This is Truth Matters, a weekly teaching ministry and a presentation of Free Grace Baptist Church of San Antonio. Please stay with us, for what we pray will be an edifying time of thoughtful discussion and helpful dialogue on contemporary issues involving the precious truth of God's Word. Your hosts for today's show are Pastors Tim Goad, Ken Billings, and Ken Billings Jr. Well, good noon. Good noon. Hi, noon. We're back. Hello, noon. It's good to have everyone back today. Yes, it is. Let's just jump right into this. We're talking about John MacArthur's classic, The Gospel According to Jesus. And most recently, we've been talking about the woman at the well. And in John's book, he lays down five lessons or critical truths to be emphasized in presenting the gospel. Lesson number one was Christ came to seek and save the lost, and through that we observed that sometimes we ourselves have to go through Samaria to get to the lost, that sometimes we have a divine appointment. And it might not be with the greatest or highest level of social strata. It may indeed be with those whom the world deems unreachable or at least unworthy of the gospel, as did many of the Jews view the Samaritans. Yes, Samaritans. That's a totally different time frame, isn't it? But the Samaritans, as we discussed last week, were kind of a kind of a mutt conglomerate. I mean, they really were the byproduct of inbreeding and interracial marriage and things like this. And the Jews, based upon their belief of not intermingling, saw this as something very, very wrong. And so they avoided them at all costs. Jesus went right to Samaria to have this conversation with the woman at the well. The second thing John MacArthur points out is that God is no respecter of persons. As I said last time, this kind of flows out of that first point. There are not any racial, ethnic, societal, or any other demographic factors that would hinder the presentation of the gospel, or that should hinder the presentation of the gospel. Number three, everyone who thirsts may come. And Kenny, we talked about this at the end of our last broadcast, and we kind of had to cut it short, but I understand there's something here that you'd like to read by way of clarification. Well, one of the reasons that John MacArthur is talking about this chapter in this book is that those who deny lordship salvation, those who deny that faith and obedience are connected, or obedience comes from faith, and that to become a Christian is more than just receiving the salvation of Christ. It points to a life of obedience afterwards. They come to John chapter 4 and they say look when Christ presented the gospel to this woman She he never said anything to her about a life of obedience All he said to her was for example in in verse 14 13 and 14 Jesus says to her everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life And so those who deny lordship salvation will point at this and say that, you see, Jesus didn't say anything about a life of obedience. It's just simply receiving. And that's all that matters. And John MacArthur's point is that the idea of drinking as a substitute for or as a synonym for faith, means much more than just simply appropriating or receiving. And he gives some other examples in the New Testament where the idea of drinking is used. For example, Jesus says, are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? Or Jesus also said, the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it? So drinking in those passages means much more than just accepting, but fully submitting yourself to, in that case, suffering. So drinking as a substitute for faith, or as a synonym for faith, doesn't simply mean just to accept, but it means to submit yourself to. And really the main point is, after she says, I want that water, Jesus says go get your husband right and that's the key because it wasn't just if that was all it was was here take the water or take faith then he would just have given it to her then right but he his point was not not yet we still have to deal with the issue of your sin right and that's why he changed the subject it had it been just easy believism he would have said okay because she was ready to drink she said I want that water I want that living water but he said not yet exactly still have the issue of sin right yeah And ultimately, we know that she did two things. She went and told the men, come see a man that told me everything about me. And then she went further than that and began to evangelize those same people. Exactly. So there was truly obedience after her experience of regeneration and conversion. Exactly. And just so our audience knows, the reason we're kind of harping on this for so long is because I would say that the vast majority of believers today actually believe that faith is just this simple proposition wherein an individual acknowledges a certain set of theological facts or truths about who Christ is, and they're saved. There is not an emphasis on a changed life. There's not an emphasis on fruit being evident after the profession of faith. What we're saying is that if one truly believes, there will be that requisite fruit evident in their lives from that day forward. And so the whole argument really kind of breaks down as to whether or not the drinking involves commitment or not. If you truly understand the biblical doctrine of salvation, it's really kind of a nonsensical argument because Jesus said, you know, all who name his name in salvation will produce good fruit. Well, those two words that are used so often in the New Testament that are our responsibility, that we have to do faith and repentance. Obviously they don't come from us, but we have to believe and we have to repent. Now sometimes the apostles will say, believe, and they won't say anything about repentance. Sometimes they'll say repent, like Peter, repent and be baptized. But that doesn't mean the other wasn't there. They sometimes use one or the other. So I think if you just focus on faith but not repentance, you deny lordship salvation. And if all you focus on is repentance but not faith, then you lead to a work salvation. Exactly. That's why it's really important that when we are talking to an unbeliever, they have to believe. certain things, especially about Christ and God, but they also have to repent. There has to be a conversion. They have to repent of their sins, which is more than just confessing that I've done wrong, but to turn from those things. And those two things are vital all throughout the New Testament, faith and repentance, faith and repentance. Well, in fact, I think, Pastor Tim, you just preached last week, or at least Paul's dialogue with the Ephesian elders, and one of the things that he said that he he did not cease to do in that whole dialogue was that he preached repentance toward God, I think, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Those two elements were constantly coming out of the mouth of the Apostle Paul in his preaching, and they were requisite elements for true salvation. Exactly, exactly. And, you know, let's roll it all the way back to its very source here. What condition are unbelievers in by nature? They're dead. They're dead in their trespasses and sins. I mean, that's typical Ephesians terminology as well. And God had to make us alive before we could even take that drink that Jesus offers. So when Jesus offered this woman this drink, it's very obvious that he saw in her, actually he created in her, this desire to want to drink as well. We don't need to divorce the two. We need to understand that faith is not this little muscle that everyone's born with. It's the gift of God that is given in regeneration and exercised upon profession. Well, Ephesians 2.8, right? By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is a gift of God, not a result of works that no one may boast. But that's not the end of the story. Yes, we are not saved as a result of works. For we are His workmanship, in other words, it's His work that saved us, created in Christ Jesus for good works. So we cannot divorce these two truths. Our works do not save us. Our works are a result of Christ's work, or God's work. But if we're truly saved, we will be working, not for salvation, but we will be working as a fruit or a result of God's grace. Paul told the Philippians. work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. And then what's the next verse? It's God who works in you. So I feel like those who deny lordship salvation, and I applaud their, you know, insistence on salvation by grace alone, through faith alone. I applaud that. Right. But if you stop there, it's heresy, as it is with almost every, I don't know, exaggeration of any aspect of truth that leads to error or heresy in any ways, to be nice. Error, at least. Well, and also getting back to that Ephesians 2 passage, we need to understand that the creation that's spoken of there is not our creation as human beings. Right. It's the same creation that the Apostle Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Yeah. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. That's the creation we're talking about. So that kind of dispels the notion that everybody has this faith from birth. And that new creation is the same stuff that Jesus just spoke to John about in the previous chapter, that new birth. Yeah. And Paul goes on to say in creation, it's all the same thing. Yeah. And Paul goes on to say there, you know, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Right. So it's a radical change. We are his workmanship really recreated in Christ. Exactly. Yeah. We've been recreated as new creation. Exactly, exactly. Very good. Well, I think we've made that clear. I hope. Yeah, I mean, if people aren't clear on that, they can certainly contact us. Or read the book. Or read the book. Or listen tomorrow. If you didn't quite get it, we'll be on again tomorrow at noon. Yeah, and you'll hear the same thing. Unless you're listening on Sunday, then don't listen tomorrow, because that would be Monday. Yeah, because if you listen on Monday, you won't hear us. But you can still listen to KSLR on Mondays at noon. Yes, I would highly recommend that. We do have two more points left. The next point in John's five lessons or critical truths to be emphasized in presenting the gospel is that now is the acceptable time. We talk a lot about the doctrine of the sovereignty of God and salvation. We talk a lot about salvation not being man's choice, but God's choice of them, those classical and much-loved Calvinistic doctrines that we hold so dear. But that still doesn't remove the human element, and this is a big common misunderstanding about Calvinists. We do not deny that there is a human element to this. When we're told here, now is the acceptable time, we do that, we say that on the basis of our not knowing whether or not the Lord is calling you. So to everyone out there who does not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we would invite you now to call upon Him while He may yet be found. And according to Romans 10 and other passages, you will be saved. Well, and the reason this is brought up here in John chapter 4 is that the woman, after hearing about her sins, and after Jesus says, go eat your husband, and she says, well, you must be a prophet, and so on, she kind of changes the subject. Yes. For whatever reason, it's kind of hard to know what's going on inside of her mind. She either changes the subject, or according to John MacArthur, she asks the first question that comes to mind, because she knows she's talking to a prophet, but all of a sudden she says, well, where are we supposed to worship? You know, we're supposed to worship here in Samaria, or we're supposed to worship in Jerusalem, and so on. And Jesus says, listen, the hour is coming where neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship. You worship what you do not know, but we worship what we know. Salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here. Now is the acceptable time. When the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. And then the woman says, well, when the Messiah comes, He's going to tell us. And then Jesus says, I who speak to you am He. That's the first time in his life, really, that Jesus made clear that he was the Messiah. And that's really amazing. To just put it in the big picture, his first self-revelation is to a Samaritan adulteress. Not to Nicodemus. He never said that to Nicodemus. He hadn't said it to his apostles, at least not in scripture. He didn't say it to the Pharisees. He didn't say it to Pilate early. He says it to this woman the first time where he claims his messiahship is at this point. And that's really remarkable. I was just going to say that the whole acceptable time concept just once again proves the inspiration of scripture. Paul was inspired to write in 2 Corinthians 6, working together with him then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain for he says In a favorable time, this is the ESV, I listen to you and in a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold now is the favorable time. Behold now is the day of salvation. Yeah, that's good. And when Jesus disclosed Himself to her, now that He had pointed out her sin, now that He had pointed out that He was the Messiah, she didn't say another word. Exactly. And at that point the disciples come back and then she leaves and goes. So she's, I think, and John MacArthur thinks, and I think it's pretty clear, to use modern terminology, she accepts Jesus Christ as her personal Savior at that point. Of course, of course. And that was it. Her sins had been pointed out, Christ had revealed himself to her as the Messiah, and now she is truly a converted person. And how do we know this? because of her works after this moment. She went and told others. Well, you know, let's roll it back once again and go back to that question of her saying that, you know, our fathers say that we're to worship on this mountain, and you guys say that we're to worship on this mountain. And then Jesus, as a corrective, said, no, now is the time, you know, to worship. You can worship here and now, in spirit and in truth. Try to relate that to some practical aspect of what goes on in society today. I thought about this over the last couple of days and I was struck by how similar this is to the way people think about things within the realm of Christianity. For example, today still there are those who insist that religious things should be done only in the church. For example, in the Roman Catholic Church, if I want absolution from my sins, if I want to confess my sins, there's a place for that. I have to go and get in the confessional booth and tell the priest, you know, everything that I've done, and then he grants me absolution for that. I think a lot of that's bled over even into the evangelical thing, because I've even had people say, you know, yeah, so-and-so asked me about salvation. I told them to come to church, and then at the end of the service, you know, we give an altar call, and then they can go up and receive Christ. No, when we say now is the acceptable time, we mean even if you're driving in your car right now and you feel the Lord leading you and you feel the Lord calling you to Himself, you can be saved right now. You don't have to wait until church. You don't have to go to someone else. Call upon the Lord while He may yet be found and you can... You can be saved while driving a car? You can be saved while driving a car. How do you pray with your eyes open then? Don't close your eyes to pray now, unless you're stopped in traffic. Yeah, please don't close your eyes to pray now. Paul said pray without ceasing, but that doesn't mean while you're on I-35. Well, you can pray with your eyes open sometimes. It's perfectly acceptable. Exactly. No, point well noted, but it kind of detracts from my overall point here. That's okay. But no, really, if you are without Jesus Christ as Savior, you can call upon him now and worship him in spirit and in truth. And that's the whole point. And I think the woman at the well again was talking about her religion, and of course they had their place of worship. And this goes, I think, beyond just the Samaritan way of worship, the Eastern religions and all the, there are so many different kinds of religions and they all have their quote, way of doing things. And so that's what she was inquiring about. Listen, I've been taught that this is the place of worship. You are, as Jews, are taught that religion should take place in and about or through Jerusalem. And so Jesus clarified the whole situation and gave her the truth. and said that as Jews, they knew what true religion was about, but the Samaritans did not. I also think that, just as you said, that not only can this salvation happen at any moment, But our religious activity has to be more than just on Sunday as well. There are plenty of people who I think they go to church on Sunday and they act spiritual on that day. They sing, they pray, and they raise their hands, and they jump around, or they listen, or they preach. But then Monday through Saturday, because they have been taught that they don't have to submit to the commands of God, they live literally like the devil. They will do all sorts of amazing immorality, things that are just staggering. But then they'll go to church on Sunday and feel good about themselves. So the worship toward God has to be more than just at a time or a place. It has to take over our entire lives. It's funny you should say that because I was in a witnessing scenario with someone just the other day and someone else walked into the office who claims to be a Christian and pulled me to the side after this little event and told me, you know, with all due respect, I believe that there's a time and place for everything. And I said, well, there's no time and place for the gospel. The gospel is available 24-7, 365. We don't have a specific time where it's okay to talk about the gospel, and other times it's not. And he was fairly flabbergasted by that concept. You know, he was like, well, yeah, but, you know, do your churchy things in church, and otherwise just kind of keep it to yourself. I'm like, wow, I don't know where you go to church, but... Well, John MacArthur basically says the same thing. He says the where of worship is not really the issue. It is who, when, and how that really count. Jesus said, an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipper shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people the Father seeks to be his worshippers. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. True worship occurs not on a mountain or in a temple, but in the inner person. Amen. That's good. That's good. And that happens all the time, right? What's his last point? His last point is this man receives sinners. And again, his whole point is to note the fruit from the woman. She brought others to him. It's actually something that should be inherent in every believer. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you believe that He has saved you, your natural inclination is to go out into the world and tell others, this man saves sinners. not Buddha not Muhammad not any of those other great so-called great religious leaders this man Jesus Christ Saves sinners. Well, I love what she tells the other Samaritans in the city Come and see a man who told me all the things that I have done I mean she's admitting here that he has opened up my heart. He's looked into the deepest parts of me and She's confessing it out loud now to everybody He's the omniscient God. just like the thief on the cross, one of the reasons we know that he was converted, that few minutes that he had left of life, he witnessed to other people. I mean, he witnessed the only person he could talk to, the other person on the cross, the other thief, and here as soon as she is now accepted the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, she's confessed her sins, although that's not mentioned, but we can assume, she now runs and tells other people, so her life then becomes the evidence of the work of God in her. Exactly, exactly. Well, very good. That kind of wraps up our broadcast today. We've got about a minute and a half left. Pastor Ken, why don't you tell people who we are and how to get to us? Yes, we are the Free Grace Baptist Church. We're located on 1801 Thorain Boulevard, San Antonio, Texas, 78201. Our services are at 945, 11 o'clock, and 130 in the afternoon. Very good. And those are all different services, three different preaching services. Yeah, we don't preach the same message over and over and over. Well, because some people have thought that before. The 130s, that's the same as the 11. Totally different. Yep. Let me just say this too. We are on Facebook. You can go to Facebook and type in Truth Matters and boom, up pops the page. You'll see a link there to all of our broadcasts. You can visit our website, www.freegracebaptist.org. You can visit us on Sermon Audio, which is sermonaudio.com forward slash Free Grace Baptist, and hear all of our broadcasts there. Let me just say this too, Baylor football's coming. And so these broadcasts, since we are football fans, not particularly Baylor fans, I wouldn't say that, you know, hook them horns. But anyway, we will be preempted on occasion by home games at Baylor. We don't mind that. So just be aware of that. If you tune in one Saturday and a Baylor football game's on, don't assume that Truth Matters has gone by the wayside. It's simply a preemption. It will either be on Saturday, I guess, before or after that. Yeah. But still Sunday at noon. Yes. That won't change. That won't change. So, well, again, it's been fun, guys. It's been real. We'll see you next time. Yep. Take care. Bye-bye. Thank you for joining us for this edition of Truth Matters. The weekly radio teaching ministry of Free Grace Baptist Church of San Antonio, located at 1801 Thorain Boulevard. Meeting times each Thursday are 945 a.m., 11 a.m. and 130 p.m. Weekly prayer meetings are held each Wednesday evening at 7. And if you'd like to visit us online, find us at freegracebaptist.org. Thank you again for listening, and may God continue to richly bless you through the faithful study of His Word.