“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws
him…” —John 6:44
“When God begins to draw me to Himself, the problem of my
will comes in immediately. […] Belief is not the result of an
intellectual act, but the result of an act of my will whereby I deliberately
commit myself. But will I commit, placing myself completely and absolutely on
God, and be willing to act solely on what He says? If I will, I will find that
I am grounded on reality as certain as God’s throne.[…] Belief must come
from the will to believe. There must be a surrender of the will, not a
surrender to a persuasive or powerful argument. […] Everyone has been created
with the ability to reach out beyond his own grasp. But it is God who draws me,
and my relationship to Him in the first place is an inner, personal one, not an
intellectual one. I come into the relationship through the miracle of God and
through my own will to believe” CHAMBERS
Do you know someone that refuses to place their faith in
Jesus, even though it is evident that they desperately need to do just
that? Our part in someone’s salvation is a mystery. First, it is a
mystery why God would include us in the process. He certainly does not
need us but He wants to include us. Second, it is a mystery as to how
speaking the Gospel does anything at all. Persuasive words will not save
someone. It is the Gospel (Romans 1:16-17) For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to
everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein
is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The
just shall live by faith.” A person must believe that Jesus is, well,
Jesus. Peter said “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus respond by saying that men had not revealed that to Peter, but God
had. (Matthew 16:16-18) What happens is supernatural. We can
be participants in the process, but we are not the power in the process.
God is. So what to do about those who are far off from God? Pray
for them, show them Jesus by how you live, and if the Spirit gives you the
opportunity, share the Gospel with them, but leave the result up to them and God.
(Ephesians 2:8,9) We have been saved by grace, through
faith. That is the way to Jesus and it is not going to change. Elgin
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
Charley Elgin
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