere.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:10

"We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle."

What Coming to Christ Is (Positively)

Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought by God's grace, involving being drawn by the Father through teaching, conviction, and revelation of Christ.

Coming to Christ Means Leaving and Submitting

True coming involves leaving sin and self-righteousness, bowing to Christ's lordship, and trusting in His work alone.

Closing Prayer

Weaver prays for understanding and grace to come savingly to Christ, emphasizing dependence on His atonement.

What is Coming to Christ

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9708227593
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Christ and the Churches
Genre	Sermon
Date	2008-08-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 139: Revelation: Christ and the Churches — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	84

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Scripture Reading: Weaver reads John 5:32-44 and John 6:43-45, introducing the topic of coming to Christ as the most important subject in the Bible.
The Necessity of Coming to Christ: Coming to Christ is an absolute necessity for salvation, as Jesus is the only way to the Father, and the Bible contains many invitations to come.
Reasons People Do Not Come to Christ: Weaver lists six biblical reasons: ignorance, prejudice, doctrinal error, assault of Satan, pride of heart, and love of sin.
What Coming to Christ Is Not (Negatively): Coming to Christ is not a physical act (like walking an aisle), not an experience or feeling, and not going to a physical altar.
The True Altar Is Christ: Using Hebrews 8 and 13, Weaver argues that the Old Testament altar was a shadow; Christ is the true altar, so grace can be mediated anywhere.
What Coming to Christ Is (Positively): Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought by God's grace, involving being drawn by the Father through teaching, conviction, and revelation of Christ.
Coming to Christ Means Leaving and Submitting: True coming involves leaving sin and self-righteousness, bowing to Christ's lordship, and trusting in His work alone.
Closing Prayer: Weaver prays for understanding and grace to come savingly to Christ, emphasizing dependence on His atonement.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Ignorance prevents coming to Christ

People do not come because they are ignorant of who Christ is and the gift He offers.

John 4:10: 'If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst ask of him.'

Prejudice and tradition hinder coming

Religious people often reject Christ because they prefer their traditions over God's Word.

Mark 7:9: 'Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.'

Doctrinal error makes the cross seem foolish

The preaching of the cross is a stumbling block or foolishness to those in error, keeping them from Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:23: 'But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness.'

Satan actively assaults those coming to Christ

The devil distracts and attacks people to prevent them from coming to Christ.

Luke 9:42: 'And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tare him.'

Pride of heart rejects the need for a Savior

People do not come because they do not believe they are truly sinful and depraved.

Matthew 9:12: 'They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick.'

Love of sin keeps people away

Many will not come because they love their sin more than they desire Christ.

John 5:40: 'But you will not come to Me that you might have life.'

Coming to Christ is not a physical act

Physical proximity or actions like walking an aisle do not equal saving faith.

John 5:40: 'You will not come unto Me that you might have life'—said to those physically present.

Coming to Christ is a spiritual act of God's grace

It is wrought by God through drawing, teaching, and enabling the sinner to believe.

John 6:44-45: 'No man can come unto me except the Father... draw him... Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.'

Scripture References

John 5:32-44: Read as the primary text showing witnesses to Christ and the refusal to come.
John 6:43-45: Read to show that no one can come unless drawn by the Father.
John 14:6: Quoted to emphasize that Christ is the only way to the Father.
Matthew 11:28-30: Cited as an invitation to come to Christ for rest.
Mark 1:17: Mentioned as an invitation: 'Come ye after Me.'
John 21:12: Mentioned as an invitation: 'Come and dine.'
Revelation 22:17: Cited as the final invitation to come and drink freely.
John 4:9-10: Used to illustrate ignorance as a barrier to coming.
Ephesians 4:18: Quoted to show the darkened understanding of the unsaved.
2 Corinthians 3:14: Referenced to show minds are blinded.
2 Corinthians 4:4: Quoted to show Satan blinds minds to the gospel.
Mark 7:5-9: Used to show prejudice and tradition hinder coming.
1 Corinthians 1:23: Quoted to show doctrinal error makes the cross a stumbling block.
Matthew 12:29: Quoted to illustrate the strong man (Satan) must be bound.
Luke 9:40-42: Used to show Satan's assault on those coming to Christ.
Matthew 9:10-13: Used to illustrate pride of heart and self-righteousness.
Acts 8:5-23: Simon the sorcerer as an example of false experience and belief.
Luke 23:8-12: Herod wanted an experience; Jesus refused to speak to him.
Hebrews 8:1-5: Used to show the earthly tabernacle was a shadow of heavenly things.
Hebrews 13:10: Quoted to show Christ is our altar.

Historical References

Charles G. Finney and the mourner's bench: Weaver states Finney introduced the 'old-fashioned altar' in the 1800s and held semi-Pelagian views.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon and R.A. Torrey: Torrey gave an invitation at Spurgeon's tabernacle; a member remarked Spurgeon would say the iron stays hot till morning.

Important Quotes

You will not come unto me that you might have life.

Jesus' direct statement that refusal to come is a matter of the will, despite abundant witness.

No man can come unto me, except the Father which sent me draw him.

Key verse establishing divine sovereignty in drawing sinners to Christ.

We have an altar where if they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle.

Shows Christ is the true altar, making physical altars unnecessary.

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.

Psalm 110:3 quoted to show God makes His people willing to come.

I know I'm a Christian because I went forward in the Billy Graham crusade.

Illustration of false assurance based on a physical act rather than true conversion.

The reason I don't come more often is because I love my sin too much.

Honest admission illustrating love of sin as a barrier to coming to Christ.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What are some common misconceptions about what it means to come to Christ, and how does this sermon correct them?

[Context]

Weaver spends significant time explaining what coming to Christ is not.

[Question]

How does the doctrine of divine drawing in John 6:44 affect our understanding of evangelism and personal responsibility?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that no one can come unless drawn by the Father.

[Question]

In what ways can religious traditions become a barrier to truly coming to Christ?

[Context]

Weaver discusses prejudice and tradition from Mark 7.

[Question]

Why is it dangerous to base assurance of salvation on an experience or physical act?

[Context]

Weaver uses Simon the sorcerer and the man at the jail as examples.

[Question]

What does it mean practically to 'leave something and someone' when coming to Christ?

[Context]

Weaver concludes that coming involves leaving sin and self-righteousness.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:10:28Z