The following comment recently appeared in a comment on one of our blogs, “According to Jesus, if you knew the gift of God and knew who He is who offers the gift to you, you would ask Him for the gift, and He would give the gift to you. John 4:10.”
Though surely well intentioned, that comment is not quite correct. Notice the portion I put in italics.
Here is what John 4:10 says: “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’” (emphasis added).
The gift of God is salvation, or everlasting life (John 4:14; Eph 2:8-9; Rev 22:17). The One speaking to her is the Messiah.
Do you see what is different between what the Lord said and what some think He said?
Jesus spoke of asking Him for living water, not for the gift of salvation. To be clear, Jesus did not specifically say what we are to ask Him for. But He makes that clear when He says what He would give to the one who asks, living water.
Many wrongly think that living water is everlasting life. But it is not. It is the message of life which once believed results in a person having everlasting life. The Lord said just that a few verses later, “the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).
It is appropriate to invite someone you are talking to about Christ to pray and ask the Lord to show him what the saving message is. Every unbeliever should be asking for that. Until we know what we need to do to be born again, we are unable to be born again.
However, there is no Biblical support for inviting unbelievers to ask God to give them the gift of salvation. In fact, such a request would show that the person has not yet received the living water.
The moment one believes the promise of everlasting life, he is born again. He would not then ask for the gift of salvation since he knows he already has it.
If a person knows he does not yet have the gift of everlasting life, then asking God for it shows that he is confused.
As one who invited Jesus into my heart hundreds of times, wrongly thinking that was the way to be born again, I’m concerned that people who ask Jesus to give them salvation will have the same sort of struggles I did. Did I do it right? Was I sincere enough? Was I committed enough to serve Him? Did I turn from all my known sins? Did I do all I need to do for Jesus to give me the requested salvation?
It wasn’t until I understood and believed that Jesus gives irrevocable salvation to all who believe in Him for it that I was born again and set free from continual concerns about my eternal destiny.
Just recently I heard a pastor give an evangelistic close, and I wrote down what he said because it caught my attention. As he was explaining what one must do to be born again, he said that the listeners should say to God, “Lord, will you give me the gift of everlasting life? I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose again.” Then he offered a prayer of salvation in which he invited the listeners to pray, “I’d like to ask you for the gift of everlasting life because you died for me…”
That is not quite right.
After my years on staff with Cru and during my second year at Dallas Seminary, I stopped telling people to pray, asking for salvation. Instead, I shared the promise of life and then left the results up to God.
There are only two types of prayers I’ve encouraged those whom I’ve evangelized to pray.
First, if the person does not yet believe, I invite him to pray, asking God to show him if it is truly as simple as believing in Jesus for everlasting life, with no commitment or surrender or works required. I am encouraging that person to ask God for the living water.
Second, if the person has come to faith, I invite him to thank God for giving him the gift of everlasting life.
When we are evangelizing, we are offering people living water. We do not offer people everlasting life. Only the Lord Jesus can give people that. But we can give them the living water. And if they receive the living water, that is, if they believe the Lord’s promise of everlasting life, then He gives them everlasting life at that very moment.
Phil
“As one who invited Jesus into my heart hundreds of times, wrongly thinking that was the way to be born again, I’m concerned that people who ask Jesus to give them salvation will have the same sort of struggles I did. Did I do it right? Was I sincere enough? Was I committed enough to serve Him? Did I turn from all my known sins? Did I do all I need to do for Jesus to give me the requested salvation?”
Wow! This is me, too!!!
I am so grateful to GES and others who have made the saving message clear.
Tim Amoroso
Amen Phil. Nice comment God bless.
Flint
I am getting depressed trying to keep this all straight. Bob, I think you are coming dangerously close to straining at a knats and making this too complicated. Are you saying that if a person said the prayer offered by the pastor, by faith, they wouldn’t be saved because the words were not quite right? I would think that the God who does not want any to perish would take this persons faith/belief in Jesus and declare them justified. I know we are not saved by a prayer but by believing in Jesus for everlasting life and a person asking Jesus for everlasting life would receive it.
Tim Amoroso
This is an excellent post. I am very thankful for it.
I have heard so many confusing explanations. None of them made sense.
But now, I have a clear one.
Jesus said to me, You have everlasting life. Jesus said it, I believe it, so, I have it. It is irrevoricable, I cam never lost it. So I am sure and eternallg secure for ever.
It is impossible for me to go to hell in the future b/c at my core I am a righteous person. I believed in Jesus. As a result, the Lord regenerated me. So He will not allow His own child to spend eternity in hell b/c He is good and true to His word.
So, I thank You Lord Jesus for giving me everlasting life for free simply b/c I believed.
And, Sir, I thank you also for giving God the glory through your obedience to the Lord in writing this blog today.
You are a good man and very kind and unselfish, showing the love of Christ. Your chatacter resembles the Lord’s. Thank you.
God bless you, sir and have a wonderful and blessed and restful weekend.
Steve Sorensen
Hi Bob.
I’m a DTSer, too. ThM in ‘87. Was involved with CCC in my early days as a believer.
I had that struggle of inviting Jesus in again and again. It was Dick Day with CCC who counseled me on this when I asked him, then “what do I pray?” He said, “Thank you.” I thanked him and got up and left. That was a joyous help he gave.
I remember the radio evangelist Oliver Green teaching all one has to do is say, “Jesus save me,” and that is all. Jesus does both the responding and saving when one responds to His invitation, does He not?
Bill Bright would teach not inviting Jesus in again and again since that insulted Him. Not that they were not saved. It was a picture of a weak new Christian. After all, Jesus does the responding. Couldn’t inviting Jesus in (though wrongly interpreting Rev. 3:20) be a responding to Him at least? He said He would come in, no matter how strong or weak faith was. Isn’t it akin to calling on the name of the Lord, which the Word says brings salvation? Though, again, in a weak way. Jesus does the saving when anyone turns to Him to “cry out” to Him. Does He not?
Anyway, I love your ministry. I honestly have these questions. I know believing in Jesus is it, for all the solid biblical reasons you teach it. Thank you so very much for your ministry. I hope to hear from you. God bless you.
Warmly, in Christ,
Steve Sorensen
Pastor, Community Bible Church of Highland, Maryland
pastorsteve@me.com
.
Timothy Grady
Hi Steve ,
Appreciate your input .
Three things :
1. Jesus makes clear what our “response” is – belief (persuasion) in Him FOR unending life : “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life (1 Tim. 1:16) .
Any other understanding misses the message of life .
2. Either one is persuaded (believes) of this proposition or not . There really are no ‘degrees’ or levels (weak/strong) of being convinced .
3. “Calling out to the Lord” is contextual .
Incidentally, “Many shall say to Me on that day Lord , Lord …” .
But what is it they understand that to mean ?
Romans 10:9 has been often used in Lordship circles to smuggle in works .
Whereas , this contradicts the clear avenue for the reception of everlasting life (Romans 3:21-4:16) .
This article deals with the common misconception of salvation in a discipleship context :
https://faithalone.org/blog/justification-by-faith-and-salvation-by-works/
Blessings in truth.
David Ostroot
If the living water is the promise of life, would the physical water be the way of works righteousness that does not satisfy and eventually leads to physical death?
Shawn M
Beautiful post about “living water” I myself many years ago never understood the simplicity of the gospel. Repent, say a sinners prayer, confess him as lord, make him lord of your life, etc… all these things I must do or believe in order to be saved, left me with many thoughts and questions? I thank God he truly showed me in his word the message of life! It was my prayer to God asking him, how do I truly know I’m saved? And in that very next moment, I opened my bible to Acts 16:30,31- Eph 2:8 – john 6:47, and in that moment I was convinced that believing in Jesus promise, in him alone I was saved. There are not many free grace churches around, but I thank you GES for such an outstanding ministry you have, and thank you for truth being taught through your ministry. God bless
Tim Amoroso
Nice comment, Shawn. I love it. God bless.
John McCain
Actually I thought this was very confusing. When I came to salvation I did not ask for living water I ask Jesus to save me from my sin and give me eternal life. When I asked that I believe that it happened and I was and am saved. If I have to ask for living water first before I can receive salvation isnt this really just another work I have to do to get saved. You even said in this article that until we find out what to do we cannot be saved. I thought salvation was by faith alone in Christ alone without the additional works so that one cannot boast of all they did to get saved. ie “i asked for living water. I asked Jesus into my heart. etc etc.”
Timothy Grady
Thanks John .
I think you are mischaracterizing Bob’s stated position .
He has never advocated pre justification works as preparatory to belief in Him for eternal life .
Notably , your comment is absent any quotes from Bob .
This is a textbook strawman argument that cannot possibly be true .
Brad Freeman
Thanks Bob,
I’ve asked Jesus into my heart too many times to mention(embarrassingly). This didn’t work because it was vain repetition. It was superstition and not biblical salvation.
I have a friend who is a “believer” but is bed bound. He asks Jesus to save him at the end of the tele-evangelists messages he watches. Just in case. Saying these salvation prayers is more superstitious, than having anything to do with faith.
I think we are all guilty of praying to God for things we already possess. Give me peace, victory, prosperity, healing. Just like with the other issues of life salvation is no different. When I realized that God put his reputation on the line when he promised me eternal life the assurance came.
The tragedy is that hungry people have to go through many phony gospels and false starts to discover the truth. The gate is narrow because there’s lots of religious things that mimic or approximate the truth but yield nothing. Keep up these posts that identify the subtleties or error and the clear demarcation of truth.