“And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
—John v. 40.
THERE were many of the Jews as ye may see from the preceding part of this chapter, that came to Christ in the external ordinances, following the Gospel, and yet the ends they had before them were not good. Therefore He upbraids them with this, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
Now, I would ask you this question, What went you out to see? Came ye out to see a man, “a reed shaken with the wind?” Or came ye out to see a multitude gathered together? Or came ye out to see a ministers’ deportment? Or came ye out to betray us? Well, whatever way, our Lord knows your ends, and the greatest sinner here shall be welcome to come to Jesus Christ. He is saying, “You in the parish of Crawford-John, will ye come unto me? Ye in the parish of Douglas, will ye come unto me? Ye in the parish of Auchinleck, will ye come unto me, that ye may have life?” Now our Lord knows every one of your ends in coming here this day.
In the words read, there are these two things observable :—
First, that there is a great unwillingness to come to Christ: “And ye will not come to me.” There is a great unwillingness in Scotland this day to come to Christ. The king will not come; the council will not come; the prelates will not come; and the indulged with their favour will not come. Christ says they will not come, and the devil says they shall not come.
Secondly. I observe that they that come to Christ get life—that ye might have life. They get a life that is worth the having. We think much of the natural life, but this life will avail us when the other is gone.
Now, in speaking unto the first of these observations, I shall :
I.—Show you that there is a great unwillingness in sinners to come to Christ.
II.—I shall show you how it is that sinners are so unwilling to come to Christ.
III.—I shall make some short application of the doctrine. And,
I.—I return unto the first of these, to show that there is a great unwillingness in sinners to come to Jesus Christ, and to make out that ye may say what is it to come to Christ? Now (as I was hinting at it in the lecture) as to coming unto Christ, if He were coming in pomp or grandeur as a king in bodily shape, we would stoop down and take Him by the hand, and put Him in our bosom. Come, then! Oh, will ye come in a believing way to Him? In a word, will ye believe the doctrine? It is more plainly to believe, and rest “upon Him as He is offered to you in the Gospel.” I know well, they are great fools that will not set their seal to what our Lord here says: “How long shall I stretch out my hand to a gainsaying people? How long shall I say unto you, Behold me! behold me!” Many a time ye have been called upon at preaching days and fast days; but are there not many of you as ignorant as those that never heard of Him? In clearing of which I shall offer you these few particulars. And
1. There is a great unwillingness. Consider how great a work it is to bring men to make use of the means, yes, of the outward or external means.
It is true there are very few of the sons of men but make use of some sort or form of worship, but for the powerful and effectual means that God has appointed, it is not easy to bring folk to these; it is not easy to bring people out to hear the persecuted Gospel this day. There are not many free to hear preaching in the open fields. It is not easy to bring folk to read the Word. I know the Bible is a slighted book by many. And
2. There are some that are brought to the use of means; but how unconcerned are they, whether they profit by these means or not!
Folk that give way to sleep, give evidence that they are not much concerned about coming unto Christ. The clapping, or rather raking up, of their eyes, says to me that they are not seriously insisting for a meeting with Christ.
3. It is very hard to convince men of sin.
Many come to hear preaching and read the Bible, but those that are not convinced of sin have never come to Christ. They cannot hear them that are free in telling them their faults. It is true they will hear of sin in general, but how hard is it to get folk to particularise their sins! There is not a man amongst a thousand that will take freely and fully with sin; and to all such our Lord is saying, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.”
4. Let us consider how hard a thing it is to bring a man to grief for and hatred of sin.
Some are brought to ordinances, and some to read the Word, and some even to conviction of sin; but will they quit it? It is true ye may be grieved for sin; but have ye grieved and hated yourself for your sin? Oh, if ye got but a view of the saints on Mount Zion, clothed with righteousness, even that of Christ, and a sight of the terror of God, ye would know that it is a bitter thing to depart from the living God—ye would abhor nothing like sin! Where there is so little hatred of sin it is an evidence that ye will not come to Him who is the propitiation for those that are sick and diseased with sin.
5. Consider how few are prevailed with to resolve and endeavour to forsake sin.
There are many folk will be convinced of sin and grieved for it but they cannot quit it. They are at a stand there. And likewise they will acknowledge the indulgence is a sin, but they must not leave it. It is so sweet a cup ye must not take it from your heads, but ye must drink it if it should be your death. Many have been leprous with that, and they will become loathsome to the people of God. This says that ye are not content to come to Christ, for it is he that forsaketh sin that obtains mercy. But ye that resolve not to quit with all sin ye but deceive yourselves. They that take not Christ to be their Prophet, Priest and King, will but put a cheat upon themselves. There are many that will say that they will take Him in all His three offices, and yet retain secret and public sins; such are a hating and a loathing to themselves. Woe’s me for Scotland this day for its public sins! woe’s me for ministers and professors, that a bad example to poor ignorant people! how few in this generation will go to heaven! And woe’s me to see you a generation of vipers! This was spoken by John Baptist when he saw them coming out unto the ordinances, when they had no mind to quit their old carnal ways. Therefore he says, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” But the man that resolves to come to Christ resolves to quit houses, lands, wife, children, yea, and his own life also, if Christ call for it this day. The days were in this land when men had much zeal for Christ. They thought themselves happy to be zealous for God’s name; and now we have had the same opportunity that our fathers had, who put all in hazard for the doctrine, worship, discipline, and form of government of the House of God. They put themselves into the state of the quarrel to get the Gospel in its purity transmitted to posterity in succeeding generations. But oh, how few men now will quit anything for Christ! Will you not do as much as quit these things? I tell you that ere long you and these things shall be for ever parted asunder.
6. Let us consider that it is a very hard matter to bring people to quit their own righteousness.
Any of you who have seen your own ruined and polluted estate by nature, you run to duties to get some ease; but found ye it? And yet ye have run away to another duty, thinking to find it there. There are many who think that religion consists in setting about duties, and so they have their duties for their Saviour. But I tell you what your duties may do: they may gain you the testimony of ministers and professors, but they will never take you to heaven. They will not take you by the pit of destruction, for many will say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and done many wonderful things?” And He will say, “Depart from me, I know you not.” Many will say, “Have we not preached, have we not heard, and have we not suffered many things in Thy name?” But our Lord will say, “Ye trusted too much to these duties, and never saw your own righteousnesses to be but as filthy rags; ye took Me not for justification, sanctification, righteousness, and all things.” O sirs, beware of your souls, and save yourselves from this untoward generation. If you will not come to Christ we shall be free of your blood, and if ye will perish we shall not perish with you.
II.—We shall show unto you how it is that sinners are so unwilling to come unto Christ. “Ye will not come unto me.”
Firstly. This proceeds or flows from blindness of mind.
The understanding is darkened and the eyes and ears of the soul are stopped. Indeed there fell a strange darkness upon man immediately after the fall, so that man doth not see since that time, for the mind, the will, the understanding, the conscience, and all is gone wrong. Man then became a deaf, blind, frail creature; hence the cross of Christ is burdensome unto him, and he sits the call, and lets Christ stand still knocking at the door of the heart, until “his head be wet with the dew, and his locks with the drops of the night.”
Secondly. It flows from the stubbornness of the will.
Sometimes the mind may be enlightened, but the devil draws back the will again. The Lord tells the man that he must quit his sins, but the devil says, “Hath God said ye shall die? Ye shall not surely die.” Oh, knew ye ever what it was to have the Lord, as it were, drawing at the one arm, and the devil drawing at the other, so that ye were like to be rent in pieces betwixt the two? The man that hath come to Christ hath been thus racked between the flesh and the spirit; but I trow “the strong man keeps the house,” and he will be saying, “I will go out of the man to-day, but I will leave somewhat, for I will return unto my house again,” and when he comes he brings seven other spirits worse than himself. Oh, that our Lord would come this day and knock at the door of your hearts. But the devil perhaps may say, “You and I shall not part so soon.” But when Christ gives an irresistible knock he must come out by authority; He can command him immediately to come forth.
Thirdly. This unwillingness to come to Christ flows from the affections and desires that are all wrong directed.
Oh, it is much to get a man’s affections off the world! We may say to you as David said, “How long will ye love vanity and seek after easing. Selah?” How long will ye love the world which promised fair things, but payeth or performeth nothing but troubles and vexation of spirit?
(To be continued.)