Truth
Shall Make You Free!
"Then
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, 'If you abide
in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free'"
John 8:31, 32.
What
is this truth that Jesus says will make us FREE and what is
this freedom that is promised?
The Jews
Jesus was talking to said to Him, "We are Abraham's descendants,
and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say,
'You will be made free'?" John 8:33.
"Jesus
answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits
sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house
forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes
you free, you shall be free indeed.'
It appears
that Jesus is speaking of the slavery of sin and distinguishes
between a slave of sin and a son. The slave of sin does not
abide in the house forever nor does he have an inheritance,
but a son does. And by inference, if the Son of God makes
you free, you shall not be a slave of sin, but a son or daughter
of God who is free from sin and who will abide in the house,
the Kingdom of God, forever (see John 1:12).
Jesus
continued, "I know that you are Abraham's descendants,
but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you
have seen with your father.
"The
Jews answered Him, 'Abraham is our father.'
"Jesus
said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would do
the works of Abraham. 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.
"Then
they said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication (referring
to Christ's virgin birth, although they did not accept it
as such); we have one Father - God.
"Jesus
said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love
Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come
of Myself, but He sent Me.
"Why
do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able
to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and
the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks
from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of
it.
"But
because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of
you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you
not believe Me? He who is of God hears God's words; therefore
you do not hear, because you are not of God." John 8:34-47.
Christ's
conversation with the Jews of His time reflects on the confusion
in our world today between good and evil, truth and error,
light and darkness; and He is telling us that if we will open
our hearts and minds to the truth of God's instructions to
us in the Bible, we will be set free from the deception and
sins of the world caused by spiritual blindness to the realities
of God's plan for His family, those who obey the commands
of God and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, "the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" John
1:29.
Jesus
was appealing to His Jewish brothers and sisters, as He appeals
to us today, to open their minds and hearts to the reality
of God's truth as it comes from the Eternal Source of Truth.
Freedom comes from knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ
His Son. And the promise is, "to all who receive Him,
to those who have yielded Him their allegiance, He gives the
right to become children of God… the offspring of God
Himself" John 1:12, 13 (NEB). They shall receive the
freedom of sons and daughters of God and not be yoked to the
slavery of sin.
"If
the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!" John
8:36.
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