“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
During special meetings in Pennsylvania, we went to a small country Sunday School for a Sunday morning service. We sat in the adult class taught by the Sunday School superintendent. Ten minutes before time to close, he ran out of ammunition, so he just stopped—and we waited in 10 minutes of silence that seemed like an hour.
That night he came to our meeting in town. I preached about how people can be religious but lost. He went into the prayer room and accepted Christ. As he was leaving, he shook my hand, smiled, and said, “Paul, the next time you sit in my class, I’ll have something to talk about!”
Six years later, I saw him again, still rejoicing in salvation.
The Sunday School superintendent was religious—but lost. Why? Because he had never come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Friend, are you saved? Have you come to the Lord Jesus and trusted Him for salvation? It is possible to go to the church, the communion table, or the baptistry without being saved. You must come to the Lord Jesus. He is a PERSON who saves. Without HIM, you have no hope.
The Judge Speaks
It is the Judge of all mankind who calls you to come to Him. In Matthew 11:20-24, we find Him pronouncing judgments upon three cities of Palestine. When the Judge speaks, you’d better pay attention. He wants to save you now. If you come to Him now, He, the Judge, will save you from the terrors of that fearful day when lost, condemned sinners stand before Him in judgment. In that hour it will be too late to be saved.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
The Son of God
Note also, it is the Son of God who speaks. (See John 5:25-27). That means He can make good on His promises.
A Simple Invitation
“Come unto Me.” What could be easier?
What does it mean to “come”? It means to trust Him, to receive Him, to take Him, to depend upon Him for salvation.
Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Judge of all mankind. He is the risen Man, alive from the dead, exalted at God’s right hand. Therefore, there is only one decent way to come to Him, and that is in humble submission.
How would you come to a king? Would you enter into his presence in a flippant manner? No, you would approach him with all the dignity and respect that his throne demands.
Anyone Can Come
Young and old, rich and poor, illiterate and educated, sick and well—anyone can come to the Lord Jesus. He loves you. He invites you to come. The blind, the lame, the deaf, the mute, the invalid—anyone can come.
You don’t need eyes, or feet, or hands to come to the Lord Jesus. You need not be able to speak a word. You don’t need a college education, or money or good clothes. All you need is a ready mind and a willingness to be saved.
The soldier in a bloody foxhole can come. The miner in the dirty coal pit, the pilot, flying through the sky above the clouds, the driver behind the wheel can come. You can come anywhere—but not anytime. My dear mother was saved at home alone. I know a man steeped in profanity, drunkenness, and lust who was gloriously saved when he came to the Lord Jesus while doing chores on the farm. Another man told me how he came to the Lord Jesus in a shell hole in France during wartime.
“Come”— Not “Don’t”
Suppose our Lord had said, “Quit your drinking, your drugs, your filthy habits, and I’ll save you.” What about the poor wretch enslaved by alcohol which has already tried a thousand times to quit, but can’t? What about the drug addict who would give his right arm to be set free? There would be no hope for people like that. The Lord Jesus is not asking folks to do what they can’t do. He just says, “Come.”
Come as you are, with your sins, habits, weakness, your helplessness. God will save you from the damnable drugs. He can free you from the bitterness of alcohol. Whatever hellish addiction that is wrecking your home, damning your soul, and driving you to premature death and Hell, God can remedy.
He, the eternal Son of God, loves you. He proved His love by shedding His blood and giving His life at Calvary.
You are a sinner, for we read that “all have sinned” in Romans 3:23. And, therefore, you are under the sentence of eternal death, eternal separation from God, “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
So the Lord Jesus came into this world “that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9).
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (I Peter 3:18).
Now your part is to receive Him, the risen Man. Trust Him for forgiveness and peace.
John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.”
Satisfying Invitation
Does He offer money? No. The rich man would say, “I have money. It doesn’t satisfy.” Does He offer popularity or fun? If He did, many would say, “We have friends, funds, fashions, and fame, but are not satisfied. We need something more.”
“Come unto me . . . and I will give you REST.” That’s what the rich man was looking for. The poor man wants to rest. The young, the old, the civilized and heathen, ignorant and brilliant, all seek rest and peace—rest from the awful fear of death, judgment, and Hell.
He’ll give you rest from your works. That is, some of you trust your good works to save you, so you are not sure you are saved because you are not sure you are good enough. He will give you eternal life, and you can KNOW you have it because He says, “He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life” (John 6:47). What peace, what rest, what relief to rest from your works, efforts, struggling, and to KNOW you are saved!
He offers you HIMSELF, His companionship.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).
He is saying, “Come unto me. I’ll save you. I’ll give you sweet peace and rest. I’ll forgive your sins. I’ll deliver you from sin’s power.”
“I’ll yoke up with you. I’ll help pull the heavy load. I’ll be with you through your troubles and sorrows. When sickness comes, when death strikes, when the road is rough, when your heart breaks, I’ll be with you.”
Dark nights and dreary days are coming. When you are flat on your back in a hospital; when you stand at the bedside and stroke the fevered brow of a departing loved one; when you look at the little white casket which contains the earthly remains of a precious baby; when stark poverty stares you in the face; when you walk through the gloomy valley and come to the chilly waters of death; in the hour of need, you’ll not be alone. It pays to be a Christian NOW, as well as in eternity.
A Serious Invitation
Don’t trifle with it. It is the invitation from God’s Son, the Judge whom you must face unless you let Him save you now. Now He says, “Come.” Then He will say, “Depart.” You don’t have to come now, but you will have to depart then. This tract may be your last invitation. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, and it may be now or never.
A pastor friend of mine told of a man who heard him preach one Sunday night. That man walked out the door unsaved. He said to his mother, “I feel as though I should have been saved tonight. But I’ll tend to it this week. I’ll go to the pastor’s home and be saved.” Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday came and went. Thursday came. He worked for the railroad. That day he fell before a moving boxcar. His head lay on one side of the rail and his body on the other. In an instant, the car had cut off his head. He was gone—into eternity. The Sunday before, he had said, “I feel as though I should have been saved tonight.”
