The Father Draws Us
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…" - (Jn. 6:44, NASB)
Jesus tells us plainly here in John's gospel account that, unless God the Father draws them, a lost person cannot come to Christ. The Greek word used here is helkyō*, and it means to drag away. As I think about that, the visual picture I get is of a parent walking into an ungodly location, grabbing their child's shirt collar, and "leading" them out into safety. The child, at that age, could most certainly resist and overpower their parent, but dare not because of the parent's authority and the repercussions that would follow.
In Christianity today, there is a thrust to make the gospel more "friendly" to the lost. In an effort to become more relevant we refer to sinners as "pre-Christians", substitute "lectures" for sermons, promote "life principles" instead of sin & judgment, mercy & grace, salvation & holiness, and encourage "personal growth" rather than reliance on the Holy Spirit. However, all these are worthless unless the Father draws the lost to Christ. Despite evidence to the contrary, we cannot lead a person to Christ ahead of God's timing. Throughout the years, the church has tried to encourage, convince, scare, coax, bribe, guilt, strong-arm, entrap, and threaten sinners into coming to Jesus. If these do generate any results they are short-lived or spiritually vacant. Sin is not an intellectual, emotional, or financial issue, it is a spiritual issue. Those who are lost in sin are blinded by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:3-4), and nothing short of spiritual intervention will change their course of life.
Peter reminds us that God does not want anyone to die apart from Him (2 Pet. 3:9). However, He is patient in saving men's souls. We want to see God save that family member, neighbor, or friend today, not next week, and I fully agree. But, the LORD has a plan that is beyond what we can see with our limited vision. The best approach that we can take in winning the lost to Christ, is to pray that God will draw them to Jesus. Most people, until it cost them, will not want to leave their sinful ways, for it is just too much fun. As we pray for them, and ask the Father to "bring them in," we are working hand-in-hand with God, for He wants them saved also. You cannot alter a spiritual matter through physical means. The spiritual must be met with the spiritual.
James Strong, Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary, (Austin, TX: WORDsearch Corp., 2007), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "1670".
Jesus tells us plainly here in John's gospel account that, unless God the Father draws them, a lost person cannot come to Christ. The Greek word used here is helkyō*, and it means to drag away. As I think about that, the visual picture I get is of a parent walking into an ungodly location, grabbing their child's shirt collar, and "leading" them out into safety. The child, at that age, could most certainly resist and overpower their parent, but dare not because of the parent's authority and the repercussions that would follow.
In Christianity today, there is a thrust to make the gospel more "friendly" to the lost. In an effort to become more relevant we refer to sinners as "pre-Christians", substitute "lectures" for sermons, promote "life principles" instead of sin & judgment, mercy & grace, salvation & holiness, and encourage "personal growth" rather than reliance on the Holy Spirit. However, all these are worthless unless the Father draws the lost to Christ. Despite evidence to the contrary, we cannot lead a person to Christ ahead of God's timing. Throughout the years, the church has tried to encourage, convince, scare, coax, bribe, guilt, strong-arm, entrap, and threaten sinners into coming to Jesus. If these do generate any results they are short-lived or spiritually vacant. Sin is not an intellectual, emotional, or financial issue, it is a spiritual issue. Those who are lost in sin are blinded by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:3-4), and nothing short of spiritual intervention will change their course of life.
Peter reminds us that God does not want anyone to die apart from Him (2 Pet. 3:9). However, He is patient in saving men's souls. We want to see God save that family member, neighbor, or friend today, not next week, and I fully agree. But, the LORD has a plan that is beyond what we can see with our limited vision. The best approach that we can take in winning the lost to Christ, is to pray that God will draw them to Jesus. Most people, until it cost them, will not want to leave their sinful ways, for it is just too much fun. As we pray for them, and ask the Father to "bring them in," we are working hand-in-hand with God, for He wants them saved also. You cannot alter a spiritual matter through physical means. The spiritual must be met with the spiritual.
James Strong, Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary, (Austin, TX: WORDsearch Corp., 2007), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "1670".
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