As I approach my 50th spiritual birthday in about six months, I want to celebrate this major milestone by reflecting and writing on various aspects of my salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. In this article, I want to put the spotlight on God’s supernatural ability to draw those whom He chooses to come to faith. Make no mistake. I did nothing to earn my salvation. The faith I put in Jesus was a free gift. It was not about Russ. It was all about God. He gets all of the glory.
Allow me to unpack some of the things God does behind the scenes through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to prepare someone to repent of their sins, believe the Gospel, and become born again. I will paint a picture of what that looked like from my experience, and then highlight some of the evidence I saw of a changed life that God brought about immediately and eventually over time.
How God draws people to Himself
We may believe that people can just choose to believe in God out of their own free will. However, as it has been pointed out for centuries by preachers much smarter than I, our sinful human nature is such that we are unable to make that choice. There are many Scriptures indicating that God has to draw people to Himself to enable them to repent and believe in Jesus. Something supernatural has to happen in a person’s heart before they can even see the Kingdom of God.
In John 3:3, Jesus said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Moreover, in John 6:44, Jesus taught that people can only become believers because of what God does internally to bring them to faith: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Jesus reemphasized this idea later in v. 65, saying, “I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
The psalmist states, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1). The Apostle Paul taught that some of God’s eternal attributes are revealed to us through creation. (See Rom. 1:20.) Paul addressed God’s purposes in what is called general revelation. He highlighted one characteristic, saying, “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4). When we understand the contrast between our lack of kindness and God’s kindness toward us, it draws us in. When we hear the gospel, we can respond to it. However, those who do not have eyes to see or ears to hear are not willing to repent, even if they see the lovingkindness of God.
How God drew me
I encourage you to read my personal testimony, which I posted on my blog in December 2020. Let me summarize.
As a child, I grew up going to church regularly. I am grateful for the exposure to Christian values, Bible stories, and learning about matters of faith, which reinforced my parents’ values. Although I did not hear the gospel clearly preached in the churches I attended, my heart was being prepared.
The summer of 1975 was when I saw God getting my attention in undeniable ways. One of the big activities I got to do was a canoe trip in Minnesota and Canada in June. There, God clearly revealed Himself to me through nature. He also answered specific prayers I prayed. I began to long for a relationship with this God who created this beautiful world and cared for me.
During my senior year of high school, I sensed my need for forgiveness, purpose, and lasting joy. At a Youth for Christ club Christmas party, I heard the gospel for the very first time. In Rom. 10:17, we read that “faith comes from hearing the message.” An invitation was given. Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” At that point, I had all the faith I needed. The change I so desperately wanted would come from the inside out. I felt led to repent, confess my sin, profess my faith in Jesus Christ, and surrender to Him. I was born again at that moment.
A growing, not perfect, but changed life
In Eph. 2:1-2, the Apostle Paul describes our former status as unbelievers: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” I was truly dead, but I was made alive. As the classic hymn “Amazing Grace” indicates, “I once was lost, but now I am found; was blind, but now I see.” This immediate and irreversible transformation affected my heart, mind, and soul.
Justification, where we are declared righteous due to our change in status that is given freely by grace when we come to faith in Jesus, is “one and done.” Sanctification, the process of becoming more like Christ, takes a lifetime. In my testimony, I mentioned some of the changes that took place immediately when I was born again. But what has happened to me since then?
In the spring of my senior year in high school, I began to learn how to pray. This was helpful as I sought God’s guidance in choosing where to go to school, which was a huge decision with eternal implications. As a freshman at CSU, I read the Bible on my own and studied it in small groups. I read Christian books and listened to Christian music. I began to practice God’s presence in my daily walk. Over time, I sensed God leading me as I asked for His wisdom regarding my career and choosing a mate. I have learned to walk consistently with God, abide in Christ, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. I have seen God make a huge difference in my marriage, family, and career.
I have to admit that I still struggle with sin, as do all believers. The Apostle Paul described this daily battle with our sin nature in Rom. 7:19. He exclaims, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” This internal conflict is proof of a radical change in orientation due to a genuine conversion. If we were not transformed into new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), we would not want to do good or avoid doing things that displease God.
Paul concludes in Rom. 7:24-25, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Closing thoughts
I trust that this discussion has been thought-provoking and has caused many of my readers to get into the Scriptures to check for themselves what it teaches about the mysteries of coming to faith.
One of the by-products of understanding Christian doctrine is the peace that it brings us. Knowing that God drew me to Himself gives me no room to boast in anything that I may have done to contribute to my own salvation. Even the faith I had came from Him. Since I did nothing to obtain it, I can do nothing to lose it.
The other thing I would like to mention in terms of practical application is that this should help us as we pray for our friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. We can and should pray that they hear the gospel, perhaps from us, perhaps from others. We should also pray that God would draw them to Himself, through His creation and by His Holy Spirit, that their eyes and ears would be open to seeing Him and hearing His call.
I am grateful to be among the few who were called by God to be one of Jesus’s sheep. I encourage you to humbly praise and thank God for drawing you to Himself. Never take it for granted.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Russ Gehrlein
Featured Image by Pablo Munck Hansen from Pixabay
