Imagine this: You are sitting in a church while a Pentecostal, Holiness preacher is preaching. He tells the following story:
"Years ago, I preached a three-week revival in North Dakota. There was a man there who came to the last service. The Spirit of God was there in a mighty way. The man heard a clear presentation of the gospel. I made it clear that the Lord was dealing with him, and he needed to pray while the Lord was dealing with him. However, the man walked out of that service lost.
"After the revival had concluded, I preached the following week in South Dakota. The same man showed up. After service, he came to me and said he wanted to talk to me. We talked. He said that since he left the revival the previous week, he did not feel the Lord dealing with him and was afraid that he couldn't be saved. I said, 'Son, let's go to the altar right now and pray, and see if the Lord will save you.' We prayed at the altar for two solid hours. The man wept like a baby, begging God to save him. After the man quit praying, he looked at me and said, 'I'm still lost!' This man waited too long, and since the Lord is no longer dealing with him, he cannot be saved. He is doomed to be lost forever."
Now, dear reader, what is wrong with that story? The problem with that story is simple. There is little about that story that is Biblical. Now, please understand, I am not referring to any particular story that I have heard. I am not referring to any particular preacher. I am singling no one out. I have heard stories exactly like this one on several occasions. It is a story where someone tries to pray, but God refuses to save them because they waited too long.
People who tell these stories and believe in the possibility of God rejecting pleading sinners have used a few scriptures to support their belief. Let me point out these scriptures, then rightly divide them.
Advocates of this belief first go to John 6:44, where Jesus states, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." This is the most popular verse among this crowd. They interpret this verse to say that if you don't feel a certain way, you can't be saved. If you are not trembling under conviction, then God is not dealing with you. Consequently, if God is not dealing with you, you can't be saved.
But let's look at it closer. Let me say first that there will come a time when people will pray to be saved, but they will be rejected. People will pray in hell, and will not be saved (Luke 16:19-31). People will try to escape the wrath of God at the coming of the Lord and find no escape (Revelation 6:14-17). People will pray and find no salvation on the Great Day of Judgment (Matthew 7:21-23). However, in this blog post, I am discussing whether people can pray only to be rejected IN THIS LIFE.
Notice what Jesus said. He said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." Let's look at this word "draw." Look at what Jesus said in John 12:32, 33 - "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die." Here, Jesus very clearly connects the "drawing" to His death on the cross. Friend, when Jesus died on the cross, at that point, with hands outstretched, He drew, and continues to draw, the entire world to salvation. Because of the blood of Christ that washes our sins away, the Father says in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Because of the blood and water that flowed from the cross, the Son says in John 7:37, "...Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Because of the cross, Revelation 22:17 states, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Wow! Did you get all that? Jesus said that when He is lifted up on the cross, He will draw ALL MEN unto Him! Because of the cross, the Father draws, saying, "Come." The Son draws, declaring, "Come." The Spirit and the bride are drawing men, saying, "Come." And this great invitation is not to a select few who "feel convicted." It is not limited to those who feel goosebumps. It is not exclusive to those who tremble in fear. It is clearly to WHOSOEVER WILL.
So, you may be wondering if I believe the Lord ever ceases to deal with an individual. It is possible, but it is rare. Jesus did not come to close the door to mankind; He came to open it wide open. The Bible does, however, speak of the reprobate in Romans 1, who the Lord "gave them over" and "gave them up." One thing the Bible does teach is this: If the Lord ceases to deal with an individual, that person will have NO DESIRE to pray and seek God. Notice Romans 3:11 - "...there is none that seeketh after God." This means that no one seeks the Lord on their own. In the story I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, there was a man who wanted to pray, and had a desire to get right, but somehow felt that the Lord was not dealing with him, and therefore concluded he could not be saved. THIS IS ABSOLUTE FALSE DOCTRINE. The desire to pray in itself is evidence of the Lord drawing an individual. "There is NONE that seeketh after God." You did not seek the Lord on your own. If you are taking steps to God, praying, asking the Lord to save you, then the Lord most certainly is drawing you to be saved.
So, you may now wonder if I believe in any possibility of someone trying to pray, but being rejected. My answer: NEVER IN THIS LIFE. Of course, I do understand that the praying person must believe with all their heart. But, my point is that if a person prays, believing and trusting the Lord to save them, He absolutely will save them.
Note this. In the same chapter where Jesus stated that a person must be drawn of the Father, He made another statement that is often overlooked. For those of you who believe that a person can pray and beg God to save them, and the Lord will turn them away, you need to put this other verse in your doctrine, because it is not there. John 6:37 - "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." This means that if a person prays, believing with all their heart, Jesus Christ will UNDER ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCE cast them away. You say, "What if God has ceased to draw them?" The very fact that the person is praying, asking God to save them is proof that He is dealing with them.
"Years ago, I preached a three-week revival in North Dakota. There was a man there who came to the last service. The Spirit of God was there in a mighty way. The man heard a clear presentation of the gospel. I made it clear that the Lord was dealing with him, and he needed to pray while the Lord was dealing with him. However, the man walked out of that service lost.
"After the revival had concluded, I preached the following week in South Dakota. The same man showed up. After service, he came to me and said he wanted to talk to me. We talked. He said that since he left the revival the previous week, he did not feel the Lord dealing with him and was afraid that he couldn't be saved. I said, 'Son, let's go to the altar right now and pray, and see if the Lord will save you.' We prayed at the altar for two solid hours. The man wept like a baby, begging God to save him. After the man quit praying, he looked at me and said, 'I'm still lost!' This man waited too long, and since the Lord is no longer dealing with him, he cannot be saved. He is doomed to be lost forever."
Now, dear reader, what is wrong with that story? The problem with that story is simple. There is little about that story that is Biblical. Now, please understand, I am not referring to any particular story that I have heard. I am not referring to any particular preacher. I am singling no one out. I have heard stories exactly like this one on several occasions. It is a story where someone tries to pray, but God refuses to save them because they waited too long.
People who tell these stories and believe in the possibility of God rejecting pleading sinners have used a few scriptures to support their belief. Let me point out these scriptures, then rightly divide them.
Advocates of this belief first go to John 6:44, where Jesus states, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." This is the most popular verse among this crowd. They interpret this verse to say that if you don't feel a certain way, you can't be saved. If you are not trembling under conviction, then God is not dealing with you. Consequently, if God is not dealing with you, you can't be saved.
But let's look at it closer. Let me say first that there will come a time when people will pray to be saved, but they will be rejected. People will pray in hell, and will not be saved (Luke 16:19-31). People will try to escape the wrath of God at the coming of the Lord and find no escape (Revelation 6:14-17). People will pray and find no salvation on the Great Day of Judgment (Matthew 7:21-23). However, in this blog post, I am discussing whether people can pray only to be rejected IN THIS LIFE.
Notice what Jesus said. He said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." Let's look at this word "draw." Look at what Jesus said in John 12:32, 33 - "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die." Here, Jesus very clearly connects the "drawing" to His death on the cross. Friend, when Jesus died on the cross, at that point, with hands outstretched, He drew, and continues to draw, the entire world to salvation. Because of the blood of Christ that washes our sins away, the Father says in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Because of the blood and water that flowed from the cross, the Son says in John 7:37, "...Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Because of the cross, Revelation 22:17 states, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Wow! Did you get all that? Jesus said that when He is lifted up on the cross, He will draw ALL MEN unto Him! Because of the cross, the Father draws, saying, "Come." The Son draws, declaring, "Come." The Spirit and the bride are drawing men, saying, "Come." And this great invitation is not to a select few who "feel convicted." It is not limited to those who feel goosebumps. It is not exclusive to those who tremble in fear. It is clearly to WHOSOEVER WILL.
So, you may be wondering if I believe the Lord ever ceases to deal with an individual. It is possible, but it is rare. Jesus did not come to close the door to mankind; He came to open it wide open. The Bible does, however, speak of the reprobate in Romans 1, who the Lord "gave them over" and "gave them up." One thing the Bible does teach is this: If the Lord ceases to deal with an individual, that person will have NO DESIRE to pray and seek God. Notice Romans 3:11 - "...there is none that seeketh after God." This means that no one seeks the Lord on their own. In the story I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, there was a man who wanted to pray, and had a desire to get right, but somehow felt that the Lord was not dealing with him, and therefore concluded he could not be saved. THIS IS ABSOLUTE FALSE DOCTRINE. The desire to pray in itself is evidence of the Lord drawing an individual. "There is NONE that seeketh after God." You did not seek the Lord on your own. If you are taking steps to God, praying, asking the Lord to save you, then the Lord most certainly is drawing you to be saved.
So, you may now wonder if I believe in any possibility of someone trying to pray, but being rejected. My answer: NEVER IN THIS LIFE. Of course, I do understand that the praying person must believe with all their heart. But, my point is that if a person prays, believing and trusting the Lord to save them, He absolutely will save them.
Note this. In the same chapter where Jesus stated that a person must be drawn of the Father, He made another statement that is often overlooked. For those of you who believe that a person can pray and beg God to save them, and the Lord will turn them away, you need to put this other verse in your doctrine, because it is not there. John 6:37 - "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." This means that if a person prays, believing with all their heart, Jesus Christ will UNDER ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCE cast them away. You say, "What if God has ceased to draw them?" The very fact that the person is praying, asking God to save them is proof that He is dealing with them.
