Clean Transcript

What is Coming to Christ

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• Had someone asked me a question in the past two weeks, and I wanted to answer it, and I want to do so based upon this message and this scripture. The title of the message is just "Coming to Christ" or "What is Coming to Christ." So if you look in John 5 and verse 32, our Lord says this: "There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth."

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• "But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye 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, bear 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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• "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?"

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• Then if you look in John 6, beginning there in verse 43. "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 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."

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• Now, I do want you to hold these passages because I will come back to them and explain them shortly. In the meantime, we're going to be looking at a number of other passages. But let me just begin by saying one of the most important subjects in the Word of God is the subject of coming to Christ. The truth remains, however, that many, even professing Christians, do not really understand what it means to come to Christ. A large percentage believe that if they have been baptized, if they have joined the church, if they have made a verbal profession or commitment, or if they have performed good works, then they have come to Christ. Coming to Christ is indeed the most important activity.

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• Because without it, there is no salvation. Jesus Christ himself said in John 14 and verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Now, as you read through the Bible, especially the New Testament, you will find that there are many passages, great and glorious passages, that invite us to come to Jesus Christ. Let me begin by quoting just a few of those. Everyone should remember the passage in Matthew 11, beginning with verse 28 and going through verse 30. Our Lord said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour 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 ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

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• But what did he say? "Come unto me." In Mark chapter 1 and verse 17, our Lord said, "Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." And then when you get to John 21 and verse 12, our Lord looked at His disciples and He simply said, "Come and dine." And, of course, the passage that everyone knows about in Revelation 22, verse 17, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

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• Now, I could multiply these invitations. You have to admit, you have to confess that there are many scriptures that give us invitations that invite us freely and fully to come to Jesus Christ. Yet, the question has to be asked, what is coming to Christ? I could also ask, how do I know whether or not I have come to Christ? But before I answer the question, what is coming to Christ? I want to answer an equally important question, and that is, generally speaking, why men do not come to Christ. I could ask, why is this building not packed full of people today, wanting to hear the Word of God and find out about Jesus Christ? Why is it the average person has no desire to come to Christ?

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• We were driving to church this morning and I noticed a truck pulling a jet ski behind it, maybe another one pulling a boat. I mean, there's no great care, no great desire to come to Christ or to hear the Word of God? Why is it that most people do not desire to come to Christ? Well, let me just tell you, first of all, there are a number of answers to that question, and I want to give you several answers very quickly. First of all, the first reason people do not come to Christ is because of ignorance. I want you to look in your Bibles to John chapter 4, if you would please, and verse 10. Here is the woman at the well. Jesus Christ has asked her for a drink of water. She asked him, "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?" because the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. And notice, if you would please, verse 10, "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 wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."

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• Now I want you to ponder what our Lord said. He looked at the woman and said, "If thou knewest the gift of God," she didn't. "And if thou knewest who spake to thee," she didn't. In other words, the woman was completely and totally ignorant of Jesus Christ, who He is, and His so great salvation. Isn't it interesting, then, that the average person does not know one thing about Jesus Christ? Oh, someone might say, well, He said He was the Son of God. But they really do not know Christ. They don't know any of His attributes. They don't know any of the Scriptures. They are absolutely, totally ignorant of Christ.

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• And if you would turn over in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, and look at verse 18. Notice, if you would, Ephesians 4 and verse 18. Interestingly enough, the Bible also teaches that the ignorance is also applied towards God. In the book of Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 18, the Word of God says this. Watch. "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."

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• Folks are just plain ignorant concerning Jesus Christ. Without me asking you to turn there, but you remember there's a passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and especially in verse 14, when it teaches about a veil being over the eyes of people who refuse and reject Jesus Christ and the Bible says, "But their minds were blinded." Sin blinds the eyes. Sin will make us ignorant. We're already ignorant, but it will make us more ignorant. And then the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Now, let me just put it like this.

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• It is impossible for you to come to someone that you don't even know that exists. If you're ignorant of that person, you cannot possibly come to Him. It's that simple. So the very first reason that men do not come to Christ is they're totally, completely ignorant. Secondly, men do not come to Christ because of prejudice. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 7, you'll also find this in Matthew 15, but we'll look in Mark chapter 7. Notice they're beginning with verse 5. Mark chapter 7. And notice verse 5. Look what our Lord says.

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• "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias 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 when he says, "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 ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." You know something? It is extremely incomprehensible to understand how people prefer traditions above the Word of God. And they are prejudiced toward their own traditions.

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• I've often said I could go into the average church and split it with one sermon. All I've got to do is preach against tradition. If I preach against the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus or some other little tradition that they have, I mean, I've got news for you folks. They will fight over those traditions. They'd rather have tradition than what the Word of God says. "Well, we've always had a Christmas tree in the church. We've always had an Easter egg hunt. We've always done this. We've always done that." And people are just plainly prejudiced to their traditions. And they prefer those traditions over the Word of God. There's a third reason people do not come to Christ, and that's because of doctrinal error. If you would look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 23, doctrinal error. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 23, I want you to look at what the Apostle Paul says. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 23. Paul writes, "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness."

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• You will have to remember that the Greeks were wise in their own conceits. They loved the philosophies of men. Read Acts chapter 17. The Bible tells us that those men went about to do nothing but to hear something new and exciting and titillating. I mean, that's all they wanted to do. And so when they heard the preaching of Jesus Christ, they thought that that was absolutely foolishness. And the Jews, he says, they stumble over Christ because they don't believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. They don't believe He's the Savior. They don't believe that He's the Lord of the world. Consequently, they stumble over it. Listen, you cannot come and you will not come to someone that you do not believe in. Why in the world would you come to someone that you do not think is God?

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• And because people are totally in error concerning the doctrine of Christ, they refuse Him and reject Him. So it's not just ignorance. It's not just prejudice. It's also doctrinal error. But fourthly, there's a fourth reason, and I'll just spell it out. It is because of the assault of Satan. I want you to look in your Bibles to two passages, Matthew chapter 12 and Luke chapter 9. Go back to Matthew chapter 12.

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• Notice what our Lord says. Matthew 12, verse 29. And then we're going to go to Luke chapter 9. Notice Matthew chapter 12 verse 29. Our Lord makes this simple statement. "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 will spoil his house." Now, our Lord makes this statement when he was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. And our Lord says, "How can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods except he first bind the strong man?" In other words, if I'm going to break into your home and steal what you have and you are at home, I have to do something to you first.

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• I have to subdue you. Then I may ransack your house freely. If I don't subdue you, well, I might get shot. I might get whipped. I might get beat up. So there's a principle: someone has to be subdued or else there's going to be trouble. There's going to be a fight.

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• Now, look in your Bible to Luke chapter 9 and let's begin reading there with verse 41. Luke chapter 9. And interestingly enough, here was a man who brought his son to the disciples to cast out a demon and they could not. In verse 40, the man says to Christ, "And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not." Verse 41, "And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither." Now look at verse 42, "And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father." But note, while he was coming, the devil threw him down.

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• In other words, it is true that there are many people who are injured and tempted and led astray by the evil one. Pilgrim's Progress gives a wonderful episode of the assault of Satan on one who is coming to Christ. In other words, there is indeed an enemy who will fight spiritual truth and who will fight against Christ. But there's a fifth reason why men do not come to Christ.

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• And if you look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 9, I'll show it to you. Matthew, chapter 9. And that is pride of heart. Look in Matthew, chapter 9, beginning there with verse 10. Matthew, chapter 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 and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."

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• "But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." So these Pharisees, in their self-righteous hypocrisy, ask the disciples of Christ, "Why does your master eat with publicans and sinners? If he was as holy and as righteous as we are, he would have nothing to do with that despicable group of people."

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• He would not associate with them. He would not speak. He can't possibly be the Messiah. He can't possibly be holy because he associates with sinners. Pride? Let me tell you something about pride. Pride will say, "I'm not a sinner." Pride will say, "I'm not so bad." Pride will say, "I don't need saving." Pride will say, "I'm as good as the next man." And you are. Because the next man is just as wicked and as evil and as lost as you are. But pride will say, "I don't need a savior. I don't need salvation." What did our Lord say? "They that be sick need a physician, not those that are whole." There's not a person in this room who will get up in the morning and say, "I feel wonderful. I feel great. There's not a thing wrong with me."

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• "I think I'll just go visit the doctor and help him pay for his new Mercedes." Would you do that? No. And the truth of the matter is, if you wake up sick in the morning, you're still not going to get up and go to the doctor. You're going to go to your medicine cabinet and you're going to try to doctor yourself. You're going to try to take your herbs. You're going to drink your water. You're going to do whatever's necessary to take care of yourself. And when you can't get any better, then you're going to call your neighbor. You're going to call your friend and say, "Man, I've been sick for so long." And they'll say, "Well, listen, you need to try this. It worked for me. You need to eat yourself a peanut butter, mayonnaise, tomato and ketchup mustard sandwich. And boy, it'll get you well." And guess what? We'll do it. And you know what? When whatever we do does not work and whatever our family and friends recommend does not work, finally, we'll say, "Well."

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• "Might as well go to the doctor." Because I'm sick and I can't get over it. You know what our Lord is saying? When you realize that you're a sinner, when you realize you're wicked and ungodly and undone and you can't save yourself, you can't help save yourself, finally, our Lord says you're willing to come to me. But as long as you don't think you're so bad, you will never, ever come to Christ.

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• There are a multitude of people in this land that do not believe they're sinners. They do not believe they need to be saved. They do not believe that they need repentance. Why? Because the pride of their heart has deceived them into thinking they're not so bad. They're not so depraved. They're not so wicked as they need a Savior. The self-righteous have their own righteousness. Why do they need the righteousness of Christ? So pride of heart will keep men from coming to Christ. And then sixthly, sin.

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• If you look in your Bibles again to John chapter 5, I want to show you this passage. John chapter 5. Notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 33. We read this passage earlier, John 5, notice verse 33. Our Lord says to these Jews, "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved."

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• "He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John."

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• Now, I want to just stop right there just for a moment. I'm going to look at this passage in detail a little bit later, but I want you to know what our Lord said. Our Lord said, "I've got numerous witnesses as to whom I am. I have the witness of John the Baptist. And you were willing for a season to rejoice in his witness and in his life." But he said, "I've got greater witness than that of John. I've got the works which my Father has given me to do. Those works testify of me." Then he said, "I've got something even greater than my works. I have the testimony of the Father. The Father said, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.'" And then if you skip down to verse 39, he says, "I have the testimony of the Scriptures. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

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• What in the world is he saying? He is saying, "Look, here are the Scriptures. They testify of me." And I want you to understand what he says. In light of the testimony of John the Baptist, in light of the testimony of his works, in light of the testimony of the Father, in light of the testimony of the Scriptures, men still will not come to Christ. Why? Because their will is locked in stubborn rebellion against Christ. They're in their sin.

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• It's not that there is an insufficient amount of evidence. It's not that there's insufficient testimony. It's not that there's insufficient truth. It's just that men prefer sin rather than Christ and wickedness rather than righteousness and rebellion rather than holiness.

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• Now, having given you these six reasons why men do not come to Christ, let me begin answering the question. What is coming to Christ? And I'm going to answer that question two ways. I'm going to answer it, first of all, negatively and tell you what is not coming to Christ. And then I'm going to answer it for you positively and tell you what is coming to Christ. So let's begin with what is not coming to Christ. First of all, coming to Christ is not a physical act.

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• Look in your Bibles to John 5 and verse 40. Christ looked at these people and said, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Now, obviously, they had come to him physically. They were in his presence. He was speaking to them. But just because they had come to him physically and were physically in his presence did not mean that they were in a saving relationship with him. There are so many people today that try to equate a physical act with a spiritual one, and they think just because they've done something physically, therefore it equates to something spiritually. No, sir. These people had physically walked to where Christ was and Christ looked at them and said, "You will not come to me that you might have life." Now, let's look down to John, chapter 6. Watch this. It's still very clear. Verse 2, John, chapter 6, verse 2, "And a great multitude followed him." Why?

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• "Because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased." Here were a number of people that came to Christ, walked with Him, followed Him. Why? Just because they saw the miracles. They were being entertained. They saw things that they had never seen before. Had they come to Him physically? Oh, yes. Skip down to verse 26. John chapter 6, verse 26. Look what our Lord finally tells them. "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled."

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• Now, after our Lord went across the sea, hey, they took ships and went with Him. They came to where He was physically. And our Lord said, "Let me tell you something. You're not even coming to me now because you saw miracles. You're coming to me now because I fed you and you didn't have to work for the food. You're coming to me now for a free meal. That's the only reason you're coming to me." They came to him physically.

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• They were in his presence. But they did not come to Christ savingly. Listen carefully. Coming to Christ is not walking down an aisle. Coming to Christ is not going forward at a meeting. Coming to Christ is not raising your hand for prayer. Coming to Christ is not joining a church. Coming to Christ is not being baptized. Coming to Christ is not doing any good deed or any number of good deeds. Why?

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• Because all of those are physical acts. Multitudes have done physical acts and physical things, and yet they've never come savingly to Jesus Christ.

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• Now, it is true that a real saved individual, it is true that a real genuine Christian will be baptized. He will join a church. He will do many good works. He will perform many other physical things. But he does not do those things in order to be saved. He does those things because he's already been saved. He does not do those things in order to come to Christ. He does those things because he's already come to Christ. Coming to Christ is not a physical act.

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• Years ago, I was preaching in a jail and I preached there every Sunday morning that I lived in that area. And the jailer was a Christian and he was a friend of mine. And so I went in that Sunday morning early to preach to the prisoners and the jailer told me about a man who was back there with the prisoners who had just been arrested for murdering his wife and his mother-in-law. Well, all the prisoners were put in one big, they called it a bullpen, those that wanted to hear the preaching and they came there and this man was there and he stood against the back wall with his foot against the wall while I was preaching. And after the preaching was over, he came to me and said, "Preacher," he said, "that was a good sermon." He said, "I'm thankful you came."

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• "These men in here really needed that." And I said, "Oh, sir," and you didn't know, he said, "I'm already a Christian." I said, "You are?" I said, "Let me ask you a question. Aren't you the man who was just arrested and placed in this jail and charged with murdering your wife and your mother-in-law?" "Yes," he said, "that's me." I said, "Well, let me ask you, how can you say that you're a Christian when the Bible says, and you know, that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him?" I said, "Now you just said that you're the man and you're charged with murdering your wife and you're charged with murdering your mother-in-law and you're standing there telling me you're a Christian. How do you know that you're a Christian?" Here was his answer. So help me, God. "Oh," he said, "I know I'm a Christian because I went forward in a Billy Graham crusade."

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• He had done something physically. He had walked forward in front of a church building. He may have even done something physically by saying, "I believe," but let me tell you something, folks, coming to Christ is not a physical act, and you're going to see why just momentarily. Secondly, coming to Christ is not an experience. Coming to Christ is not an experience. Coming to Christ is not certain feelings, certain sensations or hair-raising experiences. Coming to Christ is not hearing the clapping of thunder or seeing the flash of lightning. If you want an experience, the flesh and the devil can give you an experience. In fact, the problem with so many people who have these wonderful experiences is they end up trusting in their experience rather than Christ. Let me tell you something, folks.

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• You must remember that our Lord warned us in 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 14, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." And if you want an experience, he can give you an experience. It will not necessarily be a saving experience, but it will be an experience. So many trust in their experience. Let me give you an analogy. It would be like Cindy. Let's say Cindy has two children and let's say that Cindy in bearing her children was in labor 48 hours with each one of them. And suppose Cindy comes to my wife and asks her, "Now Alice, have you ever been in labor 48 hours in delivering a child?" And Alice says, "Well, no, of course not. The most I've ever been in labor is a couple of hours." And suppose Cindy then kind of clasps her hands together and says kind of piously, "Well then, you have never had a baby." Well, the truth is my wife has had twice as many babies as she has had.

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• Now, I want you to understand something. It is not the experience that counts. It is not the degree of the experience. It's not the length of the experience. It's not anything about the experience. What is it that counts? Was there a real, genuine, live baby born? That's what counts. So many people will say, "Well, if you've never been convicted the way I've been convicted, then you can't possibly be saved." What are they doing? They're using their quote-unquote experience as the norm and as the standard to measure not only their salvation, but everyone else's salvation as well. Let me show you something about experiences. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 8. I want to show you a man who had an experience.

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• And although he had an experience and although he did physical things, he was certainly not a Christian, not by any stretch of the imagination. If you look in Acts chapter 8, let's begin reading there with verse 5. There's a great revival going on in Samaria. Acts chapter 8, verse 5. "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did."

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• "For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city."

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• Now watch, "But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime 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 that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."

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• "Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done." So now here is Simon. He's just had an experience. He at least had some emotional experience because he even professed Christ. He was baptized. He saw those miracles. He was excited. Skip down, if you would, please, to verse 14.

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• "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them 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 laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee." By the way, the word "perish" is a strong word.

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• I'll tell you exactly what it means. Here it is. "But Peter said unto him, Thy money go to hell with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: 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. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."

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• He said, "Simon, you're not saved. You've never been saved." Did Simon have an experience? Yes. Did Simon do something physical? Yes. Was he still lost? Yes. Why? Because coming to Christ is not anything physical, and it's certainly not an experience. Let me ask you a question. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Luke 23, because I want you to see this. Luke 23. And get ready. Let me ask you a question.

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• Do you know the only man in the New Testament to whom our Lord would not speak? My second question is this. Do you know why our Lord would not speak to him? I'll tell you why. Because the man only wanted an experience. He was a wicked man, but he wanted an experience. Let me show you. Look in Luke chapter 23, beginning there with verse 8. "And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing."

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• "And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves." Why would Christ not even speak to King Herod? Well, because he had heard many things of Christ, and he, Herod, hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. In other words, Herod was saying to Christ, "Entertain me, dazzle me, give me an experience. Let me see something I've never seen before. Do your magic." Our Lord will not even condescend to answer such a reprobate. All Herod wanted was an experience. He wanted to see a miracle firsthand. And our Lord refused to even speak to him. Let me tell you something, folks.

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• People will run all over this country and go to meeting after meeting after meeting, just seeking after an experience. You can have all the experiences you want. But they do not equal coming to Christ. Coming to Christ is not a physical act. Coming to Christ is not an experience. Thirdly, listen carefully, coming to Christ is not going to an old-fashioned altar. And I'm using that terminology purposefully. Coming to Christ is not going to an old-fashioned altar.

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• I've heard preachers say that before innumerable times. "You need to come forward to an old-fashioned altar." May I tell you who it was that began the altar call? It was Charles Grandison Finney. And Charles Finney was basically a semi-Pelagian. Pelagius was one of the arch-heretics, and Arminius kind of modified his teaching some. And Finney, of course, could be called an Arminian, but he could also be called semi-Pelagian because Finney actually denied the total depravity of man. Finney not only denied the total depravity of man, he also believed that sinners could initiate their salvation. He believed that it was sinners' responsibility to take the first step toward their salvation. And once they took the first step, then God was obligated to save them. God was obligated to do the rest. And therefore, then he was the one who initiated the mourner's bench. And he asked people to come forward and sit at the mourner's bench. And once they came forward and sat on that mourner's bench and began to mourn for their sins, quote-unquote, and cry to God, then according to his theology, God was obligated to save them.

  #56 | 39:31 to 40:53 | cleaned

• Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to say, because I'm going to contradict what I'm about to say in just a moment, but I'm going to explain it. But both are truth. OK, listen carefully. There is no such thing as an old-fashioned altar in any church. There is no such thing as a physical altar in any church whatsoever. You say, "But now wait a minute, Brother Weaver. There was an altar in the Old Testament." Yes, there was. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 8, and let me show you something about that altar in the Old Testament. Look in Hebrews, chapter 8.

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• And let's begin with verse 5. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 1, let's read down to verse 5, Hebrews, chapter 8, verse 1.

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• "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." So the true tabernacle is in heaven, not on earth. Verse 3, "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer." That is, Christ. "For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law." So if Christ was on earth at that particular time, they had the Levitical priesthood, he wouldn't have been a priest because why? Christ was of the tribe of Judah, not a Levite. Now watch verse 5. Look what he says that these Levitical priests did. "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 thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."

  #59 | 42:01 to 43:22 | cleaned

• Now let me just stop right there. Was there an altar in the Old Testament? The answer is yes. Here's my question. Did the tabernacle or any of the furniture in the tabernacle originate with either Moses or Aaron? Did it? Well, of course not. How did Moses know what to do when it came to building the tabernacle and the furniture there was? There was a divine revelation. In other words, the tabernacle and the temple as well, and the furniture therein, was of divine origin. God originated the tabernacle, the temple, and the furniture therein. By the way, if you have an altar, a real, genuine, physical altar, not only must it be of divine origination, but secondly, it must be made of divine materials.

  #60 | 43:22 to 44:25 | cleaned

• Ah, when you study the book of Exodus. What did Moses do? God said to Moses, "See that thou make them according to the pattern which I gave you in the mount." In other words, God gave the materials out of which everything was to be built. He prescribed every detail. Thirdly, the divine pattern had to be followed. God only gave the materials. God gave the pattern. He said, "Here's the dimensions. Here's exactly how you build it." Now, what's this? If you have an altar, it must have a divine origination. It must have divine materials. It must follow a divine pattern. And guess what? It must be placed in the exact location that God designs. And are you listening? If, in the Old Testament, you were going to worship the one true and living God, guess where you must go? To that altar. That was the only acceptable place to worship God. If you were going to worship Him acceptably, you either had to be in the tabernacle or you had to be in the temple. Now, is there any altar like that in any church today?

  #61 | 44:27 to 45:46 | cleaned

• No. No. There is no altar like that in any church today. So when people say "come forward to the altar," there's no altar there. There's no physical altar and it can't be. And may I remind you once again, that the tabernacle and the temple and all the furniture therein were types and shadows and emblems. That's what the scripture says, "who serve as an example and shadow of heavenly things." Let me ask you, was that Old Testament altar real and genuine? No. It was a type. It was a shadow. It was an emblem. It was a symbol, but it was not real. Was that tabernacle real?

  #62 | 45:47 to 46:34 | cleaned

• You said, "Well, I could touch it." That doesn't mean it was real. It was a shadow. If I am in the shadow of an oak tree, am I in the tree? No, I'm just in the shadow. The shadow is not real. The tree is what is real. And our Lord is saying everything in that Old Testament was simply a shadow when it came to that tabernacle and that temple because it foreshadowed the true tabernacle and the true temple and the true altar.

  #63 | 46:34 to 47:06 | cleaned

• Which was Jesus Christ. Look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 13 in verse 10. Now I told you there is no such thing as an old-fashioned altar in any church. Now, I told you I was going to contradict that statement. And here it is, there is an altar in every church where the Word of God is preached. Well, how can I say that? Well, look at Hebrews 13 in verse 10. "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." What? What did the apostle say? "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." Now, why was the book of Hebrews written? Because some of those Jewish believers, quote-unquote, were wanting to go back to those Old Testament types and emblems and shadows. And the author of the book of Hebrews said, "Look, if you want to go back to the type of the shadow, you have no right to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the true altar and the true tabernacle and the true temple and the true high priest and the true sacrifice."

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• And if you want the shadows, you have no right to Christ, who is the reality.

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• Now, is there an altar in the church? Yes. Who is the altar? Jesus Christ. Now, let me ask. I'm not trying to make fun. You know, I'm not. But do you have to come forward and stand here in front of me or kneel here in front of me to come to Christ? The answer is no. No, of course not. Because Jesus Christ is our altar. Grace may be mediated to a sinner wherever the sinner is.

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• God can save you sitting in the pew. God can save you walking in the door. God can save you out in the yard. God can save you wherever he wants to save you because the altar is Jesus Christ. A story I read years ago was, after Charles Haddon Spurgeon had died, R.A. Torrey preached in Spurgeon's Tabernacle. And when he got through preaching, he invited people to come forward. That had never been done in Spurgeon's Tabernacle. Spurgeon invited men to Christ, certainly he was a great evangelistic preacher. But after he got through preaching, he would say this.

  #67 | 48:59 to 49:50 | cleaned

• "If the Holy Spirit is convicting you or if you need help, I will be in my office in the morning. Please come see me. And I'll help you any way that I can." So after Torrey preached, he gave an invitation for people to come forward. After the service is over, there was a man who was a member of Spurgeon's church who also was a newspaper man. And he was interviewing R.A. Torrey, the famed evangelist. And he asked Torrey why he invited men to come forward after he got through preaching.

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• And Torrey's response was, "I believe in striking while the iron is hot." And the newspaper man put his pen down and looked at Dr. Torrey and said, "We think, sir, if the governor were alive today," and that's what they called Spurgeon, the governor, "we think, sir, if the governor were alive today, he would say, 'If the Holy Spirit heated the iron, it would stay hot until morning.'" And that's true. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones.

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• Who's been dead now a number of years, but he pastored and preached at Westminster in England for the longest. He told about a man after the service one Sunday night who stayed and was the very last one out. And of course, Dr. Lloyd-Jones did not give an invitation for people to come forward or anything like that. He invited men to Christ. But he did not ask anyone to come forward. Dr. Lloyd-Jones said that he noticed the man hanging back purposefully. And so when the man got to the door, he was the last one, he shook the doctor's hand and said, "Doctor, that was a very fine message tonight."

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• "I want you to know," he said, "I was stirred greatly." He said, "Doctor," he said, "if you had given the invitation, I would have come forward to accept Christ." Dr. Jones said, "Well, that's wonderful," he said, "but, sir, I have a question for you. Would you receive him right now?" The man said, "No, but I would have thirty-five minutes ago." Dr. Jones said, "In that case, it would not have done you any good to receive him thirty-five minutes ago if you're unwilling to receive him right now." You see, folks, the altar is Jesus Christ.

  #71 | 52:04 to 52:45 | cleaned

• It's not a physical thing. And you don't have to come to the front of a building to receive Christ. Positively, let me ask you very quickly, what is coming to Christ? Let me answer that for you. And I want you to look back in your Bibles to John chapter 6. Look back to John chapter 6. What is coming to Christ? The answer is this. Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought in grace by the power of God. Coming to Christ is a spiritual act wrought in grace by the power of God. Let me ask a very pointed question. Where is Christ right now? Someone answer.

  #72 | 52:48 to 53:29 | cleaned

• Well, he's everywhere, but specifically, what does the scripture say? He's seated at the right hand of God. Wow. He's seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly.

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• Now, listen, if Christ is our altar, it is true that grace may be mediated to anyone at any place at any time. But if Christ is seated at the right hand of God, then you have to understand why it is impossible for natural man to come to Christ. Look in John 6 and verse 44. Look what our Lord said. "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."

  #74 | 53:42 to 54:12 | cleaned

• I pointed out before that "can" is a term of ability. No man has the ability to come to Christ on his own. Why? Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. How can you get to Christ? How can you physically get to Christ? What can an unsaved man do to get to Jesus Christ? The answer is absolutely nothing. Why? The Scripture says in John chapter 3, you remember, our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3 and verse 5, he said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." How can an unsaved man get to Christ when Christ is seated on the right hand of God and by nature he can't see him, he can't enter there? There's no way in the world that a sinner in and of himself can come to Christ savingly. That's why our Lord said, "No man can come unto me except the Father who sent me draw him."

  #75 | 54:12 to 55:14 | cleaned

• "And I will raise him up at the last day." Now, let me ask you a question. If you have to be drawn to come to Christ savingly, if you have to be drawn by the Father, what is the drawing of the Father? And by the way, the word is "draw," not "drag." Well, how does the Father draw us to Christ? Well, look in verse 45. "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God." Now look.

  #76 | 55:16 to 56:03 | cleaned

• "Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." What does God the Father do? He opens our eyes. He opens our understanding. He opens our hearts. He teaches us. He instructs us. He shows us our sin. He shows us our wickedness. He shows us that Jesus Christ alone is salvation. He shows us our ugliness. He shows us the beauty of Christ. And in teaching us, he woos us and he draws us savingly that we might see the beauty and the glory and the grandeur and the wonder of Jesus Christ. You see, the questions that you must ask are simple.

  #77 | 56:04 to 56:52 | cleaned

• Are you longing to be holy? Are you longing to turn from sin and to know Christ intimately and savingly? Are you learning of your wickedness and your sinfulness and your helplessness and your hopelessness? Are you being taught that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is salvation? And unless He saved you, you're lost. If you're being taught these lessons, you have to understand these lessons do not arise from your fallen nature.

  #78 | 56:54 to 57:19 | cleaned

• They do not come from your corrupt and depraved mind. They come only from God. He teaches us. You know what the Bible says in Philippians 2 in verse 13? "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." It's God who works that in you. That's why in Psalm 110 in verse 3, the Word of God says, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." It is God the Father who draws us, who enlightens us, who educates us, who enables us to trust in Christ. Coming to Christ is a work of God.

  #79 | 57:19 to 57:57 | cleaned

• You remember what our Lord said in Matthew 11. "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." It's the Son who must reveal the Father, and the Father who must reveal the Son. You say, "But Brother Weaver, does not Scripture tell us that we must bow down with our heart?" Yes, it does. The Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." But who is it that enlightens you and educates you and draws you to that truth and gives you that truth and enables you to confess Christ? It's God the Father. Does not Scripture say in Romans 10, verse 13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"? Yes, it does. But the rest of the Scripture says, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?"

  #80 | 57:57 to 58:48 | cleaned

• "And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" In other words, it's God who once again, who sends the preacher, who illuminates the mind to understand Christ, who enables us to call upon him. You remember that passage in Matthew 14, when Peter saw Christ walking on the water, he said, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." And our Lord said, "Come." And Peter stepped out of the boat, began to walk on the water until he took his eyes off the Lord and saw the wind boisterous and the waves. And he began to sink.

  #81 | 58:49 to 59:20 | cleaned

• And what did he say? He cried, the Scripture says, "Lord, save me." Now that's calling upon the Lord because he realized if Christ did not save him, he was a goner. What is coming to Christ? It is an act, it is a spiritual act, wrought in grace and by the power of God. In John chapter 6, if you're right there, look very quickly. John chapter 6, notice if you would please, beginning there with verse 33, our Lord says this, "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not." Skip down, if you would, to verse 50. Notice our Lord says, "This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die."

  #82 | 59:21 to 1:00:19 | cleaned

• "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." Now, wait a minute. What in the world did our Lord mean when he said, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you shall in no wise inherit the kingdom of God. You're not saved."

  #83 | 1:00:20 to 1:01:03 | cleaned

• This passage certainly does not teach transubstantiation, which the Roman Catholics believe in. The priest does not take a little water or a little magic and turn a wafer into the real body of Christ and the wine into the real blood of Christ, that is not what our Lord is saying. Do you realize that eating is a very simple act? Eating is simply the satisfying of a need. When we eat Christ, what we do is this. We live from Him. We assimilate His doctrine. We assimilate His teaching into our souls. When we eat Christ, we are conforming our lives to His Word and we're deriving our sustenance, our nourishment from Him.

  #84 | 1:01:04 to 1:01:45 | cleaned

• We depend upon Him solely and completely the same way we depend upon our food. Without our natural food, we perish. Without Christ, we perish. We live in Him and through Him and by Him. So eating Christ means that we can't live without Him. We must read His word daily, we must pray to Him daily, we must seek Him daily. Why? Because He's our sustenance. He's our nourishment. He's our life.

  #85 | 1:01:45 to 1:02:16 | cleaned

• Now, let me just point out two quick thoughts. Coming to Christ. Think about that. What is coming to Christ? On the one hand, here's a simple analogy. When my wife married me, she came to me. What's that mean? It means she forsook her family. She forsook her friends. Especially her boyfriends. And she came to me to be my wife. And mine only. OK. When the sinner comes to Christ, he forsakes his sins. He forsakes his old friends, the wicked ones. He forsakes any and everything that's contrary to Christ and comes to Him and says, "I'm now yours and yours alone."

  #86 | 1:02:20 to 1:03:34 | cleaned

• You cannot come to someone without leaving someone. If Jesus Christ is the King of kings, and He is, that means when the sinner comes to Christ, he must throw down his weapons of warfare, his weapons of rebellion, and bow the knee and submit to King Jesus. The modern day church has so perverted this doctrine and so perverted this truth. What you have today in the average church, if someone will come forward at an invitation, chewing their gum, in a flippant, sometimes even arrogant attitude, "I've come to do Christ a favor. I'm going to join this church." And they hang on to their sin and their wickedness and their rebellion and the average church member, you can't tell from the average unsaved arrogant, hateful infidel out there somewhere. They live alike. They act alike. They talk alike. Let me tell you something. When a convicted sinner comes to Christ, he comes broken. He comes throwing down those weapons of warfare. He does not want his rebellion. He does not want his sin. All he wants is Christ and Christ alone.

  #87 | 1:03:35 to 1:05:17 | cleaned

• We have to understand that coming to Christ means that we leave ourselves, our righteousness, our sins, and we come to Him, we bow to Him, acknowledging that He's King of kings and Lord of lords, and He is to rule and govern our lives.

  #88 | 1:05:21 to 1:05:40 | cleaned

• To show you the dire straits that we're in, in Christendom, as well as in our country. If you believe what I've taught this morning, and I hope you do because it's straight from the Scripture, but if you believe what I've taught this morning, think about how many church members are really lost and have never, ever, savingly come to Christ. Now, you know why the church is in such trouble in this country and why we're in such trouble in this country. We need to come back to the Word of God and come and bow to Jesus Christ. Let's pray.

  #89 | 1:05:48 to 1:06:41 | cleaned

• Father, we do ask for your blessing and your help and your grace. We pray, Lord, that you will use this message to open eyes and to convict and by your grace convert. We pray and ask for the Holy Spirit of God to apply this truth to each heart. And help us, Lord, to bow and bow savingly to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And to bring our lives into conformity to his word, his law, his truth.

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• We give Thee praise and honor and glory in Christ's name, Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:02:38Z