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John 6:35-44

    Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

    In this passage, Jesus does what many people say is impossible.  He offers the Gospel freely, and tells them that they can't accept it unless the Father enables them to do so.  That seems too illogical for our brains, though.  But there it is, from the very lips of our Savior.

    Jesus is the bread of life.  That seems so obvious to us.  We evangelize and expect people to embrace it because it just makes so much dang sense.  Believe in Jesus and you are forgiven of your sin, and enabled to live for God by the Holy Spirit!  Who would reject that?  Sadly, people do every day.  Jesus offers the Gospel to the Pharisees and then tells them why they aren't accepting it.  He tells them why the signs He's been doing aren't good enough.  He tells them why they are kicking against the pricks so stubbornly.  Faith is a gift given by God.  God gives the Holy Spirit to those who He elected in Christ, and that is how they are enabled to embrace the obviously good news of the Gospel.  Apart from this renewing work of the Holy Spirit, carnality (the condition of all from birth) reigns.  The carnal mind is enmity against God.    It wont...it can't accept or believe God.  Paul makes that very clear in the first half of Romans 6.  Read it.  It's undeniable. 

    When attempting to convince my girlfriend (now my wife) of the doctrines of Calvinism, I found that the doctrine of limited atonement was key.   Did Jesus die for everyone?  If He did, do some go to hell?  If you say yes, you are suggesting that some people for whom Christ died enter and burn in hell.  Some of Christ's blood goes wasted.  God punishes sins twice--once in Christ and once in the sinner.  But Jesus assures us that this is not the case.  Jesus promised that He would not lose any of those whom God was about to give Him.  Jesus said that none of His blood would be wasted.  I agree.  It's far too precious. 
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