In reading the gospel of John this morning earlier, I was reading in the sixth chapter. And it hasn't been too long ago that I read where Elder  ______ used the 37th verse to support his stand that the church has no authority to turn a member out.

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

I cannot find anything about not turning a disorderly person out of the church in this verse. I believe what it says. According to what we preach there was a covenant of grace made before the foundation of the world between the Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. Paul says in Ephesians Ch 1 verse 4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love". (This is the evidence of that covenant)

So then the elect of God will at some point in their life come to Jesus, no matter if they are a church member or not. One clear example of this is that dark gloomy day when Jesus hung yonder on the cross between two thieves, and if you recall, one on his right, and the other on his left. I know it don't say so here what position the malefactors were in, but I like to think the one on his left hand is the one who railed on him saying "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us"

Notice then the other one answering rebuked him saying, dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss".

"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom"

The reason I said what I did is   because in Matt Ch 25:33 "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.". I think the malefactor who railed on him fits the description of a goat very well, and I believe he was on Jesus left hand. Now, whether he was literally on Jesus left hand, he was still on his left in that covenant.

My point in this, is to show that the answer Jesus gave that repentant thief was that he would be with him in paradise that same day, indicates that one of the malefactors was one included in that number before the foundation of the world.

He was not a church member; neither had ever done anything good, but had spent his life as a thief according to his own testimony. But he came to Jesus that same day, for he had been given to Jesus by the Father. He was one that Jesus in no wise would cast out.

So we go on and read what our gracious Lord said in John 6:44 "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".

So it's by the irresistible grace of God that draws any one to him, and that is contrary to the popular belief of the religious professors of the world. We have so much to be thankful for, that its not because we come from a long line of Primitive Baptists such as Timothy, who Paul declares the unfeigned faith he saw in Timothy which at first dwelt in his grandmother Lois and then in his mother Eunice, its neither by the will of man, nor the will of the flesh not of blood, but of God.

This is a few thoughts I wanted to share. I wanted to go further in this chapter, but maybe some good writer will be moved to continue on with this chapter.

May God bless you every one. A little brother.... Brother Albert