Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20050724.htm

JOHN: TRUSTING IN JESUS AS MESSIAH AND GOD
Part XIII: Following Jesus In Gently But Firmly Asserting God's Truth
(John 4:5-26)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Both at the national and local levels of our experience, we are regularly facing a "push" from Evangelical Christians to go SOFT on DIFFERENCES in Bible interpretation or doctrine:

(1) Dr. Robert Duncan Culver, for many years a professor at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in his 1993 book, A Wake Up Call, p. 72-73 noted that "A large section of the American Evangelical church is almost hopelessly unconcerned theologically . . . Who wants a sermon on hell? . . . Haven't you heard, doctrine separates, love unites'?"

(2) This Evangelical tendency to go soft on doctrine was reflected in polls taken by Gallup, Barna and Hunter nearly fifteen years ago; they reveal that among those professing to be Evangelical Christians in America, "77 percent believe that human beings are basically good and that good people go to heaven regardless of their relationship to Christ . . ." (from the chapter by Gary L. W. Johnson entitled, "Does Theology Still Matter?" in The Coming Evangelical Crisis, p. 61 by John H. Armstrong, gen. Ed.)

(3) This Evangelical tendency seems to face us rather regularly even for us who attend Nepaug Bible Church: this past Sunday after our morning worship service, a member in our Church told my wife and me how an Evangelical Christian outside our Church recently was in a conversation with another member of our Church on the doctrinal issues of Calvinistic Theology. The Evangelical who is not from our Church had brushed the view on Calvinism we have taught by stating that it was just a matter of a difference of Bible interpretation!





Well, in the words that EVANGELICALS ofetn love to use, "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO"?! Would JESUS go "soft" on differences of Bible interpretation as do many Evangelicals, or would He condone what WE practice at Nepaug by putting a high priority the CORRECT interpretation and its CORRECT resulting doctrinal belief?



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "Many Evangelicals think we must NOT be DOGMATIC on what we hold is the RIGHT interpretation of Scripture, for we might unlovingly alienate others'! I know we at Nepaug AFFIRM what we hold are the RIGHT interpretations and beliefs, but, to use an EVANGELICAL phrase, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO' , and why?"
  1. When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman, He ministered to a SINNER who had an ERRANT SLANT on BIBLE TRUTH that HE as a JEW CORRECTLY upheld, John 4:5-10, 15-20:
    1. Jesus went to Samaria and spoke with a Samaritan woman, Jn. 4:5-10.
    2. In so doing, He conversed with an immoral person who held to an errant slant of Bible truth that He as a Jew rightly upheld, Jn. 4:15-20:
      1. The Samaritan woman with whom Jesus spoke was in sin, 4:15-18:
        1. Jesus revealed she had known five husbands, and that she was not wed to the man who was her current partner, John 4:15-18.
        2. As Jesus elsewhere taught original spouses were to stay wed for life (cf. Matthew 19:3-6), this Samaritan woman was immoral!
      2. The Samaritan woman also held to theological error, John 4:18-20:
        1. When Jesus revealed her sinful history (John 4:29), she brought up a belief difference her people had with His, John 4:18-20.
        2. That issue dealt with the right place of worship: the Samaritans held they were to worship on Mt. Gerizim nearby while the Jews held God was to be worshipped only in the Jerusalem temple, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to John 4:20.
        3. In reality, the Samaritans erred where the Jews were right: (a) the Samaritans had mixed Bible truth with pagan error when their apostate Jewish ancestors had married Gentiles, 2 Kings 17:24, 27-29, 32-35; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Luke 10:33. (b) They had thus adopted the pagan practice of worshiping at a local hill like Gerizim versus going to the Jerusalem temple like Scripture had commanded, John 4:20 with Deut. 12:1-7; 1 Kings 9:1-3!
  2. Jesus REACTED to her sin and error by GENTLY but FIRMLY ASSERTING God's TRUTH all SO SHE MIGHT BE SAVED!
    1. On the one hand, Jesus interacted GENTLY with this woman, 4:9-14:
      1. Jesus very kindly asked her for a drink from her vessel, John 4:7-9:
        1. In that day, public dialogue between men and women, between Jews and Samaritans and even between strangers was restrained, and as a Samaritan woman was felt by Jews to be perpetually unclean, Christ's request for a drink from her vessel would have made Him ritually unclean to Jews, Bib. Kno. Com., N. T., 285.
        2. Yet, He risked such ritual contamination in the eyes of fellow Jews by asking this Samaritan woman for a drink from her pot, a kindness that astounded her as we see by her response, 4:7-9.
        3. In also naming her immorality and clarifying her error, Jesus did not scold her, but merely stated the truth, John 4:16-18, 21-22.
    2. Yet, Jesus ALSO OPPOSED her ERROR and ASSERTED God's TRUTH to give her the TRUE GOSPEL so she might be SAVED:
      1. In response to her introduction of the different belief she had from Him (John 4:20), what Jesus did NOT say is as revealing as what He DID say; He did NOT reply as many Evangelicals today might by claiming: "Well, where we should worship is just a difference of Scripture interpretation between you folks and us Jews! So, just trust in Me and you'll go to heaven!" That claim would have led her to countered: "What?! Why should I who have been abhorred by your people as sinful and apostate' trust in you for salvation if the cause of our differences has been just a difference of Scripture interpretation?!' Your peoples' long and severe separation from us has thus been unwarranted and hence evil!"
      2. On the contrary, JESUS explained that her people worshipped in IGNORANCE where HIS people KNEW the truth , for the Jews were God's vehicle of revealing His TRUTH and SALVATION to the world, John 4:22! THAT meant the Samaritan woman and her people needed to CHANGE their BELIEFS to be SAVED!
    3. Once Jesus asserted this CORRECT truth, He could THEN give her the Gospel so she and her people could BELIEVE it to be SAVED:
      1. In exposing her error, Jesus was able to lead the Samaritan woman to God's true plan of equipping her to worship God acceptably, in spirit and in truth, and that by trusting in Him, John 4:21-26.
      2. The woman and her people then exchanged their error with faith in Christ, becoming true worshippers of God, Jn. 4:28-30, 39-42.
Application: (1) If we have not yet done so, let us believe in Christ for salvation from sin and error, John 3:16. (2) Then, may we not gloss over the sins and errors of others, but gently yet firmly address them with the truth in Christ that they may find salvation and help!

Lesson: When confronted with sin and error in the Samaritan woman, Jesus REFUSED to GLOSS OVER them, but GENTLY yet FIRMLY upheld God's truth to her; in so doing, He LED her and her townspeople to trust in Himself for salvation and solutions to their sin and error!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Our sermon is strikingly illustrated by a news item in Dave Hunt's July 2005 newsletter, The Berean Call (TBC), p. 8. He there reports that on June 20th of last month, Larry King introduced Joel Osteen on his live television show, claiming he was "evangelism's hottest rising star . . . [and] pastor for the biggest congregation in the United States.'" Pastor Osteen ministers at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas "where he reports attendance of more than 30,000 per weekend."

Part of the transcript of the conversation between King and Pastor Osteen is given in Dave Hunt's newsletter, and we cite it here:



King: "What if you're Jewish or Muslim, you don't accept Christ at all?"

Osteen: "You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know . . ."

King: "If you believe you have to believe in Christ? They're wrong, aren't they?"

Osteen: "Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God will judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know . . ." (emphases by TBC)



Joel Osteen, pastor of the largest Evangelical Church in our country thus was so non-dogmatic on doctrine that a Buddhist or a Hindu from India who heard his remarks on the Larry King show might see no need to trust in Christ and thus not believe in Him to be saved!

Scripture sharply differs with Pastor Osteen: John 14:6 KJV has Jesus saying: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 3:36 KJV reads: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (emphases ours)

So, we must NOT be FUZZY on our BELIEFS to others lest we MISLEAD them from the TRUTH that SAVES! Like Jesus, may we be GENTLE but FIRM in ASSERTING God's TRUTH!