In the Gospel of John chapter six Jesus makes a stunning statement to those listening: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (v. 44).   Most of those listening to Him are Jewish in background and they are attempting to figure out exactly who He is.  The previous day Jesus had just fed over 5,000 people, if you include women and children, and the mass of people are following Him not because they saw miracles but that their stomachs were filled by Him.

Back in verse 40 He tells the crowd this truth: “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”  And before that Jesus tells those listening: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.”  All three references so far have been all about God drawing people to see that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the Jewish nation and not only that, but the Savior of the world!

Notice that the way to follow Jesus is not by human coercion, but by a divine intervention of believing or having faith or trusting Jesus Christ for eternal life and heaven.  And this is a heavenly gift as Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus: “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  And this is a result of God’s kindness to us for Paul records in his letter to the Church at Rome; “…God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance…”

God does not force anyone to become a follower of His Son Jesus but by gentle reminders of His concern for those He created.  In the very first part of John 8:1-11 we see this gentle Jesus confronting both the judgmental and the judged.  The woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus so that the religious elite of His day could see what kind of judgment He would render.  They thought they had Him cornered and that their written law would force Him to see from their point of view.  But Jesus corners and startles them by saying; “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”  None of them could honestly throw a stone at her and they dropped what they held in their hands and left; only Jesus and the woman were left.  Jesus asks her this question: “Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?  She said, ‘No one Lord.’  And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’”  There is the kindness of God displayed that leads a person to repentance.  The woman received the forgiveness of God.  [A side note here: Where was the man who was part of the “caught in adultery?”]

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  From this most famous verse we see the love of God motivated Him to send Jesus to save us from our sins.  Whoever believes in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins has eternal life and this for those who had no interest at all in following God for themselves.  The book of Romans chapter three tells that there is no one who seeks for God in and of themselves, but it is based out of God’s heart for those He created to bring them back to Himself through His Son Jesus.  In fact Paul writes in verses 23 and 24: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Every person who has lived upon the earth, save the Son of God, Jesus, has sinned.  But when we read verse 24 we see that God declares us not guilty through His unmerited favor and that without a cause and He did it through Jesus Christ.  God bought us back from the evil and hopelessness that the world offers through the precious blood of Jesus.  There was nothing inherently good in us that would gain us favor with God, but it was based out of God’s character that He would buy us back from death and eternal separation from Him in hell.  God desires no one to die and be separated from Him for eternity but would rather have all come to the knowledge of the truth of God through Jesus Christ.

Even though this topic could be many more pages long it would no longer be a blog but a sermon or book.  The main point is that God does not force anyone to follow Him and He does not tells His followers to force anyone to follow Him, more about this next week.  It is God Himself that gently draws a person to come to faith in Him and He does that motivated out of love for His creation and His divine kindness.

So if you have read this far and are not a follower of Jesus take the next step and place your trust in Him for eternal life.  In fact, if you are still reading it is God that has drawn you this far and now freely receive His gift of eternal life in believing what Jesus Christ did on the cross on your behalf.

Thanks to our Guest Contributor:

Pastor Ray Peters

Harvest Alliance Church

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