Good morning, Bereans! We'll get back to our study of 1 Peter next week. For our study this morning, I want to look at the question "Does God Drag or Invite?" Within Evangelical Churches there is ongoing debate on the issue of salvation. Is it by a choice of man's free will or of God's sovereign choice?
The Gospel is the Good News about what God has done for His people. It is the good news about Yeshua the Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Salvation is a gift of God to His people from beginning to end. The resolute will of God is the root of the new birth and the motivating force that gives new life. Salvation is a work of God. Man has no part and can have no part in the miracle of the new birth. This is what we call the Doctrine of Sovereign Election.
This past weekend at the conference, Dr. Jordan Grant gave two great lessons on how to think. I need you to apply what he taught us in our study this morning. In a YouTube video entitled "John 6:44 De-Calvinized," Dr. Leighton Flowers tries to make John 6:44 not say what it says. This video caught my attention because in my mind, John 6:44 is an "un-get-over-able" verse teaching God's sovereign election. But in the video, Flowers states that he has de-calvinized this verse. Let's look at what he says, and you decide. He starts the video by quoting John 6:44.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 ESV
Flowers says that "The Calvinist is interpreting the word 'draw' as compel or to irresistibly change one's heart through an effectual work of grace so they will certainly come to Christ. Therefore, the Calvinistic interpretation of verse 44 would read, 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me compels him. And I will raise he who is compelled on the last day.'" I'm okay with this, it's a little weak, but way better than what he comes up with.
To refute translating the word "draw" as compel, Leighton goes on to say, "But Jesus says several chapters later,"
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." John 12:32 ESV
Flowers never mentions that this is the same Greek word for "draw" that we see in John 6:44. He says, "If all are drawn and draw means to compel than that would make this verse to mean that everyone will come. Which is clearly not the intention of Jesus."
This is called poisoning the well. Poisoning the well is a type of ad hominem where negative information is presented to an audience to discredit whatever the opponent is about to say. By using this verse, he is saying the word "draw" can't mean draw or everybody would be saved. I'll deal with this verse a little later.
Flowers goes on to say (1:22): "A more consistent way to interpret the word 'Draw' is to enable or to grant. Which would help us to understand John 6:44 to mean 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me enables him. And I will raise up he who comes on the last day.'"
So, God does not compel, but he enables. Hang on to that because he's going to weaken it even further in a minute. God definitely enables. But where did this definition come from? He doesn't say.
Flowers goes on to say, ""A more consistent way to interpret the word 'Draw' is to enable or to grant. This is consistent with Jesus' own commentary in," in verse 65.
And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." John 6:65 ESV
Flowers says (1:50): "This is kind of like saying, 'No one can come to the party unless they have been invited, and those who come will have a great time.' An invitation is required to attend but not everyone who is invited will necessarily choose to come and have a great time at the party."
Do you see what he just did? He just changed the meaning of the word draw to compel and then to invite. Is there a difference between draw and invite? He never deals with the Greek words in these texts. If he did, he would not come up with this definition of invite. Before we go on, let's look at the word here for granted.
And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." John 6:65 ESV
Flowers turns "granted" into "invite." But the word "granted" here is didōmi, which means "to give." It is uses 414 times in the New Testament. So, this is saying that no one can come to Christ unless it has been given to him to come.
"No one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father"—over and over in this chapter, Yeshua refers to the divine initiative, intervention, and empowerment necessary for anyone to come to faith in Him. This is a point that he wants us to get. Twice Yeshua says, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me"—the ability to believe on Yeshua requires divine enablement. It is only those whom "the Father" enables to believe that "come to" Yeshua in faith. These are "all" the people whom "the Father gives" to the Son as gifts. Yeshua viewed the ultimate cause of faith as God's electing grace, not man's choice.
"No one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father"—what's important to see here is that each time that He states this truth of God's sovereign election, it's in response to unbelief. In 6:36, He tells His critics,
But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. John 6:36 ESV
Then He immediately adds,
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. John 6:37 ESV
In 6:43, Yeshua confronts their grumbling about Him,
"Do not grumble among yourselves. John 6:43 ESV
Then he adds,
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 ESV
In verse 64 Yeshua again confronts their unbelief,
But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Yeshua knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) John 6:64 ESV
Then he adds,
"This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." John 6:65 ESV
Yeshua is telling this crowd of seekers that none of them can believe in Him and have eternal life unless they are part of the elect of God. Unless God has chosen them, they will never understand what He is saying. Is that something that sounds seeker-sensitive?
"No one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father"—do you see the necessary condition in this verse? No one can come unless the Father has granted him the ability to come. A necessary condition is a circumstance in whose absence a given event could not occur or a given thing could not exist. In other words, if a man is not given to Yeshua by the Father, then a man can NOT come to him. Every person who comes to Yeshua can only come if he is given by the Father. That's the necessary condition. We must be given to Christ by the Father. These are the words of Christ, not Augustine or Calvin.
So, when a necessary condition for the occurrence of a given event (here divine election) is found, we have a circumstance in whose absence the event could not occur; and whenever it does occur, the thing exists. Everyone given by the Father will come to Christ in faith. No one will come to Christ in faith who is not given.
If everyone is given, then they will all come because everyone given will come. This would be Universalism, and the Bible does not teach that. And if no one is given then nobody will come. Nobody would be saved because only the given can come.
Those whom the Father has chosen will trust in Christ but only because they have first been chosen by God. This is a difficult doctrine for some to accept, but it is what the Bible teaches. We find it difficult to accept because our pride opposes the thought that God is in control of everything, including our salvation.
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. John 6:66 ESV
The Greek phrase ek toutou, translated here as "After this," should be "from this time" or "for this reason." Both meanings fit here. These disciples were not believers; they were natural men without the Spirit and they, therefore, found Yeshua's discourse intolerable. Because his sermon wasn't seeker-sensitive, it converted popular enthusiasm for Yeshua into disgust. Like a winnowing fan, it blew the chaff away, leaving a small remainder of wheat behind. I think we can conclude from the flow of the narrative that the defection has been so substantial that not many actually remain.
So, Flowers waters down "draw" by poisoning the well, first saying that it means "to compel" and then saying it means "to invite." But while providing these meanings, he never deals with the actual Greek words. So, let's back up and look at the word "draw" in John 6:44.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 ESV
The word translated "draw" here is from the Greek word helkuō. Strong says it means, "to drag (literally or figuratively)." That certainly can't be says the Arminian. Drag and invite are certainly different. The Thayer definitions are: (1) to draw, drag off, (2) metaphorically, to draw by inward power, lead, impel. NASEC says, to drag: — drag (1), dragged (2), draw (1), draws (1), drew (2), haul.
So, Flowers twists the etymology of the word helkuo. He twisted "to drag" to mean "to invite." That is very dishonest. Flowers is a Professor of Theology at Trinity Seminary and has earned a doctorate. One should rightly assume that he knows some Greek.
There are two basic methods by which words are defined: (1) etymology—which is the derivation of a word, its dictionary definition and (2) usage—which is how the author uses a word. Usage always takes precedence over etymology. In addition to origins and derivations, it is extremely important for us to study language in the context of its usage. This is necessary because words undergo changes in meaning depending on how they are used. The word "scan" used to be defined in English dictionaries as "to read carefully, in close detail." More recent editions define "scan" as "to skim over lightly."
A foreigner could study the English language until he had it mastered, but you put that person on a city street corner in America, and he will have a hard time figuring out what is being said. He might overhear two teenagers talking and hear them say, "She's phat" and wonder why they would say this about a thin girl.
So, we have looked at the etymology of helkuo (to drag). Now, let's look at its usage. It is used eight times in the New Testament. To understand what it means, let's look at all of its uses.
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) John 18:10 ESV
The word "drew" is helkuo. Does "call or invite" make any sense here? Did Peter invite his sword to come out? No! He grabbed it, and pulled it out. What did the sword have to say about being drawn? Nothing!
He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. John 21:6 ESV
Haul here is helkuo. They were unable to drag it in.
So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. John 21:11 ESV
Hauled is also helkuo. They certainly didn't invite the net full of fish to come ashore.
But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. Acts 16:19 ESV
The word "seized" here is epilambanomai which means "to lay hold of." Dragged here is helkuo. Does invite fit here?
Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. Acts 21:30 ESV
We find the same thing here. They "seized" [epilambanomai, "to lay hold of"] Paul and dragged [helkuo] him out of the Temple.
But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? James 2:6 ESV
Drag is helkuo. The usage of this word makes it very clear that helkuo means "to draw by irresistible superiority." They all have the idea of dragging, not inviting or calling.
That's seven of its uses. Now let's go back to John 12.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." John 12:32 ESV
Earlier we saw that Flowers used this text as proof that if helkuo means to draw by force, then everybody must come to Yeshua. He does that because he is begging the question concerning what "all men" means here. "All men" is the Greek word pas which according to Strongs means "Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole: - all (manner of, means)" Pas is used in John 2.
and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." John 2:10 ESV
Everyone here is pas. Does pas here mean every single person? No, the man in the text said "you kept the good wine until now."
And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." John 3:26 ESV
Were "all men" going to Christ? Not hardly.
Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. John 8:2 ESV
Was everyone coming to Christ? The "all men" here does not refer to everybody. It means all kinds of people, Jews and Gentiles. Pas does not mean every person without exception; it means all people without distinction.
Arminians love using John 12:32 to try to prove their point, but they use it out of context. In this text, Greeks come to seek Yeshua.
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Yeshua." John 12:20-21 ESV
Salvation was believed to be exclusively for the Jews. But Yeshua said:
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. John 10:16 ESV
These other sheep are the non-Jews, the Gentiles (in this one flock there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile—Galatians 3:28). This of course was a scandal to the Jews who believed they were the apple of God's eye. Phillip tells Yeshua (about the Greeks seeking after Him).
Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Yeshua. John 12:22 ESV
Yeshua says to them,
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. John 12:23 ESV
This sets the tone for Yeshua to speak about His death.
"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." John 12:27-28 ESV
Which leads to verse 32.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." John 12:32 ESV
I believe that the word "all people" in this context is referring to Jews and Gentiles. Out of these (both Jew and Gentile) God will draw His elect. This makes sense given the context of Greeks seeking Yeshua.
Knowing that helkuo means "to drag by irresistible superiority," we know that "all people" does not mean "every single person." Taking it in such a way leads to universalism. In other words, God drags all people to himself. Universalism is the teaching that God, through the atonement of Jesus, will ultimately bring reconciliation between God and all people throughout history. This reconciliation will occur regardless of whether they have trusted in or rejected Jesus as savoir during their lifetime. As with any doctrine, there are many varieties of universalism.
The basic presupposition of Universalism is that God's nature is love, and He loves everybody. I see Universalism as the logical outcome of Arminianism. If God loves everyone, then it only makes sense that He will save everyone. The Universalists go through the Scriptures and pull out all the verses that mention "all" and "world" in an attempt to prove their point that "all" will be saved.
I see Universalism as an attack on the Gospel. Over and over the Bible calls upon man to "believe on the Lord Yeshua the Christ" for salvation. But Universalism says, "You don't need to believe in Yeshua; all will be saved."
This definition of helkuo (to drag by irresistible superiority," also holds true outside of Scripture. We find the following in secular literature:
"And he drew [helkuo] the bow, clutching at once the notched arrow and the string of ox's sinew" (Homer, Iliad, 4.122)
"But Sarpedon with strong hands caught hold of the battlement and tugged [helkuo], and the whole length of it gave way" (Homer, Iliad, 12.398)
When a drawstring is pulled back or when a battlement is tugged and made to fall, these things are not invited or called. They are forced back and forced over. The meaning of the word cannot be clearer. Nobody is capable of coming to Yeshua unless the Father by irresistible superiority draws him.
So, in John 6:44 Yeshua is saying that no one can come to Him "unless the Father who sent Me draws him!" This is what theologians call "Irresistible Grace or Sovereign Grace." It is not that God drags those who don't want to come. It is that God makes them willing by His grace. In regeneration, God gives us spiritual life which includes a desire for Him. If God gives us a desire for Christ, we will act according to that desire and we will choose Christ.
Earlier Flowers quoted Yeshua.
"This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." John 6:65 ESV
Then Flowers said: "This is kind of like saying, 'No one can come to the party unless they have been invited, and those who come will have a great time. An invitation is required to attend but not everyone who is invited will necessarily choose to come and have a great time at the party.'"
He goes on to state: "This interpretation establishes two key points. [It really can't establish anything because it is not a correct interpretation. There is no invite in this verse.] The two points he says it establishes are:
1. "God's loving desire for all to come." So, he is saying that God wants all men to come to him. Do all men come? No, what does that mean? God doesn't get what he wants; he is impotent. Is that the God of the Bible?
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Psalms 115:3 ESV
2. "Unbelievers' blameworthiness for not choosing to come when invited. This is consistent with Jesus' words in the previous chapter when he said to the Pharisees,"
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. John 5:39-40 ESV
Flowers says, "The reason they are to blame is because they have refused God's love and provision not because God has refused to give them the necessary grace to come." This raises an important question: Why do they refuse to come to Jesus? Is it because Jesus refused them first? God doesn't really want them?"
The Scripture says they don't come because they were not given.
Yeshua said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. John 6:35-39 ESV
They refuse to come because they were not given to Christ by the Father. Who are the given?
When Yeshua had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. John 17:1-2 ESV
Whom does Christ give eternal life to? He gives it to all those that the Father has given Him, the elect.
"I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. John 17:6 ESV
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. John 17:9 ESV
Whom is it that Yeshua prays for? He prays for those that the Father has given Him. He doesn't pray for the world.
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 ESV
Those given to Yeshua by God the Father are children of promise. God is selective in salvation. Over and over again, "You gave them to Me."
Why do they refuse to come?
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 ESV
It's because no man can come unless they are irresistibly drawn by God.
Flowers says, "Christ desires all people to be saved."
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Yeshua, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:3-6 ESV
"All" here is the Greek word pas which we have already looked at. Look at the context of this verse. It is clear that "all people" refers to all types of people. It's the same as "all people" that they were to pray for in verses 1-3.
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 1 Timothy 2:1-3 ESV
To say that God desired all men to be saved but was unable to save all men would be to say that God was impotent. If God's purpose is to save all men, if Yeshua died for all men, and if the Holy Spirit is trying to win all men to Yeshua the Christ, by observation and fact, why do so many people not believe in Christ? Why are they dying without eternal life? Do we have a God who is disappointed, a Savior who is dissatisfied, and a Holy Spirit that is defeated? To argue that God is trying His best to save all mankind but that the majority of men will not let Him save them is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent while the will of the creature is omnipotent. But the God of the Bible is not impotent and under the will of man. The God of the Bible is absolutely sovereign.
What about 2 Peter 3:9?
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 ESV
Again, we must look at the context to understand the verse. The context deals with scoffers asking what happened to the promised second coming of Christ. The "perish" here is talking about perishing in the destruction of Jerusalem.
knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." 2 Peter 3:3-4 ESV
Peter's response is in verse 9.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 ESV
Yeshua will come just as he said, but he is longsuffering towards "you"—who is the you?
The antecedent of you is the beloved of verse 1.
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 Peter 3:1 ESV
God was waiting for his own, his elect, to come to repentance.
Someone might ask: What about all the "whosoever wills" in the Scripture? Whosoever will may come. The problem is that man is dead and unwilling to come unless he is called of God and given life. The offer is open to all.
Someone wrote the following to me: "What if the elect and called and chosen was something that God did in the first century to bring the gospel to the world, and now we are just simply believers?"
God chose and gave life to his elect because they were dead in sin. Has this changed since AD 70? Has the nature of man changed? If not, then men are still born dead in sin and must be given life in order to believe.
Election is not taught to confuse us but to destroy our pride and elicit our praise. Calvin said, "For neither will anything else suffice to make us humble as we ought to be nor shall we otherwise sincerely feel how much we are obliged to God."
Let me close with a quote from John Robbins of the Trinity Foundation.
Most churches in the United States that call themselves Christian reject the Gospel. They teach, if they are liberal, that Jesus was a good man, even a martyr, but he died in no one's place; or, if they are conservative, that Jesus died in everyone's place, desires all men to be saved, and offers salvation to all. But it really makes little difference whether a church is large, respectable and liberal and teaches that Jesus died for no one; or enthusiastic, growing, and conservative and teaches that Jesus died for everyone: The result is the same: Jesus Christ actually saves no one—no one at all. Both liberals and conservatives agree that people save themselves by an exercise of their wills. The conservative "Christ" makes salvation possible, if people will only let him into their hearts; the liberal "Christ" points the way to salvation, if people will but follow his example. Neither "Christ" saves. The liberal "Christ," at best, is a brave soul who endures injustice rather than renounce his belief in humankind; the conservative "Christ" is a wimp who begs people to let him into their hearts.
So, Flowers didn't de-calvinize John 6:44 at all. What he attempted to do was to deceive people by changing the clear meaning of the word "draw" to the made up meaning of "invite." The sad thing is many will buy what he is saying because they lack the ability to think rationally. Helko means to drag by irresistible superiority. That's a big difference from invite. All whom God loves he drags.
Video Soteriology 101 w/ Dr. Leighton Flowers