John Bunyan :: The Promise to Those Coming to Christ.

THE PROMISE TO THOSE COMING TO CHRIST.

"AND HIM THAT COMETH TO ME I will in no wise cast out."

By these words our Lord Jesus doth set forth yet more amply the great goodness of his nature towards the coming sinner. Before, he said, "They shall come," and here he declareth, "that with heart and affections he will receive them."

But, by the way, let me speak one word or two to the seeming conditionality of this promise with which now I have to do: "And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out;" where it is evident (may some say), that Christ's receiving us to mercy depends upon our coming, and so our salvation by Christ is conditional. If we come, we shall be received; if not, we shall not; for that is fully intimated by the words. The promise of reception is only to him that cometh. "And him that cometh." I answer that the coming in these words mentioned, as a condition of being received to life, is that which is promised, yea, concluded to be effected in us, by the promise going before. In those latter words, coming to Christ is implicitly required of us; and in the words before, that grace that can make us come is positively promised to us. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out thence." We come to Christ, because it is said, "We shall come;" because it is given to us to come; so that the condition which is expressed by Christ in these latter words is absolutely promised in the words before. And indeed the coming here intended is nothing else but the effect of "shall come to me. They shall come, and I will not cast them out."

"AND HIM THAT COMETH."

He saith not, And him that is come, but him that cometh.

To speak to these words— First, In general. Second, More particularly.

First. In general.— They suggest unto us these four things:

• 1. That Jesus Christ doth build upon it that since the Father gave his people to him they shall be enabled to come unto him. "And him that cometh;" As who should say I know that since they are given to me, they shall be enabled to come unto me. He saith not, if they come, or I suppose they will come—but, "And him that cometh." By these words, therefore, he shows us that he addresseth himself to the receiving of them whom the Father gave to him to save them; I say, he addresseth himself, or prepareth himself to receive them; by which, as I said, he concludeth or buildeth upon it, that they shall indeed come to him. He looketh that the Father should bring them into his bosom, and so stands ready to embrace them.
  
  

• 2. Christ also suggesteth by these words that he very well knoweth who are given to him; not by their coming to him, but by their being given to him. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh," etc. This him he knoweth to be one of them that the Father hath given him, and therefore, he received him, even because the Father hath given him to him (Jhn 10). "I know my sheep," saith he. Not only those that already have knowledge of him, but those too that yet are ignorant of him. "Other sheep have I," said he, "which are not of this fold" (Jhn 10:16); not of the Jewish Church, but those that lie in their sins, even the rude and barbarous Gentiles. Therefore, when Paul was afraid to stay at Corinth, from a supposition that some mischief might befall him there, "Be not afraid," said the Lord Jesus to him, "but speak, and hold not thy peace, for I have much people in this city" (Acts 18:9-10). The people that the Lord here speaks of were not at this time accounted his, by reason of a work of conversion that already had passed upon them, but by virtue of the gift of the Father, for he had given them unto him. Therefore was Paul to stay here, to speak the word of the Lord to them, that by his speaking, the Holy Ghost might effectually work over their souls, to the causing them to come to Him who was also ready with heart and soul, to receive them.
  
  

• 3. Christ, by these words, also suggesteth that no more come unto him than indeed are given him of the Father. For the him in this place is one of the all that by Christ was mentioned before. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;" and every him of that all "I will in no wise cast out." This the apostle insinuateth where he saith, "He gave some apostles, and some prophets and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph 4:11-13).

  Mark, as in the text, so here he speaketh of all—"Until we all come." We all! All who? Doubtless, "all that the Father giveth to Christ." This is further insinuated, because he called this ALL the body of Christ, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, by which he means the universal number given—to wit, the true elect Church, which is said to be his body and fullness (Eph 1:22-23).
  
  

• 4. Christ Jesus by these words farther suggesteth that he is well content with this gift of the Father to him. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." I will heartily, willingly, and with great content of mind, receive him.

  They show us also that Christ's love in receiving is as large as his Father's love in giving, and no larger. Hence he thanks him for his gift, and also thanks him for hiding of him and his things from the rest of the wicked (Mat 11:25; Luk 10:21). But,

Secondly, and more particularly, "And HIM that cometh."

Import of the word HIM.

"And him." This word him; by it Christ looketh back to the gift of the Father, not only to the lump and whole of the gift, but to the every him of that lump. As who should say, I do not only accept of the gift of my Father in the general, but have a special regard to every of them in particular; and will secure not only some or the greatest part, but every him, every dust; not a hoof of all shall be lost or left behind. And indeed in this he consenteth to his Father's will, which is that of all that he hath given him he should lose nothing (Jhn 6:39).

"And HIM." Christ Jesus also, by his thus dividing the gift of his Father into hims, and by his speaking of them in the singular number, shows what a particular work shall be wrought in each one, at the time appointed of the Father. "And it shall come to pass in that day," saith the prophet, "that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel." Here are the hims one by one, to be gathered to him by the Father (Isa 27:12).

He shows also hereby that no lineage, kindred, or relation can at all be profited by any outward or carnal union with the person that the Father hath given to Christ. It is only him, the given HIM, the coming him, that he intends absolutely to secure. Men make a great ado with the children of believers;¹³ and oh the children of believers! But if the child of the believer is not the him concerned in this absolute promise, it is not these men's great cry, nor yet what the parent or child can do, that can interest him in this promise of the Lord Christ, this absolute promise.

"AND HIM." There are divers sorts of persons that the Father hath given to Jesus Christ; they are not all of one rank, of one quality; some are high, some are low; some are wise, some fools; some are more civil and complying with the law; some more profane and averse to him and his gospel. Now, since those that are given to him are in some sense so diverse, and again, since he yet saith, "And him that cometh," etc., he by that, doth give us to understand that he is not, as men, for picking and choosing, to take a best and leave a worst, but he is for him that the Father hath given him and that cometh to him. "He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good" (Lev 27:10): but will take him as he is, and will save his soul.

There is many a sad wretch given by the Father to Jesus Christ, but not one of them all is despised or slighted by him.

It is said of those that the Father hath given to Christ that they have done worse than the heathen, that they were murderers, thieves, drunkards, unclean persons, and what not; but he has received them, washed them, and saved them. A fit emblem of this sort is that wretched instance mentioned in the 16th of Ezekiel [Eze 16], that was cast out in a stinking condition, to the loathing of its person, in the days that it was born; a creature in such a wretched condition that no eye pitied, to do any of the things there mentioned unto it, or to have compassion upon it; no eye but His that speaketh in the text.

AND HIM. Let him be as red as blood, let him be as red as crimson: some men are blood-red sinners, crimson sinners, sinners of a double die; dipped and dipped again before they come to Jesus Christ. Art thou that readest these lines such an one? Speak out, man! Art thou such an one? and art thou now coming to Jesus Christ for the mercy of justification, that thou mightest be made white in his blood and be covered with his righteousness? Fear not, forasmuch as this thy coming betokeneth that thou art of the number of them that the Father hath given to Christ, for he will in no wise cast thee out. "Come now," saith Christ, "and let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isa 1:18).

AND HIM. There was many a strange HIM came to Jesus Christ in the days of his flesh, but he received them all, without turning any away. "Speaking unto them of the kingdom of God, and healing such as had need of healing" (Luk 9:11; Luk 4:40). These words, AND HIM, are therefore words to be wondered at, that not one of them who, by virtue of the Father's gift and drawing are coming to Jesus Christ—I say, that not one of them, whatever they have been, whatever they have done, should be rejected or set by, but admitted to a share in his saving grace. It is said in Luke, that the people "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth" (Luk 4:22). Now this is one of his gracious words; these words are like drops of honey, as it is said, "Pleasant words are as an honey-comb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones" (Pro 16:24). These are gracious words indeed, even as full as a faithful and merciful high priest could speak them. Luther saith, "When Christ speaketh, he hath a mouth as wide as heaven and earth;" that is, to speak fully to the encouragement of every sinful him that is coming to Jesus Christ. And that this word is certain, hear how himself confirms it: "Heaven and earth," saith he, "shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Isa 51:6; Matt 24:35).

It is also confirmed by the testimony of the four evangelists, who gave faithful relation of his loving reception of all sorts of coming sinners, whether they were publicans, harlots, thieves, possessed of devils, bedlams, and what not (Luk 19:1-10; Mat 21:31; Luk 15; Luk 23:43; Mar 16:9; Mar 5:1-9).

This, then, shows us, 1. "The greatness of the merits of Christ." 2. The willingness of his heart to impute them for life to the great, if coming, sinners.

• 1. This shows us the greatness of the merits of Christ; for it must not be supposed, that his words are bigger than his worthiness. He is strong to execute his word: he can do as well as speak. "He can do exceeding abundantly more than we ask or think," even to the uttermost, and outside of his word (Eph 3:20).

  • Now, then, since he concludeth any coming HIM; it must be concluded, that he can save to the uttermost sin, any coming HIM.
    
    

  • Do you think, I say, that the Lord Jesus did not think before he spake? He speaks all in righteousness, and therefore, by his word we are to judge how mighty he is to save (Isa 63:1).
    
    

  • He spake in righteousness, in very faithfulness, when he began to build this blessed gospel fabric; he first sat down and counted the cost; and knew he was able to finish it. What, Lord! any him? any him that cometh to thee? This is a Christ worth looking after; this is a Christ worth coming to!
    
    

  • This, then, should learn us diligently to consider the natural force of every word of God, and to judge of Christ's ability to save, not by our sins, or by our shallow apprehensions of his grace, but by his word, which is the true measure of grace.
    
    

  • And if we do not judge thus we shall dishonour his grace, lose the benefit of his word, and needlessly fright ourselves into many discouragements though coming to Jesus Christ. Him, any him that cometh, hath sufficient from this word of Christ, to feed himself with hopes of salvation. As thou art therefore coming, O thou coming sinner, judge whether Christ can save thee by the true sense of his words: judge, coming sinner, of the efficacy of his blood, of the perfection of his righteousness, and of the prevalency of his intercession, by his word. "And him," saith he, "that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." In nowise; that is, for no sin: judge, therefore, by his word how able he is to save thee. It is said of God's sayings to the children of Israel, "There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord hath spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass" (Jos 21:45). And again, "Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof" (Jos 23:14).
    
    

  • Coming sinner, what promise thou findest in the word of Christ, strain it whither thou canst, so thou dost not corrupt it, and his blood and merits will answer all; what the word saith, or any true consequence that is drawn therefrom, that we may boldly venture upon; as here in the text he saith, "And him that cometh," indefinitely, without the least intimation of the rejection of any, though never so great, if he be a coming sinner. Take it then for granted that thou, whoever thou art, if coming, art intended in these words; neither shall it injure Christ at all, if, as Benhadad's servants served Ahab, thou shalt catch him at his word. "Now," saith the text, "the man did diligently observe whether anything would come from him,"—to wit, any word of grace—"and did hastily catch it." And it happened that Ahab had called Benhadad his brother. The man replied, therefore, "Thy brother Benhadad!" (1Ki 20:33), catching him at his word. Sinner, coming sinner, serve Jesus Christ thus, and he will take it kindly at thy hands. When he, in his argument, called the Canaanitish woman dog, s he catched him at it, and saith, "Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table." I say, she catched him thus in his words, and he took it kindly, saying, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt" (Mat 15:28). Catch him, coming sinner, catch him in his word; surely he will take it kindly, and will not be offended at thee.
    
    

• 2. The other thing that I told you is showed from these words is this: The willingness of Christ's heart to impute his mercies for life to the great, if coming, sinner. "And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

  • The awakened, coming sinner doth not so easily question the power of Christ, as his willingness to save him: "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst," said one (Mar 1:40). He did not put the if upon his power, but upon his will: he concluded he could, but he was not as fully of persuasion that he would; but we have the same ground to believe he will as we have to believe he can; and indeed, ground for both is the word of God. If he was not willing, why did he promise? Why did he say he would receive the coming sinner? Coming sinner, take notice of this; we use to plead practices with men, and why not with God likewise? I am sure we have no more ground for one than the other, for we have to plead the promise of a faithful God. Jacob took him there: "Thou saidst," said he, "I will surely do thee good" (Gen 32:12). For from this promise he concluded that it followed in reason, "He must be willing."
    
    

  • The text also gives some ground for us to draw the same conclusion. "And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Here is his willingness asserted, as well as his power suggested. It is worth your observation that Abraham's faith considered rather God's power than his willingness; that is, he drew his conclusion, "I shall have a child," from the power that was in God to fulfil the promise to him; for he concluded he was willing to give him one, else he would not have promised one. "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform" (Rom 4:20-21). But was not his faith exercised, or tried, about his willingness too? No, there was no show of reason for that, because he had promised it: indeed, had he not promised it, he might lawfully have doubted it, but since he had promised it, there was left no ground at all for doubting, because his willingness to give a son was demonstrated in his promising him a son. These words, therefore, are sufficient ground to encourage any coming sinner that Christ is willing to his power to receive him; and since he hath power also to do what he will, there is no ground at all left to the coming sinner any more to doubt; but to come in full hope of acceptance and of being received unto grace and mercy. "And him that cometh." He saith not, and him that is come; but, "and him that cometh;" that is, and him whose heart begins to move after me, who is leaving all for my sake; him who is looking out, who is on his journey to me. We must, therefore, distinguish betwixt coming, and being come to Jesus Christ. He that is come to him has attained of him more sensibly what he felt before he wanted than he has that but yet is coming to him.

¹³ "The Scripture contains many gracious promises in behalf of the children of believing parents; but grace is not hereditary. It is the parent's part to pray with and for, admonish, and piously train up his children; but, after all, must recommend them to the tender mercies of God, which the children of many prayers often happily experience." —Mason. O that all persons may solemnly consider this searching truth! especially the children of believers. The coming of your father or mother to Christ cannot be imputed to you; come for yourself, or you must perish. As you love your souls, believe not that awful delusion, that any ceremony could make you a child of God. —Ed.