A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JUNE 2, 1872,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the
saying of the woman, who testified, 'He told me all that I ever did.'So
when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them;
and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own
word. Then they said to the woman, 'Now we believe, not because of what
you said, for we have heard Him ourselves, and we know that this is,
indeed, the Christ, the Savior of the world." John 4:39-42.
THE most important question concerning any man living is this–is he a
saved soul or not? It is of comparatively little consequence whether he
is rich or poor, educated or uneducated, compared with this–is he
among the living before God–or is he dead in sins? Is he pardoned or
unpardoned? Is he a child of God or an heir of wrath? Is he walking in
the darkness or has he passed into light? Therefore of all the days of
a man's history the most important is the day in which he is
born-again.
If the man is, indeed, saved, and a new man in Christ Jesus, he will
look back upon the day of his regeneration as his chief birthday. His
new birth is second in order of time, but he will always put it first
in importance. His birth gave him his being, but his new birth secured
his well-being. Being born first we might have descended into Hell,
but, being born a second time we are assured of Heaven! If we were to
observe those days with the greatest festivity which deserved best to
be commemorated, we should certainly make high days and holidays of the
days in which we looked to Jesus, and "found in Him our star, our sun."
For this reason the circumstances which surround our new birth are to
us among the most deeply interesting incidents of our own or any other
human history. The details may be very simple. They may not suffice to
make a biography, but still, to us, they are most important. We delight
to think of the place where Jesus met with us, the Providence which
brought us to the spot where we first heard the words which convicted
us of sin. We feel pleasure in remembering every detail of our sorrows
when we were seeking rest and finding none–and we are charmed as we
read in our diary the story of how it was that we found the way of
salvation–how it was that we looked to Jesus and lost our burden in a
moment!
Our memory lingers and our heart loves to remember where it was, and by
whose lips it was, that the life-giving message came and we looked to
the Crucified One and were lightened. This is the reason why this
chapter is so interesting, because it is the story of a conversion–the
registry of a new birth–the record of salvation. It is the story of
the conversion of a remarkable woman, great in sin and afterwards great
in zeal! It tells us how the work was effected, what was said to her by
the Lord, how she replied, what she felt, and how she was brought out
into light. This fourth chapter of the Gospel of John has in it not
only that touch of nature which makes the whole world kin, but that
touch of Divine Grace which creates sympathy in all regenerate hearts.
And, consequently, it will always remain one of the most interesting
portions of Holy Writ.
But it is not for itself alone that I shall conduct your minds to this
suggestive history. While I shall be talking of this woman, my earnest
desire is to feel in my own soul whatever of the Truth of God is
uttered, and that each one here may be putting every Truth to himself
in the form of searching questions–saying concerning each thought now
uttered– "Do I understand that Truth? Am I partaker of that Grace?"
Thus, our hearing will be profitable, by the blessing of the Holy
Spirit, and the woman of Samaria will become a prophetess to us, also.
First, then, our text most naturally suggests the remark that testimony
is frequently the means of creating faith. "Many of the Samaritans of
that city believed in Him because of the saying of the woman, who
testified, "He told me all that I ever did." But, secondly, where
personal testimony fails, faith may yet arise, apart from human
witness, for "many more believed because of His own word." Then,
thirdly, even where faith has been begotten through testimony, personal
experience very soon eclipses all human witness. "Now we believe," they
said, "not because of what you said, for we have heard Him ourselves,
and we know that this is, indeed, the Christ, the Savior of the world."
I. The first doctrine, this morning, is that HUMAN TESTIMONY IS
FREQUENTLY MADE THE MEANS OF PRODUCING FAITH IN MEN'S HEARTS. That is
evident to all. Hundreds of instances in proof thereof are present here
this morning. A very large number of us owe our conversion to God to
the personal testimony of others who told us what the Lord had done for
them–told us in words, but also showed us in their actions–for we
perceived the change that was in them. We saw their calm mind under
trouble. We noticed their general happiness. We noticed and we admired
their holiness. And we were led, both by their verbal and practical
testimony, to seek a Savior.
This is the usual mode of Divine operation, that the testimony of one
renewed soul should be blessed to another, and so the kingdom of Christ
should be propagated in men's hearts. To encourage all here who know
the Lord to bear testimony for Him, let us notice the case before us.
It was that of a woman. Paul's preaching is very plain upon the subject
of female preaching. He does not allow a woman to preach, but this by
no means bars her from bearing testimony in her own way–and she can so
bear it as to do God's work quite as effectually as if she occupied the
pulpit!
A woman was the founder of the Church in Samaria, which was afterwards
multiplied by Christ's teaching, which continued till the time of
Philip–and was then in a state of gracious revival. The first person
baptized in Europe was a woman, therefore let none of our Sisters in
Christ exempt themselves from bearing witness for Jesus Christ! Neither
let them think that their witness is unimportant. God will put high
honor upon it if it is rendered in simple faith in Him and, perhaps,
where public ministry may have failed, their private testimony may yet
succeed!
Again, the testimony was not only that of a woman, but of a sinful
woman–one who would usually be condemned to silence by the customs of
society. She had lost her character. It was fit for her to be quiet.
How could she be expected to be a witness for holiness, whose life had
been unholiness? How should she bear witness to the pure Savior who had
been, herself, impure? It is best for the unchaste to be little seen
and never heard. The objection would have been unanswerable had not the
woman been changed in character. She was washed, she was sanctified and
renewed–and now the very life which had otherwise been so just a cause
for silence, became an impelling motive for witness-bearing since she
loved much because much had been forgiven!
In her own person she was a notable proof of the Savior's power to
pardon and reclaim. She had become a saint who formerly had been one of
the chief of sinners and her witness for Christ was all the weightier.
If any of you shall have been, up till now, great offenders against
God, this is no reason why you should not come to Jesus at once and
seek and find mercy! And after you have come to Him, your past
transgressions shall be no bar to your future usefulness–on the
contrary, you shall the more zealously and powerfully declare the power
of His Grace! The more mischief we have done in the past the more good
we should try to do in the future–that by any means we may undo the
evil we have done. How often has it turned out that the chief of
sinners, like Paul, have become not a whit behind the very chief of the
Apostles, and the very force of character which made them ringleaders
in evil has aided in bringing them to the front as captains of the
Lord's host! We ought to be thankful, therefore, that we are allowed to
bear testimony, and that our testimony may be useful even though much
of our past life has been such that we would wish to blot it out
forever.
Observe that this woman's testimony was personal, and there was the
secret of its power. She said, "Come, see a Man that told me all things
that I ever did: is not this the Christ?" Now, suppose that she had
said, "Come, see a man who has opened up the prophecies to me"? Why
they would have said, "Prophecies? What have you to do with prophecies?
Go and fetch your water pot, attend to your business, mend your
character, and do not talk to us about prophecies." Or, if she had
said, "I find, by reference to the words of Rabbi Simeon, that the
Messiah is to be very much like a person in whom I have just now seen
sitting on the well." They would have cared very little for the Rabbi,
or for her inference from his words.
It was not because of any learning in what she said that they were
convinced, but the personality of her declaration puzzled them. Now, we
make a mistake, I believe, when we assail men's consciences with
quotations from the fathers and
passages from the reformed Divines. Human hearts will not be conquered
by such poor artillery! And if we think that explaining a doctrine will
suffice to win most men to Christ, we labor under a mistake. This woman
did far better than that. She did as good as say, "You know what I have
been, all of you! It is of no use for me to attempt concealing it. But
I went to draw water at the well and there sat a stranger, a Jew. And
though He could not have known anything about me by report, yet He
directed a question to me which led me to discourse upon my character,
and then He told me in detail all that I had ever been, and mentioned
some facts which you do not know, and which I had forgotten myself.
Surely, He must be the Messiah."
They were very startled as they heard the woman's tale. She was
startled herself! How surprised she appeared! They listened to her
eagerly, wondering why she should talk of holy things. And, let me say,
Beloved, if we wish to win souls to Christ, there is nothing like
telling to others what the Lord has done for our souls. It is of small
use to tell them what we have learned in books–we must declare what
God has written on our hearts! It is not describing what was said by
the preacher, but what has been felt in our souls. Many a husband has
been won to God by his wife's witness to the power of religion in her
own soul–and many a child has been brought to the Savior's feet by the
father's speaking to him of what Divine Grace had done for him.
Proclaim, then, your personal testimony, each of you, for this is the
most effectual weapon for overcoming human unbelief and bringing men to
Christ!
But, then, you will note that the woman's personal testimony was
delivered very earnestly. In the first place she had left her water
pot, which was not only left for Christ to use, but much more likely
because she was absorbed in the purpose to tell others what she had
learned and she was so full of her message that she left the water pot
behind! The men would notice that it was so–they would observe the
hurried way in which she came back from the well, and, above all, they
would see the way in which her eyes shone–the manner in which every
muscle of her body bespoke the excitement under which she labored.
She said, "Come, come, see, see, a man that told me all things I ever
did." How much depends in bearing testimony upon the way in which it is
done! If our sermons were to hang like icicles around our lips they
would not be very likely to melt the ice in your minds. And if, in
speaking to your Sunday school class, your words fall like snow, they
are not very likely to make children's hearts burn within them. If, in
speaking privately to an individual, you treat your own conversion as
though it were a commonplace affair, or aim at his conversion whom you
address as though it were a matter that was not very significant, you
might as well be silent! O Brothers and Sisters, you waste your breath!
You waste your time! No good will come of it!
Your testimony must be earnest or it will be fruitless! There must be
passion and there must be pathos. The soul must run over at the mouth,
and the speech must be the lava flowing out of a heart that swells and
heaves with inward fires. I would have you notice the judiciousness of
the woman's testimony. It is very striking. She did not say, "Come, see
a Man that told me all things that I ever did: I am sure He is the
Christ." She was too wise to be peremptory. If you positively assert a
thing it is very likely that somebody will deny it. There is a
propensity in many minds to question inferences drawn by others, though
they would draw those very inferences themselves if let alone. So,
though she did not doubt that it was the Christ, yet she did not say it
is, but she deferred to the self-assumed wisdom of the men!
And she said to them, "Is not this the Christ? Don't you think it is?"
as though she would have her belief confirmed by their judgment and
humbly requested them to come and see. This is a kind of Pauline taking
them by guile–a method which is commendable–because there is no
sinful guile in it. It is all plain, innocent guile. She knew something
about human nature from herself, and, judging the men by herself, she
did not dogmatize, but she put it in such a way that she knew what
answer they must give to her question, "Is not this the Christ?" In
fishing for the souls of men you need as much judgment as you do in
angling–for men are curious fish and they will often be frightened at
a shadow! And, in the very way of throwing the line and managing the
fly, there is an art not very readily learned.
Some never learn the way and are never able to attract souls, while
others are endowed with sacred instincts by which they know how to
handle men's hearts and win power over them. We must be wise to win
souls! Souls are not won by fools. We must have a sympathy with men,
even reaching to their infirmities–and we must woo them as men,
dealing with them not as they ought to be, but as they are–and putting
the Truth of God in the shape in which it is likely to be acceptable to
them. David chose out a smooth stone from the brook–he knew what sort
of stone he could sling best,
what sort of a stone was suited to his sling, what stone was best
adapted to Goliath's forehead–and he sent the right stone in the right
way.
And so must you. If you bear witness for Christ, ask the Spirit of
Wisdom to guide you. Pray to be directed lest your earnestness should
lead you into an injudicious mode of speech. Let prudence be mingled
with your zeal. He is the Christ, but if you need men to believe that
He is, you will sometimes do better to ask men if He is than actually
to assert His claims. The woman bore her testimony, and bore it well.
Now, observe the result. There were many that believed on Christ at
once, because of the woman's speech. Happy woman, thus to become a
mother in Israel! Blessed testimony, which was thus fruitful on the
spot a hundred-fold! I guarantee you that many a bishop and doctor of
divinity, and many a mighty orator has spoken hundreds of times with
less result than this poor untrained, un-ordained, female Apostle of
Jesus Christ! Her simple talk did more than eloquence could accomplish,
though it should be as mighty as that of Cicero or Demosthenes! Her
heart was in the words she spoke! Her speech was simple–there was
nothing to recommend it of beauty of verbiage, or gaudiness of oratory.
She said what she knew and testified what she had seen with an earnest
desire that others would know and see what she had learned. Therefore
God blessed her. Oh, may God bless many of us, whether men or women, to
the same end–the bringing of many to Jesus!
Those who were not converted under her were awakened and stirred up so
that they went to see the Lord Jesus and brought Him into their city,
and asked Him to stay with them. Many of these were afterwards
converted, so that she became, in some sense, the instrument of their
salvation. Would to God that each one of us aimed at the same thing!
But, I have more practical work to do than this. I have a question to
put to many here who have not believed in Jesus. Your not believing in
Jesus, many of you, does not arise from need of testimony about Him.
The Samaritans only heard the testimony of a woman of very doubtful
character–but they believed in Jesus Christ through it! I need to
speak very pointedly to some here. You have heard the testimony of the
best people who have ever lived, and yet you have not believed! Had you
not the testimony of a mother who loved the Savior and loved you, and
above all things in this world coveted that you should love her Savior,
too?
You know how earnestly she has spoken to you with as many tears as
words, and how often she has backed her testimony with her prayers–but
you have not believed. She told you that Jesus could pardon sin, could
give rest to your conscience and could preserve you unto His eternal
kingdom and glory. And she besought you to come to Him, but you did not
come. In her case there was a good character to back her testimony. You
saw, year after year, her quiet, patient, godly life, and what is more,
it may be I speak to some who saw the triumphant death of that same
mother–and yet you have not believed!
I have seen death beds which I have thought would have been enough to
have convinced the most hardened, for there has been about the dying
saint evidence conclusive of the power of Divine Grace. The body has
been pained but the soul has been placid. Storms have swept through
every nerve, and yet perfect peace has ruled the spirit–yes, and more
than peace–for the soul has rejoiced with unspeakable joy and full of
glory! That is an unbelieving heart, indeed, which will not be
convinced by the testimony of a near and dear one–a testimony
supported throughout a holy life and crowned by a glorious death!
There are husbands here, probably, whose wives always bear good witness
for Christ. Your wife is not dead and you know very well, in the bottom
of your heart, that religion has done great things for her. If she were
to die you would feel deep regrets for the ridicule you sometimes pour
upon her. Why, if I were not this day a Believer in Christ, I think I
should be of all men the most incorrigible, for I have seen the fruits
of Grace in a beloved mother and in a gracious father! I could not be
so base as to doubt their truthfulness, and yet I must do so or else
accept their witness for the Lord Jesus. Did I not believe in the
depravity of the human heart, I should wonder how so many can reject
the pious testimonies which everywhere surround them–testimonies of
persons of the most honorable character, who, on any other matter would
be at once believed!
Perhaps there may be some here who will say, "I do not know that I have
ever had any testimony of the sort borne to me." Now, if you will allow
me, you shall not be able to say that any longer. I will bear my
testimony for Jesus Christ at once. When I preach Christ and His
salvation to you I do not preach what I learned in a college or was
taught by men! I preach to you what I would die for! I preach to you
what is the chief joy of my soul! I preach to you what I know and
believe and have experienced! Years ago I was under the greatest
conceivable darkness of spirit. I was but a lad, but my sin haunted me.
I had such an idea of the guilt of my past life that my heart was heavy
within me, and at intervals I was crushed down with fear. I would get
away into corners, where no one could see me, and cry and pray. And I
labored under the belief that everybody else might be saved, but that I
should perish.
Now I heard of Jesus Christ, that He was able to put away sin at once
from anyone who simply looked to Him and trusted Him. I heard that, and
I was enabled by Divine Grace, as soon as I heard it, to trust the
Savior. I did then and there rest the whole weight of my soul for time
and eternity upon the Person and work of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of
God. And my witness is that, in one single moment, a load was rolled
from off my spirit and as swiftly as a flash of lightning I passed from
darkness into light–from misery into joy! From that hour I bless God
that, being not exempt from trouble, and especially not free from a
tendency to despondency which is always with me, I yet rejoice and will
rejoice, and am happy, unspeakably happy in resting upon Jesus Christ!
Moreover, I have found that those points of my character which were
most weak have been strengthened, while strong passions have been
subdued, propensities have been kept under, and new principles have
been implanted. I am changed! I am as different from what I was as a
man could be who had been annihilated and had then been made again. Nor
do I claim any credit for this–far from it! God has done great things
for me, but He has done the same for others, and is willing to do it
for any soul that seeks His face! He is willing to do it for every
seeker here! There is such a thing as a new heart and a right spirit–I
know there is. There is such a thing as perfect happiness in death,
yes, and even a longing to depart! I know that peace with God is to be
had, for I have felt it and bear witness to it!
Do you reject my witness? Perhaps you doubt my truthfulness. Then I
must endure your injustice, for I know that I do not lie. But, if my
character is right, and if you think I speak the truth, then I ask you
to receive the witness I bear! I wish I could bear it more judiciously
and more earnestly, but I do bear it in all sincerity with this desire
in my soul–I would that not only some of you, but all that hear me
this day knew the preciousness of Christ Jesus my Lord, and understood
that beneath God's Heaven there is nothing so blessed as to be resting
upon the blood and merits of the once crucified but now exalted Savior!
I bear my testimony as the woman from the well did. If you reject it,
so must it be. But I pray you do not, but come and see Jesus for
yourselves, for He is, indeed, the Christ, the Savior of the world!
II. FAITH MAY ARISE APART FROM THE TESTIMONY OF MEN. I shall speak of
this second head for this reason. When you, who are earnest
soul-winners, have borne testimony to any man about Christ, and he does
not yield to it, do not despair of him. When you have preached to a man
and he is not converted, do not think that there is no other hope for
him. The Lord has other ways of work besides the witness of His
servants. Some of those Samaritans who had not received the woman's
testimony believed because of His own word. Have we God's own Word
among us now? Yes, thank God, we have.
We have it in the Scriptures! There are some who will not listen to the
witness of men, though it is loving and personal, who will yet bow
before the majesty and power of the infallible Word of God. Let us hope
that those who refuse our persuasions will yield homage to the Word of
God. Let us trust that some, in quietly reading their Bibles, may yet
be convicted and converted. If all our arrows shall miss them, let us
hope that God's Word will yet dart an arrow between the joints of their
harness. Remember, the Spirit of God can work on men's hearts through
Truths of God which they heard a long time ago. He will not reveal new
truths to anybody–the complete Revelation is in the Scriptures–but He
will often freshen up old Truths in the mind.
I have hopes of many men in London who never go to a place of worship,
that they will be converted, because when they were children they were
at a Sunday school and there they obtained knowledge which the devil
will never be able to make them forget. The seed is hidden, but not
dead! I have seen in the country men digging a ditch, throwing up the
earth from 10 or 12 feet deep, and yet in that earth there were strange
seeds, long covered with earth, which only wanted unearthing and
exposure to rain and sun to develop them to the amazement of the
neighborhood. And so there may die seeds of Truth deep down in the
memory, and God the Holy Spirit may quicken them! We have known persons
at their work not thinking of Divine things at all, but yet a sudden
thoughtfulness has come over them, and they have considered their ways.
The Spirit of God, in fact, moved upon them! They began to meditate,
and meditating they confessed their sins and turned to God. Besides,
remember that God has many preachers that are not in human flesh. For
instance, fever is a terrible Elijah. When the cholera came to London
it was a Jonah in our streets! Many, then, began to think who would
have gone blindfold down to perdition! When poverty visits some men's
houses and they can no longer indulge in drunkenness and gluttony, then
they think of their Father's house and the hired servants who have
bread enough and more to spare. Omnipotence has servants everywhere!
God can make use of even the ills of life to work eternal good.
I have even known cases in which sin has been overruled by God to the
awakening of souls. I remember a young man whose life had been strictly
moral and upright but who had disregarded all religion. He was a
working man, and on one occasion he upset a can of varnish at his work.
He was afraid of his master's anger and, when asked who did it, he
denied the fact. He had never lied before–at least not in such a
manner–and he felt himself so mean, so degraded in having told a lie
that he felt himself to be no longer righteous before God. He bowed his
knee and confessed his sin, and with a burdened conscience he went to
hear the Gospel and found peace and pardon through the precious blood
of Jesus!
Disease within a man may be as dangerous as when it breaks out and
throws its pustules through the skin. When the man sees sin in
eruption, he only sees what was in him before–it could never come out
if it were not first in him! The wrong act could never come forth if it
was not in the man and, sometimes, the wrong act has convinced the man
that his nature was impure, and so sin, though evil in itself, has been
the means of bringing conviction to the soul. God has many ways of
bringing men to Himself and we should pray that where we fail, the Word
of God, accompanied by the power and energy of the Divine Spirit may
convert them that they may be saved!
There are persons in the world of a singular disposition, and of a
peculiarly independent mind who do not care to be shown anything, but
prefer to find it out for themselves. And the probability is that if
you wish them to see they will shut their eyes. The very thing they
would find out and rejoice in, they will not learn from you. They keep
themselves to themselves and will never be brought in by testimony. But
they will be converted, let us hope, by the effectual working of the
Spirit. I have known some, too, who are of such a skeptical turn of
mind so that testimony is not received by them. They have seen so much
of persons being led by the nose by priests that they will not believe
anybody! And, whereas some will swallow a lie, these will only, with
difficulty, accept the Truth of God itself from fear of being
credulous.
They are something like Thomas. Mary Magdalene said she had seen the
Savior. "Ah, no doubt you are an excellent woman, but you have
certainly been deceived. You are so imaginative." Then Peter said, "I
have seen the Lord." "I am sure you think so, but you must be in
error." Then John said, "But, indeed, I have seen the Lord." "That is
good evidence for yourself. But it does not convince me." Then
Bartholomew and others would say, "We have seen the Lord. And five or
six others have told you so. Do you think we have conspired to tell a
lie?" "To, my Brethren, far from it! Yet I have known such things in
the world as for five or six persons to be mistaken. I feel that your
witness deals with such improbabilities that I cannot receive it."
At last Thomas declared downright, "Except I shall see in His hands the
print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and
thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." Now this was not
right, but at the same time it was so–and our Lord was graciously
pleased to yield to the infirmity of Thomas, and He said, "Reach here
your finger, and behold My hands, and reach here your hand and put it
into My side, and be not faithless but believing." Persons of this
character make eminent saints when once convinced–and our Lord has, in
some cases, dealt with them in a special way. And, where the word of
man has failed, His own Word, attended with special power of the Holy
Spirit, has brought them to believe.
We must tarry no longer. I only introduce the point by way of
encouragement to you who work for Jesus, not by way of sedative to you
who will not believe! You have no right to expect you will ever have
any other testimony than you have already received. You have Moses and
the Prophets–if you will not hear them, neither would you be converted
though one rose from the dead! You are not to expect miracles to
convert you! Christ may go out of His way, but He is not bound to do
so, and you have no right to look for it. You may say, "Except I see
signs and wonders I will not believe," but the probabilities are that
you will not see signs and wonders, and will perish in your unbelief!
Beware, I pray you!
III. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ECLIPSES HUMAN TESTIMONY. The very people who
believed through the woman, afterwards said, "Now we believe, not
because of what you said, for we have heard Him ourselves, and we know
that this is, indeed, the Christ, the Savior of the world." Personal
experience is far more convincing than any testimony
can be! You may believe a thing because you are credibly informed of
it, but you believe it a great deal more deeply and thoroughly when you
have seen it for yourself! In the times of famine Jacob was told there
was corn in Egypt, and the Patriarch believed the word. But when they
had gone to Egypt and had their sacks full, there was a deeper
conviction in their minds about Egypt's corn than ever before.
A missionary, speaking to the inhabitants of a tropical region,
informed them that water in our country, through cold, sometimes became
solid. The generality of the natives would not believe him! It was too
absurd a thing to be true! One, however, who knew the missionary's
character, did believe that water could become solid so that persons
could walk upon it. And when he came to England and saw a river frozen
over, his faith was very different from what it had been before! It was
the same in essence, but of a deeper degree. So when we heard that
Jesus Christ is precious and that He is a Savior, we believed it. But
when we were saved by Him, and found peace through Him, we received a
far deeper faith! The faith that is based upon personal experience is
more essential than any other, for until we have this faith we cannot
know that we are saved.
Those doctors who advertise their medicines know that the public
depends very much upon testimony and therefore they generally give us a
list of cures with the names of persons who have been healed. They
expect that the readers of such testimonials will look with favor upon
their medicine–and I suppose it is so. But if ever you have taken any
medicine and you have yourself been perfectly restored from some very
painful and dangerous ailment, your faith in that medicine is quite
another thing! Before, you said, "I do not know that all those people
live at the addresses which are given, and perhaps they never lived
anywhere." Or, if you really believed that the thing was correct
enough, you did not take any interest in it, but, after your own
disease has been removed by it, you are certain to talk about it to
other people and say to them, "You know such-and-such a medicine? It is
wonderful how it acts–perfectly marvelous the restoration I have
received through it!" Now, it is just so when we come to Jesus. We are
so fully convinced that we begin to tell others.
But my point is that it is essential we come. If I believe in the man's
medicine, and yet do not take it, it is of no use to me. If I believe
in Christ's saving sinners, but do not go to Him to save me, He is
nothing to me. If I am in danger at sea and there is a lifeboat, and I
believe in her, such faith will not save me–I must get into her! If I
am hungry and believe in bread–it will not take away my hunger–I must
eat it! If I am dying of thirst and see the crystal spring by my
side–it will not save me merely to believe in the water–I must stoop
down and drink it for myself! Personal experience is the essential
proof and we must have it.
And, let me add, that personal experience is always a more complete
witness than testimony can ever be. Testimony can tell you something
about Christ, but not much compared with what you will learn by going
to Him yourself! The Queen of Sheba was told of Solomon that he was
wise, that his court was richly furnished and that his dominion was
magnificent. But, when she had herself entered the royal presence, her
heart failed her, and she said, "The half has not been told me."
Witnesses about other things exaggerate, but witnesses concerning,
Jesus Christ always fall short! Painters have frequently won repute by
making portraits fairer than the originals, but none can ever paint
Jesus with a pencil that shall give too much of luster to His noble
face. He is so glorious that even angels, who have seen Him all their
lives, and bowed before Him where His splendor is best revealed, could
not tell man nor one another the thousandth part of His excellences!
If you need to know Him you must see Him for yourself. You must make
Him your personal acquaintance. You must press by faith into the inner
circle and cry with the spouse, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His
mouth, for His love is better than wine." This kind of evidence is the
most enduring. What you receive from another man you might, perhaps,
give up. In days of persecution those who believed the Bible on
second-hand have denied the faith, but those who have had it worked
into the warp and woof of their being–who have had their souls dyed
and tinctured through and through with it, because they have lived upon
Christ, and Christ has lived in them–those were the people who stood
on the firewood to burn, and learned to sing the high praises of God
while their flesh and bones were being consumed! If we need to become
stalwart men who cannot be turned aside by every wind of doctrine–whom
neither Rationalism nor Sacramentarianism can shake from the Gospel–we
must be those who have been with Jesus! In that way we learn
experimentally from Him–and such experimental Christians can never
give up the Truth of God.
Now, to close, I would observe this–only those who know the Savior
experimentally can bear testimony to others, for this woman, through
whose secondary testimony many were converted, had, first of all, a
personal experience herself.
She said, "He told me all things that I ever did." If she had not
personally learned of Him, she could not have gone out and spoken to
others. So you who would be useful must get the Truth into your own
souls by personally feasting upon it. Only that which is in yourself
can you communicate to others. Out of an empty bottle nothing comes.
The Lord says to you as to Ezekiel, "eat this roll." Digest in your own
soul the doctrine you would preach! Have within yourself a well of
living water, and then out of you shall flow rivers for others!
Let me add that while it is a serious thing to reject the personal
witness of others, it is a fatal thing to reject this other test of
Truth, namely, the trying for yourself whether Jesus is what He
professes to be. When the offer is made to a man concerning any article
of commerce, "This is an excellent production and here are
recommendations given by persons able to judge. But, moreover, you can
take it home with you. You can try it for a month and if it does not
answer your purpose it can be taken back"–that is always considered to
be an honest system of trade.
Now, we say concerning the things of God–if you do not care to take
our testimony, do not take it. But, do another thing, try the Lord
Jesus for yourself! God hears prayer–go and see if He does. God
accepts penitent hearts and He has regard to contrite spirits–come and
see, come and see for yourself–
"There is life in a look at the Crucified One." Go and try it, go and
try it! If you can prove Jesus Christ to be false. If, after having
tried Him, He rejects you, very well–then it must be so–but there has
never been anything of the kind yet! "Him that comes unto Me, I will in
nowise cast out." Did He ever cast out one of you? If so, He has broken
His Word, and that shall never be! Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but none of His Words shall ever fail! He declares that He is able to
save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him. Go to God by Him
and see!
If He does not save you. If it turns out that you are beyond His
power–that He cannot save to the uttermost–then proclaim it! Preach
the devil's gospel all the world over, and say the truth, however
horrible it may be! We challenge you to the test! If God is God, serve
Him! If the Gospel is true, believe it! If it is a lie, don't come here
worshipping, or anywhere else pretending to worship a God you know to
be false! Be not as double-faced persons who say, "We are Christians,"
and yet do not worship the Savior. One thing or the other! If the
Gospel is true, it ought to be accepted. If it is not true, bear your
witness honestly like men and let the world be undeceived! We challenge
the trial!
In the name of Him that died and rose from the dead. In the name of ten
thousands times ten thousands arrayed in white robes who have washed
them in His precious blood! In the name of the Church militant, which
is on its way to Heaven, we challenge you to the test this day whether
Jesus is a Savior or not! And we pray God to lead you to try it, for we
know that your conclusion will be–"We have heard Him ourselves, and we
know that He is the Christ, the Savior of the world." May God's Spirit
rest on these words, and may we meet in Heaven, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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"Waters To Swim In"