Grace That Saves Perfectly

John 6:37-44 (NASB)
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, 'I am the bread that came down out of heaven.' They were saying, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."

It is very clear from Jesus' own words that all that the Father gives to the Son will come to Him. The Father draws them to the Son, and that is why all who are drawn by the Father come to the Son and receive eternal life. Jesus accomplishes the Father's will by not losing any whom the Father has drawn to Him. Some object to this by referring to John 12:32, saying that Jesus draws all men in the world without exception to Him. In using John 12:32 in this manner, the context of John 6:37-44 is ignored and universalism is the only consistent option left. However, the context of this passage, especially in light of the fact that some Greeks came to see Jesus, reveals that Jesus will draw men from every "kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." (Revelation 5:9)

The word "draw", used in verse 44, is taken from the Greek word "helkuo", which means literally, "to drag." The very same word is used in Acts 16:19, where it is translated "dragged" in the NKJV, Amplified Version, NASB, and the NIV. When the Holy Spirit draws sinners, He literally drags them. Before salvation sinners are dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1-3) A dead person is lifeless and not able to do anything. If you wish to move a dead person without any assistance, from one end of a place to another you must drag him. That is exactly what the Holy Spirit has to do to sinners to bring them to salvation. The Holy Spirit regenerates the unregenerate by turning a spiritually dead will that is in rebellion against God to one that is spiritually alive and willing to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Thus, salvation is all of God and not of man in any way, shape, or form. He deserves all the credit, praise, and glory.

In John 6:44 Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." Clearly those who do come, come because they have been enabled to do so. Furthermore, Jesus continues in this verse to affirm that, He "will raise him up on the last day." There is no room in this passage to allow for the possibility that all who are enabled will make a decision to refuse the offer. Jesus has made that clear with His pronouncement in the second half of this verse. Moreover, to suggest that at this point those who are enabled to come can decide not to, is to destroy the natural reading of this verse. No, all those who come are indeed only those who have been enabled to do so. And all those who are enabled to do so are saved. That is grace with power to save perfectly, not an ineffective grace that necessitates human additions to perhaps make it effective.

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