Why You Must Come to Jesus
Jesus commands His sheep, “Come to Me…” (Mt 11:28). Disobedience is not an option for the slave of Christ (Eph 6:6), but the Father draws His beloved people to Christ by His kindness. Theologians refer to this work of God as “irresistible grace.” It is the best thing ever…to come to Jesus.
The grace of God is what saves elect sinners (Eph 2:8–9). God has done everything required to secure them for eternity (Titus 3:5). As Noah prepared the ark over a long period of time (Gen 6–9), so Jesus is the ark of our salvation. The gathering-in of the saints to Jesus is the work of God’s Spirit. Just as Noah preached the warning of coming judgment upon the whole world, so the Spirit-filled man of God warns all people everywhere that judgment by fire is coming to the whole of this creation (2 Pet 3:10–12). Here is one reason for you to come to Christ — that you flee from the wrath to come (1 Thess 1:10).
Another reason you must come to Christ, by His grace, is that God has appointed a people to life (Acts 13:48). In other words, He has given a select group of people to His Son, who is the life (Jn 14:6). When the Spirit gives these people the Word of life, they are made alive, spiritually (Jn 6:63; Eph 2:5; Col 2:13). Jesus, the Word of God/Life (Jn 1:1), is received because it is the will of God to have mercy on whom He wills to have mercy (Jn 1:12–13; Rom 9:16).
Vessels of mercy, having been shown mercy instead of wrath, come to be prepared for an eternity of glory (Rom 9:23). This preparation for glory is called “sanctification.” Sanctification is the will of God for the saints, who are commanded to be holy (1 Thess 4:3; 1 Pet 1:15–16). The good news is that the Holy Spirit is the One who works to make a person to be conformed to the image of Jesus, the holy One of God (Rom 8:29; 15:16; 1 Thess 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2). Apart from Christ, one cannot be holy, which is another reason to come to Him.
Without holiness no one can see the Lord (Heb 12:14), but to see Jesus is our salvation. For when we see Jesus, we see the truth that sets us free from bondage to sin, death, Satan, the world, and the fear of judgment. To see Jesus is to see the way that leads to life — new, abundant, and eternal. Jesus referred to Himself as the narrow way to the Father. Many are called to it, but only the few find it. How do they find it? It is the remnant, who are graciously chosen by the Father (Rom 11:5) to be members of Christ’s little flock who belong to Him (1 Cor 3:23), having been bought for a price (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23), the purchase of blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 1:19).
Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22), but by the blood of this better covenant (Heb 7:22), all the sins of those redeemed are forgiven (Mt 26:28; Eph 1:7). Come to Jesus and your debt of sin is cancelled (Col 2:13). If you do not come, you will die in your sins — being void of the Spirit (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9), having no love for God (Jn 5:42), nor any place for His Word (Jn 8:47).
God’s love is perfect, and He pours out His love into the hearts of those born again by the Spirit (Jn 3:1–8; Rom 5:5; 1 Pet 1:3). Love never fails (1 Cor 13:8), and for this reason, it is the greatest thing. It is God’s love that controls the Christian (2 Cor 5:14) — compelling him to return to love Himself — for God is love (1 Jn 4:8). You get love when love is the allure. So, come.
Love also manifests as a fruit of the Spirit, which means God loves His beloved through you, Christian (Gal 5:22). You now love God because He first loved you (1 Jn 4:19). You love your neighbor because love is in you willing and doing His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Thus, the commandments of God are fulfilled in you by God causing you to walk in them (Ezek 36:27). Come to love.
When you come to Christ because you have been effectually called, it is your will to do so under the omnipotent influence of God the Spirit. No man has free will in the sense of autonomy. Even Jesus claimed to always do the will of His Father in heaven (Jn 5:30). He was under the divine influence of Another that we might see and know our rightful place of submission to the will of Another.
Satan deceives humanity with his seductive spirits, provoking all people to sin against God. His influence upon the will of sinners is more powerful than they can resist. It is pure foolishness for a man or a woman to claim to have libertarian free will. When the case for coming to Christ is made, it has these types of compelling reasons that serve as the knowledge of God and of His Christ. Knowing God is the same as what the Bible calls “salvation.”
Knowing the Savior is a good reason to come to Him. Knowing Jesus means one knows Him, personally. In contradistinction, ignorance of Christ is damnation. Jesus Christ, the Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 4:5), will claim not to know many who claimed to have served Him (Mt 7:21–23). If He does not know you, then you can be assured that you do not know Him (the real, biblical Jesus). Only as the Father draws one to come to Jesus (Jn 6:44, 65), that is, to transfer him into the kingdom of God’s Son (Col 1:13), does Jesus’ will to reveal God the Father to that person (Mt 11:27). How do you know when these things are true for you?
As a dead branch is grafted into a living Vine, so it becomes obvious when the life of Christ begins to flow in a new believer in Christ. As the sheep respond to the Shepherd, so it is obvious who is Lord in one’s life. As the adopted child orients herself to the ways and means of her new family, so the born again recognizes her adoption into the family of God, having received the Spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15, 23).
In conclusion, nothing can thwart the salvation of God’s elect (Jn 10:28–29; Rom 8:35–39). They are sure to come to Christ at the appointed time of hearing God’s Word and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:11; Acts 2:38; 10:45, 47), resulting in a faith granted so that the saint knows his true identity (Phil 1:29). He puts on Christ like the clothes he wears, as a life to be recognized by others. They see one who has come to Christ, and he or she is the one who says, “I had no choice. It was God’s will and His work that I must come to Christ. I did come to Christ, and now I am a witness to these very obvious things.”
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
August 16, 2022
