The Crowd Turns Back
Jesus' teaching on the sovereignty of God is deeply disturbing to the natural mind, cutting away self-help and reliance on self-esteem.
A.W. Tozer addresses the challenging teachings of Jesus regarding divine sovereignty and human response, emphasizing that many followers turned away upon realizing that coming to Christ is a work of God rather than self-determination. He highlights the discomfort this brings to the natural mind, which prefers to maintain a sense of control over its salvation. Tozer critiques contemporary Christianity for its reluctance to confront these truths, as many believers wish to believe that their desire for salvation originates from themselves rather than from God's sovereign will.
Text
Our Lord Jesus Christ called men to follow Him, but He plainly taught that "no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my Father" (John 6:65). It is not surprising that many of His early followers, upon hearing these words, went back and walked no more with Him. Such teaching cannot but be deeply disturbing to the natural mind. It takes from sinful men much of the power of self-determination. It cuts the ground out from under their self-help and throws them back upon the sovereign good pleasure of God-and that is precisely where they do not want to be!
These statements by our Lord run contrary to the current assumptions of popular Christianity.
Men are willing to be saved by grace, but to preserve their self-esteem, they must hold that the desire to be saved originated with them. Most Christians today seem afraid to talk about these plain words of Jesus concerning the sovereign operation of God-so they use the simple trick of ignoring them!
Sermon Outline
- The Problem of Self-Determination
- The Disturbing Nature of Jesus' Words
- The Current State of Popular Christianity
- The willingness to be saved by grace
- The preservation of self-esteem
- The ignoring of Jesus' plain words
Key Quotes
“no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my Father” — A.W. Tozer
“It cuts the ground out from under their self-help and throws them back upon the sovereign good pleasure of God-and that is precisely where they do not want to be!” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We must be willing to surrender our self-determination and rely on God's sovereign good pleasure.
- We should not be afraid to talk about the plain words of Jesus concerning God's sovereignty.
- True understanding and salvation come from acknowledging God's sovereignty, not our own self-help.