THE CERTAINTY AND FREENESS OF DIVINE GRACE – Charles Spurgeon
The Certainty and Freeness of Divine Grace
Introduction: Truth and Grace in Christ’s Words
“All who the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and he who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)
Let it be forevermore remembered that the words of Jesus Christ are full of truth and grace; and in each of these two sentences, whether we perceive the fact or not, there is the surest truth and the freest grace. There will be some, who, from the peculiarity of their minds, will prize most the first sentence. They will say, as they read these words, “All who the Father gives Me shall come to Me,” why, here is high doctrine! Here is the security of the covenant, the purpose of God effectually carried out; here is the truth of God which we love and the grace in which we glory.
Other brethren, overlookIng the first sentence, lest it should raise questions too hard to be answered, will rather grasp at the second sentence, “He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” “Why,” they say, “here is universality of description! Here is a freeness of invitation; here is a gracious overflow of generosity—this is good free gospel, indeed,” and they will, therefore, fall to proclaiming the second sentence to the neglect of the first.
But, beloved, let us not sin by setting one Scripture against another, or attempting to divide the living child of revelation. It is one, and it is alike glorious in all its parts. You who love to hear the gospel preached to sinners, do not be afraid of the doctrines of sovereign grace; and you who love sovereign grace, but cannot well hear doctrine too high for your taste, do not be afraid of the free invitations of the gospel, and the wide door which Jesus opens for needy sinners in many passages of Scripture. Let us receive all truth, and let us be willing to learn every lesson which the Lord has written, remembering that if we cannot as yet reconcile truths of God, there is the promise—”What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter.
If we could know everything, we would be gods! Being mortals, some things must be unknown to us; let us know our ignorance, and despair of becoming infallible, and thus we shall be in the path to true wisdom; whereas, if we boast of our wisdom, we shall be on the high road to great folly.
Let us consider the text carefully, and as it divides into two branches, let us view them one by one. Here we have grace and truth triumphant in specialty; and, secondly, we have grace and truth triumphant in generosity. May God help us to handle these, that much instruction may flow from them.
I. Grace Triumphant in Specialty
In the first sentence, we have Grace Triumphant in Specialty—”All who the Father gives Me shall come to Me.”
I would bring out the meaning of this passage by a few observations.
- The Sovereignty of the Father in Election
You perceive here that the Lord Jesus leads us up to the original position of all things—for since a people were given to Him by the Father, it is clear that they must first have been in the Father’s hands. All men, then, are naturally, from the beginning, in the hands of the Father; and so it should be, for He has fashioned them all, and made them for His pleasure. God, absolutely considered, created all things, and His kingdom rules over all. Having a right to make laws, to issue rewards, or to threaten with punishments at His own pleasure, Jehovah sits upon His throne, judging rightly.
The elect were especially in the hands of the Father, for He had chosen them. The choice is always described as being with the Father—“I thank You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Your sight.”
They belong to the Father, then, as Creator, as Governor, and as the source and fountain of election. How often do believers forget the part which the Father has in their salvation; and yet He is the basis and prompter of it all. Remember, beloved, that He who first of all chose you, was no other than our Father who is in heaven; and though our Lord Jesus Christ undertook your cause, yet it was because the Father, first of all, out of His great love, gave you to His Son. Forget not the Father’s grace, and cease not to sing of His love—
“’Twas with an everlasting love
That God His own elect embraced;
Before He made the worlds above,
Or earth on her huge columns placed.
Long before the sun’s shining ray
Primeval shades of darkness drove,
They on His sacred bosom lay,
Loved with an everlasting love.”
- The Father’s Gift to the Son
The Savior then proceeds to inform us of a great transaction. He says that the Father gave His people to the Son, and put them into the hands of Christ—the God-Man Mediator. As Jesus is God, these people always were His own; but as Mediator, He received them from the hands of the Father.
Here was the Father’s condescension in noticing us at all, and in bestowing us upon the Son—here was the Son’s infinite mercy and compassion, in accepting such poor souls as we are at the Father’s hands, and counting us to be His precious jewels, His peculiar portion.
The persons referred to as being given by the Father are not all men; although, it is true, that the Father has delivered all things into Jesus’ hands, and He has power over all flesh. We must always interpret one passage of Scripture by another; and the 39th verse of this chapter very clearly interprets the 37th—“And this is the Father’s will which has sent Me, that of all which He has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”
The given ones, it is clear, are by appointment delivered from being lost, and appointed to a glorious resurrection which is not true of any but the chosen.
The Gift of the Elect
In the 10th chapter, we find the same explained thus in the 27th verse—“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hands. My Father, which gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hands.”
So you see that the persons given were His own sheep; they are brought to know the voice of the Good Shepherd, and to follow Him; they are in His hands, and there they are safely kept beyond all fear of harm; Jesus manifests the Father’s name unto them, and they learn to keep the Father’s word.
This does not respect any gift of all men which the Father has made to the Son—though, in a certain sense, all men have been given to Christ in order that they may be the unconscious instruments of His glory, though not saved by His redemption. They are, even as His enemies, compelled to do His pleasure, though they shall never be lifted up to the adoption of children, nor to the dignity of being brethren of the Lord.
A Past and Present Gift
We see, then, that there was a certain period when the eternal God gave into the hands of the Mediator a multitude which no man can number, whom He had chosen from among men to be His choice and peculiar treasure. The text speaks in the present tense; but then the 38th verse speaks in the past tense; and the passages we have been reading to you, all have it in the past—therefore, understand that the gift of the elect to Christ was performed in the past—before the skies were stretched abroad, or the mountains lifted their heads to the clouds, God had given a people to Christ.
But the deed may well be said to be performed in the present, since with God there is no time, and what He did yesterday, He does today, and will do forever. Moreover, in a certain sense, Christ receives from His Father’s hands His people in time as well as in eternity—the Father giving, by effectual calling in time, the very people whom once He gave in secret covenant in eternity.
We are, by the words of our text, admitted into one of the secrets of the divine council chamber, and rejoice as we perceive that the chosen ones belonging to the Father were transferred by Him into the hands of the Mediator.
Your candle may be little more than a snuff, but He will not quench it; or it may be but newly lit—He will accept either. The full-blown rose, or the flower in the bud, shall alike be received by His gracious hand. Some came to Jesus when He was on earth—He did not cast them out; a long file of sinners saved by grace has been streaming up from the cross to the throne ever since then, and not one of them has ever been rejected. We have fallen upon 1864, and the year is almost spent. Yet, think not that we have come to the dregs of Christ’s mercy; do not imagine that, because time grows old, Christ’s love grows decrepit. Ah, no, He will not cast us out in 1864, any more than He did the thief who looked to Him upon the cross, and found mercy that day!
What a blessed thing it is that there is no limit as to time! I was remarking to myself the other day that most of the conversions which occur in our place of worship are among new people—persons who come in once or twice, and perhaps, before they have heard a dozen sermons, God blesses them; while those who have been hearing us for seven or eight years are not converted in anything like the same proportion. It is a very sad reflection, but still I couple with it this thought—“Well, if they have not come yet, still it is not too late; if they have been invited to come for seven, eight, nine, ten, twenty years—and oh, there are some of you who have heard the gospel ever since you were children—yet it does not say that you shall be shut out because you come so late, but ‘He who comes!’
You may have turned a deaf ear until you are now growing gray; you may have despised Christ times without number; He waited to be gracious; with outstretched arms, He bade His minister woo you to come to Him, but you would not come. But still, if now, by grace, you are led to come, He will not cast you out. At the last moment of life, if you come, He will not cast you out. And now, this morning—God make it an auspicious hour to you—come and try Him this hour. It is just 20 minutes past noon, but you will find if you come, that He will not cast you out, for the gates of the city of mercy are never shut!
I. The Promise of Eternal Acceptance
Further, notice that there is no limit as to the duration of the promise. I mean, He does not merely say, “I will not cast you out when you have come,” but, “I will never cast you out.” The original reads, “I will not, not cast you out,” or, “I will never, never cast you out.” The text means that Christ will not at first reject a believer; and that as He will not do it at first, so He will not to the last. If I come to Christ today, He will accept me; and He accepts me in that act forever—He will never cast me out!
Suppose the believer sins after coming? “If any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Suppose that believer backslides? “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for My anger is turned away from him.” But believers may fall under temptation. “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
But the believer may fall into sin, as David did. Yes, but He will “purge them with hyssop, and they shall be clean: He will wash them and they shall be whiter than snow.” From all their iniquities will He cleanse them— “Once in Christ, in Christ forever, Nothing from His love can sever,” and that doctrine this text teaches most expressly—“He who comes to Me I will never, never cast out.”
He will never allow one who has once been grasped in His hands to be wrested from them. No member of Christ’s body can ever be cut off, or else Christ would be mutilated. No sheep of His flock shall ever be torn by the lion—He will rend the lion, and, as David did, He will take the lamb out of the jaws of the lion, and out of the paws of the bear. “I give unto My sheep,” says He, “eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hands.”
What do you say to this, sinner? Is not this a precious mercy, that if you come to Christ you do not come to one who will treat you well a month or two and then send you packing about your business, but will receive you and make you His child, and you shall abide forever, no longer receiving the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby you shall cry, Abba, Father?
Oh, the grace of this passage! Would that I had an angel’s tongue to set it forth!
II. The Certainty of Christ’s Promise
Still, we have not exhausted it. Something of the generosity of this passage is to be found in its certainty. “He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” It is not a hope as to whether Christ will accept you—it is a certainty.
Oh, if there were only half a shadow of a hope that the Lord Jesus would have mercy upon such a poor worm as I am, would I not go into His presence hoping against hope? If it were a case of sink or swim, yet, since I could lose nothing by trusting Him, I would gladly do it, as the hymn puts it—
“I can but perish if I go;
I am resolved to try!
For if I stay away, I know
I must forever die.”
But, dear friends, we must not put it in that way, or at least, only for the sake of bringing out a thought, for there is no “but” about it. You cannot perish if you go! O, try at once and you will find that he who comes, in no wise can be cast out!
We sometimes sing—
“Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude,”
but there is no venture in the case—it is an absolute certainty! Merchants will often speculate at a high figure; but there is no speculation here. We drink the medicine which the physician gives us in the hope that it may cure, but this will cure; here is water that will quench your thirst; here is a balm that will heal your wounds—“He who comes” He will receive, “He will in no wise cast out.”
What a hammer that word “no wise” is with which to smash your fears to pieces. “Perhaps,” says one, “He will reject me because I do not repent enough”—“in no wise.” “Perhaps He will reject me because I have been so long coming”—“in no wise.” “But He will reject me because I do not pray aright”—“in no wise.”
You cannot mention any shape or form of a fear which this does not slay upon the spot—“I will in no wise cast out.”
I say again, I wish I had an angel’s tongue to put the generosity of this before you. The devil, I know, will be suggesting 20 reasons why you should not come—let this one reason why you should come, be enough to answer all of his—that Jesus says, “I will in no wise cast out him who comes.”
III. The Personal Invitation
I must conclude by observing that there is great generosity in the text if you notice its personality. Reading over this verse carefully, I observed that in the first sentence, where everything was special, Jesus used a large word, and He said, “All who the Father gives Me shall come,” but in the second sentence, which is general, He uses a little word, a word which can mean only one, and He says “he.”
There is a personality here—“He who comes.” It does not say they who come, but “He who comes.” Why? Why, because sinners need personal comfort; they need something that will suit their case. Do you see, sinner, He does not take men in the lump, but He picks you out as if you were the only sinner in the world; He says to you, “He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.”
Had He put it in the plural, you might say, “Ah, but He did not think of me.” But now, He has put it so that it just fits your case. This is no medicine in the bottle of which many may drink, but here is a glass set for you! It is not a cordial which may be passed round the table, but it is put at your place. Drink and be satisfied—“He who comes.”
Lord, does “he” mean me?” Yes, it means you, if you will come. Come now; put your trust in Jesus. What do you say? I hope the Spirit is speaking to you in these words of mine; and if He speaks to you as I speak to you, then shall it be well with you. Sinner, come! There is a dying Savior; He died in the place of sinners. In the place of what sinners? Why, of all sinners who trust Him!
Will you trust Him? Is it a hard thing to trust God to save you? To trust God who became Man, and so proved His love to you? To trust Him? “Why,” says one, “that is simple enough.” And that is all the plan of salvation!
When I am preaching from such a text as this, I feel as if I have no scope for metaphors, and figures, and illustrations—I do not need any—because this saving truth of God must always be proclaimed as plainly as possible; and then if souls are saved by it, it is not the excellency of words, but the truth itself which shall get the honor.
Now, do you see it, soul? If you do, I am content—if you trust Christ to save you, you shall not be cast out. You have come to Him! Your coming to Him proves that the Father gave you to Him. You are saved! You are one of His chosen! You shall never be cast out! Your heaven is secure; you shall sit at the right hand of God, and sing the new song, as surely as they do now, who, whiterobed, are singing the Redeemer’s praise.
This is not an affair of months and weeks, is it? It does not need a moment. To look is the work of an instant. And the moment that faith is exercised, perfect pardon is given; there is no sin in God’s Book against a soul who trusts Christ, and there never can be—
“There’s pardon for transgressions past,
It matters not how black their cast!
And, O my soul, with wonder view,
For sins to come, here’s pardon too.”
What? Are there none who will accept this? Are there none here who say, “I will trust my soul in Jesus’ hands”? What? Will you build on your own righteousness? Ah, fools! To pile up the sand which the next tide must sweep away! What? Do you despise the mercy of my God? Will you turn away from the bleeding wounds of His own dear Son? What? Is forgiveness not worth your having? Is God’s free mercy a thing to be scoffed at?
O heavens, hear and be astonished! O earth, hear and be amazed! God sends the gospel unto men, but they refuse it! That gospel says unto them, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” But though God calls, they refuse and will have none of His Words!
May His mighty Spirit come and make a difference in some of you, and bring you now to the foot of the Savior’s cross to look up! Do nothing else but look up; and looking there, you shall never perish, but have eternal life! May the Master bless these words, feeble of themselves, and only mighty because of the truth they convey, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.