J.A. Matteson
Blessed is the man who believes in Jesus Christ. The commands He gives; the claims He makes; the predictions He declares are fantastic, so much so that none will accept them apart from grace. "Does this cause you to stumble?" (Jn. 6:61). Believing in Christ is both the simplist act and the most impossible one simultaneously. For to one man the volitional aspect to believe strikes him as clear as a lightening bolt and is the plainest response to all that his heart has seen and heard. To another man His words are hard to accept and he stumbles, remaining in a state of unbelief, spiritually deaf and blind to the Light before him. The Lord spoke exactly when He proclaimed the flesh, or fallen human will, is of no benefit in assisting a man to believe; rather, it is just the opposite...a hindrance. Life which the Spirit gives is predicate to and essential for faith exercised...it is the Spirit Who gives life. For this reason two men hear the same Gospel, one believes and one stumbles. If not for grace both would stumble and remain in darkness. And the Lord describes the work of grace in the heart, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father" (Jn. 6:65). All are commanded to come to Christ, but apart from grace they lack the moral ability to do so. If any man desires Christ he is indeed blessed. The Lord will never turn away those who come to Him in faith.
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