John 6:37

Sermon preached on August 31, 2008 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.cantonnewlife.org/.
One of the things that I love to do when I'm on vacation is to fish. I have a favorite brook that I like to fish in. The reason I like that particular brook is because it's easy to catch fish there. I think I told you the story how last year or the year before when I just started fishing there—I think it was my first cast and right after the cast I discovered that there was something wrong with my reel, the line was all tangled up and I spent about two or three minutes untangling it. When I got it untangled I reeled the line in and there was a nice trout on it. Sometimes it's that easy. It's a brook that my grandfather used to take my brother and I when we were little. It's funny, but my grandfather would never take us to that brook right off—we'd always go to some other bigger brook first. If we didn't have any success at the bigger brooks, then this little brook was our last resort—we knew that we'd always get some fish there. So it really didn't matter if we didn't get any fish during the early part of the day—we'd stop by this brook for the last hour of our fishing day and get our fish to take home. There's one fishing hole of that brook that is firmly etched in my memory. I remember fishing there with my brother and grandfather one day just before dark and with every cast we'd get a bite. We didn't always get the fish, because sometimes they got away—but with every cast we'd get a bite. It was fabulous—one of the most fun times I ever had. As it started to get dark my grandfather told us that it was time to go, as we had about a twenty minute walk through the woods to get back to the car. I remember that both my brother and I kept saying to my grandfather,

"Just one more cast, grandpa."



We must have said that that twenty times because the fish were biting so much we didn't want to leave. We kept delaying and taking cast after cast. It was like that worm was irresistible to the fish. They had to bite at it.

We have something like that in our text—only it's not about getting a bite with every cast—it's about actually catching every fish that should be caught. It's about Jesus getting all that the Father has given Him. In John 6:37-40 Jesus said,

"All that the Father gives me
will come to me,
and whoever comes to me
I will never drive away.
For I have come down from heaven
not to do my will
but to do the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will of him who sent me,
that I shall lose none
of all that he has given me,
but raise them up at the last day."

This is a wonderful and very useful passage for us which can be a great help to us in our daily Christian walk. So let's look at what it teaches us.

The first thing we should see from our text is that

the Father has given certain people to Jesus.

Jesus said,

"All that the Father gives me
will come to meÖ"

Jesus is speaking of His work not in terms of the whole world, or of people in general—but in terms of certain people that the Father had given to Him.

This is not the only place where Jesus spoke this way. In John 10:27-30 He said,

"My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them,
and they follow me.
I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me,
is greater than all;
no one can snatch them
out of my Father's hand."

We see it again in Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17:1-2. Jesus said,

"Father, the time has come.
Glorify your Son,
that your Son may glorify you.
For you granted him authority over all people
that he might give eternal life
to all those you have given him."

Later in that same prayer He said to the Father, (John 17:24)

"Father, I want
those you have given me
to be with me where I am,
and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me
because you loved me
before the creation of the world."

Now it's important that we grasp this fact as there's a misconception common among many today that as far as salvation is concerned that it's all up to men and their decision. They believe that God the Father sent His Son to die for our sins and that Jesus did that and that by doing those things they have basically made salvation possible for all men.

But what Jesus tells us here is something different. He refers to a group that the Father has given to Him and says that every one of those will indeed come to Him. There is no doubt about it. It is something that is guaranteed. It's not ultimately in men's hands—but has been decided by God. John Calvin says of Jesus' words here,

"By these words He means that faith is not at men's disposal, so that this man or that may believe indiscriminately and by chance, but that God elects those who He hands over, as it were, to His Son."



In other words, God's call to those He gave Christ is efficacious. Remember what God said about His Word in Isaiah 55:10-11?

"As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower
and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish
what I desire
and achieve the purpose
for which I sent it."

God's Word accomplishes what God desires. If He wants His word to bring someone to Christ, it accomplishes that purpose. It doesn't fail. God's Word accomplishes the purpose that God intends.

It is obvious that the calling we have here is different than the general call of the gospel that goes out to many people. When the gospel is preached—many hear its call but not everyone responds to it in a positive way. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 22:14 when He said,

"For many are invited,
but few are chosen."

In the Parable of the Sower we see the same thing. Jesus told us about the farmer who went out and sowed his seed. Some fell along the path and the birds ate it. Some fell on rocky places, where it was able to spring up quickly, but it soon withered. Other seed fell among thorns and some fell on good ground. Jesus said, (Matthew 13:18-23)

"Listen then to what
the parable of the sower means:
When anyone hears the message
about the kingdom and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away
what was sown in his heart.
This is the seed sown along the path.
The one who received the seed
that fell on rocky places
is the man who hears the word
and at once receives it with joy.
But since he has no root,
he lasts only a short time.
When trouble or persecution comes
because of the word, he quickly falls away.
The one who received the seed that fell
among the thorns is the man
who hears the word, but the worries of this life
and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it,
making it unfruitful.
But the one who received the seed
that fell on good soil is the man
who hears the word and understands it.
He produces a crop,
yielding a hundred,
sixty or thirty times what was sown."

But the general call of the gospel is not what Jesus is talking about here. He's talking about the seed that falls on good ground and what He says about it is that it grows. He says that all that the Father gives to Him will come to Him. As Jesus said to the Father in John 17:6-7,

"I have revealed you
to those whom you gave me
out of the world.
They were yours;
you gave them to me
and they have obeyed your word."

Theologians distinguish between the general call of the gospel and what is known as 'effectual calling'. With effectual calling when God calls people respond. The call in effectual. It accomplishes God's purpose.

It's like a summons that you get to appear in court—only it's more effective than that because court summons do not always accomplish their goal. A summons to appear in court can be ineffective. Someone might not want to appear and they might flee the country. Or someone might be very sick and unable to appear. Even if they send the police to apprehend you and actually take you to court—the police might be a little too slow or a little too careless and you escape.

But God's summons is a lot like the one that He gave to Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn that city. Jonah didn't want to go. He tried to flee. He got on a ship going in the opposite direction. But God sent a storm to stop the ship. When the sailors threw Jonah overboard to save themselves, God prepared a giant fish to swallow Jonah. After three days Jonah had learned his lesson and the fish spat Jonah out on dry land. Nothing going to thwart God's purpose of having Jonah warn the city of Nineveh.

It was the same way with Saul of Tarsus. He heard Stephen preach but he resolved to have nothing to do with Christianity. He hardened himself against it and approved of Stephen's murder. He then headed to Damascus breathing out murderous threats against the Christians there. But God stopped him in his tracks and brought him to Himself.

And that's the way that it is with every Christian. That's the way that it is with every one that the Father gave to Jesus. They go to Jesus. John Murray says of God's summons when the Father calls His chosen to Christ, (John Murray, (Redemption, Accomplished and Applied, p. 91)

"The summons is invested with the efficacy by which we are delivered to the destination intended—we are effectively ushered into the fellowship of Christ. There is something determinate about God's call; by his sovereign power and grace it cannot fail of accomplishment."



One of the important things to note here is that the Father's call is effective is because

it is part of the transaction that was previously made between the Father and the Son.

Ephesians 1 suggests that this transaction took place before the creation of the world. It says, (Ephesians 1:3f)

"Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
For he chose us in him
before the creation of the world
to be holy and blameless in his sight.
In love he predestined us
to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with his pleasure and will—
to the praise of his glorious grace,
which he has freely given us
in the One he loves."

We also have reference to this in 2 Timothy 1:9-10 which says that God,

"has saved us and called us to a holy life—
not because of anything we have done
but because of his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning of time,
but it has now been revealed
through the appearing of our Savior,
Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death
and has brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel."

The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the biblical teaching on this in its answer to Question 20,

"Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?"



The answer is:

"God, having, out of his mere pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer."



Christ's work was for those whom the Father gave Him. They were chosen before the foundation of the world and the Father gave those to Jesus. In His work, Jesus died for them and secured their redemption. The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way, (VIII:5)

"The Lord Jesus, by His perfect obedience, and sacrifice of Himself, which He, through the eternal Spirit, once offered up unto God, has fully satisfied the justice of His Father; and purchased, not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for those whom the Father has given unto Him."



The thrust of all this is that God gave certain people to Jesus before the creation of the world. They were not chosen because they were better than others—for they weren't. Rather they were chosen according to God's pleasure and will. The entire work of Christ, His incarnation, His life and death—was to do the will of the Father. The will of the Father was that Jesus should lose none of all that He had given Him.

Jesus will lose none. All that have been given to Him will go to Him and He will accept every one of them and raise them up on the last day. (Verse 40)

Now this has great implications for us and how we should live.

First, this means that you should be giving all the credit for your salvation to God.

You should be praising God for your salvation. Why are you going to be in heaven? What's the reason? Ultimately it's not because of anything in you. It's because before the creation of the world there was a transaction between the Father and the Son. It was then that the Father elected you and gave you to the Son. It was then that the Son agreed to come to this world and redeem you by dying for your sins. Not only that, but God effectively applies the salvation that He has provided. The Father calls us. John Murray writes, (Redemption, Accomplished and Applied, p. 89)

"Calling is an act of God and of God alone. This fact should make us keenly aware how dependent we are upon the sovereign grace of God in the application of redemption. If calling is the initial step in our becoming actual partakers of salvation, the fact that God is its author forcefully reminds us that the pure sovereignty of God's work of salvation is not suspended at the point of application any more than at the point of design and objective accomplishment."



Some Christians boast about their salvation and take some measure of credit for it themselves. That's a great sin. That's a failure to honor God like they should. Rather we are to remember what God said in Jeremiah 9:23-24,

"This is what the LORD says:
The wise must not boast in his wisdom;
the mighty must not boast in his might;
the rich must not boast in his riches.
But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me—
that I am the LORD,
showing faithful love, justice,
and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the LORD'S declaration."

Paul quoted this in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31,

"Brothers, think of what you were
when you were called.
Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential;
not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world
to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world
to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world
and the despised things—
and the things that are not—
to nullify the things that are,
so that no one may boast before him.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—
that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written:
'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'"

Secondly, this means that you should be thoroughly rejoicing in the salvation that you have in Jesus.

Everyone who is in Jesus is secure. The great implication from what Jesus said is that God has taken care of every step in our salvation.

Sometimes we human will leave out a step in something and that spoils everything. Remember when the Hubble Space Telescope was first launched? All the pictures it took were blurry—essentially useless. Why? It was because on mirror, the primary mirror, was ground improperly. Because of that the telescope couldn't focus like it should have. Hundreds of other parts were flawless. The launch into space was flawless. But when they got it into space they realized that unless they replaced the mirror—the whole thing was worthless. One step went wrong and it ruined everything.

Now what we see from Jesus' words is that God doesn't operate like that. He has taken care of every step in our salvation. Our text tells us there essential things about our salvation and how we are safe because of what the Father and Son have done. John Calvin summarizes Jesus' teaching here into three principles, (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p. 72)

"first, all that come to Christ were given to Him by the Father before; second, all who were given are transmitted from the Father's hand to His, so that they may be truly His; and lastly, He is a faithful custodian of all whom the Father entrusted to His good faith and protection, so that none is allowed to perish."



In Romans 8:30 Paul laid out how God takes care of all the steps in our salvation. None of them is missing or inadequate. Rather they are all there and each one of them is perfect and effective. He said of God,

"And those he predestined,
he also called;
those he called,
he also justified;
those he justified,
he also glorified."

Every step is in God's hand. Every step has been taken care of. Every step is perfect.

Notice as well how Paul referred to God in 1 Corinthians 1:9 in refrence to His calling of His people,

"God, who has called you
into fellowship with his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

God is faithful. He will not call someone and then be unfaithful to him. No. God cannot be like that. I already quoted from John 10 where Jesus said that His sheep were in His hand and that no one could pluck them out of His hand. The Father, who gave them to Jesus, is greater than all and no one could pluck them out of the Father's hand. John Calvin writes,

"Let it, therefore, be fixed firmly in our minds that Christ has stretched out His hand to us and will not desert us in mid-course, but we may rely on His leading and boldly dare to raise our eyes to the last day."



Thirdly, this teaching also

has great implications for our evangelism.

Jesus said that all that the Father gave Him will come to Him. Does this mean that we don't have to do evangelism?

Some fools might argue like that. They would say,

"Well, since all who have been given to Christ are going to go to Him, we don't have to evangelize. God will take care of it."



But that's foolish. God has ordained that it's through the evangelistic efforts of His people that others will come to Christ. That's why Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach and teach about Him. It's through our efforts that people come to Christ. If we don't do it preach and teach—what happens? As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:14,

"And how can they believe
in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear
without someone preaching to them?"

If we don't preach—people don't hear. But does that mean that some whom God has given to Jesus won't be saved? No. Not at all.

If we don't evangelize, woe to us. If we don't do our duty Mordecai's words to Esther will come true, (Esther 4:14)

"For if you remain silent at this time,
relief and deliverance for the Jews
will arise from another place,
but you and your father's family will perish."

We need to preach. We need to evangelize. But knowing that all who the Father gave to Christ will go to Him should fill us with confidence and boldness. It doesn't matter how hard their hearts are—Saul of Tarsus had his heart hard—yet God saved him.

Lastly, if you're not a Christian, what does this passage mean for you?

It means you need to go to Jesus.

But you may say,

"But I don't know if I'm one of the ones that the Father has given to Jesus. I don't know if I'm one of the elect."

You're right. You don't know that. I don't know that either. You're not to base your response on the unknown. You're to base it on what is known. What is known is that Jesus loves sinners and that He invites you to Him. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said,

"Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest."

What is also known is that on the Day of Pentecost Peter said to the Jews who were responsible for Jesus' death, (Acts 2:38-39)

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for you and your children
and for all who are far off—
for all whom the Lord our God will call."

What is also known is Paul and Silas' response to the Philippian jailer when he asked them what he must do to be saved. They replied, (Acts 16:31)

"Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved—"

Those commands to believe are what you need to deal with. And if you refuse to believe, you won't be able to blame it on God—but on your sinful heart and will. If you refuse to believe it's because your sinful heart and will will put you in hell.

Don't go there. Go to Jesus. If you go to Him He will accept you with open arms. Jesus said,

"whoever comes to me
I will never drive away."

Go to Him now.