The supreme promise of Christ, embracing and transcending all others, is implied in Jn 1-1* ' \o man cometh to the Father but by me.' Access to God, fellowship with Him, are dependent on com- ing to Christ, and are promised to all who come to Him (cf. Jn e"").
AVe infer from our study of the passages cited, that, on one side, ' coming to Christ ' is practically synonymous with faith in Him. It is the active
movement of the soul towards Christ. More than once ' cometh ' and ' believeth ' occur as parallel, if not virtually synonymous, expressions (cf. Jn 6*^ -37f.) 'The first word presents faith in deed as active and outward, the second presents faith in thought as resting and inward' (Westcott on Jn 6'^). The ' coming ' is the response of the soul in its natural cravings, in its need, in its sin, to the call of Christ. It is its recognition in act, the act of trust, of His readiness to receive and His power to bless.
This, however, is only one side of the meaning of the phrase. There is another which is largely overlooked, perhaps because it does not immedi- ately appeal to man's sense of need.
Christ's condemnation of the unbelieving Jews (Jn 5") has already been mentioned. This implies that man's destiny depends on his attitude to Christ. In Lk 6*°*- this is still more clearlj' stated. 'Coming,' the first movement of the soul to Christ, is associated with, and derives spiritual and permanent value from, hearing and doing the words of Christ. The mere lip acknowledgment of Him is nothin", or worse than nothing, for it brings disaster ; the heart acknowledgment, issu- ing in obedience, is everything. This is stated e\en more strongly in Lk 14^ ' If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my ilisciple.' The next verse carries us a step further, from the 'coming to' to the 'coming after,' from the negative ' hating ' or renunciation to the posi- tive ' bearing ' or ' taking up ' of the cross (cf! Mt 16=S Mk 8^^ Lk 9='). These are Christ's conditions of discipleship, stringent, at first sight even re- pulsive. Mt 10" may be compared with Lk 14-^, not as toning down the demands of Christ, but as helping us to understand them. He claims to be the first, and in a profound sense the only object of man's affection and devotion. None other shall stand before Him, none other beside Him. There is here no condemnation, no abrogation of the claims of human affection, which are Divine in their origin, and have been strengthened and beautified under the influence of Christ. But there is a demand that these shall stand aside, shall be put aside ruthlessly and with the heart's whole passion, so far as they come into conflict or rivalry with the claims of Christ. The 'great possessions ' of the rich young ruler stood between liim and Christ. Father and mother, wife and child, do the same with others. If so, ' he cannot be my disciple.' Further, Christ demands the taking up of the cross ; that is, not the acceptance of trials, often trifling trials, as they come to us, to which in common use this great word has been reduced, but the readiness, for His sake, to follow Him to shame and to death.
While, then, 'coming to Christ ' means, on the one hand, faith in Him, a movement of the soul to Him for the acceptance of the blessings He offers, it means, on the other hand, no less clearly an absolute surrender of the soul, of the whole man to Him. This asj)ect of the truth already emerges in Mt ll-sf- ' Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me. . . . For my yoke is ea.sy, and my burden is light.' This involves the recognition of Him as ' Lord,' a whole-hearted obedience, an absolute surrender in which nothing, not even the clearest object of earthly attection, shall weigh with us against Him, a readiness to sutt'er shame and death for His sake. This is to ' come to him ' in the fullest sense, to come ' to ' in order to coming ' after ' ; this is to become His disciple. It .seems harsh and repellent : it is not really so. It is the detachment from the lower in order to attachment to the higher. It is the weaning, it may be the
COMING TO CHRIST
COMMANDMENTS
wrenching, of the soul from all else, that it may be united to God. There is no other way to the highest good.
The call of Christ, whether it be regarded as an invitation or as a claim, raises in an acute form the question of His Person. Its bearing on this can only be indicated, not fully discussed, in this article. Christ's call is, on the one hand, a uni- versal call. The 'all ye' of Mt U'-* has no limits of space or time within the limits of human per- sonality and need. It is the gospel for all men of all times and of all lands. It is the keynote of the whole NT and of all evangelical thought and preaching. On the other hand, Christ's call is an exclusive call. It is ' Come iinto me,' shutting out all other teachers or saviours. He professes to be able to satisfy all human need, even the deepest — that of the consciousness of sin. He claims to be the only object of affection and obedience. He declares Himself the only way to God. Either His professions and claims are false and absurd, or He is more than a man, more than the greatest among the great, than the best among the good. If we admit His [claims— and they find the fullest justification in the history of faith — we must make our confession with St. Peter : ' Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Mt 16'«).