Gospel of John - Truth and Freedom

                            

Truth and Freedom

John 8:31-38

 

Truth and freedom have been distorted, spun, and twisted for so long that very few would ever know what their real meaning is. People have replaced truth with mendacity: the pernicious relativism of lies spun to resonate in the ears of the factually deaf. They have spun freedom to mean we have a license to do whatever we want, to whomever we want, whenever we want without consequences.

 Paul put those who seek this type of truth and freedom are those who want their ears tickled and that sin is allowed because of a misunderstanding of grace (2 Tim. 4:3, Rom. 6:1). 

Jesus came as the Truth, but the jews had been so conditioned by those enslaved to sin, they couldn’t conceive the truth spoken to them by God the Son. Peter wrote it this way: “With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” 2 Pet. 2:19-20

Jesus is still in the temple courts, teaching and answering questions of the jews lingering in the temple courts. Let’s begin with the first part of the text, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus knew the value of abiding in the presence of God the Father, and consuming the very words from his mouth. The jews were beginning to believe in Jesus but many were still held captive by sin-laden words of the jewish teachers. Jesus talked about the importance of abiding in my words. Abiding, the habitual living in the presence of and continual nurishment on the words of God.  

In the times of Jesus, some of the people may have had proper training on the Pentateuch and the Torah, others heard the scriptures from home and synagogue. But abiding meant more than just hearing the words of scripture but to do them, put them into practice, and live in accordance with the statues of scripture.

Second, being a disciple of Jesus meant everyday one would sit and listen to the words of God that revealed the truth and allowed for the freedom of grace to live an abundant life in the presence of God (John 10:10). It is in this abundant life in Christ that we are truly free from the bondage of sin and able to know the truth that frees us from the lies and deceptions of the enemy.

Application - It is interesting that the enemy of God is still deafening the ears and blinding the eyes of people today from hearing the Word of God and seeing the truth of his Word. There are those from great to little who believe that going to church will save them. They sit and pose as listening to the truth, yet in their deeds they are as deaf and blind to the Truth. They have not conceived that we are to abide in the very words of God. Jesus’ words still call out to a lost world to come to him, the Truth, the Way, and the Life, and there are those whom the light breaks through the darkness of their spirit and soul. The Word of God comes and they hear and believe in Jesus for a new life by believing in him for salvation of their souls. Like Mary and Martha, Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear the words of life and truth, while others are like Martha, who are closed off by the worries of the world, and miss hearing the truth that can set them truly free.

Jesus’s words are like the fruit growing on the trees along the river of Ezekiel’s vision, 47:1-12. From the temple of God, a river flows with life. Those who eat of the fruit are filled and satisfied, they are healed by the leaves (the words of God). They abide there along all their lives and abundantly flourish. God wants all to come to the living water and drink, and eat of the Word of God that fills the soul. Like the manna in the desert, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Will you come and abide on the Word of God today, for it truly will set you free to enjoy a joyful and abundant life. 

 

Next, the people began to justify their lives on the works of their ancestry. Let’s look at the rest of the text, “They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” (ESV)

It was a standing tradition to advocate for the heritage of the family or nation. The people of Israel have a long heritage going back to Abraham, who God called righteous (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:3-22, Gal. 3:6-9; Heb. 11:8, 11-19), and it is in this context the people of Israel stood firmly in word, but not in deed. They had forgotten all the years of God’s judgment against their stiff-necks and callous and obstinate hearts (Ex. 32:9, 33:5, Deut. 9:6, 1 Sam. 6:6, 2 Kings 17:13-14, etc) and clinged to the righteousness of another.

Jesus knowing everyone's heart and mind spoke the truth, “truly, truly I say to you…” Their justification for their spiritual life was based on the acts of a far distant patriarch, who is also the father of many other nations as well. Abraham’s faith, his belief in God, was credited to him as righteousness. Later Paul writing to the Romans said, “Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” vv.4-5 Jesus was explaining the truth about righteousness and sin. “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” The jewish people were depending on the belief of another, and the works accredited to Abraham, but they didn’t understand the sinfulness of their hearts. Jeremiah in 17:5-10 spoke of the enslavement and sinfulness of the heart. “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.” 

The people didn’t realize they were trusting in man, and were enslaved to the curse of sin. They had put their trust in their heritage, not in God.

Jesus then begins to unwrap their minds to the concept of sonship. Jesus knew they had been trusting in their heritage, but he wanted them to understand the fellowship and the rightful inheritance of being a son of God. “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are the offspring of Abraham.”

True sonship begins at birth, and that spiritual birth begins with believing in the Son whom the God the Father had sent. Jesus had been proclaiming this gospel truth everywhere and to all who would hear and believe. The slave was not born into the family, but was accepted as long as he was of use, he had no claim to the sonship in the house. The people had heard Jesus claim he was the Son of God, and he forgave sins and brought new life, freedom from sin through forgiveness and the dying to sinful ways. Only then will they be truly free indeed.

Last , Jesus dealt with who their spiritual father was, for the people were still pondering on killing Jesus for the words he had spoken. The jewish people's cold, obstinate hearts had shut their ears and minds to the truth that would set them free. “Yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” 

The liberating Word of God had no place in their hearts and minds, they were enslaved to what they heard the father of all lies, who blinded them and as well as deafened them to the truth (2 Cor 4:4, Ps. 58:3-4). Jesus later spoke in exasperation of this deafness in v.47, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” 

Jesus spoke on what he had seen with the Father, for he was before the beginning of creation.

Application - It is impossible to understand anything from God if we close our hearts and minds to the truth. Being hard-headed, stiff-necked, and having a rebellious and obstentant heart are not just things of the past. Most of the world is cold towards the abiding in the Word of God. The religious world especially. We think we have a lock on God because of our grandmother’s righteousness. We ride the coattails so to speak of these saints into church, or are dragged in regretting being in church.  We even play church, know the songs, follow the schedule of service, even to the very last Amen or Hallelujah. We leave as empty spiritually as when we came, though we are certain that God is our Father, we are his children, and we are tight with him or he our mate. 

 Like the jewish people in Jesus’ days, we are listening to the voice of the god of this age. We put away the Bible till next week, not lifting the cover to taking in the manna from God or drink of the living water. We fill our minds and hearts with the world and like Martha, complain while others are feeding on the Word from God.

Peter’s words of admonition in 2 Pet. 2:19 -20 are definitely for us today, we fill up on the lofty but empty words or the world, we like them because they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice us, we even influence others around us to join us even though they are trying to escape from the sinful lifestyles of others who live in the errors of the words of the god of this age. These words promise us freedom, but keep us as slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 

Here are two saying, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” And “We may think of freedom not as a right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” Again we live in a time where truth and freedom have been distorted, spun, and twisted for so long that very few would ever know what their real meaning is. People have replaced truth with mendacity: the pernicious relativism of lies spun to resonate in the ears of the factually deaf. They have spun freedom to mean we have a license to do to others whatever we want, to whomever we want, whenever we want without consequences. 

I pray that we will seek Jesus, the Truth and freedom from God the Father.

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I am developing a new webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. I’m adding answers each week to questions that pertain to our time today.  Thank you

http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com