The Way of Grace

Q: What does the Bible say about forgiveness of sins?

The Bible teaches that all sins, past, present, and future, are completely forgiven through faith in Christ. The doctrine of forgiveness is central to the Christian faith, emphasizing that through Jesus Christ, every sin committed by the believer is wholly pardoned. Scripture references such as Romans 8:1 assert that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This total forgiveness means that God not only removes our sin but also does not remember it anymore, offering complete reconciliation with Himself. The assurance of forgiveness leads believers to have peace with God, allowing them to cultivate a personal relationship marked by love rather than fear.

Q: How do we know God's love is true?

God's unchanging love is demonstrated through His covenant promises in Scripture, particularly in Christ's atoning work. The truth of God's love is firmly rooted in Scripture, which describes His love as steadfast and unchanging. The Apostle Paul assures us in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. This love is most profoundly displayed in Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, providing atonement for our sins and reconciliation to the Father. Understanding that we are objects of God's love, rather than His wrath, transforms our relationship with Him, allowing us to live in the freedom and joy of knowing we are loved by the Almighty.

Q: Why is grace important for Christians?

Grace is essential for Christians as it underpins our salvation and relationship with God. Grace is the unmerited favor of God towards sinners, making it a fundamental concept in Christian theology. Without grace, no one could stand before a holy God, as every individual falls short of His glory (Romans 3:23). Through grace, believers receive the gift of faith, leading to justification and eternal life (Ephesians 2:8-9). This foundational understanding of grace fosters humility, assurance, and a desire to live in a manner that reflects God's character, ultimately producing a life of worship and joy in His presence. In John 4, the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman reinforces that grace meets us in our need and draws us into true relationship with God.

I call this message, The Way of Grace. The Way of Grace. And I begin this message asking
you five questions. And I pray that when I have finished
this message, you will at least have the answers. I've gone over these questions
again and again and again, and I cannot think of one to add
to it, nor can I think of any more important
questions. And I'll tell you, the older
you get and the longer you're upon this
earth, the more important these five questions become. Here's the first one. What would it be worth to you, or what would you give to know, that every sin, past, present and future, all
sin, Sins of words, sins of thought, sins of deeds, sins of imagination. As preachers say, sins of omission
and commission. But that all sin that you have
ever committed, that all of them were totally, completely forgiven. Pardoned, forgiven, forgotten. blotted out, and that God would remember them
no more nor ever bring them up again. What would it be worth? Oh my,
what would you give? The second question, what would
it be worth to you? Or what would you give to know that the eternal, almighty, holy,
infinite, living God is your friend? Like he said of Abraham, he's
my friend. that he's reconciled to you,
that that holy God is totally reconciled to you, that he's
not angry, that you have peace, certain peace, sure peace, all
debts paid, all condemnation, all curse gone forever, that
you walk with God like Enoch of old, clothed in his righteousness,
And with that righteousness on, you're as holy as His Son, that
God's in agreement with you. That'd be something, wouldn't
it? You think of anything more important than that? Oh, I know the preachers say,
pointing to everybody in the world, God loves you. But I'll tell you if He does, Now, you're all right. You don't
have a care in this world if he does. The folks at Sodom found out
he didn't love them. The folks at Jerusalem found
out in 70 A.D. he didn't love them. The folks in Noah's day found
out he didn't love them. And the multitudes that will
stand before him at the judgment and hear him say, depart from
me, cast them into hell, will find out that he doesn't love
them. That's something to think about, isn't it? But he does
love some. He said that he is loved. and
that no one can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
our Lord. And what would it be worth to
you to know that you are an object of his love and not his wrath?
That would be something. And thirdly,
what would it be worth to you to know that every trial, every
trial, all And every event, good or bad,
large or small, every event in your life was on purpose, designed by God, directed by God, or permitted
by God. I have no time for these preachers
who say God's not in tornadoes and God's not in hurricanes and
God's not in bad news and God's not in sickness and God's not
in death, they're liars. God said, I kill and I make alive. Satan is the second cause, I
know that. They said all sickness comes
from Satan, death and so forth. He may be the second cause, but
God's the first cause of all things. If there's anything that
happens without the will of God, then somebody's stronger than
God. If anything can happen to anybody without God permitting
it or directing it or willing it, then somebody's pulling some
strings over which God has no control. And that's not the God
of the Bible. He said, The earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof, the world, and all they that dwell
therein. He founded it upon the seas and
he established it upon the floods. And he worketh all things after
the counsel of his will. And he doeth his will in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and
nobody can stay his hand or question his purpose. How would you like
to know that everything that happens to you, good or bad,
large or small, whatever, as a child of God was on purpose
designed by God for your good. That's what I'm talking about.
For your good and for his glory and nothing and no one could
touch you without his permission. Nothing and no one could touch
you without his permission. That'd be something. Fourthly, what would it mean
to you, what would it be worth to you, what would you give to
know that old age, weakness, and even death, even
death, what would it be worth to you for death to become not
a dreaded, fearful experience, but a welcomed experience? That when you come to die, you'll
actually be happy to die. Wouldn't that be something? That
you will really greet death, not with dread and trembling
in fear, but with open arms, knowing that that experience will only usher you
into the very presence of God, and death for you would be gain,
graduation, and glorious. Wouldn't that be something? When
death knocked at the door, to be able to say, let him in! I've
been waiting on him. Let him in. What would it mean
to you, here's the fifth question, what would it mean to you, what
would it be worth to you, what would you give to have a nature
to have a nature that actually loved holiness and hates evil. A nature and
a heart to which worship is not a duty, but a joy. That the Word of God and reading
the Word of God would not be a duty, but a joy. a nature delivered
from the hypocrisy and tradition and form of religion, a heart
that knows God, has a real knowledge and fellowship with God. And
to say with David, I was glad when they said to me, let's go
to the house of the Lord. I'd rather be a servant, a doorkeeper
in the house of God, than to dwell as an owner and master in the
house of evil. Wouldn't that be something? I
can't think of anything to add to those five. That encompasses
everything needful of any worth, of any value. And I boldly declare
unto you that I found that experience. I have found all those things. I have met that one person in
whom all these things are found. Not perfectly in me. You know, Paul was careful to
say, I haven't arrived. We talked that this morning.
I haven't apprehended. I haven't arrived. I'm not perfect
in word, in deed, in doctrine, in spirit, or whatever. But I
have found him who is. I have found one who merits my
trust and my confidence and is able and willing to supply all
these things and literally has supplied them. They are my inheritance
right now. But I'm not going to tell you
my experience. I haven't and won't. For you
would have reason to doubt my words. I am but a man, and I really don't care to hear
your experience. But I'm going to read from God's
inspired word how one like you and like me met this person,
and you can't doubt her experience because it's recorded in the
book. John 4. Would you turn there?
John chapter 4. It says in verse 1, or verse
3, John 4, 3, that the Lord left Judea and he departed again into
Galilee. He's going from Judea down into
Galilee, and he must needs go through Samaria. Now, you can talk a lot about
the direction why he would go through Samaria and why he wouldn't
go through Samaria and all these things. But I tell you, he must
need to go through Samaria. The Word of God uses the word
must a lot of times. It says, even so must the Son
of Man be lifted up. He will because he must. None
are the name unto heaven given among men whereby we must, we
what? Must be saved. And here our Lord
must, needs go through Samaria. You know why? He must, needs
go through Samaria because he has some sheep there. That's
why he must, must, must go through Samaria. And so it said he comes,
verse 5, to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near
to the parcel of ground Jacob gave to his son Joseph. And Jacob's
well was there. This was a gathering place for
people. The place where they came to
draw water. Water in these countries was a precious commodity, scarce
and valuable. In fact, they called it the gift
of God. And our Lord sat down on the
well. It was about noon. He was wearied with his journey.
Can you imagine God being weary? God can't be weary, but God in
human flesh can be weary. That's what Desi and John brought
us a song about. tender plant, a root out of dry
ground, numbered with the transgressors. And he was weary, like you get
weary. And he sat down on a well. There cometh a woman, verse 7,
there cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. You know, if this
is a gathering place for people, why are there no people there?
The Lord's there, but no one else. The disciples had gone
into town to get some provisions. And they come with a woman. Where's
everybody? It's the 6th hour. It's high
noon. Women don't go to the well at
high noon. They go in the morning. See, they've got to have water
to wash with, water to cook with, and water to wash their clothes
with. They go in the morning. They
go when it's cool. Not at high noon. Why is she coming at high
noon? She didn't want to see anybody. She's a notorious woman. She's
a sinner. She's a woman that's been married
five times. She's a woman that's shacking
up with a fella in town that everybody knows about and she's
not married to. That's why she came at high noon.
She won't meet anybody. She's going to meet somebody. Someone she didn't expect to
meet. And that's why I call the first
point in this message here, he crossed her path. This was his
doings, not hers. There was no preacher or advanced
committee over here planning this meeting. This meeting was
planned in glory, from before the foundation of the world.
This is the Savior, and that's his sheep. You see, he came to
save sinners. He came to seek and to save the
lost. He's the friend of sinners. He didn't come to call the righteous.
You say, why didn't he go down to the local synagogue and have
a revival? Nobody down there was lost. They're
all alright. This woman's a sinner. And he
crossed her path. Then cometh a woman of Samaria
to draw water. And Jesus spoke to her first.
He said, give me a drink. Oh, I tell you, my friends, what
a day! What a day! Throughout eternity she'll remember
this day. Throughout eternity, singing
the songs of Moses and the Lamb, she'll recall this day, this
hour, when the Lord of glory crossed her path. And I'll tell
you this, if you're an object of His love, if you're one of
His sheep, if I'm one of His sheep, He'll cross your path. I mean he will. I mean if he
has set his favor and affection upon you, I don't know where,
and I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I do know he'll
cross your path. You may be in the world. You
may be in religion. You may be in the pew. You may
be in the pulpit. I was. You may be serving your
God. But when he sets his affections
on a sinner, he will cross that sinner's path. You may be 9 or
19 or 29 or 49 or 59 or 79. God does not keep time. There's
no time with an eternal God. But he'll cross your path. He
himself, I'm not talking about a preacher only, I'm not talking
about a Revival organization, I'm not talking about someone
trying to win a ribbon. I mean that he, the Lord of glory,
will cross your path. There will be a confrontation.
There will be a meeting. There will be a time when Almighty
God will visit you in truth. All right, secondly, notice this. That's the way of grace. God
will cross your path. It may be through the television
ministry. It may be through reading the word. You may be sitting
reading the word. God's in his word. You can't separate the
incarnate word and the written word. It may be in a jail cell. It may be in a hospital room.
It may be wherever, but he'll cross your path, the living,
eternal Redeemer. And secondly, he said to this
woman, give me a drink, for his disciples were going away into
the city to buy meat. And the woman said to him in
verse 9, how is it that you being a Jew ask a drink of me? I'm a Samaritan. Don't you know
that the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans? They won't
even speak to the Samaritans. Most of the time, instead of
going through Samaria, they went around Samaria. Why are you asking me for a drink?
And Jesus answered and said, now listen to this, if you knew,
ah, if you knew the gift of God, What is the gift of God? The gift of God is life. The gift of God is life, eternal
life. The gift of God is all these
things that I spoke about in these questions. That's the gift
of God. Justification, sin pardoned, righteousness God reconciled,
sins put away, atonement, Walking with God in real fellowship,
that's reconciliation. A hope of eternal life, that's
an inheritance. That's the gift of God. That's
the life of God. You see, a religious decision
is not the life of God. An experience is not the life
of God. The life of God is when the Holy
Spirit, by the seed of the Word, And by the purpose of God comes
and restores our souls. We died in Adam. Our sins separated
us from God. We're in darkness and death.
And when God comes and gives life, that's eternal life. when
we're born of God, when we're regenerated from above, and we're
His, we're His children, we're in His family, we have an inheritance,
we're sons, we're beloved, we're loved as sons, now we're the
sons of God. A man can't make himself the
son of God, God begets His children. A preacher can't make you the
son of God, a decision can't make you the son of God, can
it? My sons were made by being conceived by me. They bear my
likeness. They carry my blood. And God's
sons are begotten of God. He that loveth is begotten of
God. He that believeth is begotten
of God. Of his own will begat he us.
Huh? That's eternal life. And Christ
said to this woman, Oh, if you knew, if you knew, and men don't
know. Well, they know religion, they
know tradition, they know Baptist doctrine, Methodist doctrine,
Catholic doctrine. They know their form and ceremony
and ritual. They know what they like and
what they don't like. Like a preacher said on television this morning,
I couldn't serve that kind of God. Well, who cares? God didn't
ask you for anything. God's not up for acceptance or
rejection. You're not going to change heaven,
earth, or hell by what you don't believe. You're just one of a
numberless crowd that will pass on into eternity. God is God. And most men don't know the living
God. Christ said to that woman, he asked her for a drink. She
said, what are you asking me for a drink for? He said, oh, if
you just knew. If you just knew. Who's speaking to you? If you just
knew the gift of God. Oh, if it just entered your mind,
the glorious gift of God, you'd be asking me. You'd be asking
me. And I'll tell you this, when
men know they ask, oh, what must I do to be saved? Lord, remember
me when you come into your kingdom. Lord, if you will, you can make
me whole. Jesus, our son of David, don't leave me! Don't pass me
by. You'll crawl like the woman with
the issue of blood. She knew. She said, if I can
touch his garment, I'll be made whole. She knew. The Canaanite woman, have mercy
upon me. He didn't answer. She wouldn't
go away. She knew. She knew. Somebody knows. And
that somebody that knows will stay at his door until he opens
it. I'll knock, knock, knock. Keep on knocking. It'll be open.
Ask. How long will a beggar ask for
food? It's really hungry. Today's religious outfit's not
hungry. They are rich and increased with
goods and have need of nothing. They don't know. They don't know
that they are naked, miserable, poor and blind. They don't know,
he said, if you knew. Who is talking to you? If you knew
the gift of God, you would ask. Oh, how long will a beggar ask?
How long will a patient sit in a doctor's office? until he sees
Him. Well, will a nurse be alright?
Well, why don't you read the doctor's books? Well, we could
show you some patients to heal. Well, would you come back? I'm
here to stay until I see Him. Him. Oh, you'd ask, And not only
that, you'd ask of Him and He would have given you that water. He would have given it. I want
you to notice something here. And she said to him, verse 7,
Sir, you don't have anything to draw with. Her mind is on
this water right here, this material water. She's still not with him. She's still not understanding.
She's still not knowing them. She still hadn't got out of the
mundane and the material. She still, we grovel here below. We're like earthworms that never
lift our heads. We just keep crawling through
the muck, looking for diamonds. Once in a while we find one,
but it doesn't last. She said, you don't have anything
to draw with. The well's deep. Where'd you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob that gave us this well
and drank thereof himself his children's cattle?" Jesus said,
listen to me, whosoever drinketh of this water, this water, this
water. We're talking about this water
and that water. We're talking about this water.
Whosoever drinketh of this water, this water is material, that
water is spiritual, this water runs dry. That water is eternal. This water leads to death. That
water is life eternal. This water is without, always
without. That water is within. This is
the issue. All that we have, this water I notice people proud of their
beauty, they're proud of their strength, they're proud of their
money, they're proud of their houses, they're proud of their
cars, they're proud of their kids, they're proud of their
education, they're proud of their accomplishments, they're proud
of this, proud of that, proud of the other. But I tell you,
you can drink of that well all your life and it won't satisfy. And you'll have to find something
else to be proud of. That's right. You'll have to find something
else. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give
him, right then finds full satisfaction." And you know something, Mike,
it just keeps getting better. Satisfied and satisfied and satisfied
some more. And that well never runs dry.
Are you interested? It's forgiveness of sin. It's
reconciliation with God. It's an inheritance. It's eternal
life. It's peace. It's joy. It's family
fellowship. This one. Well, he crossed her path. He created an interest. At least
an interest. At least. But he presented a
problem to her. The woman said, verse 15, I want
you to listen to this, you listen real carefully, real carefully
here, very carefully. The woman said to him, Sir, give
me this water. She still didn't understand,
but she said, give me this water that I thirst not, and that I neither come hither
to draw. This is a salvation heaven most
preachers are preaching. Most people sing about, the quartets
sing about, I thirst not, I hurt not, I cry not, I suffer not,
I die not, I want not, I need not. She said, I want this water
so I won't thirst anymore, physically. I want your blessings so I won't
hurt anymore. I don't want to be sick anymore.
I don't want to hurt. I don't want to cry. I don't
want to do without. And she said, I don't want to
come here to draw anymore. I don't want to work anymore. I don't want to work anymore.
This bucket's heavy. Well, to get her to thinking
about what he's talking about, a relationship with God, not
a relationship with things and not a supply of things. I think a lot of this so-called
religious faith is a PMA, positive mental attitude. I get my mind
in the right condition, I'll be healthy. I get my mind in
the right condition, I'll have a better job. I get my mind in
the right condition, I'll make more money. I get my mind in
the right condition, get this PMA, you know, happy all the
time. I can't be defeated. I will not be defeated. I'll
not be defeated anymore. And you can do pretty well that
way. Make a lot of noise anyway. Sell it on Amway or something. Positive thinking. Start acting
today like you want to be. Boy, it'll fizzle out after a
while. It sure gets old. Acting like you ain't and talking
like you're not and claiming what you don't have gets old. So he said to her, verse 16,
go get your husband. He's going to present a problem,
something that stands in the way of this water, this life,
this relationship with God, this forgiveness, this reconciliation.
There's some problem. There's a problem. And he's going
to present it to her. You see, this water can only
be found in perfect holiness. This is the water of God. This
is the life of God. God can't come down here and
reside with us. We've got to reside with Him. He's not going to... God's not
going to compromise His holiness. He's going to make us holy. If
we're going to live with God and walk with God and talk with
God, we're going to have to be like God. Isn't that right? And
so He's showing this woman where her problem is. She said, I don't
have a husband. He said, that's right. You've
had five, and the man you're living with is not your husband.
He's saying this to her, you're not without sin. Go get your
husband, go get the situation, go get your life, go get your
iniquities, go get your merit, go get your righteousness and
come up here and let's see if it'll merit this eternal life,
this water of life. Bring it up. Bring it up. Well, it won't, will it? Good question, she asked him,
whence hast thou this living water? Well, you and I know this, that
what we lack, he supplied. Where we failed, he succeeded.
Where we were dead, our Lord bore it for us, paid the debt,
paid the ransom, satisfied the justice and righteousness and
holiness of God, and made us like himself. We find in him.
righteousness, not in what we are or what we've done or what
we've given. But see the fourth thing, now watch this, isn't
this just like us? And the woman said, verse 19, now watch this,
he crossed her path. He talked to her about life with
God, the knowledge of God, spiritual water. She didn't understand,
so he just told her, he said, go get your husband. Bring yourself
like you are, let's see you like you are, not like you pretend
to be. Well, that just put it out of reach. That put it out
of reach for all of us. And so you know what she did?
When she realized this acceptance with God was not in her, She tried to find refuge in her
religion. Listen, she said, I perceive
you a prophet. I perceive you a smart man. I
perceive you know something about God. Well, let me tell you, I
do too. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain. And you say
Jerusalem, you Jews say Jerusalem's the place where men ought to
worship. Immediately, she fell back on what she did. I worship
God. I go to church. I'm a Baptist. I'm a Methodist. You're a Jew.
I'm a Samaritan. And then our Lord told her this.
He said, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither
in this mountain nor at Jerusalem worship the Father. These decisions
and duties and doings and devotions and things have no consequence
with God. You're ignorantly worshiping
whom you know not. Salvation is of the Jews, at
least they have the tabernacle, they have the priesthood, they
have the atonement, they have the mercy seat, but the hour
is coming and now is when true worshipers worship the Father
in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship
Him. God is spirit. They that worship God must worship
Him in spirit and truth. God, mountains and temples, decisions,
devotions, doctrines and duties will not answer to spirit and
truth. It won't do it. And finally shut up, the fifth
thing, verse 26, finally shut up. And oh, that every one of
us here might be finally shut up to His grace and His mercy and
His work and His righteousness. And realize that all that we've
done and given and served been taught means nothing. And finally, she said, verse
26, finally, verse 25, she appealed to the Word. She said, I know
this, Messiah is coming. I think she was referring back
to Deuteronomy 18, when Moses said, our God will raise up a
prophet from among you, and him you shall hear. He'll tell you
what you need to hear, and you hear him. And she said, I know
the Messiah is coming, which is called the Christ. And he'll
tell me, he'll tell us all things. He'll answer all these questions.
How can sin be forgiven? How can sin be put away? He'll
answer these questions. How can God be reconciled? He'll
answer these questions. How is it that God gives us an
inheritance, eternal life? How is it that God makes all
things new? He'll answer it. And boy, I tell
you, if you can get hold of verse 26, just think of, I feel like
heaven stood still. The angels didn't even whisper.
And the birds didn't sing. And the wind didn't disturb His
voice. And He looked at this sinful
woman, this needy creature, groping, needing, empty, who said, he's
coming and he'll tell us. And he looked at her and he said, I that speak to thee am he. You see, my friends, this life,
this water, I'm the water of life, is not an experience. I know that the preachers, it's
a person. I see them, they get on television,
they say, now, I say this prayer after me, oh Father, oh Father,
I'm a sinner, I'm a sinner. When they get through, he says,
now you say, now you write me, or call in and confess. Saying these words and talking
to me public is not it, it's Him crossing your path, Christ
crossing. It's His Word and our Lord creating
an interest and shutting all the doors and all the avenues
and all efforts. And you realize your worship's
nothing and your experiences and your feelings are nothing,
that Christ is all and in all. And He says to you, I am He. and you'll embrace Him. Just
get me out of the way and everybody else out of the way. This is
a matter between me and my Lord. My beloved is mine and I am His.
And I'm going to do business with Him. I don't want you in
the way. Don't you around. I don't have to talk to you.
I'm going to do business with Him. He's my only mediator with
God. I'm going to settle this matter
with Christ. And He'll put my sins away. He'll reconcile me
to God. He'll give me an inheritance.
He'll make me His own. He will. And you know something? People will find out about that.
They'll find out about it. They're going to notice a difference.
They're going to see something about you that wasn't there before.
You don't have to wear a sign, I'm a Christian. Or a sign up
here in your lapel. Barnard said it'll leak out on
you. Somebody find out about it. Well, that's an experience. It's real. All right, let's sing
a closing hymn, number 168.

The Way of Grace

What does the Bible say about forgiveness of sins?

How do we know God's love is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

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The Way of Grace

What does the Bible say about forgiveness of sins?

How do we know God's love is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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Articles by Henry Mahan

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