Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1202
“Whoever drinks of the water that Ishall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14.
ALL things that are of earth are unsatisfactory. Our spirit craves for something more than time and sense can yield. Nothing which comes of earth, even if it should yield a transient satisfaction, can long maintain its excellence. Pointing to the water in Jacob’s well, our Lord said, “He that drinks of this water shall thirst again.” And therein He took up His parable against all earthly things, whether they are fame, or riches, or fleshly pleasure, or anything else beneath the sun. He that drinks at these shallow wells shall not quench, but thirst, or if, for a time, he imagines that he has done so, he will be deceived and, in a little season, the old craving will return. That which is born of the flesh is still flesh at its best—and all flesh is grass and the goodliness thereof is as the flower of grass—the grass withers and the flower thereof fades away and in like manner fades the flesh and its glory.
The religion of the flesh shares in the common fate. If it has a man’s own self for its author, his own energy as its impulse and his own opinions for its creed, it may, for a little while, flourish like the flower of the field, but the wind passes over it and it is gone. Waters from his own cistern may stay a man’s desires for a while, but before long he must thirst again. Nothing can abide forever but that which comes from the Eternal One. Not from the will of man, but from the work of the Holy Spirit, all truly satisfying religion must proceed. It is the prerogative of the Gospel of Christ to thoroughly satisfy the soul of man and to do this abidingly. The chief object of our present discourse is to set forth that most admirable fact.
I. Finding that it greatly helps the memory of the hearer if the preacher keeps to the words of the text, I shall do so, and note, first, that we have here before us THE WAY OF OBTAINING TRUE RELIGION. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” It is clear from this that true religion must come to us as a gift. The water that I shall give him, says Christ. There is no suggestion as to digging deep with much learning into the deeps of mysterious truth to find the water for ourselves. This priceless drink is freely handed out to us by our Redeemer, without our bringing either bucket or line.
There is no hint in the text that we are to purchase the life-giving water. It is presented to us without money and without price. There is no allusion to a certain measure of fitness to qualify us for the drink—it is purely a gift to be received by us here and now. Our Lord Jesus told the woman that had she known the gift of God she would have asked and He would have given. Sinner as she was, she had only to ask and have! There is no other way of obtaining eternal life but as the free gift of Sovereign Grace. The Divine Life is not in us by nature. It cannot be produced in us by culture, nor infused into us by ceremonies. Nor can it be propagated in us by natural descent—it must come as a blessing of infinite charity from Heaven—unpurchased, undeserved.
Wisdom cannot impart it. Power cannot fashion it. Money cannot buy it. Merit cannot procure it. Grace, alone, can give it! If men desire wages they may earn them beneath the mastership of sin, for, “The wages of sin is death.” On the side of God all is of Grace, for, “the gift of God is eternal life.” Whoever, then, is to be saved, must be saved by the boundless charity of God. In other words, by the free gift of the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is an elementary Truth of the Gospel, but it needs to be told in every sermon, for man is so hostile to it and the natural mind so runs upon merit and its own boasted doing, that man will not understand the doctrine of Salvation by Grace though it is as plain as the sun at noonday.
Observe, next, that true religion is a gift from Jesus. Our Lord says, “the water that I shall give him.” The only true religion in the world is that which comes from Jesus Christ. And the only realization of that true religion in your own
soul is by receiving it from the hands of Christ, for it is, in all its details, connected with Him. Do we want peace of conscience because sin is forgiven? We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins! Do we desire deliverance from the power of sin within us? We can only overcome by the blood of the Lamb! Do we need teaching? The best instruction comes from His lips! Do we desire an example which will inspirit us to obey the teaching? He is our pattern, yes, “He is made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” He is our All in All!
If any man dreams that he has a God-given religion, he is in deadly error if there is not the mark of the pierced hands upon it. That peace which does not come to us sealed with the blood of the Mediator’s sacrifice is a false peace! Your soul is deceived with the semblance of satisfaction, but its thirst will soon be upon you again, like an armed man, unless you have been drinking from the fountain opened upon Calvary. Drink from the cup which Jesus fills! Do not think that satisfying waters can be drawn from any well but Himself!