The Five Ways God Invites Us to Come to Jesus – Richard Sibbes

The following has been taken and edited from The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, Volume 7, pages 462-464, in the sermon The Witness of Salvation.

Italicised words are my edits and are not found directly in the words of Richard Sibbes. The words that remain un-italicised are Sibbes words.

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According to God’s way of salvation, Christ must not be had by exchange, but received as a free gift, as in Romans 4:16, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed.”

God does not care about anything else we could bring. It is as though He says, “Bring me my Son, and show me Him, and then all is well.” He does not name hope or love or any other grace, but faith only. For the nature of faith is to let fall all things in laying hold of Christ.

What then should we do to be saved? Why, receive Him! Believe in Him now. Come and take sure hold, as in Revelation 22:17, “and let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”

In what ways, then, does God call us to this faith? How does He call us to Christ, and welcome us in Christ? What grounding does He gives to us to know that we may come, and to know that we have truly come?

Firstly, by an open house. God keeps an open house that, whoever would come, He would not deny any who take Him at His Word, and believe in Christ. From then, by degrees, take hold on the other promises of life by faith. The belief that I have that I will go to heaven is notfaith itself (as many think), but a consequent of it. All the promises, including that of heaven are made to those who believe in Christ. For “all the promises are yea and amen in Him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). We must first receive Christ, and then we will have a warrant to have all the promises in Him. We may weep much, and beg hard for the forgiveness of sins, and weep and be without comfort even to the end of the world – unless we have received Christ, and have all that is His home to our trembling soul. The man who comes and receives Christ by this way, if such a man were asked this question, “Have you any warrant to receive Christ?” He will answer, “Yes, I have a warrant. He openly welcomes all who come, and receives them into His house, and I have come. Is this not enough of a warrant? If God gives me a desire and will to come, and I come, is this not sufficient?” So this is the first way He welcomes sinners to Christ, and is the first way we see in ourselves true faith.

Secondly, by invitation. If a man, as many do, stumbles over this first way, then God sends them an invitation. Because we are slow to believe, God invites us, as in Matthew 11:28: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” How many would say, “Oh, I am not worthy to come!” But God steps in by invitation, so that they say, “But you see here is the invitation encouraging me! Yes, the sorer and heavier my load is, I should come all the more!” So if anyone should ask this one, “Friend, why and how did you come? What warrant do you have to be so bold?” Then this one says, “The Lord, He gave me a word of comfort, a ‘warrant’ to come to Him. My burden was very heavy, and my unworthiness great. But at His invitation, in obedience to His Word, and faith in His promise, I came here to Christ.” This invitation is sent out so that those who, seeing no goodness in them, would not run away from Christ because of their sense of condemnation, but would come in to Christ Jesus for relief and ease of miseries. Relying on Him for the cure, as the Great Physician, and holding at Hisfeet for mercy, that is what this invitation is meant to bring us to. And once having been justified by His grace, and in the way of life, I can rest on Jesus, and clam my spirit with the assurance that I do believe.

Thirdly, Entreaty. Sometimes Christ encounters a slow and dull heart, lazy and careless. They do not know or comprehend the danger they are in, or that they are separated from God. They make their excuses and go on. Christ might justly leave us at this point. For is it not already too much that the King should invite us for our good? As Jesus described in Matthew 22:1-10, those who, refusing to come to His wedding feast for His Son, were excluded, and strangers were brought in their places? God would be perfectly just to deal with us in this way. Yet, you see, as in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “God sends an embassage to entreat as.” He creates a special position in His kingdom, as it were, for our sakes. He says, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, to be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 2:21). Here we see and may admire His infinite rich goodness. He comes to entreat us to be reconciled with Him. It is an indignity for great kings of great nations to stoops and offer entreaties to lesser kings of lesser nations – entreaties that do not benefit the greater, and only benefit the lesser. Yet God not only puts up with the slow and dull heart, but takes this dishonour on Himself, and says to us first, when by all rights it ought to be for us to go to our knees and beg for His mercy and reconciliation. But God sends an entreaty by way of His ambassadors that we should be friends with Him, and receive from Him was is for our highest benefit. When we see in our hearts a liveliness to come to Jesus from this entreaty of reconciliation in Christ, as in James 1:21, it is a witness of our spirit. If His message of reconciliation grips my soul, and I yield and come in to Christ, this is enough to show that I am a justified person.

Fourthly, Command. If an open house, an invitation, and an entreaty will not do, then comes a further degree of graciousness, a command from the Highest – You shall do it! As in john 3:23, “And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment.” If I will not believe on the Lord Jesus, who releases me and gives me rest from the rigour of the law, and have Him become my righteousness apart from the law, I will perish forever! So therefore, because sinners do not do this, God binds one as strictly to believe as to keep any of the commandments. For all boasting must be excluded because we are justified by faith apart from the law (Romans 3:28). So when someone asks, “What, I must believe rather than work?” We should respond, yes, you are commanded to believe on Christ alone for your salvation as strictly as you are commanded not to murder, to be an idolater, or to steal. And what is more, your infidelity and contempt of the gracious offer of salvation in Christ, your disobedience to believe, is greater than any and all of your disobedience to the law. What did Jesus say He came to reprove? The great sinof unbelief, “Because they believe not in me.” Why? Because in two respects it is a great sin. First, because unbelief sins against God’s mercy or way of salvation. Second, because unbelief is a chain which links and binds all other sins together. So then, faith is certain when it relies on what God has said. All other thoughts outside of faith in Christ for salvation are presumptuous, and will fail a man in the end, because it is not taking God at His Word but building their own way up to Him. So faith is my submission to believe every word of God – and He commands me to believe so that I do not miss it.

Fifthly and finally, Threatenings. If all this will not do, then God threatens. He swears that all who refuse will never enter His rest. If a prince should entreat a beggar’s daughter who marriage, and she should refuse and hold His offer in contempt, do you think He would be at all pleased? So it is with us. When the King of heaven’s Son sends to us, “Will you be married to me? Will all that is mine be yours in Christ, and all that is yours be His?” If we refuse, should not the Son respond? If He had offered us slavery and we refuse, or if He had offered us employment in His service alone – but no, He offers us sonship and salvation and marriage! So in Psalm 2:12, “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those that put their trust in Him.” Again in Hebrews 3:18, where God swore because of infidelity those unbelieving Jews should never enter into His rest. Of all the rest of God’s threats within the law, none were sealed with an oath save only this. God holds out for mercy in the satisfaction of divine justice for all others sins. For the sin of unbelief there is no such reservation. He has sworn that no unbeliever will ever enter into His rest, for His rest is Christ.

So today, if you hear His voice from the open door, or from the invitation, or by the entreaty, or by the command, or by His threats – do not harden your heart! Go to Christ for rest. When we come by this Gospel, we may know that we have Christ when we have Him alone.