Come the Gospel Call — E.A. Johnston

The Gospel Call and a Personal Response

I remember, as a 14-year-old boy, I was in a revival meeting in a suburb of Chicago, and an evangelist gave a gospel invitation to come to Christ. There I was, there I stood, and there I went forward to accept that call and come to Christ.

And I believe God planted a seed of grace in my heart that day, which He watered time and time again by His Spirit down through the years, until at last I was finally converted and saved. The gospel call is the subject of my message today, friends, and what to do with Christ in answer to that call.

The Great Supper in Luke 14

My text can be found in Luke's Gospel in Chapter 14. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We will be in verses 16 through 24. And this striking passage of the Great Supper is full of the gospel and the calls of the gospel to come to Christ for salvation.

But sadly, we see in our text examples of individuals who make excuses and treat the gospel with indifference and neglect the salvation of their soul for temporal things of this world without any regard for eternity.

The gospel call is found in the word come, as we see invitations to come to this Great Supper. Well, let's go to our text at this time, beginning in verse 16. Here now is the Word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of His Holy Word.

Then said He unto them, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. Let me pause here, friends. Many, our text says, were given invitations to come to this feast. Look what it says next. And sent his servant at suppertime to say to them that were bidding, Come, for all things are now ready.

The Biblical Invitations to Come

Let me pause again to say, The call of the gospel is found in that mercy-filled word come. In Isaiah 55 -1, we see this call. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat.

Yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price. Three times in that one verse from Isaiah are found three calls, three invitations to come. We see the same thing at the end of the book of Revelation, as seen in Revelation 22 -17, with three more calls to come.

And the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. These three calls to come to Christ are laid out very plainly.

And in our passage here today, friends, in Luke, we see three instances of invitations given to three different men to come to this great supper, which is both prepared and ready. God's messenger says, come, for all things are now ready.

Worldly Care and the First Excuse

But look and see how each of these men neglect their salvation with three different excuses. There are three aspects I'd like to bring out from this passage today. In verse 18 we read,. And they all with one consent began to make excuse.

The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it. I pray thee, have me excused. Well, it gives a very polite refusal to come to the supper. Number one, this man represents worldly care.

His heart was set on the world and the accumulation of as much of the world he could get in his lifetime. I used to have a boss who would say the most successful person was the one at the end of his life with the most toys.

The accumulation of goods and riches. How many, I wonder, in our church today have entered into church membership, but their hearts are still full of the world. Their time and energy is spent on acquiring more and more of the things of this world, while the things of eternity are neglected by them.

This man wants to go and look at some land he has already bought. Why, he's already seen it, made a bid offer on it, and closed the deal to own it. Now he just wants to go and make himself feel important by walking over his land, by strutting in front of his friends about his new purchase.

Whether it's a piece of real estate or a new boat or a car, he wants to feast his eyes on it, while he rejects the offer to come to a spiritual feast that can save his soul from hell and its misery. But he very politely declines the call to come by saying, I pray thee, have me excused.

He's very religious about it. No thanks, pastor. I can't come to the prayer meeting tonight because I have this other obligation. But I sure am glad you got that prayer meeting going. Keep up the good work.

Business Care and Delayed Salvation

I can't come, but I'll pray for y 'all just the same. What a religious hypocrite. This man represents worldly care. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. I pray thee, have me excused.

Well, here is another religious lost church member who represents business care. He claims he has to go test out some cattle he just bought. He invested some of his money in some cattle to make a profit, and he wants to go and increase his investment.

But this man's time, his life, is devoured by his business. I used to work for a man like that. He worked 60 to 80 hours a week. He drove a $100 ,000 car. He was a real big shot. But one day as I walked past his office, I saw him standing at his desk with a sad look on his face.

I walked in and asked him what was wrong. He told me he'd just returned from out of town, where he dropped off his daughter at her college dormitory. And he realized as he hugged her goodbye, he didn't know her.

Well, he bought her the best things money could buy all her life. But his life was consumed with his business at the expense of his family. But this man here in our parable is full of business care. The care of his career carries more importance to him than the care of his soul.

He too politely refuses the call to come to the supper and neglects his salvation. To another day, just like Felix told the Apostle Paul, Go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

Family Care and the Rude Refusal

And Felix put off his salvation to another day. And the day came when Felix died and dropped on down to hell. So business care prevents many to come to Christ. And lastly, we see in number three, the call to come to the feast is also rejected by a third man.

But this man refuses a call with rudeness. We see in our text. And another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. It's not that he cannot come, but he will not come. He uses his wife as an excuse when in reality he could have taken her along with him to the feast.

A care of family keeps many from the gospel and coming to Christ. And he's very matter of fact about it. As if to say, look, you can keep your gospel to yourself, but I don't need it. You can keep your Jesus.

He may be your crutch, but I don't need a crutch like that. Years ago, I was playing golf with a man who had a very filthy mouth. Every other word that came out of this man's mouth was a cuss word or taking God's name in vain.

Finally, I walked up to him and I said, can you tell me something? He said, what? I said, how was your relationship with God? And he gave me a big grin and he said, my relationship with God is fine. I have a great relationship with God.

He leaves me alone and I leave him alone. And that's exactly, friend, how you get to hell when God leaves you alone. Our text declares the urgency of the call. All things are now ready. The day of grace is here, but one day it will be gone.

The Urgency of Repentance and Faith

Now was the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Do not delay, friend. God can remove you by sudden death. He can cut you down. Repent, believe on Christ. Come. Come to Christ. Come to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The sinless, spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Come. Come without money and without price. Come. Come to Christ, friend, and lay your sin burden down at the foot of the cross.

Come, as an empty-handed beggar would come, seeking mercy from a king. Come. But they did not come. One was consumed with worldly care. One was busy about his business and engulfed in business care. The last refused the offer of the gospel because of family care.

His wife was more important to him than his eternal security. In Matthew's gospel account of this story, Jesus relates the parable to the marriage supper of a king's son. But they made light of the call, one going to his farm, another to his merchandise.

The Final Invitation and the Exclusion of the Unresponsive

Well, let's look at the last two verses of our passage from Luke before we close. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

For I say unto you that none of these men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. There came a time in the days of Noah, as he built the ark and warned his neighbors of the coming storm of justice.

But they paid little heed to Noah's preaching. They just mocked until the first drop of rain fell, and God closed the door of the ark. Those who delayed and were unconcerned drowned with their families along with their cattle.

Jesus is the ark of safety from the wrath of God toward sin. All who flee to Jesus will be safe with the pardon of sin. But the call of the gospel comes to you now, friend. How is it with you? What stands between you and Christ?

Christ's Invitation to the Thirsty

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. But the gospel call is for the hungry, the weary, and the thirsty. Let me ask you, friend.

Are you hungry for God? Are you weary of your sins? Are you thirsty for Christ? Then come, repent of your sins, and believe on Christ Jesus, the only refuge and remedy from sin. Let us pray.