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Coming to Jesus
Things we may have been counting on, can be taken away from us in a moment we could never have anticipated. There are many things we are forced to place a measure of confidence in, just to be able to function - even though we realize that they are by no means completely reliable.
Even the most reliable sources we count on for daily living, are in no way reliable enough to provide the assurance we need when it comes time to face the transition from this life to the next. In facing death, we need a certainty that transcends even the most reliable people and institutions this world has to offer. Even the best of people and organizations fail - and sometimes, just when we need them most. In confronting death, we need more than a good bet, a low-risk strategy, or even a religious sincerity. Sadly, many people are not able to face death with a steadfast and legitimate certainty. Many have embraced the common assumption that when they, or their loved ones die - they will surely be in a better place. The question is - whether or not this assumption is legitimate. How can we know for certain that we will go to heaven when we die? Upon what basis or authority, can such critical assurance be reliably founded? Can we have a steadfast certainty in relation to what comes after death? We need genuine assurance, concerning the final outcome of our eternal soul. Jesus of Nazareth spoke with Divine authority concerning the very real possibility for sinners to be able to face death with a steadfast - and even joyful - certainty. In His resurrection from the dead, He verified with absolute certainty that the things He promised can be counted on, beyond the shadow of a doubt. The day after Jesus' miraculous provision in the feeding of the 5,000, He spoke words that provide for us a blessed and confident expectation we can count on to the end of time, and the eternal ages beyond.
Jesus had spoken earlier of the fact that the Father had given Him authority to execute judgement on the final day. He made it clear that the only way to avoid the coming judgement is to believe in Him - to come to Jesus. In a statement just previous to this one, Jesus made it clear that believing in Him and coming to Him describe the same reality. These are fairly familiar statements to may people, and surely simple enough, but we need to be clear about the Lord's meaning. What does it mean to believe in Jesus - to come to Him?
This is an extremely important matter, so we need to be very clear about what the Lord's statement means. Reliable clarity is only possible in the overall and consistent context of the whole of God's Word. The first thing to notice is the need to 'come'. Jesus is clearly implying that we are not where we need to be - not in a good place, not in the right place - and so we need to 'come' to Him. So where is it that we come from? This is a simple concept, but so very important. It is critical that we do not miss it in a hasty presumption. This is a point that is very easy to miss. It is easy to miss because our perspective is deficient and distorted. It is easy to miss because it is hard to accept.
We see ourselves as we want to see ourselves - God sees us as we really are. God says that all have sinned, and this is not just a description of mankind in general. We all tend to group people into different levels of moral standing, but we rarely see ourselves as being part of the really bad group. The way God sees it, we are all hopeless sinners - there are no exceptions - not even one. The way God sees things is what really counts.
All sin - every sin - is serious to God.
The reign of death in this world is the direct result of sin.
Our sinfulness has alienated us from God, and made us hostile toward Him.
If we don't understand, or refuse to accept God's assessment of our actual condition, we will not come to Jesus in the way Jesus is speaking of here. When Jesus speaks of our coming to Him, it is coming from a personal recognition of our desperate need. Those who do not see the seriousness of their own plight, will never come to Jesus in a saving faith.
We may come to church, we may come to religion, we may come to Christianity, we may even come to an acknowledgment of certain important facts about Christ. But we will never come to Jesus until we come to the end of ourselves. We cannot come to Jesus until we see our desperate neediness. When Jesus makes the offer for us to come to Him, He is speaking to those who see themselves as He sees us.
If we are coming to Jesus in anticipation of His meeting our greatest need, it is imperative that we are clear about what our greatest need really is. It is crucial that we see the need to come - that we come from the place of seeing ourselves as helpless sinners, in desperate need of deliverance.
Secondly, we need to be clear about what it is we are coming to Jesus for. What are we coming to receive, what do we perceive that we need from Jesus? What do we anticipate Him providing? The invitation from Christ is direct, it is clear and concise - and yet it is often misunderstood. It is not misunderstood for lack of clarity, for ambiguity, or burdensome complexity. It is not because Jesus is being elusive or purposefully unclear in His wording. The problem comes from a preconceived bias that is so pervasive in every one of us. As we have already seen, there is the danger of completely missing the hopelessness of our personal plight. If we are not aware of our desperate need, then what we are looking for from Jesus will totally miss the point of His invitation, and will be completely inadequate to meet the real need of our soul. There are many things people come to Jesus for, that fall far short of what Jesus is offering. Some people come to Jesus hoping to find a way to live a better life - from a material and self-serving perspective. That is not what Jesus is talking about. The life that Jesus offers is indeed far better - but it is better on a much higher plane than the physical - it includes every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Some people come to Jesus hoping to become more successful and prosperous. Jesus clearly warned about this kind of misunderstanding.
Other people come to Jesus looking for a way to avoid the consequences of sin. It may be anything from physical, e motional, social, or even psychological consequences. Sometimes a person comes to Jesus looking to get rid of their guilt, their depression, their anger, their feeling of unworthiness or futility. There are those who come to Jesus for help in mastering a particular area of weakness. They may be generally satisfied with their lives, except for one or more specific kinds of sin that are interfering with their health and happiness.
There is a real sense in which many of these things are dealt with, in coming to Jesus - but only as a result of coming to Him for something more fundamental. When Jesus speaks of our coming to Him, He is speaking of our coming to Him for forgiveness, deliverance, and cleansing from our sin. He is speaking of our bowing in submission before the Lord of glory, turning away from our rebellion, and putting our trust in God's Christ to save us from our sin. We come to be delivered from sin's power, sin's eternal consequences, and eventually from sin's very presence - in heaven. When we come to Jesus for relief from the shame or consequences of only the sins we find to be personally disgraceful or debilitating, we are not accepting the Lord's invitation. Coming to Jesus is a matter of desiring to be free - not only of eternal consequences, or of certain sins we find to be especially distasteful - but of sin's power over us. It is a desire to be free from the enslaving domination of sin and self. This is what Jesus offers to us - no matter how bad our sin may be.
When we consider what it is that Jesus is offering to those who come to Him, we need to be careful to recognize the sheer wonder of eternal God coming into this sin-cursed world as a man, We must not be complacent to the amazing reality of the incarnation. The Son of God setting aside - for a time - the fullness of His Divine glory. The One, who from eternity, is infinitely pure and holy - came down to earth, to be made in the likeness of sinful flesh. Contemplate the unthinkable - the Son of God willingly offering Himself to be put to a shameful and agonizing death on a Roman cross. Whatever it was that demanded so great a Divine condescension and sacrifice - surely it had to be of infinitely greater significance than to merely help us gain the mastery over some shameful and temporal deficiencies. Surely Jesus endured the unimaginable for more than the mere satisfying of our own personal longings during our brief time on this earth.
There is one last thing to examine in the Lord's invitation to sinners. It is the question of How we come to Jesus. What has been discussed to this point is of no real value apart from this final inquiry. It is not enough to know where we are coming from, when we come to Jesus. It is not enough to know what it is we come to Him for. There is the all-important matter of How. We have already touched on this, but need to focus on it more directly. Here again, there are many distractions and distortions that keep people from truly coming to Jesus. There is a strong tendency for us to formulate a means of coming to Jesus that satisfies our own logic and ego. It is quite common for people to attempt to come to Jesus through various means of establishing personal merit before God. It may be by religious affiliations and formalities. It may be by the accumulating of good deeds. Some people are counting on their perception that they have never done anything bad enough to cause a loving God to punish them forever in hell. Others are counting on the fact that they have had a positive response to the preaching of the gospel, to one extent or another. God has made it very clear that there is no way for us to obtain saving merit before Him of our own doing. God does not save us on the basis of how good we have been - or tried to be.
This is as it must be. If eternal salvation is not a free gift of God's grace, to me the sinner, then there is no hope whatsoever - I am in no position to save myself.
On the basis of our works, God condemns us. At the final judgment, God will condemn everyone He evaluates on the basis of their works (Revelation 20:11-15)
This will be true for even the most sincerely religious people. Concerning the most religious and well respected people of His day, Jesus made this solemn statement;
In the end, those who attempt to come to Jesus through any merit or effort of their own, have not properly understood the true nature of our plight before God. There is only one way a sinner can come to Jesus in such a way as to be fully accepted by God. There is only one way to be fully justified in having a complete confidence in the promise Jesus makes to sinners of full forgiveness, and eternal life.
It is through faith. The one who comes to Jesus for eternal salvation, is the one who comes with nothing but a genuine and exclusive confidence in Jesus Christ as the One who Himself bore our sins on a Roman cross when He suffered and died in our place. We turn from our sin, and put our trust only in Jesus as our personal sin-bearer, and therefore, our only steadfast hope in the face of eternity. Jesus explained to Nicodemus the reason He was going to be lifted up on a cross to die for our sins:
The invitation is for all who are willing, in faith, to call upon the Lord.
This is the most blessed assurance any mortal can ever know - it comes from the Son of God Himself.
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"If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."
John 8:31-32
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A Ministry of Free Grace Church
1115 Glenn St. Washington, IL 61571 |