John 7:37-39

Until John, we have been using older manuscripts of Ryle's Expository Thoughts. Just recently, though, EP Publishing has put out a lightly updated version of Ryle's work, which I am now working from. If you are interested in a physical copy of the Expository Thoughts, you can find it HERE.

John 7:37-39

1. We have a case supposed. The Lord Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts.”
2. We have a remedy proposed. The Lord Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
3. We have a promise held out. The Lord Jesus says, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

"The beginning of all true Christianity is to discover that we are guilty, empty, needy sinners."

"To come to Christ is to believe in Him, and to believe in Him is to come. The remedy may seem a very simple one, too simple to be true. But there is no other remedy than this, and all the wisdom of the world can never find a flaw in it or devise a better one."

"[This promise] has a double application. They teach for one thing that all who come to Christ by faith will find in Him abundant satisfaction. They teach for another thing that believers will not only have enough for the wants of their own souls, but will also become fountains of blessings to others."

Questions:

1. We are told in these verses that we are to thirst, which Ryle points out is to know our need for salvation before a Holy God. This, he says, is the first step toward heaven. What do we know of this in our own lives?
2. We see then the second step, namely, not just to feel our sin, but to come to Jesus. Ryle points out an accusation against true Christianity, namely that it is too simple. But tell me, why would you want to complicate this process, other than to uphold pride and self-reliance? How merciful God has been to make these two steps all that is required! Have we found this Christ to be the giver of life to our souls?
3. We see that for those who come to Christ, living waters flow from them. Ryle takes this as a double application, namely that all Christians will know life within, and be a blessing to those around them. How have we been blessed by the lives of others? What are ways that we are blessing others with the life of Christ in us?