If men don’t come to Christ, their inability to not come is that they love their idols more. There is only one thing that keeps men from coming to Christ and it is because they are wickedly married to their sins and refuse to come.
If you come to a conclusion that telling folks the gospel is an empty offer, you come to a conclusion that Jesus Christ never came to, Paul never came to, nor any of the followers of Christ ever came to. And the reason that men and women come to those conclusions based on the sovereignty of God is because they come up with their own carnal conclusions about what the sovereignty of God means. Look, if you’re NOT keeping your nose in the Scripture all the time, and feeling the balance of Scripture, and checking your own conclusions by Scripture all the time, you will land in error. You will either say “It’s a valid offer, therefore God is not sovereign,” or you’ll say, “God is sovereign, and therefore it’s not a valid offer.” And neither are proper conclusions.
The proper conclusion is this: Are men depraved? Through and through? Naturally? Yes! Is God sovereign? Yes! Is salvation of the Lord? Yes! Is it impossible for men to come unless the Father draws him? Yes! Are men bidden to come? Yes! If they come will they be saved? Yes! Are they responsible to come and be saved? Absolutely, they are! Does Scripture speak as though there is sufficiency in the atonement? That if they come they will find it sufficient to save them and wash them of all their sin? Absolutely! If men don’t come is it seen to be criminal? Yes! If they don’t come, their inability is they love their idols more.
There’s only one thing that keeps men from coming to Christ. It’s because they are wickedly married to their sins. That is what Scripture says, and they are so guilty, God is going to throw them into hell, and punish them for their rebellion, and their crimes against Him, and their refusal to come. If men will believe, then the condemnation of God will not hang over their head, and they will most certainly be saved. And if they will not believe, it’s because they will not believe. Jesus said, “You will not come unto Me that you might have life.” And because they won’t come, they will perish in their sin, and they will be held responsible.
And that is what Scripture says, and we are to take the gospel forth, and tell men to be reconciled to God. based on the sufficiency of the atonement, and all things are ready. If they don’t come, the master of the house is going to have every reason to be angry and His anger will burn on them right to the pit of hell. And that’s what Scripture teaches.
And in the end is there an elect people of God? You better believe there is! But nobody is ever excused because they’re not elect. Sinners are addressed in Scripture as sinners! Who, if they will lay down their weapons of their rebellion, and they will surrender into those merciful arms of Christ, they will find salvation. And many do hear, and they repent and they believe, and they are saved. And if they don’t hear, Scripture says it’s because they won’t hear, they won’t come, they won’t believe, because they love the praise of men, and they love the field, and they love the ox, and they love the wife. Therefore they are unable to come, and it condemns men for not coming, and it puts the finger right on the fact that it is their wickedness that they are personally responsible for. Men are criminal because they will not come. Their hearts are adverse to God. They hate God. That’s why they do not come. That is not an excuse that is valid before God.
That is a crime that will be punished with the severest, every bit according to justice. But it is severe justice, because it is such criminal activity, that you know not the depths of, to sin against God. Their heinous crimes, and that is how Scripture deals with it. And the fault is laid in the lap of men who refuse to come. We can be grateful to God, that He overcomes the hardness of our heart, and He softens it, and He gives us ears to hear. We can thank God, that He doesn’t leave us all just to love our sin, and go to hell. And the thing is everybody that does go to hell, they got what they wanted. They loved their sin, and all God did was leave them to have what they love, and nobody is going to fault God, in the end. That God left them to have what they wanted. They wanted their sin, and God let them have it. We need to balance out the sovereignty of God, and the responsibility of man. In the end how you make it perfectly fit, Scripture doesn’t try.
And where Scripture is silent, you know what? They’re a lot of people who just think they have to give an answer. But the thing is there are certain things Scripture does not answer for us. Where it doesn’t answer, we don’t need to feel compelled to have to answer. But we can see both sides of this reality. And I guarantee you, there is not emptiness.
Look! Jesus Christ wept for sinners. Jesus Christ said, “I say these things that you might me saved.” The Father is seen as extending His hand to a contrary people all day long. Bidden to come. Come unto Me. The invitations are many, they’re a multitude in Scripture. I mean, nobody is going to go to hell, for a lack of the most affectionate pleas. You remember when I dealt with this. I mean how is God portrayed? As the prodigal is coming within sight of his home, The father is portrayed as one who RUNS to receive the sinner. That’s not a contrivance of my imagination, or Charles Spurgeon’s. That is how God reveals himself.
