Will Jesus ever cast you out? John 6:37 gives a direct answer, and it is stronger than many people realize. In the middle of His teaching about the Bread of Life, Jesus makes a promise to the person who comes to Him. He will not turn that person away, now or later.
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37)
The words “by no means” are emphatic. Jesus is not leaving Himself a loophole. The one who comes to Him will not be rejected, discarded, or later thrown out. If we take Jesus at His word, this verse is one of the great assurances of the Christian life.
The Bread of Life and the One Who Comes
John 6:37 does not stand by itself. It belongs to a larger statement in John 6:35-40. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Coming to Jesus and believing in Him are two ways of describing the same response. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus uses pictures for faith. People come, drink, eat, look, and hear. The invitation underneath those pictures is still the same: believe in Jesus for everlasting life. I have written about that invitation in The Clear Gospel Invitation: Believe in Jesus for Eternal Life.
When Jesus says that the one who comes to Him shall never hunger, He is not talking about physical hunger. He is talking about the desire we have for eternal life. Once we receive that life, we will not hunger for it again, because we have it. If eternal life could be lost, then those who lost it would hunger for it again, and Jesus would have been wrong. But Jesus does not lie. Those who receive eternal life will never lose it, and they will never hunger for it again. I have discussed this kind of argument more fully in Did Jesus Lie About Eternal Life?
I Will by No Means Cast Out
That is the setting for John 6:37. The one who comes to Jesus will be received, and he will not be cast out. Some people hear this only as a word about the beginning of the Christian life, as if Jesus were saying, “I will let you in.” He is saying that, but He is saying more. He will not cast out the one who has come. The promise covers the future as well as the first moment of faith.
If Jesus later sent away people who had come to Him for eternal life, then He would be doing the very thing He said He would not do. A person cannot come to Jesus, receive life, and then be thrown out without turning John 6:37 into an empty statement. The words will not allow it. “By no means” is not the language of a temporary welcome.
This also means that the person who has believed in Jesus does not need to live in fear that some later failure will cause Jesus to reject him. There are consequences for sin, and there is such a thing as a wasted life. But being cast out by Jesus is not one of those consequences for the person who has come to Him. The welcome is not revoked. I have written about the broader promise that eternal life cannot be lost in Eternal Security: Once Saved, Always Saved.
He Will Lose None of Them
Jesus continues in John 6:38-40. He says that He has come down from heaven to do the will of the Father who sent Him. That will is “that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” And again, “everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
This is the same promise in different words. The Father’s will is that Jesus lose none of those who have come to Him, and that they be raised on the last day. If people could receive eternal life and then lose it later, Jesus would have lost them, for they would not be raised in the resurrection of life. If He had them and then lost them, He would once again be caught in a lie and should not be trusted. It is much better to take Jesus at His word and believe that He will never lose a single person who has come to Him for eternal life.
Notice how closely coming, believing, everlasting life, and the last-day resurrection are held together. The person who comes to Jesus has everlasting life, will not be cast out, will not be lost, and will be raised up. These are not four different offers, as if a person might receive one and miss the others. They are one promise, spoken from several sides, so that we will not miss it.
Take Jesus at His Word
John 6:37 is a verse for people who wonder whether they have stayed close enough, obeyed well enough, or held on tightly enough to remain in the family of God. Jesus does not point those people back to the quality of their performance. He points them to His own promise. The one who comes to Him will by no means be cast out. The Father’s will is that Jesus lose none of them, and that He raise them up at the last day.
If you have come to Jesus, that is, if you have believed in Him for everlasting life, then this promise is yours. He has not received you only to send you away later. He will not lose you, and He will raise you up. That is why this verse can give rest. The certainty is not in your grip on Jesus. It is in His word that He will not cast you out. I have written more about that kind of confidence in How Do I Know I Have Eternal Life?
Learn More in The Gospel According to Scripture
I discuss John 6:35-40, the permanence of eternal life, and the words of Jesus in my book The Gospel According to Scripture. It is available in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover. You can also read more on the book page.
If you want to study these truths with others, join the RedeemingGod.com Discipleship group.
Leave a Comment or Question