Charles Spurgeon, 1858

“若不是差我来的父吸引人, 就没有能到我这里来的.” ━ 约翰 6:44.

　　 “来到基督前” 在圣经中是一个很普通的词语. 它被用来表达人的灵魂深处所发生的一些行为. 其表现为, 人一下子离弃自己的义和自己的罪, 而投向主耶稣基督, 接受他的义使自己的罪得掩盖, 并藉着他的宝血使自己得救赎. 然后, 来到基督前包括有悔改, 否定自己, 并信靠主耶稣基督, 它总括了其中必需依附于此伟大心态的一切行为, 如: 相信真理, 向神迫切祈祷, 心灵顺服神的真理的训导, 以及那些随着灵命对真理的明了而作的一切行为. 对罪人的得救来说, 来到基督前是一件极基本之事. 不来到基督前的人, 他所做的, 或他所想的却是处在 “辛酸的苦恼和罪恶的捆绑中.” 来到基督前是重生的首要果效. 一旦灵魂得到苏醒, 就立刻会发现它所失去的产业, 接着感到恐慌, 要寻求避难所, 并且因为相信基督是最合适的避难所, 就投靠他, 在他那里得到安宁. 如果没有归向基督, 肯定灵魂尚未得到苏醒; 如果没有得到苏醒, 灵魂就死于过犯和罪恶中. 因为灵魂是死的, 就不能进天国. 现在摆在我们面前的是一个非常惊人的宣告, 有人甚至会感到很厌恶. 虽然有些人把归向基督说成是全世界最容易的事, 但在我们的经文中被宣告为对任何人都是一件完完全全不可能的事, 除非父神吸引他接受基督. 然后, 这应该是我们的责任来引伸这一宣告. 我们毫不怀疑, 这常会得罪属肉体的人, 但是仍然, 有时候, 得罪人却是带领人谦卑在神面前的第一步. 如果这一果效是一个痛苦的过程, 我们能够忘记这样的痛苦而为荣耀的成果欢欣.

　　今天早晨, 我首先要尽力注重人所存有的无能. 其次是父神的吸引 ━ 这些究竟是什么, 并且怎样对灵魂产生作用. 然后, 我将以注重从看来无聊, 又使人畏惧的经文中得到甘甜的安慰来作出结论.

　　首先, 然后,

　　 人本无能

　　经文写着, “若不是差我来的父吸引人, 就没有能到我这里来的.” 这种的无能是在哪里呢?

　　首先, 它不是在于身体的缺陷. 假如移动身体或者用脚走路能帮助来到基督前, 那么其意义为, 人肯定有各种身体的能力来到基督前. 我记得我曾经听到过一个非常愚蠢的自相矛盾者的声明, 他不相信, 人除非靠父神的吸引, 才会有能力走进神的家. 这人纯粹是愚蠢, 因为他必定看到, 只要人是活的, 有两条腿, 他走进神的家就如走进撒旦的家一样的容易. 假如来到基督前要出声祷告, 而人, 若不耳聋, 在这方面没有生理上的缺陷, 他能够出声祷告就如出声亵??神一样的容易. 人唱基督教的诗歌就如唱世俗, 淫荡的歌一样的容易. 来到基督前并不需要生理上的能力. 以人肯定有的体力所能够要求到的一切, 以及其中所占任何一部份的救恩完完全全是出乎人的能力, 而不需要来自圣灵的帮助.

　　并且, 无能也不在于精神方面的不足. 我可以相信这本圣经是真实的, 就如相信任何其他书是真实的一样的容易. 若以相信基督是出于头脑的作为而论, 我能够相信基督就如能够相信任何其他人一样. 就算他的声明是真实的, 告诉我还是没有用, 我不能够相信. 我可以相信基督作的声明, 我也可以相信任何人作的声明, 在头脑中没有官能的缺陷: 作为仅是心理上的作用, 能够意识到罪性的愧欠就如能够意识到行凶的愧欠一样. 我有可能行使寻求神的心意, 就如我有可能行使野心的念头. 就救恩需要精神上的能力而论, 我有所有可能需要的精神上的力量和能力. 不, 没有一个人会无知得申明自己缺乏智慧来作为拒绝福音的藉口. 然后, 缺陷不是在身体上, 也不是在, 我们以神学的说法称为的, 头脑里. 这并不是不足或缺陷, 虽然这是思想的败坏, 腐蚀或朽坏, 但毕竟实质是人的无能.

　　请允许我向你显示人的无能真正在于哪里. 它深藏在人的本性内. 因着败坏和自己的罪, 人的本性已变得如此的低劣, 腐败和堕落, 致使他不可能没有圣灵的帮助而来到基督前. 现在, 为试着显明如何人的本性如此使得他不能来到基督前, 你必须允许我只取这个例子. 你看到一只绵羊, 它是多么要吃草! 你绝对不知道羊对动物的腐肉只是叹气; 它不能靠狮子的食物活命. 现在让我来拿狼作例子, 你问我狼是否不能够吃草, 它是否不能和羊一样的温良并且被驯养. 我回答, 不; 因为它的本性在这方面是完全相反的. 你说, “那么, 它有耳朵和腿; 它难道听不到牧羊人的声音, 不能跟他到任何被带领去的地方吗?” 我回答说, 肯定不能; 它没有为何不能这样做的生理原因, 但它的本性不允许这样做, 所以我说它不能这样做. 它不能被驯服吗? 它的凶猛不能被去除吗? 可能在某种程度上它会被驯服, 以致变得表面上是温良的; 但是在它和羊之间总是有显著的不同, 因为它们的本性不同. 现在, 人为何不能来到基督前的原因不是因为, 就他的身体或光是思想能力而论, 他不能来, 而是因为他的本性如此的败坏, 使他没有意志也没有能力来到基督前, 除非他受到圣灵的吸引.

　　但是让我给你一个更好的例子. 你看到一个母亲怀里抱着她的婴孩. 你在她手中放一把刀, 告诉她去刺入婴孩的心脏. 她会非常真诚的告诉你, “我不能.” 现在, 就她的身体能力而论, 她能的, 假如她高兴的话; 刀在那里, 孩子也在那里. 孩子没有能力反抗, 而她手中有足够的力量去立刻刺入孩子的心脏. 但是她说她不能这样做是十分正确的. 作为仅仅是思想引起的行为, 很可能她会想到杀孩子这样的事, 但她说她不能想到做这样的事; 她不会说错的, 因为作为一个母亲, 她的本性不准许她做灵魂抵制做的事. 只是因为她是那个孩子的母亲, 她感到她不能杀孩子. 甚至是罪人也不会这样做. 来到基督前对人的本性来说是如此的被厌恶, 虽然就生理和心理力量而论, (这些在救恩中只占很小的范围) 他们是可以来到的, 如若他们愿意的话: 他们不能来, 也不愿来, 除非父神差派基督来吸引他们, 这样的说法是绝对正确的. 让我们再深入一些讲这个题目, 并试着以更细微的特点向你显示人具有的无能在于何处.

　　首先, 它在于人类意志的顽固性. “哦!” 自相矛盾者说, “人假如愿意的话, 是可以得救的.” 我们回答说, “亲爱的先生, 我们完全相信; 但是困难就在于假如他们愿意这一点上. 我们敢断言, 没有人会来到基督前, 除非是他受到吸引; 不, 我们不是断言, 而是基督他自己宣称的 ━ “你不愿来我这里得生命;” 并且只要‘你不愿来’是根据圣经记载的话, 我们就不能相信任何有关人类自由意志的教义.” 很奇怪, 怎么人们在讲到自由意志时, 讲的是他们完全不了解的事. “现在,” 有人说, “我相信人能得救, 假如他们愿意.” 我亲爱的先生, 那完全不是这回事. 问题是人是否天生地愿意顺服基督福音的谦卑要求? 我们以圣经的权威性宣布, 人的意志绝望地建立在苦毒中, 如此的败坏, 如此的倾向于各样邪恶的事, 并如此的无意于美好的事, 以致若无圣灵的大有能力的, 不可思议的, 不可抗拒的影响, 没有人类的意志会被迫使面向基督. 你的回答是, 有时候人没有圣灵的帮助也会表示愿意. 我的回答是 ━ 你曾否遇到过这样的人? 我和很多, 好几百, 不, 好几千有不同意见, 年老的, 年少的基督徒交谈过, 可从来没有这样的运气碰到一个人能肯定他来到基督前是靠自己, 而不是受到吸引. 所有真正的信徒的普遍坦白是这样的 ━ “我知道当我还是个陌生人徘徊远离神的羊栏时, 如果没有耶稣基督寻找我, 在现在这时刻, 我还在徘徊远离他, 离他有一大段距离, 而且还非常爱那段距离.” 所有的信徒一致同意地肯定了这个真理, 人要等到父神差派基督来吸引他们时, 才会来到基督前.

　　并且, 不但是意志的顽固性, 而且是理解力的模糊. 有关这方面, 我们有充分的圣经的证明, 我现在不是光下断言, 而是讲述圣经中权威性教导的教义, 并且是每个基督徒良知上清楚的 ━ 人的理解力是如此的模糊, 以致直到他的理解力得到启示后, 他才能理解神的事. 人凭着本性, 他的内心世界是盲目的. 基督的十字架, 如此的充满荣耀并闪耀着吸引力, 却绝不能吸引他, 因为他是瞎眼的, 看不到它的荣美. 跟他讲创造的奇妙, 给他看跨越天空的彩弧, 让他看景致的优美, 他是非常能够看到所有这些事情的; 但是跟他讲立恩典约的奇妙, 跟他说对信基督的人的保守, 告诉他得到救赎的人的佳美, 他对你的描述完全闭耳不听; 你就象一个人在奏优美的曲调, 是那么的真实; 但是他不理会, 他是聋的, 他没有理解力. 或者, 回到我们在读经中特别注意的经句, “世人不接受圣灵的事, 因为对他来说这些是愚蠢的: 他也不能懂得这些, 因为这是要以灵来识别的;” 因为他是俗人, 他没有能力识别神的事. “好,” 有人说, “我认为在神学方面, 我已经得出尚好的判断; 我认为我几乎了解每一点.” 真的, 你可以在文字上做到; 但是在灵里, 要真正的进入到心灵的领受, 并且有真实的理解, 那你是不可能达到的, 除非你受到圣灵的吸引. 因为只要圣经是真实的, 世俗的人不能够接受神圣的事, 确实是这样, 除非你得到重生, 并在耶稣基督里成为圣洁的人, 不然你是不会有所领受的. 然后, 意志和理解是两扇上了锁的大门, 它们不让我们来到基督前, 对于任何诸如来到基督前之事, 它们必定是永远关着的, 要等受到圣灵作美好的影响以后, 门才会被打开.

　　再次, 人体内所组成的极大部分的情感是败坏的. 作为人, 在他接受神的恩典以前, 爱任何事, 一切事都过于爱属灵的事. 假如你想得到证明, 请看一下周围. 对人类感情的败坏, 并不需要有标记. 你向各处投一眼 ━ 没有一条街, 一座房子, 不, 没有一颗心, 不带有这一可怕事实的悲哀的证据. 为什么看不到人们在安息日成群的拥向神的家? 为什么我们不能持恒的念圣经? 祷告的责任怎么会被大家忽略? 为什么耶稣基督那么少的被人敬爱? 为什么甚至声称信奉他的追随者对他的感情会如此的冷淡? 从什么时候发生这些事的? 亲爱的弟兄们, 肯定的, 我们能追究到的不是其它的根源, 乃是这个根源, 情感的腐败和败坏. 我们去爱我们应该恨的事, 恨我们应该爱的事, 人爱现在的生命多于爱未来的生命, 这只是人的本性, 人的堕落的本性. 人爱罪多于爱义, 并且爱世界的道路多于爱神的道路, 这只是堕落的结果. 再一次, 我们重讲一遍, 要这些情感得到更新, 并由神恩典的吸引转变为新的管道后, 人才可能爱主耶稣基督.

　　再讲一次 ━ 堕落也制服了良心. 我相信神学家所造成的最显著的错误就是他们告诉人们, 良心是神在灵里的代理人, 是那些保留祖先的尊严, 并且站在其同类败坏之中的力量之一. 我的弟兄们, 当人(亚当)在园中倒下时, 整个人类都倒下了; 在人类的圣殿里没有一根柱子是挺立的. 真的, 良心没有被毁掉. 柱子没有被毁坏; 它倒下了, 并且整个的倒下了, 躺在那里, 这是神一度对人作的完美作品的最大残余. 但是, 我很肯定, 良心败落了. 让我们看一下人. 在他们中间除了重生的人, 谁拥有 “向着神的良善的心,”? 你是否想象到假如人的良心常常大声和清楚地对他们说话, 他们是否会活在每天应做的行为中, 这些行为是反对公义的, 就象黑暗反对光明一样? 不, 亲爱的; 良心能告诉我, 我是个罪人, 但是良心不能使我感到我是罪人. 良心会告诉我做这样那样的事是错的, 但是良心本身并不知道这有多错. 任何人受到圣灵启示的良心曾否告诉他, 他的罪该受到下地狱的惩罚? 或者, 假如良心确实做到了, 它曾否引导人对于罪感到憎恶? 事实上, 良心曾否引领人如此的克制自己, 以致使他完全憎恨自己并所有他所做的事, 而来到基督前? 不, 虽然良心不是死的, 它是被毁坏的, 它的能力是被损伤的, 它已没有在堕落以前所具有的明亮的眼睛, 强壮的手和洪亮的声音; 而它已极大程度地在人心的放肆无忌中停止施展其最高权力. 然后, 亲爱的, 就为了这个原因, 因为良心是败坏的, 所以圣灵必须应当进入, 向我们显明我门需要一位救世主, 并且把我们吸引至主耶稣基督.

　　 “仍旧,” 有人说,”听你讲到此地为止, 对我看来, 你认为人为何不能来到基督前的原因是他们不愿意而不是他们不能够.” 真的, 非常真的. 我相信人的无能的最大原因是他顽固的意志. 如果一旦被克服, 我想, 巨大的石头就会滚离墓穴, 并赢得了战争最坚难的部份. 但请允许我再深入些讲. 我的经文不是说, “没有人愿意来,” 而是说, “没有人能够来.” 现在, 很多翻译家认为能够这两字在这里只是较强的表达, 并不比愿意这两个字有更多的意义. 我非常肯定, 这是不对的. 人不但有不愿意得救, 而且还缺乏属灵的能力来到基督前; 并且无论如何我将向每一个基督徒证明. 亲爱的, 我要向你们这些已经靠属天的恩典而复活的人说话, 你们的经验难道没有教诲你们, 有时候你们有愿望事奉神, 但是没有能力? 有时候, 你是否还没有觉得有必要说, 你希望能相信, 而你必须祷告说, 主啊, 帮助我解决我的不信? 因为你虽然足够的愿意接受神的见证, 但是你自己的败坏的本性太强, 而感到你需要超自然的帮助. 你是否能够在任何时间走进你的房间, 跪下说, “现在, 我的意愿是, 我应迫切的祷告, 并且我应亲近神.” 我要问你, 你觉得你的能力等同于你的意愿吗? 你可能会说, 甚至在神的审判台前, 你能肯定你的意愿并没有错误; 你愿意全心全意地敬虔. 你的意愿是不让你的灵魂徘徊离开主耶稣基督的圣洁的计划, 但是你会发现, 即使你愿意, 没有圣灵的帮助你是不能做到的. 现在, 假如神所感动的儿女都觉得自己灵里缺乏能力, 那死于过犯和罪中的罪人更会怎么样? 甚至即使有高度灵命的基督徒在三, 四十年之后发觉有时候自己虽然愿意, 但缺乏能力 ━ 假如这是他的经验, 那岂不是看上去更象是, 还没有信的可伶的罪人应当发觉自己不但需要有意志, 也需要有力量?

　　但是, 又有另外的争论. 如果罪人有力量来到基督前, 我想知道我们如何以神的圣洁的话语来理解对于我们遇到的罪人的状况所作的频繁的描述? 现在, 罪人被说为死于过犯和罪恶中. 你能肯定死亡只是指缺乏意志? 肯定的, 尸体十分象没有意志那样的没有能力. 或是再则, 不是所有的人看到意志和能力间有区别: 不是尸体复活到足够得到意志, 然而还是如此的无能, 致使它不能举象手或脚所举的那样的重物吗? 我们从未看到一些案例, 它们显示了人充分地再度生回, 证明有生命, 然而仍如此接近死亡, 以致他们不能够作最轻微的动作? 在给与意志和给与能力间没有明显的不同吗? 然而, 非常肯定的, 在有意志的地方, 就会紧接着有能力. 要使一个人愿意, 那应该使他有能力; 因为当神给人意志的时候, 他不会??弄人, 使他愿望他不能够做的事; 然而, 他在意志和能力间作这样的分工, 应当看到, 这两样东西都是神所赐的十分独特的礼物.

　　然后, 我必须再问一个问题: 假如需要有这一切来使人有意愿, 你岂不是立时贬低了圣灵的工作? 我们不是习惯把对我们所行的救恩的光辉都归于圣灵吗? 但是现在, 假如圣灵为我做的一切就是使我愿意为我自己做这些事情, 那我不是和圣灵大大的分享了荣耀吗? 我不可以勇敢的站起来说, “这是真的, 圣灵给我意愿要这样做, 但是我还是靠自己做到了, 我在其中得到了荣耀; 因为假如我不依靠上面来的帮助而靠自己来做到, 我将不会把我的冠冕投在他的脚下; 这是我自己的冠冕, 是我赚得的, 我要保存它.” 因为在圣经中圣灵永远被制定在我们心中动工, 促使我们有意愿, 并且行他所喜悦的事, 我们把这持为合理的推论, 它不仅光是给我们意愿, 还必须为我们做更多的事, 所以罪人除了需要意志以外, 必须有另外一样东西 ━ 必须坚决, 真正需要有能力.

　　现在, 在我结束这项声明以前, 让我自己跟你们讲一会儿. 我常常被人指责我所讲的道大大的伤害人. 好, 我不否认这样的指责, 因为对这问题我作的回答并不谨慎. 我在这里有见证人证明我所传讲的信息曾造成很大的伤害, 但是对道义上, 或对神的教会并无伤害; 伤害乃是对撒旦这一边. 今天早晨, 不只是一个个或一双双, 而是好多好多人十分欣喜, 他们已经从亵??的违反安息日者, 酒徒, 或世俗的人被带到神的面前, 他们被带引认识并爱慕主耶稣基督, 假如这是伤害的话, 但愿无限大爱的神给上一千倍那样的多. 但是, 更进一步, 世界上有什么样的真理不去伤害那些愿意被伤害的人? 你, 传讲一般救赎的人, 非常喜欢声称神至终的恩典的伟大真理. 但是, 你怎么敢于传讲? 很多人受到伤害是因着把得到恩典的日子推迟, 并且认为最后一刻得到和最先一刻得到是一样的. 嗨, 假如我们从不传讲会被人错用和滥用的的信息, 那我们必须永远闭嘴不讲.

　　有人仍然要说, “好, 那么, 假如我不能救我自己, 并且不能来到基督前, 我必须静坐着, 不做任何事.” 假如有人的确这样说, 他们将注定要灭亡. 我们已经很简明的告诉你, 你有很多事情可以做. 靠你自己的能力不断出现在神的家中; 靠你自己的能力勤学神的话语; 丢弃你外在的罪, 弃尽你沉迷的恶行, 使你生活得诚实, 有节制和公正, 这都是靠你自己的能力. 对此你并不需要来自圣灵的帮助; 所有这些你可以靠自己做到, 但是要真正来到基督前则不能靠你的能力, 这要等圣灵来更新你. 但是你要留意, 你的缺乏能力不能作为你的藉口, 可以看出你没有前来的愿望, 并且你的生活故意违背神. 你的缺乏能力主要在于你顽固的本性. 假定一个讲谎话的人说讲实话不是靠他自己的能力, 他已说了长久的谎话, 他无法离弃, 他能把这作为藉口吗? 假定一个人长期放纵情欲, 他若告诉你他的情欲受到如此庞大铁网般的捆绑, 以致使他无法摆脱, 你会接受这样的藉口吗? 真的, 这些全部不能作为藉口. 假如一个醉汉已成为如此卑贱的醉鬼, 他觉得路过酒店不跨入是不可能的, 这样, 你就愿谅他了? 不, 因为他不能改过自新, 他的本性就是说谎, 对此, 他没有控制或克服的愿望. 他所做的事和使得他这样做的事, 这两者都是出自罪恶之根, 彼此不能相容. 埃塞俄比亚人不能改变他的肤色, 豹不能改变它的斑点, 那又有什么关系呢? 这是因为你已学着做坏事, 而你现在不能学做好事; 所以, 不让你坐下愿谅你自己, 相反由我在你懒散的座位下面雷轰一下, 或许你会大吃一惊而被惊醒. 请记住, 静坐不动就是被咒诅要永远死亡. 哦! 圣灵可以用完全不同的方式利用这个真理! 在这样做以前, 我相信我将能够向你表明这是怎样的一个真理, 它很明显的给人定罪, 并把人关在外面, 毕竟这是一个伟大的真理, 它对人的转变是一个祝福.

　　 我们的第二点是天父的吸引.

　　 “没有人能来到我面前除非父神差派我来吸引他.” 那么, 父神是怎样吸引人们的? Arminian 神学者一般认为神通过传讲福音来吸引人. 非常对, 传讲福音是吸引人的工具, 但是必须有比这更多的东西. 让我试问一下, 基督是向谁说这些话的? 哦, 是对迦百农城的人说的, 他常去那里讲道, 沉重地讲述律法约束人的磨难并引进福音. 在那个城市里, 他行了许多神迹奇事. 事实上, 他若早给他们这样的教导和神奇的证明, 他就能够宣告, Tyre 和Sidon早就身穿麻衣, 脸上抹灰的向神□悔, 如果他们得到如此特权的祝福. 现在, 假如基督自己的信息不能有助于使这些人归向基督, 那父神吸引人的意图的一切方法就仅是传道, 这是不可能的. 不, 弟兄们, 你们必须再次注意, 他没有说除了牧师吸引人以外, 而是说除了父神吸引人以外, 没有一个人能来到基督前.

　　现在, 有这样的情况, 不靠神的吸引, 是由福音的吸引, 牧师的吸引. 很清楚, 这是神圣的吸引, 也就是说, 吸引是出自最高位的神 ━ 三位一体的最光辉的第一位, 他差派第三位, 圣灵保惠师来劝使人归向基督. 另外有人回过头来嘲笑着说, “那么你认为基督看到他们不愿意, 但还是把他们拉到他面前!”. 我记得有一次遇到一个人, 他跟我说, “先生, 你讲道说, 基督抓住人的头发把他们拉到他的面前”. 我问他是否能指出我传讲那个破例的教义的讲道日期, 因为假如他能够指出的话, 我应负很大的责任. 但是他不能够. 我相信, 当基督不能把人抓住头发拉到他面前时, 他会照你所讽刺的那样有力地靠抓住心来拉向他. 请注意, 父神的吸引没有任何强迫, 基督绝不强迫人违背他的意愿归向他. 假如一个人不愿意得到救恩, 基督不会反对他的意愿来拯救他. 那么, 圣灵是怎样拯救他的? 嗳, 是使得他愿意. 这是真的, 他不是使用 “道义上的劝告;” 他知道接近他的心的更近的方法. 他进入人心的最深隐秘处. 并且他知道怎样通过神奇的开刀把人的意志转向相反方向, 因此, 就如 Ralph Erskine 的谬论所说, 人是 “违背他的心意完全同意地;” 接受救恩的; 即, 他违背了他过去的意志而得到救恩的. 但是他是完全同意地得到救恩的, 因为他是在神的能力得胜时被使得愿意的. 不要想像任何人会一路用脚踢着, 挣脱拉他的手, 走进天堂. 不要假想有任何人在争着逃脱救主时, 会投入救主的宝血中受洗的. 哦, 不. 起初, 人不愿意得救, 这是十分真实的. 当圣灵的影响深入人心时, 就成全了经上记载 ━ “吸引我, 我将追随您.” 在他牵引我们时, 我们跟随着, 高兴地服从我们曾经轻视的声音. 但是这件事的要点在于转变意志. 如何能做到是肉体无法知道的; 这是其中的一个奥秘, 被我们清楚地感受到是一个事实, 但是其原因是没有言语可表达的, 也没有心思可猜测的.

　　然而, 我们可以告诉你圣灵动功的明显的方式. 当圣灵进入人心时, 他要做的第一件事是: 他发现人对自己有很好的评价, 没有象对自己作好评价那样的事能够阻止一个人接受基督. 嗨, 人说, “我不要接受基督. 我有任何所响往的那样好的正义. 我感到我可以自己有权走入天堂.” 圣灵使他赤裸敞开他的心, 让他看到恶性的癌症在吞食他的生命, 向他揭开地狱的污坑, 人的心灵的黑暗和污秽, 然后, 人站着吓呆了. “我从未想到我是象这样的. 哦! 我过去认为这些是轻微的罪恶, 竟已膨涨到无限高的程度. 过去我认为是鼹鼠窝的已长大成高山; 它过去只是墙上的海索草, 但现在已变成黎巴嫩的香柏树. 哦,” 人在内心说, “我将试着改造; 我将行足够好的事来洗净这些坏的行为.” 然后, 圣灵来临并向他显明这是他不能做到的, 并拿走了他所有幻想的能力和力量, 因此人极度痛苦地跪下哀哭, “哦! 我曾经认为我可以靠自己的好行为救自己, 但是我现在发现

“假如我的眼泪能够永远涌出,
假如我的热忱能够无休止地明了
一切的罪也不能得到救赎,
您必须拯救我, 唯独您能.
　　 “然后, 心在下沉, 人已准备走向绝望. 他说, “我绝对不能得救. 没有任何东西能拯救我.” 然后, 圣灵来临并向罪人显明基督的十字架, 用属天的眼膏膏抹他的眼, 并且说, “看那边的十字架. 那 “人”为救罪人而死; 你觉得你是罪人, 他为救你而死.” 他使他自己的心相信此事, 并归向耶稣. 当他的心被圣灵甜美地牵引而归向基督时, “与神同在的平安是非他所理解的, 圣灵通过主耶稣基督保守他的心怀意念.” 现在, 你会清楚地觉察到所有这些都不是强迫的. 人如此心甘情愿地被牵引, 就象没有受到牵引那样; 他全心同意地接受基督得就象他心中并没有受到奥秘的影向所作的工. 但是那个影向必定作了工, 否则, 以前从未有, 将来也没有, 任何人能够或是会归向主耶稣基督.

　　 III.现在, 我们要汇集我们的收尾, 并且试着以对教义的实际应用来作出结论; 让我们信赖轻松自在的这条教义. “好,” 有人说, “假如这人传讲的是真的, 那我的宗教会变成什么样的? 你要知道, 我曾经试了好久, 我不喜欢听你讲一个人不能够救他自己. 我相信他能够的, 我的意思是指要坚持; 但是, 如果我相信你说的话, 我必须完全放弃, 重新开始.” 我亲爱的朋友, 假如你这样做, 这将是一件极好的事. 不要认为假如你这样做, 我会大大吃惊. 请记住, 你现在做的是在沙土上建造你的房子, 如果我能为你把它轻轻摇动一下, 这也只是一个善行. 让我以神的圣名向你肯定, 如果你的宗教没有比你自己的力量更强的根基, 它不能使你站在神的审判台前. 没有任何东西能持续至永恒, 只有那来自永恒的才能够. 除非永恒的神在你心中作了善工, 不然你一切所做的在最后审判日都会被驱散. 你去教会, 去教堂, 谨守安息日, 奉行祷告, 所有这些全是虚空的: 你对邻居诚实, 在谈话中有好的名声, 所有这些也全是虚空的; 假如你希望靠这些事得救, 你的信赖这些全都是虚空的. 继续做下去; 按你所愿的那样的诚实, 永远地守安息日, 尽你所能的圣洁. 我并不劝阻你做这些事. 神却禁止; 在这些事上你能成长, 但是, 哦, 不要信赖它们, 因为假如你依赖这些事, 在你最需要它们的时候, 你将发现你会被它们击败. 假如有任何其它事情你发现自己能够不靠神的恩典而做到, 那你越早去除由此引起的希望, 对你就越好, 因为依赖任何肉体能做的事乃是腐败的幻想. 属灵的天堂必须给属灵的人居住, 并且其准备工作必须靠圣灵来动工.

　　 “好,” 另一位喊着说, “我曾一直坐着听牧师讲道, 我被告知, 我可以自己选择□悔和相信, 而结果是我一直一天又一天的拖延下去. 我认为有一天我只要说, ‘主, 请伶悯我,’ 并且我相信, 我就可以象别人一样来接受主, 那么, 我应该得到救恩了. 现在, 你从我那里拿走了所有的希望, 先生, 我感到自己被惊恐所占有.” 我又说, “我亲爱的朋友, 我非常高兴. 这就是我所希望产生的效果. 我祈求你有更多这样的感受. 当你没有希望自己能得救时, 我却盼望神已经开始拯救你. 当你说了 ’哦, 我不能来到基督前. 主, 吸引我, 帮助我,’ 之后, 我立刻为你高兴. 有了意愿的人, 虽然他没有能力, 在他的心中就开始得到恩典, 而神决不离弃他, 直到他作的工得到成全为止.”

　　但是, 无心的罪人, 要知道, 你的救恩现在县在神的手中. 哦, 记住你整个人是在神的手中. 你对他犯了罪, 假如他要咒诅你, 你就受到咒诅. 你不能够抵抗他的旨意, 也不能反对他的意图. 你应受到他的愤怒, 假如他愿意把他的愤怒倾到在你的头上, 你没有能耐躲避. 另一方面, 假如他愿意拯救你, 他就能拯救你到底. 而你在他的手中就象夏天的蛀虫在你的指头下. 他就是你每天使他忧伤的神. 当你想到你永恒的命运被放在你曾激怒的神的旨意中时, 你是否会发抖? 这是否使得你吓得混身发抖, 全身冰凉? 假如是这样的话, 我很欣慰, 因为这是圣灵吸引你灵魂的第一个功效. 哦, 想到你曾激怒的神是完全决定你的救恩或定罪的神, 你会抖擞. 抖擞着 “吻圣子, 免得他发怒, 他只要轻轻地发怒, 你就会被毁灭.”

　　现在, 轻松的反省是这样的: ━ 今天早晨, 你们中间有些人有感动要接受基督. 你有否开始流着□悔的泪水哭泣? 你的内心是否见证到你祷告预备听神的话语? 在今天早上崇拜时, 你的心有否在你里面说, “主啊, 救我, 不然我会毁灭, 因为我不能救我自己”? 你现在能否在你的座位上站起来, 歌唱.

“哦, 我的心顺服归向君王的慈爱;
我也将被引向胜利,
愿作我主的俘虏,
歌颂他话语的胜利.”

　　我自己还未曾听到你在你心中说 ━ “耶稣, 耶稣, 我全心相信你: 我知道我自己的义不能救我, 但是只有您, 哦基督 ━ 沉下去或游上来, 我把我自己投向您”? 哦, 我的弟兄, 你是被天父吸引的, 因为你不能来到他这里, 除非他吸引你. 多美好的意念! 如果他吸引你, 你是否知道什么是最喜乐的结果? 让我把经句再重复一遍, 它会安慰你: “主早就向我显现, 说, 我已以永恒的爱来爱你: 所以我以仁慈吸引你.” 是的, 我的可伶的在哭泣的弟兄, 因为你现在来到了基督的面前, 神已吸引你; 因为他吸引了你, 这证明了他在创世以前已经爱你. 让你的心在里面跳跃, 你是属于他的. 当救主的手被钉在可咒诅的大树上时, 你的名字已被写在他的手上. 你的名字今日在最尊贵祭司的胸牌上闪耀着光辉; 嗳, 在太阳知道自己的部位, 或是行星在轨道上运行以前, 你的名字就在那里了. 主因你接受基督而喜悦, 你们所有被天父吸引的人要大声欢呼. 因为这是你的证明, 你严正的证言, 在永恒的选择中, 主在人群中选取了你, 你将得到神的大能的保守, 你将靠着信心得到已准备向你显露的救恩.

HUMAN INABILITY

by Charles Spurgeon, 1858

-- Translated by Evergreen

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"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him."--John 6:44.
Coming to Christ" is a very common phrase in Holy Scripture. It is used to express those acts of the soul wherein, leaving at once our self-righteousness, and our sins, we fly unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive his righteousness to be our covering, and his blood to be our atonement. Coming to Christ, then, embraces in it repentance, self-negation, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it sums within itself all those things which are the necessary attendants of these great states of heart, such as the belief of the truth, earnestness of prayer to God, the submission of the soul to the precepts of God's gospel, and all those things which accompany the dawn of salvation in the soul. Coming to Christ is just the one essential thing for a sinner's salvation. He that cometh not to Christ, do what he may, or think what he may, is yet in "the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity." Coming to Christ is the very first effect of regeneration. No sooner is the soul quickened than it at once discovers its lost estate, is horrified thereat, looks out for a refuge, and believing Christ to be a suitable one, flies to him and reposes in him. Where there is not this coming to Christ, it is certain that there is as yet no quickening; where there is no quickening, the soul is dead in trespasses and sins, and being dead it cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. We have before us now an announcement very startling, some say very obnoxious. Coming to Christ, though described by some people as being the very easiest thing in all the world, is in our text declared to be a thing utterly and entirely impossible to any man, unless the Father shall draw him to Christ. It shall be our business, then, to enlarge upon this declaration. We doubt not that it will always be offensive to carnal nature, but, nevertheless, the offending of human nature is sometimes the first step towards bringing it to bow itself before God. And if this be the effect of a painful process, we can forget the pain and rejoice in the glorious consequences.

I shall endeavour this morning, first of all, to notice man's inability, wherein it consists. Secondly, the Father's drawings--what these are, and how they are exerted upon the soul. And then I shall conclude by noticing a sweet consolation which may be derived from this seemingly barren and terrible text.

I. First, then,

MAN'S INABILITY.

The text says, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." Wherein does this inability lie?

First, it does not lie in any physical defect. If in coming to Christ, moving the body or walking with the feet should be of any assistance, certainly man has all physical power to come to Christ in that sense. I remember to have heard a very foolish Antinomian declare, that he did not believe any man had the power to walk to the house of God unless the Father drew him. Now the man was plainly foolish, because he must have seen that as long as a man was alive and had legs, it was as easy for him to walk to the house of God as to the house of Satan. If coming to Christ includes the utterance of a prayer, man has no physical defect in that respect, if he be not dumb, he can say a prayer as easily as he can utter blasphemy. It is as easy for a man to sing one of the songs of Zion as to sing a profane and libidinous song. There is no lack of physical power in coming to Christ. All that can be wanted with regard to the bodily strength man most assuredly has, and any part of salvation which consists in that is totally and entirely in the power of man without any assistance from the Spirit of God.

Nor, again, does this inability lie in any mental lack. I can believe this Bible to be true just as easily as I can believe any other book to be true. So far as believing on Christ is an act of the mind, I am just as able to believe on Christ as I am able to believe on anybody else. Let his statement be but true, it is idle to tell me I cannot believe it. I can believe the statement that Christ makes as well as I can believe the statement of any other person. There is no deficiency of faculty in the mind: it is as capable of appreciating as a mere mental act the guilt of sin, as it is of appreciating the guilt of assassination. It is just as possible for me to exercise the mental idea of seeking God, as it is to exercise the thought of ambition. I have all the mental strength and power that can possibly be needed, so far as mental power is needed in salvation at all. Nay, there is not any man so ignorant that he can plead a lack of intellect as an excuse for rejecting the gospel. The defect, then, does not lie either in the body, or, what we are bound to call, speaking theologically, the mind. It is not any lack or deficiency there, although it is the vitiation of the mind, the corruption or the ruin of it, which, after all, is the very essence of man's inability.

Permit me to show you wherein this inability of man really does lie. It lies deep in his nature. Through the fall, and through our own sin, the nature of man has become so debased, and depraved, and corrupt, that it is impossible for him to come to Christ without the assistance of God the Holy Spirit. Now, in trying to exhibit how the nature of man thus renders him unable to come to Christ, you must allow me just to take this figure. You see a sheep; how willingly it feeds upon the herbage! You never knew a sheep sigh after carrion; it could not live on lion's food. Now bring me a wolf; and you ask me whether a wolf cannot eat grass, whether it cannot be just as docile and as domesticated as the sheep. I answer, no; because its nature is contrary thereunto. You say, "Well, it has ears and legs; can it not hear the shepherd's voice, and follow him whithersoever he leadeth it?" I answer, certainly; there is no physical cause why it cannot do so, but its nature forbids, and therefore I say it cannot do so. Can it not be tamed? Cannot its ferocity be removed? Probably it may so far be subdued that it may become apparently tame; but there will always be a marked distinction between it and the sheep, because there is a distinction in nature. Now, the reason why man cannot come to Christ, is not because he cannot come, so far as his body or his mere power of mind is concerned, but because his nature is so corrupt that he has neither the will nor the power to come to Christ unless drawn by the Spirit.

But let me give you a better illustration. You see a mother with her babe in her arms. You put a knife into her hand, and tell her to stab that babe to the heart. She replies, and very truthfully, "I cannot." Now, so far as her bodily power is concerned, she can, if she pleases; there is the knife, and there is the child. The child cannot resist, and she has quite sufficient strength in her hand immediately to stab it to its heart. But she is quite correct when she says she cannot do it. As a mere act of the mind, it is quite possible she might think of such a thing as killing the child, and yet she says she cannot think of such a thing; and she does not say falsely, for her nature as a mother forbids her doing a thing from which her soul revolts. Simply because she is that child's parent she feels she cannot kill it. It is even so with a sinner. Coming to Christ is so obnoxious to human nature that, although, so far as physical and mental forces are concerned, (and these have but a very narrow sphere in salvation) men could come if they would: it is strictly correct to say that they cannot and will not unless the Father who hath sent Christ doth draw them. Let us enter a little more deeply into the subject, and try to show you wherein this inability of man consists, in its more minute particulars.

1. First, it lies in the obstinacy of the human will. "Oh!" saith the Arminian, "men may be saved if they will." We reply, "My dear sir, we all believe that; but it is just the if they will that is the difficulty. We assert that no man will come to Christ unless he be drawn; nay, we do not assert it, but Christ himself declares it--"Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life;' and as long as that "ye will not come' stands on record in Holy Scripture, we shall not be brought to believe in any doctrine of the freedom of the human will." It is strange how people, when talking about free-will, talk of things which they do not at all understand. "Now," says one, "I believe men can be saved if they will." My dear sir, that is not the question at all. The question is, are men ever found naturally willing to submit to the humbling terms of the gospel of Christ? We declare, upon Scriptural authority, that the human will is so desperately set on mischief, so depraved, and so inclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined to everything that is good, that without the powerful. supernatural, irresistible influence of the Holy Spirit, no human will ever be constrained towards Christ. You reply, that men sometimes are willing, without the help of the Holy Spirit. I answer--Did you ever meet with any person who was? Scores and hundreds, nay, thousands of Christians have I conversed with, of different opinions, young and old, but it has never been my lot to meet with one who could affirm that he came to Christ of himself, without being drawn. The universal confession of all true believers is this--"I know that unless Jesus Christ had sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God, I would to this very hour have been wandering far from him, at a distance from him, and loving that distance well." With common consent, all believers affirm the truth, that men will not come to Christ till the Father who hath sent Christ doth draw them.

2. Again, not only is the will obstinate, but the understanding is darkened. Of that we have abundant Scriptural proof. I am not now making mere assertions, but stating doctrines authoritatively taught in the Holy Scriptures, and known in the conscience of every Christian man--that the understanding of man is so dark, that he cannot by any means understand the things of God until his understanding has been opened. Man is by nature blind within. The cross of Christ, so laden with glories, and glittering with attractions, never attracts him, because he is blind and cannot see its beauties. Talk to him of the wonders of the creation, show to him the many-coloured arch that spans the sky, let him behold the glories of a landscape, he is well able to see all these things; but talk to him of the wonders of the covenant of grace, speak to him of the security of the believer in Christ, tell him of the beauties of the person of the Redeemer, he is quite deaf to all your description; you are as one that playeth a goodly tune, it is true; but he regards not, he is deaf, he has no comprehension. Or, to return to the verse which we so specially marked in our reading, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned;" and inasmuch as he is a natural man, it is not in his power to discern the things of God. "Well," says one, "I think I have arrived at a very tolerable judgment in matters of theology; I think I understand almost every point." True, that you may do in the letter of it; but in the spirit of it, in the true reception thereof into the soul, and in the actual understanding of it, it is impossible for you to have attained, unless you have been drawn by the Spirit. For as long as that Scripture stands true, that carnal men cannot receive spiritual things, it must be true that you have not received them, unless you have been renewed and made a spiritual man in Christ Jesus. The will, then, and the understanding, are two great doors, both blocked up against our coming to Christ, and until these are opened by the sweet influences of the Divine Spirit, they must be for ever closed to anything like coming to Christ.

3. Again, the affections, which constitute a very great part of man, are depraved. Man, as he is, before he receives the grace of God, loves anything and everything above spiritual things. If ye want proof of this, look around you. There needs no monument to the depravity of the human affections. Cast your eyes everywhere--there is not a street, nor a house, nay, nor a heart, which doth not bear upon it sad evidence of this dreadful truth. Why is it that men are not found on the Sabbath Day universally flocking to the house of God? Why are we not more constantly found reading our Bibles? How is it that prayer is a duty almost universally neglected? Why is it that Christ Jesus is so little beloved? Why are even his professed followers so cold in their affections to him? Whence arise these things? Assuredly, dear brethren, we can trace them to no other source than this, the corruption and vitiation of the affections. We love that which we ought to hate, and we hate that which we ought to love. It is but human nature, fallen human nature, that man should love this present life better than the life to come. It is but the effect of the fall, that man should love sin better than righteousness, and the ways of this world better than the ways of God. And again, we repeat it, until these affections be renewed, and turned into a fresh channel by the gracious drawings of the Father, it is not possible for any man to love the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. Yet once more--conscience, too, has been overpowered by the fall. I believe there is no more egregious mistake made by divines, than when they tell people that conscience is the vicegerent of God within the soul, and that it is one of those powers which retains its ancient dignity, and stands erect amidst the fall of its compeers. My brethren, when man fell in the garden, manhood fell entirely; there was not one single pillar in the temple of manhood that stood erect. It is true, conscience was not destroyed. The pillar was not shattered; it fell, and it fell in one piece, and there it lies along, the mightiest remnant of God's once perfect work in man. But that conscience is fallen, I am sure. Look at men. Who among them is the possessor of a "good conscience toward God," but the regenerated man? Do you imagine that if men's consciences always spoke loudly and clearly to them, they would live in the daily commission of acts, which are as opposed to the right as darkness to light? No, beloved; conscience can tell me that I am a sinner, but conscience cannot make me feel that I am one. Conscience may tell me that such-and-such a thing is wrong, but how wrong it is conscience itself does not know. Did any man s conscience, unenlightened by the Spirit, ever tell him that his sins deserved damnation? Or if conscience did do that, did it ever lead any man to feel an abhorrence of sin as sin? In fact, did conscience ever bring a man to such a self-renunciation, that he did totally abhor himself and all his works and come to Christ? No, conscience, although it is not dead, is ruined, its power is impaired, it hath not that clearness of eye and that strength of hand, and that thunder of voice, which it had before the fall; but hath ceased to a great degree, to exert its supremacy in the town of Mansoul. Then, beloved, it becomes necessary for this very reason, because conscience is depraved, that the Holy Spirit should step in, to show us our need of a Saviour, and draw us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Still," says one, "as far as you have hitherto gone, it appears to me that you consider that the reason why men do not come to Christ is that they will not, rather than they cannot." True, most true. I believe the greatest reason of man's inability is the obstinacy of his will. That once overcome, I think the great stone is rolled away from the sepulchre, and the hardest part of the battle is already won. But allow me to go a little further. My text does not say, "No man will come," but it says, "No man can come." Now, many interpreters believe that the can here, is but a strong expression conveying no more meaning than the word will. I feel assured that this is not correct. There is in man, not only unwillingness to be saved, but there is a spiritual powerlessness to come to Christ; and this I will prove to every Christian at any rate. Beloved, I speak to you who have already been quickened by the divine grace, does not your experience teach you that there are times when you have a will to serve God, and yet have not the power? Have you not sometimes been obliged to say that you have wished to believe. but you have had to pray, Lord, help mine unbelief?" Because, although willing enough to receive God's testimony, your own carnal nature was too strong for you, and you felt you needed supernatural help. Are you able to go into your room at any hour you choose, and to fall upon your knees and say, "Now, it is my will that I should be very earnest in prayer, and that I should draw near unto God ?" I ask, do you find your power equal to your will? You could say, even at the bar of God himself, that you are sure you are not mistaken in your willingness; you are willing to be wrapt up in devotion, it is your will that your soul should not wander from a pure contemplation of the Lord Jesus Christ, but you find that you cannot do that, even when you are willing, without the help of the Spirit. Now, if the quickened child of God finds a spiritual inability, how much more the sinner who is dead in trespasses and sin? If even the advanced Christian, after thirty or forty years, finds himself sometimes willing and yet powerless--if such be his experience,--does it not seem more than likely that the poor sinner who has not yet believed, should find a need of strength as well as a want of will?

But, again, there is another argument. If the sinner has strength to come to Christ, I should like to know how we are to understand those continual descriptions of the sinner's state which we meet with in God's holy Word? Now, a sinner is said to be dead in trespasses and sins. Will you affirm that death implies nothing more than the absence of a will? Surely a corpse is quite as unable as unwilling. Or again, do not all men see that there is a distinction between will and power: might not that corpse be sufficiently quickened to get a will, and yet be so powerless that it could not lift as much as its hand or foot? Have we never seen cases in which persons have been just sufficiently re-animated to give evidence of life, and have yet been so near death that they could not have performed the slightest action? Is there not a clear difference between the giving or the will and the giving of power? It is quite certain, however, that where the will is given, the power will follow. Make a man willing, and he shall be made powerful; for when God gives the will, he does not tantalize man by giving him to wish for that which he is unable to do; nevertheless he makes such a division between the will and the power, that it shall be seen that both things are quite distinct gifts of the Lord God.

Then I must ask one more question: if all that were needed to make a man willing, do you not at once degrade the Holy Spirit? Are we not in the habit of giving all the glory of salvation wrought in us to God the Spirit? But now, if all that God the Spirit does for me is to make me willing to do these things for myself, am I not in a great measure a sharer with the Holy Spirit in the glory? and may I not boldly stand up and say, "It is true the Spirit gave me the will to do it, but still I did it myself, and therein will I glory; for if I did these things myself without assistance from on high, I will not cast my crown at his feet; it is my own crown, I earned it, and I will keep it." Inasmuch as the Holy Spirit is evermore in Scripture set forth as the person who worketh in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure, we hold it to be a legitimate inference that he must do something more for us than the mere making of us willing, and that therefore there must be another thing besides want of will in a sinner--there must be absolute and actual want of power.

Now, before I leave this statement, let me address myself to you for a moment. I am often charged with preaching doctrines that may do a great deal of hurt. Well, I shall not deny the charge, for I am not careful to answer in this matter. I have my witnesses here present to prove that the things which I have preached have done a great deal of hurt, but they have not done hurt either to morality or to God's Church; the hurt has been on the side of Satan. There are not ones or twos but many hundreds who this morning rejoice that they have been brought near to God; from having been profane Sabbath-breakers, drunkards, or worldly persons, they have been brought to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ; and if this be any hurt may God of his infinite mercy send us a thousand times as much. But further, what truth is there in the world which will not hurt a man who chooses to make hurt of it? You who preach general redemption, are very fond of proclaiming the great truth of God's mercy to the last moment. But how dare you preach that? Many people make hurt of it by putting off the day of grace, and thinking that the last hour may do as well as the first. Why, if we never preached anything which man could misuse, and abuse, we must hold our tongues for ever.

Still says one, "Well then, if I cannot save myself, and cannot come to Christ, I must sit still and do nothing." If men do say so, on their own heads shall be their doom. We have very plainly told you that there are many things you can do. To be found continually in the house of God is in your power; to study the Word of God with diligence is in your power; to renounce your outward sin, to forsake the vices in which you indulge, to make your life honest, sober, and righteous, is in your power. For this you need no help from the Holy Spirit; all this you can do yourself; but to come to Christ truly is not in your power, until you are renewed by the Holy Ghost. But mark you, your want of power is no excuse, seeing that you have no desire to come, and are living in wilful rebellion against God. Your want of power lies mainly in the obstinacy of nature. Suppose a liar says that it is not in his power to speak the truth, that he has been a liar so long, that he cannot leave it off; is that an excuse for him? Suppose a man who has long indulged in lust should tell you that he finds his lusts have so girt about him like a great iron net that he cannot get rid of them, would you take that as an excuse? Truly it is none at all. If a drunkard has become so foully a drunkard, that he finds it impossible to pass a public--house without stepping in, do you therefore excuse him? No, because his inability to reform, lies in his nature, which he has no desire to restrain or conquer. The thing that is done, and the thing that causes the thing that is done, being both from the root of sin, are two evils which cannot excuse each other, What though the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard his spots? It is because you have learned to do evil that you cannot now learn to do well; and instead, therefore, of letting you sit down to excuse yourselves, let me put a thunderbolt beneath the seat of your sloth, that you may be startled by it and aroused. Remember, that to sit still is to be damned to all eternity. Oh! that God the Holy Spirit might make use of this truth in a very different manner! Before I have done I trust I shall be enabled to show you how it is that this truth, which apparently condemns men and shuts them out, is, after all, the great truth, which has been blessed to the conversion of men.

II. Our second point is

THE FATHER'S DRAWINGS.

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." How then does the Father draw men? Arminian divines generally say that God draws men by the preaching of the gospel. Very true; the preaching of the gospel is the instrument of drawing men, but there must be some thing more than this. Let me ask to whom did Christ address these words? Why, to the people of Capernaum, where he had often preached, where he had uttered mournfully and plaintively the woes of the law and the invitations of the gospel. In that city he had done many mighty works and worked many miracles. In fact, such teaching and such miraculous attestation had he given to them, that he declared that Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago in sack-cloth and ashes, if they had been blessed with such privileges. Now, if the preaching of Christ himself did not avail to the enabling these men to come to Christ, it cannot be possible that all that was intended by the drawing of the Father was simply preaching. No, brethren, you must note again, he does not say no man can come except the minister draw him, but except the Father draw him.

Now there is such a thing as being drawn by the gospel, and drawn by the minister, without being drawn by God. Clearly, it is a divine drawing that is meant, a drawing by the Most High God--the First Person of the most glorious Trinity sending out the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, to induce men to come to Christ. Another person turns round and says with a sneer, "Then do you think that Christ drags men to himself, seeing that they are unwilling!" I remember meeting once with a man who said to me, Sir, you preach that Christ takes people by the hair of their heads and drags them to himself" I asked him whether he could refer to the date of the sermon wherein I preached that extraordinary doctrine, for if he could, I should be very much obliged. However, he could not. But said I, while Christ does not drag people to himself by the hair of their heads, I believe that, he draws them by the heart quite as powerfully as your caricature would suggest. Mark that in the Father's drawing there is no compulsion whatever; Christ never compelled any man to come to him against his will. If a man be unwilling to be saved, Christ does not save him against his will. How, then, does the Holy Spirit draw him? Why, by making him willing. It is true he does not use "moral suasion;" he knows a nearer method of reaching the heart. He goes to the secret fountain of the heart, and he knows how, by some mysterious operation, to turn the will in an opposite direction, so that, as Ralph Erskine paradoxically puts it, the man is saved "with full consent against his will;" that is, against his old will he is saved. But he is saved with full consent, for he is made willing in the day of God's power. Do not imagine that any man will go to heaven kicking and struggling all the way against the hand that draws him. Do not conceive that any man will be plunged in the bath of a Saviour's blood while he is striving to run away from the Saviour. Oh, no. It is quite true that first of all man is unwilling to be saved. When the Holy Spirit hath put his influence into the heart, the text is fulfilled--"draw me and I will run after thee." We follow on while he draws us, glad to obey the voice which once we had despised. But the gist of the matter lies in the turning of the will. How that is done no flesh knoweth; it is one of those mysteries that is clearly perceived as a fact, but the cause of which no tongue can tell, and no heart can guess.

The apparent way, however, in which the Holy Spirit operates, we can tell you. The first thing the Holy Spirit does when he comes into a man's heart is this: he finds him with a very good opinion of himself: and there is nothing which prevents a man coming to Christ like a good opinion of himself. Why, says man, "I don't want to come to Christ. I have as good a righteousness as anybody can desire. I feel I can walk into heaven on my own rights." The Holy Spirit lays bare his heart, lets him see the loathsome cancer that is there eating away his life, uncovers to him all the blackness and defilement of that sink of hell, the human heart, and then the man stands aghast. "I never thought I was like this. Oh! those sins I thought were little, have swelled out to an immense stature. What I thought was a mole-hill has grown into a mountain; it was but the hyssop on the wall before, but now it has become a cedar of Lebanon. Oh," saith the man within himself, "I will try and reform; I will do good deeds enough to wash these black deeds out." Then comes the Holy Spirit and shows him that he cannot do this, takes away all his fancied power and strength, so that the man falls down on his knees in agony, and cries, "Oh! once I thought I could save myself by my good works, but now I find that

"Could my tears for ever flow,
Could my zeal no respite know
All for sin could not atone,
Thou must save and thou alone,
'"Then the heart sinks, and the man is ready to despair. And saith he, "I never can be saved. Nothing can save me." Then, comes the Holy Spirit and shows the sinner the cross of Christ, gives him eyes anointed with heavenly eye-salve, and says, "Look to yonder cross. that Man died to save sinners; you feel that you are a sinner; he died to save you." And he enables the heart to believe, and to come to Christ. And when it comes to Christ, by this sweet drawing of the Spirit, it finds "a peace with God which passeth all understanding, which keeps his heart and mind through Jesus Christ our Lord." Now, you will plainly perceive that all this may be done without any compulsion. Man is as much drawn willingly, as if he were not drawn at all; and he comes to Christ with full consent, with as full a consent as if no secret influence had ever been exercised in his heart. But that influence must be exercised, or else there never has been and there never will be, any man who either can or will come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. And, now, we gather up our ends, and conclude by trying to make a practical application of the doctrine; and we trust a comfortable one. "Well," says one, "if what this man preaches be true, what is to become of my religion? for do you know I have been a long while trying, and I do not like to hear you say a man cannot save himself. I believe he can, and I mean to persevere; but if I am to believe what you say, I must give it all up and begin again." My dear friends, it will be a very happy thing if you do. Do not think that I shall be at all alarmed if you do so. Remember, what you are doing is building your house upon the sand, and it is but an act of charity if I can shake it a little for you. Let me assure you, in God's name, if your religion has no better foundation than your own strength, it will not stand you at the bar of God. Nothing will last to eternity, but that which came from eternity. Unless the everlasting God has done a good work in your heart, all you may have done must be unravelled at the last day of account. It is all in vain for you to be a church-goer or chapel-goer, a good keeper of the Sabbath, an observer of your prayers: it is all in vain for you to be honest to your neighbours and reputable in your conversation; if you hope to be saved by these things, it is all in vain for you to trust in them. Go on; be as honest as you like, keep the Sabbath perpetually, be as holy as you can. I would not dissuade you from these things. God forbid; grow in them, but oh, do not trust in them, for if you rely upon these things you will find they will fail you when most you need them. And if there be anything else that you have found yourself able to do unassisted by divine grace, the sooner you can get rid of the hope that has been engendered by it the better for you, for it is a foul delusion to rely upon anything that flesh can do. A spiritual heaven must be inhabited by spiritual men, and preparation for it must be wrought by the Spirit of God.

"Well," cries another, "I have been sitting under a ministry where I have been told that I could, at my own option, repent and believe, and the consequence is that I have been putting it off from day to day. I thought I could come one day as well as another; that I had only to say, "Lord, have mercy upon me,' and believe, and then I should be saved. Now you have taken all this hope away for me, sir; I feel amazement and horror taking hold upon me." Again, I say, "My dear friend, I am very glad of it. This was the effect which I hoped to produce. I pray that you may feel this a great deal more. When you have no hope of saving yourself, I shall have hope that God has begun to save you. As soon as you say "Oh, I cannot come to Christ. Lord, draw me, help me,' I shall rejoice over you. He who has got a will, though he has not power, has grace begun in his heart, and God will not leave him until the work is finished."

But, careless sinner, learn that thy salvation now hangs in God's hand. Oh, remember thou art entirely in the hand of God. Thou hast sinned against him, and if he wills to damn thee, damned thou art. Thou canst not resist his will nor thwart his purpose. Thou hast deserved his wrath, and if he chooses to pour the full shower of that wrath upon thy head, thou canst do nothing to avert it. If, on the other hand, he chooses to save thee, he is able to save thee to the very uttermost. But thou liest as much in his hand as the summer's moth beneath thine own finger. He is the God whom thou art grieving every day. Doth it not make thee tremble to think that thy eternal destiny now hangs upon the will of him whom thou hast angered and incensed? Dost not this make thy knees knock together, and thy blood curdle? If it does so I rejoice, inasmuch as this may be the first effect of the Spirit's drawing in thy soul. Oh, tremble to think that the God whom thou hast angered, is the God upon whom thy salvation or thy condemnation entirely depends. Tremble and "kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way while his wrath is kindled but a little."

Now, the comfortable reflection is this:--Some of you this morning are conscious that you are coming to Christ. Have you not begun to weep the penitential tear? Did not your closet witness your prayerful preparation for the hearing of the Word of God? And during the service of this morning, has not your heart said within you, "Lord, save me, or I perish, for save myself I cannot?" And could you not now stand up in your seat, and sing.

"Oh, sovereign grace my heart subdue;
I would be led in triumph, too,
A willing captive of my Lord,
To sing the triumph of his Word."
And have I not myself heard you say in your heart--"Jesus, Jesus, my whole trust Is in thee: I know that no righteousness of my own can save me, but only thou, O Christ--sink or swim, I cast myself on thee?" Oh, my brother, thou art drawn by the Father, for thou couldst not have come unless he had drawn thee. Sweet thought! And if he has drawn thee, dost thou know what is the delightful inference? Let me repeat one text, and may that comfort thee: "The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." Yes, my poor weeping brother, inasmuch as thou art now coming to Christ, God has drawn thee; and inasmuch as he has drawn thee, it is a proof that he has loved thee from before the foundation of the world. Let thy heart leap within thee, thou art one of his. Thy name was written on the Saviour's hands when they were nailed to the accursed tree. Thy name glitters on the breast-plate of the great High Priest to-day; ay, and it was there before the day-star knew its place, or planets ran their round. Rejoice in the Lord ye that have come to Christ, and shout for joy all ye that have been drawn of the Father. For this is your proof, your solemn testimony, that you from among men have been chosen in eternal election, and that you shall be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto the salvation which is ready to be revealed.



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