"HIM THAT COMETH TO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT" (John 6:37).
"WHOEVER COMES TO ME I WILL NEVER DRIVE AWAY" (John 6:37, NIV).
This verse swings the broad gates of heaven wide open and promises that Jesus will receive all who come to the Father by Him. It means that the gospel is for you if you will hear it and come to Christ. It is for you personally.
Years ago there was an old farmer by the name of Klein. He was an ungodly man. Although he lived across the street from a church, he never went in; and, of course, he did not believe the gospel. To his way of thinking, the gospel was for other people, not for him. One day, however, the Bible school began to teach the children the chorus of the hymn that goes:
Grace! Tis a charming sound,
Harmonious to the ear;
Heav’n with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.
Saved by grace alone!
This is all my plea:
Jesus died for all mankind,
And Jesus died for me.
From his listening post across the street Mr. Klein heard the children singing. He heard most of the words clearly. But when they came to the line "Jesus died for all mankind," he thought they were singing "Jesus died for old man Klein." The thought that Jesus died for him personally finally sank into his heart. Klein crossed the street to the church, attended services, and eventually committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the message of John 6:37. Put your name in that song and say, "Jesus died for Mary Jones, John Smith, Paul Brown, Betty Harris, or whatever your name might be." Jesus died for you. WHOEVER COMES TO HIM HE WILL NEVER DRIVE AWAY.
I. HOW DOES A PERSON COME TO JESUS. The answer is: BY FAITH.
To come to Jesus means to have faith in Him. This channel of salvation is always spoken of in the Bible. "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith," Paul wrote to the Ephesians (Eph. 2:8). "Without faith it is impossible to please God," said the author of Hebrews (11:6). Faith in Jesus is commitment to Jesus based upon a belief that He is who He said He is and that He will do what He has promised to do for everyone who trusts in Him.
Once a man introduced himself to James Montgomery Boice, former pastor of Philadelphia’s historic Tenth Presbyterian Church, with the remark that he was a "C and E" Christian.
"What do you mean?" Boice asked.
"Christmas and Easter," he answered. I am the kind of Christian who goes to church on Christmas and Easter." Boice could easily have insulted him, but he held back and instead reminded himself of another Christian, an old saint from England, who called herself a "T and P" Christian. She wrote these letters in her Bible opposite of promises that she personally had found to be true. The letters stood for "tried and proven."
Which are you? Are you a "C and E" Christian? In most cases that is no Christian at all. Or are you a "T and P" Christian, one who has tried God’s promises by faith and has proved them personally? Faith is trusting God and proving his promises. (adapted from James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, vol. 2, 495)
The great Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon once wrote about faith: "Faith is not a blind thing; for faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing; for faith believes facts of which it is sure. It is not an unpractical, dreamy thing; for faith trusts, and stakes its destiny upon the truth of revelation. . . . Faith is believing that Christ is what He said to be, and that He will do what He has promised to do, and then to expect this of Him." Since Jesus said that He was dying for the sin of mankind and that He would save any who would commit themselves to Him, saving faith is therefore just believing this and putting your life into the hands of the Savior.
Suppose there is a fire and you are trapped on the third-story ledge of a building. The building is burning down around you and will soon fall. You are clinging to the ledge for dear life. Below are the firemen with their net. Will you let go and fall into the net that will save you? That is all God asks. Merely release your hold on all that keeps you from Him—whether that is your desire to run your own life, your good works, whatever it is—and fall into the net of salvation, into the waiting arms of the Savior. Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away."
II. WHO MAY COME TO JESUS? The answer is: ANYONE.
Even if you are a great sinner, you may come. The Bible tells us that Jesus did not come to call the righteous "but sinners to repentance."
A man came to evangelist D. L. Moody, feeling that his life was so messed up that not even God could help him. Moody quoted John 6:37: "Whoever come to me I will never drive away." The man said, "But brother Moody, I am an alcoholic." Moody replied, "It does not say, ‘Whoever comes to Me who is not an alcoholic I will never drive away." The man said, "But I have abandoned my wife and my children." "That is a terrible thing," said Moody, "but it does not say, ‘Whoever comes to Me who has not abandoned wife and children I will never drive away." The man said, "But I have stolen; I have been in jail." "Still," said Moody, "it does not say, ‘Whoever comes to Me who has never stolen, who has never been in jail, I will never drive away.’ It merely says, ‘WHOEVER comes to me I will never drive away.’" The man was convinced and later saved.
At 17, W. F. Thompson joined the Marines and emerged from boot camp a savage fighter who craved blood. "In combat, I enjoyed killing," he recalled, "especially with a bayonet." After the war, Thompson moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he went into business. One Friday a man entered his office and, brandishing a gun, demanded money from the firm’s safe. Thompson pursued the man from the building and down the street, but the gunman turned and fired, striking Thompson in the chest and arm. Thompson clung to life through the weekend, but on Monday the doctors urged his wife to call the undertaker. Thompson clung to life and at length opened his eyes and glanced around the room. He spied a Gideon Bible open on the bedside table. Reaching over with a groan, he closed it and sank back into a deep sleep. The next time he opened his eyes he saw the New Testament opened. He managed to slam it shut. When his eyes opened the third time, the book was open again. Summoning his strength, he seized it with his good arm to hurl it across the room. But as the Bible hovered above his head, its pages opened to John 6, and the words of verse 37 hit him like a hail of bullets: "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away." Thompson survived the shooting, trusted in Christ, and became a preacher. He shared this text when he preached his first sermon.
The Bible is full of accounts of people who were rejected by those around them, but accepted by Jesus. And He still accepted all who come to Him.
• Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman government. His people considered him a traitor. He was despised, but Jesus came to him, loved him, received him, and made him a new person.
• Blind Bartimaus pleaded for healing from Jesus. The crowd told him to keep quiet, but Jesus heard his voice.
• A demon-possessed woman named Mary Magdalene was scorned by her own people, but Jesus made her into a new person.
III. WHEN MAY ANYONE COME TO JESUS? The answer is: AT ANY TIME.
Spurgeon once wrote, "Oh, my dear hearers, come to Jesus! Come in the morning when the dew is on your branch, for he will not cast you out. Come in the heat of noon, when the drought of care parches you, and he will not cast you out. Come when the shadows have grown long, and the darkness of the night is gathering about you, for he will not cast you out. The door is not shut; for the gate of mercy closes not so long as the gate of life is open."
WILL YOU COME TO JESUS? The time is now; the place is wherever you find yourself at this moment.
Charlotte Elliott of Brighton, England, was an embittered invalid. Hoping to help her, a Swiss minister, Dr. Cesar Malan, visited her. Over dinner, Charlotte lost her temper and railed against God. Her family left the room, and Dr. Malan, alone with her, stared at her across the table, saying, "You are tired of yourself, aren’t you?" "What is your cure?" asked Charlotte. "The faith you are trying to despise," he answered. As they talked, Charlotte softened. "If I wanted to become a Christian and to share the peace and joy you possess," she asked, "what would I do? "You would give yourself to God just as you are now." Charlotte did come just as she was. Her heart was changed that day. As time passed, she found and claimed John 6:37 as a special verse for her. Charlotte later wrote a poem which was sold across England in a leaflet that was headlined with John 6:37. Underneath was Charlotte’s poem, which became the famous invitational hymn: "Just As I Am."
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Let’s pretend that I announced this morning, "Whosoever would like to come to my house after the service for dinner may do so." Let’s say you decided to come, and I met you at my door and asked, "What are you doing here?" You would say, "I thought you said that whosoever wanted to come to your house was welcome?" And you would be right. My invitation was directed to "whosoever."
"WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).
"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" (Rev. 22:17). "Whosoever will"—that is an open invitation to all. Whosoever will may come.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ... how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37). Is Jesus weeping tonight for someone here? The words "Ye would not" are three of the saddest words in the entire Bible.
While Andrew Jackson was President of the United States, a man was condemned to die. President Jackson offered to pardon him, but the condemned man refused the pardon. Prison authorities, the Attorney General, and others tried to convince the man to accept the pardon, but he would not. The Attorney General consulted the Supreme Court, asking if legal authorities could force the man to receive the pardon. The court ruled that the pardon was merely a printed statement until the man accepted it. If he rejected the pardon, it remained printed matter, and he would not be saved from death.
Jesus has said, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." He has offered every person salvation. But His offer does nothing for us until we accept it.
CONCLUSION
The treasure of this community is the Miramichi River. People from all over the world come here to enjoy our river, especially to fish for its famous salmon. Yet for all its importance, the Miramichi River is free and abundant to anyone who finds himself by its banks. Any deer, any dog, any person can drink of its water and drink all he desires. So, too, with the grace of God. The river of God’s grace is freely flowing. All may drink it. Will you drink? You need only stoop down and scoop it up.
If you have never trusted Christ as Savior, at this very moment He is saying to you, "Come to me."
WHOEVER COMES TO JESUS HE WILL NEVER DRIVE AWAY.
