Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Where the Son Abides


John 8:33-47

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'?" 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."

"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."

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. 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. You do the deeds of your father." 

They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; 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 desire of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth. 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." 


My, these are some strong words. I am reminded every time I read the Word that not only is it the truth but it is for us today. And these strong words are just as relevant.

There are a few "if" statements here. There are always conditions for us. Every time these religious leaders spoke, Jesus had a rebuke. This may sound unfair, mean. But...Jesus only spoke truth. They argued with the truth; they didn't understand the truth.

He only spoke what the Father showed Him. No, not as a puppet. God is One who is holy and has certain standards which are in place for our good. There are many laws in place in this world we don't always like that are for our own good. Way at the beginning Adam and Eve had only one requirement of God...don't eat of a certain tree. They had every other tree available, but isn't it human nature to do what we are told not to? They chose to disobey and were immediately separated from God who walked with them, spoke to them. We continue to pay the cost for that disobedience.

But God sent His only Son because He loves us so much He wants us to rely on Him for all things because He knows what we are in need of. It can't get much plainer, He wants us to be His children and rest in Him, to be filled with His Holy Spirit and walk in His Spirit that we do what is right. He wanted us to live as Adam and Eve did in the beginning. So He sent His Son to take upon Himself the sins of all people for all time upon the cross that if we believe in Him and receive Him with our whole hearts and souls, not just in our heads, He would forgive us of the sins Adam and Eve "bestowed" upon us. He would remove the separation again, through Christ.

We are, as Jesus so pointedly said, are either of God or of the devil. There is no in between. If we hear the words of Christ and don't like them, don't listen to them, don't hear them, we are not of God. We also cannot believe that some words just don't apply to us. These words apply to all of us.

Jesus says we are slaves to sin...and a slave does not abide in the house forever. If we are in Christ, He is the Son who does abide forever. A slave to sin will not enter into the kingdom of God, where the Son abides. Believe in Him and this Son will set you free. It's that simple. Believe and trust so that you can understand His words.

We can say we are Christians, like these religious leaders said they were of Abraham. But Jesus says, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham." Or if you were God's children you would do the works of God. Hebrews 11 states that by faith, Abraham did... He had faith in God yet these religious men showed they did not because they did not believe Jesus. We cannot believe in God and not believe in Jesus. They are one and the same. Their words are the same.

Can we ever be perfect? No. The Bible says we will never be perfect. But having Christ as our Savior and Lord is a good place to start. His blood has covered our sin and we no longer are under condemnation if we walk in His Spirit.

If we believe the lie that we do not need God we are of the devil. It's stated above in Jesus' own words. This is serious stuff. If Jesus only spoke what His Father showed Him, I am doing as best I can to do the same. It's the truth of God's Word. Isn't not hearing or listening to His Word just a bit like seeking to  kill Jesus, a Man who has told the truth which He heard from God?

Jesus so wants all to come to Him and believe and be set free of the condemnation of sin. It is up to each of us to do this. We are all born into sin but we can be made free from it through Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17 - For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one [Adam], much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

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