Mensa Otabil - Which Religion Is Right?
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You’re welcome to a brand new week, and we are continuing our teaching from John chapter 4. We are looking at Jesus’s encounter with a Samaritan woman by the well. So much has happened between the conversation that Jesus is having with this woman and the last conversation we read yesterday. Jesus had asked the woman to go for her husband, and she answered and said, «I have no husband.» Jesus responded and said, «Yeah, you spoke the truth because you’ve had five, and the one you have now is not yours.»
So, in all likelihood, she was with somebody’s husband or probably had not been properly married in that situation.How does the woman respond to this very penetrating observation from Jesus? John chapter 4, verses 19 and 20. The woman said to him, «Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.» After Jesus revealed the secrets of this woman’s life to her, she probably thought that Jesus was more than just a passing Jewish rabbi who moved from village to village.
She said, «I perceive you are a prophet,» which is not bad; she acknowledged that Jesus was somebody special. But look at what she does right after that-she changes the subject. She’s not talking about the husband issue; she’s not even talking about the living water they started discussing; she’s not talking about anything more about prophets. She changes the subject and starts to do what most people do when they feel convicted by the Holy Spirit-they change the subject and start to throw out a religious argument.She says, «Sir, I perceive you are a prophet. We Samaritans worship on this mountain-Mount Gerizim-and you Jews say that we should worship in Jerusalem.»
So, what she’s saying is, «Yes, you’re a prophet; you know about me; you have living water; I’m not ready now.» To show that she’s not ready or she’s feeling too convicted, she changes the subject into a religious argument. One of the things you would find as the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin and as people come face to face with the reality of who Jesus is, is that they will throw out some arguments about which religion is the best. They might ask, «Are you telling me Christianity is the best religion? Is Jesus the only way? Are you telling me everybody else is going to hell?» They forget about their situation and start talking about everybody else. Now, Jesus is dealing with a woman, but she’s talking about Jews and Samaritans.
It’s the classic way people try to turn the conviction of the Holy Spirit into a debate. Now, if you’re a Christian and you are presenting the Gospel to people, you have to be careful not to get caught in a religious debate because nobody attains salvation by winning a religious debate. From what I’ve come to realize, it’s almost impossible to win a religious debate. Christianity is about a relationship-God wants to have one with us. It’s not about whose religion is right and whose religion is wrong. We will find the answer Jesus gave to this woman later on, which tells you how God sees this whole issue about this religion or that religion.
Christianity is not about religious superiority; it’s about a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. God will reach out to everybody, no matter what their religion is. God reaches out to all because Jesus is the Savior of all.
So the woman throws the argument off, and tomorrow we’ll see how Jesus approached the subject that has been hijacked by the woman at the well. I trust that as you go out evangelizing, God will help you with wisdom to know how to present the Gospel without offending many people.
Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, help me not to harden my heart when your Holy Spirit convicts me of my sins. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» Well, I trust that you have a good day, and God’s blessings will rest upon you. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.