Passage To Study:

John 8:31-41a

[31] Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. [32] “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” [33] They answered Him, “We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” [34] Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. [35] “And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. [36] “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

[37] “I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. [38] “I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” [39] They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. [40] “But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. [41] “You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”

What are the facts of the passage?:

  • (Verse 31-32) - Jesus replies to those Jews who professed that they believed in Him by telling that the mark of a disciple is abiding in the Word. That way they will know the truth and the truth will set them free.

  • (Verse 33) - They respond with a question: They have never been a slave to anyone.

  • (Verse 34) - Jesus tells the He was speaking of being slaves to sin.

  • (Verse 35-36) - He points out the difference between a slave and a Son. If the Son sets you free, you are permanently free.

  • (Verse 37-38) - Jesus acknowledges that they are descendants of Abraham, but that His word has no place in them, thus they wish to kill Him. Ite obeys His Father and they obey theirs.

  • (Verse 39a) - The Jews protest again that they are Abraham's children.

  • (Verse 39a-41a) - Jesus says that if they were the real children of Abraham, they would do the works of Abraham. They are seeking to kill a man whose only crime is telling them God's truth. Abraham wouldn't have done that! They are, in reality, doing the works of then father.

  • (Verse 41b) - They respond by insulting Jesus, and asserting that they have one Father, God.

What do those facts mean?:

(Verse 37) - There is a difference between being of the physical lineage of Abraham and being of the spiritual lineage of Abraham. Jesus points out the difference here. It is an internal difference that shows itself externally. That difference is wrought by the presence of the Word in the life. Earlier, Christ said that they would know the truth and be set free if His Words abide in them. It is the presence of the word abiding in them (and us) that makes the difference.

The question then becomes what does it mean to ''abide"? The word literally means ''to stay or remain". The word refers, in our day and age. To the objective, revealed Word of God.

Taken together they could mean one of two things. First, it could be speaking of the long term. If the Word is a part of our lives over the long haul it has the power to set us free. Secondly, it could refer to a more temporal, immediate thing, the word being a part of our lives on an ongoing, daily basis. The regular ingestion of the Scripture is essential  to growth. It is indispensable.

There is also a sense in which this ''abiding" implies an active quality to their interaction. The word must "abide" in us in an immediate sense. That is, at the time of temptation and decision, the Word must abide in us, and not be cast aside in preference to sin. It must abide in us when the temptation is for us to allow it to ''not abide". This is surely not an easy matter. Anyone can honor the Word when it is easy to do so. When there is no pressure upon us to disobey. It is when temptation is upon us that test is difficult and we must choose to allow the Word to abide.

It is important to note that Jesus is not here telling us a way to become a disciple. He us telling us a way to see if we really are disciples. This is an important distinction. We cannot obey our way into the Kingdom. We simply are not capable of that level or quality of righteousness. Jesus told these hearers that if they were (already) genuine children of Abraham, they would do the kinds of things that Abraham did. In other words, if they were genuine children of Abraham, there would be righteous works in their lives. The works do not make them the children of Abraham, the works demonstrate that they are already children of Abraham. 

These Jews were obviously self-deceived. They believed themselves to be the genuine children of Abraham (and thus the children of God) when, in reality, they couldn't have been further from being those children. They equated physical lineage with spiritual heritage. Jesus here clearly draws a distinction between the two. We are compelled to note that it is the spiritual heritage that is far more significant.

How do those facts apply to my life?:

I need to keep in mind that people tie all sorts of things to spiritual life that have little or nothing to do with it. Only confrontation and plain talk can combat this! I need to be very clear regarding the Gospel with people like this because only receiving and abiding in the Scripture can free someone from this terrible effect of the slavery of sin.

What should I do in response?:

I must be willing to be more confrontive and direct in my dealings with such people.

 

Day
39

 

 
The Power Of Self-Deception

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