“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” (Jn.6: 44-45). God’s three-part process of drawing people to Him involves: (1) Hearing; (2) Learning; and (3) Coming. There is nothing mystical about it. The Father teaches, people listen, learn, and believe what they have been taught, and they come. It is just that simple!

 

God does not draw people to Himself by overpowering their own free will i.e., God does not irresistibly draw men to Himself. Thus, Calvinism’s doctrine of “irresistible grace,” that overwhelms or supersedes the individual’s volition is false. One does not come to God by a “direct operation of the Holy Spirit” that intrudes into the human heart. 

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The Bible clearly teaches that man plays a part in his own salvation. By this I mean, God has given man free will; a person can choose whether he will or will not come to God. Jesus invites all to come to Him (Matt. 11: 28). He wants all to come to Him and be saved (1 Tim. 2: 4), and those who do come to Him are those who “willingly” respond to the call of the gospel (2 Thess. 2: 14). Thus, the Father draws people by His loving appeal through the gospel message which is embodied in Jesus Christ (Jn. 14: 6). That is why the gospel of Christ is said to be the “power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1: 16). But the gospel is the power of God unto salvation “to everyone that believes,” and that is why we are to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16: 15-16). Those who hear, learn, and believe, will obey the gospel (Mk. 16: 16). But all who will not believe, will not come to Jesus in obedience, that they might have life (Jn. 5: 40). What about you, my friend? Think on these things.

 

Dennis Abernathy