Compel Them to Come In

Compel them to come in."--Luke 14:23.

I feel in such a haste to go out and obey this commandment this morning, by compelling those to come in who are now tarrying in the highways and hedges, that I cannot wait for an introduction, but must at once set about my business.

Hear then, O ye that are strangers to the truth as it is in Jesus--hear then the message that I have to bring you. Ye have fallen, fallen in your father Adam; ye have fallen also in yourselves, by your daily sin and your constant iniquity; you have provoked the anger of the Most High; and as assuredly as you have sinned, so certainly must God punish you if you persevere in your iniquity, for the Lord is a God of justice, and will by no means spare the guilty. But have you not heard, hath it not long been spoken in your ears, that God, in his infinite mercy, has devised a way whereby, without any infringement upon his honour, he can have mercy upon you, the guilty and the undeserving? To you I speak; and my voice is unto you, O sons of men; Jesus Christ, very God of very God, hath descended from heaven, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. begotten of the Holy Ghost, he was born of the Virgin Mary; he lived in this world a life of exemplary holiness, and of the deepest suffering, till at last he gave himself up to die for our sins, "the just for the unjust, to bring us to God." And now the plan of salvation is simply declared unto you--"Whosoever believeth in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved." For you who have violated all the precepts of God, and have disdained his mercy and dared his vengeance, there is yet mercy proclaimed, for "whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "For this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief;" "whosoever cometh unto him he will in no wise cast out, for he is able also to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us."

Now all that God asks of you--and this he gives you--is that you will simply look at his bleeding dying son, and trust your souls in the hands of him whose name alone can save from death and hell. Is it not a marvelous thing, that the proclamation of this gospel does not receive the unanimous consent of men? One would think that as soon as ever this was preached, "That whosoever believeth shall have eternal life," every one of you, "casting away every man his sins and his iniquities," would lay hold on Jesus Christ, and look alone to his cross. But alas! such is the desperate evil of our nature, such the pernicious depravity of our character, that this message is despised, the invitation to the gospel feast is rejected, and there are many of you who are this day enemies of God by wicked works, enemies to the God who preaches Christ to you today, enemies to him who sent his Son to give his life a ransom for many. Strange I say it is that it should be so, yet nevertheless it is the fact, and hence the necessity for the command of the text,--"Compel them to come in."

Children of God, ye who have believed, I shall have little or nothing to say to you this morning; I am going straight to my business--I am going after those that will not come--those that are in the byways and hedges, and God going with me, it is my duty now to fulfil this command, "Compel them to come in."

Compel Them to Come In
December 5, 1858 by C. H. SPURGEON 1834-1892

The Perseverance of the Saints

We come now to the 5th and final point in the five points of Calvinism: Perseverance of the Saints. Let me begin tonight by giving you a working definition of this truth. When we talk about the perseverance of the saints, we are saying that “God preserves all the elect and causes them to persevere in faith and obedience to the end. None are continually back-slidden or finally lost.” In other words, those whom God has chosen, Christ has died for, and the Spirit has effectually called, will persevere in faith unto the end either death or the second coming of Christ. So all those who are spiritually united to Christ through regeneration are eternally secure in Him. Nothing can separate them from the eternal and unchangeable love of God. They have been predestined to eternal glory and are therefore assured of heaven. Romans 8:28-30 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

Definition of Perseverance from the Westminster Confession of Faith:

17.1 They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.

17.2 This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.

17.3 Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalence of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God's displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts; have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.

Let me use terms we’re all familiar with: “Once Saved, Always Saved” or “eternal security.” Both emphasize the certainty of salvation of the elect. Those whom Christ effectually calls He saves. And those whom He saves He keeps forever. Jesus said in John 6:39, “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.” It should be observed that the perseverance of the saints is logically connected with the preceding points. If man is totally depraved then he cannot respond to God; God must unconditionally elect man to salvation. For those who are elected, Christ has died to secure their salvation. God then irresistibly draws them to effect their salvation but also keeps them secure in that salvation to the end. There are two aspects to this definition. The first is God preserves all the elect and causes them to persevere in faith and obedience to the end. A good illustration is found in John chapter 6. Jesus had just fed the 5000. Before they could pursue making Him their king He dismisses them and the disciples and goes up the mountain to pray. After it became dark the disciples decided to cross the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. While they were in the middle of the sea, a storm arose but all of sudden they saw Jesus coming to them walking on the water. Peter calls out and says if it is you bid me to come to you on the water, so Jesus said come. But when he saw the storm he began to sink and called on the Lord to save Him. The Lord took him by the hand and they both entered the boat and immediately the storm stopped and they were on the shore of Capernaum. The next morning the crowds went looking for Jesus. They found Him in Capernaum and began questioning Him as to when He got there. But Jesus knew the true motive of their hearts and said in verses 26-27, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, but not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” After further dialogue, Jesus plainly states to them that He is “the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (v.35) but they were not interested in this spiritual bread only physical. Jesus even said in verse 36 that they had seen Him, and “yet [they] do not believe.” They didn’t understand that the One who turned the five barley loaves and two fish into enough food to feed 15-20 thousand people was the Messiah the prophets spoke of. All they saw Jesus as someone who could be their political leader who would deliver them from Roman oppression and provide their daily needs. But Jesus says something in verse 37 that is most revealing in regards to salvation. He says, “John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” John MacArthur summarizes this verse by saying, “This verse emphasizes the sovereign will of God in the selection of those who come to come to Him for salvation (cf. vv. 44, 65; 17:6, 12, 24). The Father has predestined those who would be saved (see notes on Rom. 8:29, 30; Eph. 1:3–6; 1 Pet. 1:2). The absolute sovereignty of God is the basis of Jesus’ confidence in the success of His mission (see note on v. 40; cf. Phil. 1:6). The security of salvation rests in the sovereignty of God, for God is the guarantee that "all" He has chosen will come to Him for salvation. The idea of "gives me" is that every person chosen by God and drawn by God (v. 44) must be seen as a gift of the Father’s love to the Son. The Son receives each "love gift" (v. 37), holds on to each (v. 39), and will raise each to eternal glory (vv. 39, 40). No one chosen will be lost (see notes on Rom. 8:31–39). This saving purpose is the Father’s will which the Son will not fail to do perfectly (v. 38; cf. 4:34; 10:28, 29; 17:6, 12, 24).”

Jesus makes two other statements similar to this one. Verse 44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” He also states this in verse 65, “And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” All three verses point to the sovereign, electing, predetermination of God in salvation. God elects, chooses, before the foundation of the world whom He will save and whom He will pass by and leave to unbelief and sin and rebellion. He does this unconditionally, not on the basis of foreseen faith that humans produce by a supposed power of ultimate self-determination (‘free will’).” Those whom the Father gives to Jesus will come. No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him or grants him. Notice the second half of John 6:37 tells us that “All that the Father Gives to Jesus He Preserves.” The last part of verse 67 is a reference to preservation. To understand this verse we need to understand the word “cast out” (ekballo) which means to “drive away or cast out.” D.A. Carson says, “In almost all of its parallel occurrences, it is presupposed that what is driven out or cast out is already ‘in’. ‘I will never drive away’ therefore means ‘I will certainly keep in’.” In other words, this last clause assures the eternal preservation of everyone that comes to Christ. Jesus says to the Father concerning His disciples in John 17:12, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”

Limited Atonement

"In Him we have redemption through His blood" (Ephesians 1:7).

It is amazing how one word can change the course of everything we believe. That is true here. When we talk about the subject of redemption, we have to ask, "Who are the recipients?" Paul answer that in this verse with the word "we." The recipients of redemption are the elect (v.4). They are those who are “saints” and “faithful in Christ Jesus” (v.1). They are those who have been “blessed...with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (v.3). They are those whom God “chose” for Himself “before the foundation of the world” (v.4). They are those who have been “predestined...to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (v.5). Jesus Christ died for the redemption of the elect. Matt Slick, who is the founder of Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry writes, “Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for ‘many'; John 10:11,15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him, not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ, not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion where he would bear the sins of many (not all)” [http://www.carm.org/list/calvinism.htm].

Matthew 1:21 says that He came to “save His people from their sins.”

Who are “His people”? It could be a reference to the Jews because “salvation is from the Jews” (Jn.4:22). But I believe it has a specific reference to the elect—those chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph.1:4). To limit it to a nationality of people ignores what Paul said to the Gentiles in Acts 13:46-48. He says to the Jews: “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 "For so the Lord has commanded us,  'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.' "  48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Jesus came to save those who were “appointed to eternal life” before the world began.

What about those passages that say speak of Christ’s redemption being for the whole “world” or for “all”?

John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

1 John 2:1-2 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

1 Timothy 2:3-6 says, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

These three verses are speaking “of Christ’s work in general terms...and was to correct the false notion that salvation was for the Jews alone. Such phrases as ‘the world,’ ‘all men,’ ‘all nations,’ and ‘every creature’ were used by the New Testament writers to emphatically correct this mistake. These expressions are intended to show that Christ died for all men without distinction (i.e., He died for Jews and Gentiles alike), but they are not intended to indicate that Christ died for all men without exception (i.e., He did not die for the purpose of saving each and every lost sinner)” (David Steele, The Five Points of Calvinism, 50). 

Charles Spurgeon said, “The Arminians say, 'Christ died for all men.' Ask them what they mean by it. Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of all men? They say, 'No, certainly not.' We ask them the next question: Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of any man in particular? They answer 'No.' They are obliged to admit this, if they are consistent. They say, 'No; Christ has died that any man may be saved if ?' and then follow certain conditions of salvation. Now, who is it that limits the death of Christ? Why, you. You say that Christ did not die so as infallibly to secure the salvation of anybody. We beg your pardon, when you say we limit Christ's death; we say, 'No, my dear sir, it is you that do it.' We say Christ so died that he infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through Christ's death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved. You are welcome to your atonement; you may keep it. We will never renounce ours for the sake of it.”

It's All There in the Word "Therefore."

"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1).

God has called us to holy living. That statement alone should suffice in answering our question of whether we can live anyway we choose or not. But to heighten that thought further, we hear Paul’s response in Ephesians 4. He begins verse 1 with the word “therefore.” “This word marks the transition from doctrine to duty, principle to practice, position to behavior” (John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible: Ephesians). “Our exalted standing in Christ calls for corresponding godly conduct” (William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians). In Jesus Christ we are righteous and holy, now we’re to act like who we are by living in a manner that is worthy. The purpose of the “therefore” in verse 1 is to tell us “in view of all that God has done for the believer, which we have seen in the first three chapters of this epistle” (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible), “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”

In other words, "Because you have been ‘blessed with every spiritual blessing’ (1:3), ‘chosen in Him before the foundation of the world’ (1:4), ‘predestined to adoption as sons’ (1:5), given ‘redemption’ and the ‘forgiveness of sins’ (1:7), given the understanding of ‘His will’ (1:9), ‘an inheritance’ (1:11), given the Holy Spirit (1:13), made alive by God (2:4-5) and ‘brought near by the blood of Christ’ (2:13), live in a manner befitting your calling” (MacArthur).