“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).
At this stage in the ministry of Jesus people were beginning to reject Him. Up to this point in your life you may have been rejecting Jesus also. The particular reason you have for rejecting Him isn’t important; the fact is, you have rejected the only means whereby men, women, and young people might be brought into a right relationship with God.
Even though the Jewish people were rejecting Jesus, He was still pleading with them to turn from their sin and accept Him as their Savior. You also may have heard the Gospel many times through the years. God is gracious and has given you another opportunity to hear the Gospel through this article. Is Jesus pleading with you to come unto Him that you might have life? What stands between you and your acceptance of this invitation which Jesus offers? Sin is the reason people do not trust Jesus for salvation. Have you admitted to God your sinfulness? Do you see your sin as a violation of God’s commandments? Do you agree with God’s opinion of your sinfulness? God says, “There is not a just man on earth who does good, and does not sin” (Eccl. 7:20). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). You will never see any need for Jesus until you see and accept the Biblical teaching that you are a sinner under condemnation because of your sin (John 3:18).
Notice the clear invitation Jesus is giving when He says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” What a gracious and wide invitation this is. Maybe you do not believe this invitation and the truthfulness of it because you have tried the invitations of men, such as good works and church membership, and found that they never resulted in any lasting change in your life. You must recognize that the invitations of men are not equal to (and many times detract) from the invitation of Jesus Christ. The invitation of Jesus is not for you to turn over a new leaf, do better, or help people who are in need.
In all fairness, we must emphasize that there is an extent to the invitation of Jesus. He says, “If anyone thirsts.” This invitation is to the thirsty! If you do not have a desire for salvation you will not come to Jesus for cleaning. Recognition of your need is an essential part of the Gospel. You must see your need which is produced by an increasing awareness of your sinfulness. Do you have any desire to know God? Have you any will to get rid of your sin? Do you have any desire to escape the wrath to come? Do you have any love for Jesus and the salvation He can give? Do you desire to be made pure and leave all sin and evil behind? Is there a heart in you that desires better things, holy things, higher things, and heavenly things? If this is the case with you Jesus says, “Come to Me and drink!” This is a description of one who thirsts and the invitation is to you because you are thirsty. Do not turn away from this invitation to eternal life! Turn to Jesus and He will save you just as He promised (Matt. 11:28-30).
Jesus Christ holds up Himself in this invitation as the only one who can save and change your life and give you eternal life. He says, “Come to Me,” and “He who believes in Me shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). In another place Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Only those who come to Jesus Christ can have this spiritual thirst quenched.
If you know that your morality will not save you, cry out to Jesus right now because He is calling you. If you are thirsty and the most wicked sinner that has ever lived, cry to Jesus right now because He is calling you also. If you are thirsty and the richest person on the earth, but are not able to enjoy your riches, come to Jesus because He can give you spiritual riches in heavenly places. If you are thirsty and the poorest person living and you know that all the world’s wealth is not as valuable as your soul, come to Jesus because He only can give you true spiritual riches.
You may be asking at this point, “How do I come to Jesus and drink?” If this is your question and you desire Jesus and salvation, you are already on your way to the water of eternal life. To come and drink means to believe on Jesus Christ; and to believe means to repent of your sins and sinfulness and trust Jesus totally as the sacrifice for your sins. To believe is to turn from your sin and from the world and to turn to Jesus in faith. It means to commit your life and soul to Jesus without reservation. You should not put off committing your life to Jesus for another minute. Believe in Jesus and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).
The Bible states in Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” If you have believed the Gospel of salvation in your heart and accepted the offer which Jesus has made, you will gladly and freely make a public profession of your faith and love for your gracious Savior. This is where many people have been fooled into a false sense of security. They have asked God for salvation and they think they are sincere but they refuse to profess publicly their commitment to Jesus and follow Him in baptism. To these Jesus teaches that their refusal to profess Him openly and publicly is the same as denial and He will in turn deny that He knows them on the day of judgment (Matt. 10:32-33). If you agree that you are a sinner in need of salvation, and you believe that Jesus died on the cross to present Himself a payment for sin, and you are willing to believe in Him, you will be saved!
As a new believer you will want to follow the Lord Jesus in baptism (Acts 8:36-38). As a new believer in Jesus you will want to unite with a church where God is worshiped, Christ is honored, and fellowship is emphasized for its sanctifying effect on the body of Christ (Heb. 10:25). As a new believer you will want to grow in your faith and knowledge of God which happens only as you read and meditate upon the Word of God. As a new believer you will want to go to God in prayer and share your needs and struggles with your Father.
If you have a thirst that needs to be quenched, you must come to Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who lived and died, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). Do not go to the priests or religions or traditions of men. The only place to find Jesus Christ is in the Word of God, the Bible! Come to Christ in childlike faith. This act of coming to Jesus is not an exercise of human power or strength, but the resignation of our own power. In fact the Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).
Jesus also promises that He will produce a certain result in those who come in faith. “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living waters” (John 7:38). He will give you a new heart and a right spirit (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26-27). Jesus is promising to change your nature so that evil and sin shall no more have dominion over you. Maybe you are one of those individuals who thinks that you are okay just the way you are, but your life has never been changed. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” James writes, “Faith without works is dead!” Where there is true salvation there is an evident change of heart and life. Are rivers of living waters flowing out of your life? Can others see that God has worked a change into your life? Do you know that your sins have been forgiven?
The invitation is to you who are thirsty. And when Christ Jesus has filled your thirst it will be overflowing from you to others. Charles Spurgeon concluded his sermon on these verses this way: “Oh, that this sweet Spirit would accompany my words, so that you might feel your hearts melting towards the Savior, and might say, ‘Yes, we will come, we will trust Jesus, we will receive his grace!’ O my brother, if this be your hearty consent to infinite love, then your sorrow is ended, your danger is over, and your joy is begun. The Lord grant it, for his dear Son’s sake. Amen.”