Last week we got into the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4: 1-14. We found that the woman was intrigued when Jesus asked her to give Him a drink. Jesus then offered this woman the Living Water. But we also said that there were some matters that she had to straighten out before she could ever have the living water that Jesus offered.
Tonight we deal with one of those matters—the matter of sin. Jesus promised this woman the living water of spiritual rebirth. But before she could receive the living water of spiritual rebirth the matter of sin had to be discussed.
Tonight is kind of a short study since we will only be looking at verses 15 – 18. But in these verses we will see the woman’s request for this living water and we will also see that she had to face the truth concerning sin. Jesus made a profound claim in verse 14. He said, READ v. 14.
Then the woman replied. READ v. 15. This woman wanted this water Jesus was offering. She asked for it, but what were the two reasons she wanted this water? (That I won’t get thirsty (physical thirst), and that I will not have to come and draw water every day.)
Keep in mind that this woman might have been joking around with Jesus. Some commentators actually think that she was. They try to justify their claim by saying that this woman certainly knew Jesus didn’t have a well of water from which she could drink and never thirst again, water that would cause her to live forever, never having to die. They say that she thought that Jesus was joking around with her so she played along, humoring Him.
Others think she was sincere and just didn’t understand, but whatever the man’s magical waters were, she wanted a drink.
Whatever the case may be, the woman was thinking in terms of the physical world, only of the physical benefits. She had grasped nothing of the spiritual meaning, nothing of the inner satisfaction that Jesus could give which would quench all the thirst of a person’s heart.
Today man still thirsts. But his thirst is much deeper than physical thirst. Man has an inner, spiritual thirst. Can you think of someone you know that needs:
• Meaning in their life.
• Purpose to get out of bed each day.
• Significance – to know that they count for something.
• Satisfaction – Needing to feel satisfied with themselves.
• Fulfillment – There’s an emptiness in their soul.
• Something is missing
• Something to fill the void, the emptiness, and the loneliness..
• Deliverance from a sense of lostness.
• Freedom from undue anxiety, stress, and pressure.
Somehow, we need to figure out a way to convey to that person that Christ alone can satisfy that need. If we can just get the point across to them that if they drink of the water Christ gives, they are infused with purpose, meaning, significance, energy, and motivation.
And note this, because it goes along with this morning’s message about commitment. Once a person drinks of Christ, they don’t mind drawing water; that is, they don’t mind work and labor. In fact, the water of Christ stirs them to work and serve, helping mankind in every way possible. They want to help and to share the wonderful news of a saving God, a God who can save from the thirst of all these things we just listed.
READ 16-18. And now we confront the subject of sin. The first essential of facing the truth is the fact of sin. The woman had requested living water, but before she could be given the living water of spiritual rebirth, she had to be convicted of her sin and renounce it. There are 4 things I want to emphasize about sin.
1. It was Jesus who stirred conviction and the confession of sin. (It always is). Why was it necessary for Jesus to stir up the conviction and the confession of sin?
Why did this woman have to face the truth of her sin before she could be spiritually reborn? 2 reasons.
a. She was weary and burdened. She was tired of it. That is what sin will eventually do to a person. It will keep sucking the life out of a person until they finally give in to looking for another direction. This is where this woman was. She had to know that her sin was causing her to seek a cure.
Sin had to be removed and renounced, forgiven and cleansed before true rest and true relief could come. Once she was freed from sin, rest and relief would come. She would no longer be weary and burdened under the load of sin and irresponsibility, guilt and shame. She would be set free and given a life of spiritual rest and security.
b. She had the symptoms of disease and didn’t know what the disease was; so she was unable to cure her disease. She needed deliverance and didn’t know how to be delivered. And this woman’s disease was the same as the disease of all men: sin. Sin had to be renounced before the living water of spiritual rebirth could be given.
Jesus said in Rev. 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”
James wrote in James 1:21 “…get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”
2. Second fact about sin. Jesus accepted no evasion. Do you see how the woman tried to evade the fact of her sin? She told the truth; she didn’t have a husband, but she was living with a man just as she would live with a husband.
The point is pretty clear. The sinner cannot evade sin. They have to face and renounce it if they want the living water of spiritual rebirth.
Proverbs 28:13 says “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
The prophet Jeremiah said this: “Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,” declares the Lord.”
But then we are reminded by John that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
3. The third fact about sin is notice that Jesus knew all about the woman, that she had gone through five husbands. He knew the truth about her, what she had done to fail in so many marriages. He knew whether she was guilty or not.
And the point is, Jesus knows that same about us. He knows if you are guilty of:
• Making ungodly, worldly choices.
• Being argumentative and defensive all the time.
• Being cold, distant, withdrawn, and indifferent.
• Being unfaithful and immoral.
Jesus knew the truth about her sin, and He knows the truth about all of our sin. Jeremiah prophesied God saying this, “My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.”
4. The 4th fact about sin is that Jesus reproved this woman’s sin. She hadn’t only gone through 5 different husbands, but she was now living with a man who was not her husband. This tells me that Christ not only knows all—He keeps an account. The sinner is guilty of every act of disobedience. We stand guilty of every law we break.
So we close this study with this. A person has to face the truth, that is, the fact of his sin. Not only do we have to FACE the truth of our sin, we have to RENOUNCE it if we want to truly receive the living water of spiritual rebirth.
Every person must do what Christ is pointing out to this woman: renounce their sin. Then and only then can a person ask for the living water and Christ will give it.
READ Acts 17: 29-31.
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
