When Christ Comes To Save John 4:1-26

When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to save a sinner by the power and grace of his Spirit, he does for that sinner exactly what he did for the Samaritan woman in John 4. I do not know whether you will ever be saved or not; but I do know this – If ever you are saved, you must and shall be saved by God’s work, not your own, by God’s will, not your own, by God’s doing, not your own (Rom. 9:16). And if God almighty ever saves you by his grace, some how or another, he will do these five things for you and in you.

If the Lord Jesus Christ ever saves you by his grace, he will cross your path (vv.3-7). What a wonder! – The Son of God came to Samaria to seek out a fallen woman from Sychar! This woman could not and would not come to Christ. He came to her! The name of God’s church is “Sought Out!” If ever you are saved, you must be sought out by the Savior (Isa. 62:11-12). Salvation does not begin with man seeking God, but with God seeking man. You will never be saved, unless and until God almighty steps in your way, crosses your path, and stops you in your mad rush for hell.

I do not know whether you will ever have an interest in spiritual things or not, whether you will ever be concerned about sin and righteousness, grace and eternal life, salvation and the things of God. But I do know this – You will never have an interest in these things unless the Lord God creates an interest in you. That is what our Lord did for this Samaritan woman. When she came out to Jacob’s well, she had no interest in him, in the glory of God, or in eternal life. Oh, she was interested in religion and in staying out of hell; but she had no interest in the things of God, until the Lord Jesus made her interested. In verses 7-15, the Master got her interested in water. No doubt, she was at first only interested in water for selfish, carnal reasons. Yet, there was such spiritual truth in what the Master said that she could not put it out of her mind

Something else must be done. If God ever saves you, if the Lord ever has mercy on your soul, if ever the grace of God that brings salvation comes to you, the Lord God will expose your sin. The Master said to Sychar’s sinner, “Go, call thy husband.” And if he saves you, he will expose your sin to yourself before the holy, Lord God. He will strip you naked before his omniscient holiness (vv. 16-19). It is painful business for God to stick his finger in your heart and rip it open; but if he never rips it open, he will never bind it up.

I do not know whether you will ever flee to Christ for refuge or not; but I do know that you will never flee to him for refuge, until he destroys your false refuge. I do not know what your refuge of lies is; but I know you have one; and you will never forsake it until God destroys it (Isa. 28:14-20). Before the Lord saved this Samaritan harlot, he destroyed her religious refuge (vv. 19-24).

I know this, too, – If ever the Lord God saves you, if ever you come to know and trust the Son of God, he must reveal himself to you and in you (vv. 25-26). Salvation comes by revelation. You cannot trust an unknown Christ. And you can never know him until he makes himself known to you (2 Cor. 4:4-6).