27Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." ESV
… Once [the woman at the well] had been born again, instead of being ashamed of what she had done, she blurted out that Jesus knew all about it. This is one of the most important signs that people have truly come to faith in Christ; instead of covering their sin and resenting the subject, true Christians publicly admit their sin—in fact, they delight to do so—in order to show that Jesus is the Savior of sinners. This is how the new birth changes us into witnesses for Christ, and it is because people notice this change that they listen and come. In this way the new birth both causes and empowers our witness to Christ …
Jesus applied this as a general principle: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). These two priorities consumed His mind and heart: He was committed to acting in conformity with God’s will and to completing the task God had given Him to do. This commitment on Jesus’ part sets an agenda for how we, too, can lead fulfilling lives despite hardships or trials—by committing ourselves to godly living and faithful service to God.
The divergence between Jesus’ focus and our own explains the unhappiness and lack of fulfillment many of us experience, even as Christians. Do you realize that the more self-centered we are, the more unhappy and unfulfilled we are? Are you trying to feast on an unwholesome diet of worldly amusements, earthly success, or sinful pleasure? You will never be satisfied that way! Too many Christians can recite details of all the sit-coms on television but do not know what to say to lead a sinner to Christ. Many others feed richly on God’s Word, but because they do not serve—and especially because they do not witness—they find themselves strangely unfulfilled.
The way to lead a joyful, meaningful life is not to pursue your own pleasure but to do everything to the glory of God. …It means delighting to do God’s will and to serve His kingdom. Above all else, as Jesus shows us, our chief delight should be playing a role in the salvation of other people … What Jesus said should be true of us as well: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (Phillips, 158-161)
We have come to the end of this study of Jesus the Evangelist. Rick Phillips leaves us with a powerful description of Christ as the Savior of the world. He is not just your Savior or my Savior. He is the Savior of all who will come to know God and inhabit heaven. The Samaritans in John 4 make a stunning connection. They understood that this man standing before them, dressed like them, covered with dust like them, was the Savior of the world. They understood this not because he spoke about grand political theory, nor how bad the Romans were, nor how he was going to bring more water to their village. They understood this because he spoke about the unquenchable thirst of their souls. Jesus talked about the sins of the woman at the well (just as the villagers themselves often did), but he spoke with compassion and offered reconciliation. The Samaritans became convinced that this common man who had walked into their village could do something no human could do. He could heal the human heart! He was the Savior of the world.
Phillips then proceeds to challenge us. Do we have the same clear perception of Christ that these ordinary Samaritans did? Is Christ the Savior of the world or is he merely our “get of jail free” card? What is more important to you than telling others about the Savior of the world? Do you fit into one of the two categories that Phillips lists above? Are you preoccupied with the pleasures of this world, especially those that are not sins in and of themselves? Or are you content to know God’s Word yourself, without telling it to your family and to others whom you know?
When there are economic concerns, as there are now, the first instinct is for self-preservation. But on balance that can be a deadly concern. Notice what Jesus says in John 12:24-26:
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Men, do you love this life and its pleasures? If you do, you will lose. To be an effective leader for Christ in your family, you cannot view your commitment to Christ as one of several things you must prioritize. You cannot fit serving Christ into a schedule of sports, the outdoors, business, etc., and still be committed to him. You cannot love this life more than you love Christ. Your life is your most effective evangelistic statement to others, especially to your family. Consider the challenge Rick Phillips makes to you on Jesus’ behalf: what is your “food”?
May your discussions in your groups this week bear much fruit for the gospel of Christ.
We will be on break until January. Merry Christmas!
Redeemer Logo2
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
John 4:16-19, 27-30 Confession of Sin, Confession of Faith
16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." 19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. ESV
Confession of Sin
Why should Christians dwell on sin? James Montgomery Boice answers: “It is simply because Christians are realists. They recognize that sin is an everyday experience and the number one problem of mankind. What is more, they recognize that the Bible everywhere insists upon this.” …
There can be little doubt that many of us experience difficulties because of our sins. That is true not merely because of the natural consequences of sin, but because God chastens us, so that many of our hardships are sent by God in direct response to our sins. Hebrews 12:6 says, “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” So even those whose sins have been forgiven through the blood of Christ nonetheless suffer in this life because of their sins. If we want God’s kindness toward us to have a free reign, we will not present God with sins that require Him to discipline us. The path of obedience is ever the path of blessing …
Jesus confronted [the woman at the well] with her sin because He loved her, because He knew her sin, and because her sin stood between her and God. How fitting it is that Jesus spoke to her about her sin, and that He was the One to set this example for us, because Jesus came into the world to deal with the problem of our sin …
If sin was so important to God that He sent His only beloved Son into the world to deal specifically with it; if sin is so great a barrier between God and man that only the precious blood of Christ could remove it; and if Jesus was so committed to the salvation of sinners that He was willing to go to this horrific length to achieve it, how dare we cover up the topic of sin as some embarrassment to us or an impediment to the success of Christ’s church! Do you see why we must be willing to ask people to confess their sins in worship that is offered up in Christ’s name? Do you see why we must preach a gospel not just of cheery sentimentality but of the true and bad news of sin for which Christ paid so great a cost? …
It is unreasonable for us to expect to match Jesus’ skill, since we lack His perfect knowledge and grace. But His example shows us that we should exercise care in bringing people to conviction of sin—as Nathan did when he confronted King David for his sin with Bathsheba—and that we should seek the Holy Spirit’s help through prayer both for our own conduct and for the response of the one whom we hope to bring to conviction of sin and faith in Christ.
Confession of Faith
When a doctor delivers a baby, the first thing he wants to hear is the baby’s cry. This tells him that air has entered the baby’s lungs and that the child has started to breathe. So it is with the spiritual rebirth. When the Spirit enters the heart, the new life He brings causes the spiritual infant to cry out, confessing his or her faith in Jesus Christ. This is the first clear sign that true salvation has occurred …
… the woman at the well, having beheld Jesus’ deity when He revealed Himself as the Messiah, responded with a public confession of faith that clearly showed her new birth. John 4:28-29 tells us, “The woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’” From her subsequent conduct, it is evident that she was saying, “I have found the Messiah,” and her public confession to her neighbors demonstrated her rebirth. (Phillips, 132, 135, 140, 147-148)
Rick Phillips talks freely about confession of sin. Yet, we would rather talk about politics, weather, sports or our least favorite restaurant than to talk about sin. Or if we must talk about sin, let's talk about the sin of other people. But Phillips shows us from John 4 that Jesus wants us to be interested in our own sins. Failure to discuss our own sin is a failure to discuss the obvious. If you have a rip in your pants that you are blissfully unaware of it doesn’t mean that the rip is not obvious to others. The same is true of our sins. Despite all of our attempts to rationalize our own sins, these sins are still painfully obvious to others around us.
Men, let’s stop pretending that our sins are trivial. They are not. Our flesh is deceptive. It has been skillfully trained by a deceptive heart to cover up the most obvious of realities--our own sin! You would be grateful to a friend for mentioning the embarrassing rip in your pants. You must also learn to value the observations of your family and friends who would point out the even more embarrassing sins that you unthinkingly display. Brothers, it is time to act like men who are serious about loving God.
Go to your wife and ask her to tell you the five most obvious sins that you are oblivious to. Do the same with some close friends. Don’t fight back or offer reasonable explanations about why their observations are wrong. Rather, be thankful that you can begin to address the most obvious things that others notice about you. Like the woman at the well, our sins are all too obvious. By God’s grace, let’s get to work. This is how we can lead our families to take their own sins more seriously.
27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. ESV
Confession of Sin
Why should Christians dwell on sin? James Montgomery Boice answers: “It is simply because Christians are realists. They recognize that sin is an everyday experience and the number one problem of mankind. What is more, they recognize that the Bible everywhere insists upon this.” …
There can be little doubt that many of us experience difficulties because of our sins. That is true not merely because of the natural consequences of sin, but because God chastens us, so that many of our hardships are sent by God in direct response to our sins. Hebrews 12:6 says, “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” So even those whose sins have been forgiven through the blood of Christ nonetheless suffer in this life because of their sins. If we want God’s kindness toward us to have a free reign, we will not present God with sins that require Him to discipline us. The path of obedience is ever the path of blessing …
Jesus confronted [the woman at the well] with her sin because He loved her, because He knew her sin, and because her sin stood between her and God. How fitting it is that Jesus spoke to her about her sin, and that He was the One to set this example for us, because Jesus came into the world to deal with the problem of our sin …
If sin was so important to God that He sent His only beloved Son into the world to deal specifically with it; if sin is so great a barrier between God and man that only the precious blood of Christ could remove it; and if Jesus was so committed to the salvation of sinners that He was willing to go to this horrific length to achieve it, how dare we cover up the topic of sin as some embarrassment to us or an impediment to the success of Christ’s church! Do you see why we must be willing to ask people to confess their sins in worship that is offered up in Christ’s name? Do you see why we must preach a gospel not just of cheery sentimentality but of the true and bad news of sin for which Christ paid so great a cost? …
It is unreasonable for us to expect to match Jesus’ skill, since we lack His perfect knowledge and grace. But His example shows us that we should exercise care in bringing people to conviction of sin—as Nathan did when he confronted King David for his sin with Bathsheba—and that we should seek the Holy Spirit’s help through prayer both for our own conduct and for the response of the one whom we hope to bring to conviction of sin and faith in Christ.
Confession of Faith
When a doctor delivers a baby, the first thing he wants to hear is the baby’s cry. This tells him that air has entered the baby’s lungs and that the child has started to breathe. So it is with the spiritual rebirth. When the Spirit enters the heart, the new life He brings causes the spiritual infant to cry out, confessing his or her faith in Jesus Christ. This is the first clear sign that true salvation has occurred …
… the woman at the well, having beheld Jesus’ deity when He revealed Himself as the Messiah, responded with a public confession of faith that clearly showed her new birth. John 4:28-29 tells us, “The woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’” From her subsequent conduct, it is evident that she was saying, “I have found the Messiah,” and her public confession to her neighbors demonstrated her rebirth. (Phillips, 132, 135, 140, 147-148)
Rick Phillips talks freely about confession of sin. Yet, we would rather talk about politics, weather, sports or our least favorite restaurant than to talk about sin. Or if we must talk about sin, let's talk about the sin of other people. But Phillips shows us from John 4 that Jesus wants us to be interested in our own sins. Failure to discuss our own sin is a failure to discuss the obvious. If you have a rip in your pants that you are blissfully unaware of it doesn’t mean that the rip is not obvious to others. The same is true of our sins. Despite all of our attempts to rationalize our own sins, these sins are still painfully obvious to others around us.
Men, let’s stop pretending that our sins are trivial. They are not. Our flesh is deceptive. It has been skillfully trained by a deceptive heart to cover up the most obvious of realities--our own sin! You would be grateful to a friend for mentioning the embarrassing rip in your pants. You must also learn to value the observations of your family and friends who would point out the even more embarrassing sins that you unthinkingly display. Brothers, it is time to act like men who are serious about loving God.
Go to your wife and ask her to tell you the five most obvious sins that you are oblivious to. Do the same with some close friends. Don’t fight back or offer reasonable explanations about why their observations are wrong. Rather, be thankful that you can begin to address the most obvious things that others notice about you. Like the woman at the well, our sins are all too obvious. By God’s grace, let’s get to work. This is how we can lead our families to take their own sins more seriously.
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