(Receive our blog posts in your email by clicking here. If the author links in this post are broken, please visit our Free PDF Library and click on the author’s page directly.)
Among his Princeton Sermons (1879), we have the sketch of a sermon which Charles Hodge delivered on December 7, 1856 titled “Coming to Christ.” Here Hodge — a man who was not laconic, but rather a model of brevity — gives us an outline of what the Scripture teach. After discussing — from Matt. 11:28; John 5:40, 6:37, 44, 7:37; Heb. 7:25, 11:6; and Rev. 22:17 — the nature of what is meant by “coming,” as it includes a sense of one’s need for Christ, belief and trust in Him, drawing near to Him by faith, and spiritual union and communion with Him, then Hodge adds these simple remarks, which summarize what is involved.
Two additional truths are revealed by Scripture on this point.
The unwillingness of men to come, and consequently the guilt of not coming. 2. The necessity of being drawn by the Spirit.
The Scriptures teach,
That all are invited to come.
That all the elect do come.
That coming is essential.
That it is the very thing to be done.
That none who come shall be cast out.
That the reason why men do not come is their unwillingness.
That divine assistance is necessary.
A simple outline, but it is the simplicity of the Scriptures themselves. Read Hodge’s sermon sketch, and more by him, here.
