Is coming to Jesus the same as believing?

 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

-John 6:37

I once read a sermon by a pastor who claimed that 'come' and 'cometh' in the verse above were synonymous with 'believe'. He said that the verse just as well could be read as "All that the father giveth me shall [believe in me]; and him that [believes in] me I will in no wise cast out." 




And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 

-John 6:35-36

And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 

-John 6:40

The pastor used these three verses to prove that 'come' meant 'believe'. Notice the location of these verses in relation to the one in question... the first two are directly before, and the third is only four verses later. He looked to other verses from the same passage for clues. This is one of the very best ways to figure out how to interpret a portion of Scripture. So what did he find?


Verse 35 uses 'cometh' and 'believeth' in very similar ways. Verse 36 mentions believing alone. Verse 40 says that every one who believes on Jesus will have everlasting life, which sounds very similar to "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" from our original verse. 


All these are very good clues that 'come' and 'believe' are synonymous and interchangeable. 


However, in verses 44 and 45 of the same chapter and in the Old Testament passage referenced therein, we get something much better than a clue. We get a definition.


No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

-John 6:44-45

According to this verse, 'come' means to hear and learn of the father. It involves being "drawn" by the father. 

By saying "It is written in the prophets," John pointed out that he was referencing a passage from the Old Testament, perhaps looking at the passage being referenced will further clarify...

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.  

-Jeremiah  31:34-35

To 'hear and learn of the father,' as it says in John 6:45, is to have God put his law in your inward parts, to have God write His laws on one's heart. Notice that this involves no action on the part of the one being taught. He is the one making people to know Him. 

So then the definition of 'to come' is to be drawn by the Father, to be taught by God, to have God write his law on one's heart. 


So is coming to Jesus the same as believing? NO!


Coming to Jesus is not an intellectual action, but rather a changing of the condition of the heart, and an action that is done TO the subject, not BY the subject. This is is very different than 'believe,' which is a distinctly intellectual action, and one that is done BY the subject. 

P.S.

How then do we reconcile this definition of 'to come' with John 6:40 which says that those that "believeth on Him may have everlasting life" and Matthew 5:24 "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." ?

Easily!

These are inclusive, rather than exclusive, statements. 

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

-1 Corinthians 2:14

This states unarguably that until someone is born again, drawn by the father, regenerated, quickened, comes to Him in theJohn 6:37 sense, etc (these are all synonymous), not only do they not believe, but they lack the very capacity to believe. So we can see that anyone who ever truly believes is already born again.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

-1 Corinthians 1:18

Notice the tense of the second statement. Preaching is only the power of God to those which are saved. Not will be saved. Not might be saved... Are saved.


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

Again, notice the verb tenses. He that hears and believes has (is already in possession of) everlasting life and is passed (already has passed) from death unto life. 

So then belief is not a requirement for salvation, but rather, a proof. If someone believes, then they are already saved. If someone does not believe, then it is not proof that they are not saved, but simply one less piece of evidence that they are.

God Bless and dig deep,

Jake