The Fountain Of Your Contentment

John 4:1–20

Today we read half of the story of the “woman at the well”.  Jesus was passing through Samaria which was part of Israel but, because the people there were genetic mix of Jew and other peoples, Jews did not enter.  Samaria sat in the middle of the country so for a Jew to go from one end of Israel to the other they would cross the Jordan, walk along the far bank of the river and only re-enter Israel by crossing back over after they had passed Samaritan territory.  It is rather scandalous that Jesus did not take this roundabout route but rather walked through the territory.  Jesus was way outside the mainstream here.

Jesus sat by a well waiting for His disciples to bring food, when an adulterous Samaritan woman came to draw water.  Jesus engaged this woman in a discussion about water.  He was talking about water as a metaphor for the Spirit while the woman continued to think in physical terms.  It is interesting that Jesus used this analogy.  The woman had been married five times before and the man with whom she lived now was not her husband.  This woman was dying in a spiritual wasteland; her life lay in a dry and desolate ruin.  She could come and draw physical water from the well as often as she wanted but she would never quench her spiritual thirst.

We humans focus almost exclusively on our physical needs and very little on our spiritual needs.  The problem is that addressing our physical desires never seems to completely satisfy.  We seem to be forever thirsty for more.  This is because what we need is not physical sustenance but spiritual sustenance.  Our souls crave spiritual water which we misinterpret as some physical need.  We can never be satisfied as long as we attempt to quench our spiritual thirst with physical stuff.

The truth of the matter is we need Jesus Christ.  Our souls are dry as dust without Him.  It is an amazing thing, however, when we finally take a drink from Jesus.  Not only does our thirst become satisfied but it remains satisfied.  In fact Jesus not only gives us a drink which implies a short-term satisfaction, He opens a well that pours forth from within.  His Holy Spirit is like a fountain constantly watering our soul.  We have no need to ever be spiritually thirsty again.

John 4:13-14 ESV

“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

Now if I’m right about that, why do we Christians feel spiritually dry from time to time?  Brothers, we only become dry when we refuse to drink.  The living water resides within.  If we continue to look for satisfaction from the world we will be spiritually dry.  All that is required to be sated is to turn back to Christ as the fountain of your contentment.  If you are feeling spiritually dry I would recommend that you get down on your knees and bring your thirst to Jesus.  He offers you water that truly satisfies.

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Condemned Already

John 3:16–36

Often when a Christian identifies sinful behavior as sin he is accused by many of being judgmental.  Individuals who don’t understand the Bible will often quote Jesus as saying “judge not lest you be judged”.  He does say those words but He is saying that we will be judged by the same standard we use to judge.  He is imploring people to use a righteous standard.  Of course He is referring to the fact that His followers are to love the sinner even as they hate the sin.

When I say that something is a sin I am not judging the person that commits that sin.  I, like all people, am a sinner – I do not judge.  I do not judge because I am not the judge.  There is, however, a Judge.  In fact He is the Law giver, the Law enforcer, the Judge, and the Executioner.  God, the Judge, will not judge you when you die.  You have already been judged.  You have already been found guilty.  You have already been sentenced.  All that remains is for the sentence to be carried out.  When I tell someone they are committing a sin I am not judging them, I am informing them that they have been judged.  What Jesus says in today’s reading makes this clear.

John 3:17-19 ESV

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

When sharing the Gospel we usually quote John 3:16.  We quote that verse because it so neatly distills the truth of the Gospel.  Unfortunately such distillation causes us to miss further, and important, explanation of that truth.  Notice that Jesus says “whoever does not believe is condemned already”.  Another verse we usually quote when sharing the Gospel is Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  We have all sinned.  We are all condemned.

It is not judgmental for me to call sinful behavior sin.  Pointing out sin would serve no purpose if there was no hope, but there is hope.  We deserve death but we don’t have to die!  God sent His Son to take the punishment to which we have already been sentenced.  How hateful would I have to be to keep such good news to myself?  My friend it is a loving act to make people aware of their sin for the purpose of encouraging them to seek redemption.  The worst thing we can do is remain silent while others miss the opportunity to be saved.

Brothers, I do not judge, but I do call sin sin.  I do so in the hope that some will repent and be saved.  Will you love the lost enough to do the same?

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Born Of Water And The Spirit

John 3:1–15

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time at all, you are aware that I often quote J. Vernon McGee in his Thru the Bible commentary.  I don’t always agree with old J. Vernon, and one could argue that there are many better commentaries, but I really enjoy the conversational quality of his commentary.  You see this particular commentary is actually a transcription of a radio program he hosted years ago.  That is why it seems so conversational and that is what I like about it.

In today’s reading a man names Nicodemus came to Jesus to speak with him about the Kingdom of God.  Now J. Vernon thinks that Nicodemus was an envoy from the Pharisees seeking to form an alliance with Jesus.  I think it interesting that neither friend nor foe denied the miracles Jesus performed.  Jesus had performed an incredible number of miraculous feats; so many that they could not be denied.  Here at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry the Jewish leaders are hoping to use Jesus and His notoriety to help them overthrow their Roman overlords.  Of course they would view Him as a very junior partner in their confederation and denounce Him as evil if He didn’t do their bidding.

Jesus didn’t care about their schemes; He cared about their souls.  Jesus quickly derailed Nicodemus from his planned conversation and took Him to the very root of the most important issue – eternal life.  I felt J. Vernon gave an interesting series of comments on today’s reading but I wanted to highlight his comments regarding just two verses.  I hope you will find them as interesting as I did.

John 3:5 ESV

“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”

Now what does it mean to be born of water and of the Spirit? There are those who think that to be born of water is a reference to water baptism. But this would be a strange expression if it did refer to that. Then, there have been several very fine Christian doctors who interpret “born of water” as the physical birth which is a birth in water; that is, the child in the womb is in water. I don’t think that is what is meant here at all. He wasn’t talking about the difference between natural birth and spiritual birth, but He was talking about how a man could be born “from above” or “born again.”

As we saw in chapter 2, water is symbolic of the Word of God. We will find later in this book that Jesus says, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17, italics mine). There is a cleansing, sanctifying power in the Word. In John 15:3 Jesus says, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (italics mine). The Word of God is likened unto water again and again. We believe that “born of water and of the Spirit” means that a person must be born again by the Holy Spirit using the Scripture. We believe, very definitely, that no one could be born again without the Word of God applied by the Spirit of God. One today is born from above by the use of water, which is the Word of God, and the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, making it real to the heart.

There are three outstanding conversions in the Book of Acts. They have been given to us, I think, primarily as illustrations. There is the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, the conversion of Cornelius, and the conversion of Paul. These three men are representatives of the three families of Noah: the son of Shem, the son of Ham, and the son of Japheth. In each of these three cases, the Word of God was used by the Spirit of God for their conversions. God’s method seems to be the Word of God, used by the Spirit of God, given through a man of God. I am confident that our Lord, saying that one must be born of water and of the Spirit, referred to the Spirit of God using the Word of God. Without this, Nicodemus could not enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:6 ESV

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

God does not intend to change the flesh, meaning this old nature which you and I have. The fact of the matter is that it can’t be changed. The Word of God has much to say about this. The old nature is at war with God. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7–8). God has no program for our old nature to retrieve it, or improve it, or develop it, or save it. That old nature is to go down into the grave with us. And, if the Lord comes before we go down into the grave, we are to be changed in the twinkling of an eye, which means we will get rid of that old nature. It can never be made obedient to God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” That is an axiom. God does not intend to save the flesh at all. This old nature must be replaced by the new nature. The spiritual birth is necessary so that you and I may be given a new nature, friend.

McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!