Spurgeon examines the nature of "free will," and uses the text John 5:40, "You will not come to me, that you might have life." He observes: "The will is well known by all to be directed by the understanding, to be moved by motives, to be guided by other parts of the soul, and to be a secondary thing." He puts forth the Calvinist doctrine that a person cannot come to Christ by their own means, but Christ must come to the person. He expounds on the nature of legal, spiritual and eternal deadness and how people are unable to overcome this by themselves. He then goes on to describe legal, spiritual and eternal life that is in Christ Jesus. This sermon has been updated to modern language.