Fraudulent Faith vs. Genuine Faith

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I want to read v.30 to remind us of what has occured based on what Jesus has previously stated…

John 8:30 (ESV)

30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Now, Jesus speaks to those who have professed belief in Him…

John 8:31–38 (ESV)

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 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’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Opening Prayer

Setting the Stage

Faith has been professed.

But, what kind of faith?

There are two types of faith described in the Bible.

James categorizes them as Dead Faith and Active Faith.

We could say False and True faith.

We could say Faith w/No Root vs. Faith rooted in Christ.

What Jesus does in our passage this morning is to test the Faith to see its qualities.

What I want us to see is the way in which Jesus shows…

The Difference Between Fraudulent Faith & Genuine Faith

John 8:31 (ESV)

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

The First Characteristic of Genuine Faith Jesus speaks of is…

A True Believer Abides in the Word of God

The verb abide is active.

It means if you continue on in, remain faithful to, continue clinging to.

If you abide, then you show that you are a true disciple of mine.

What does it mean to abide in Christ’s Word?

Practically it means…

We have a new Lighthouse, a new Compass, a new Ruler.

Our new goal, as disciples of Christ…

As followers of Christ, our goal is to observe all that Christ commands of us.

We miss the mark.

We fail repeatedly to obey.

But, it is nonetheless our goal.

And, it will remain our goal for all of our life.

Christ tells us of a benefit that is attached to abiding in His Word, it is…

Knowing the truth, and that truth setting us free…

Not only free from the bondage of sin,

Not only free from the curse of sin…

But an increasing freedom from the remaining effects of sin upon our life.

Now, what do I mean freed from the remaining effects of sin upon our life…

—> Not in a way that leads to perfection in this life.

But, in a way that continually points us to the freedom we have in Christ as we journey through this life until the consummation.

IOW, observing and pursuing what Christ commands of us…

—> Not only is a sign of genuine faith…

But, it is a means of delivering us from the agony of the remaining sin in our lives.

—> I’ll say more about that in a little bit.

So, Jesus is teaching us here, as a sign of genuine faith, the doctrine of…

Perseverance/Continuing to Abide!

And, the teachings of Christ have a sanctifying effect upon His true disciples by the power of the Spirit of God.

Why do True Believers Persevere/Continue to Abide?

Because there are promises of the New Covenant that Christ blesses His people with…

The promises to be Taught by God.

Isaiah spoke of the New Covenant promises in…

Isaiah 54:13 (ESV)

13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.

Jesus has just spoke the same…

John 6:44–45 (ESV)

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

The way we know the truth is that we are taught by the Father who gives us the HS to work in us both to will and to do.

We abide because of that work of the HS…

And, because we have the promise of Christ that we will be kept by Him.

He will not lose one.

No one can snatch us out from His hand.

Nothing can separate us from His love.

Dear Christian, we are HS sealed.

We have a faithful Shepherd that has sealed us in.

He has put an omnipotent fence up around us.

The fencing and sealing of the HS…

Who guarantees us that we will inherit the promised eternal life.

Who guarantees the full benefits of Christ to us.

The fullness of Christ’s person and work are ours by the work of the HS in us and through us.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Another characteristic of Genuine Faith is…

Your Knowledge of Your Freedom Increases

What do I mean by that?

Jesus states…

John 8:32 (ESV)

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Now, hear me out on this…

In one way, as seasoned Christians, we see our sin:

more clearly

more active

more despicable

more in us than we did when we first believed upon Christ

However…

How Many of You Know More About the Freedom From Sin Now than You Did When You Were First Saved?

The more we learn about Christ.

The deeper our understanding of the gospel…

The less we fall prey to our own contrived ideas of what will free us.

As we grow in Truth…

We realize more and more that the freedom from a particular sin is not:

to speak about our selves in fictitious ways before our SS class.

to brag about a good week of devotional life.

to feel that a good month of prayer has somehow increased the smile of God upon us.

to think that teaching a SS class has somehow moved us up in the ranks of heaven.

to think that there is something I can do in my own power to overcome sin in my life.

What truth does as it is a steady diet in our life is:

Cause us to realize that the true path to freedom is to grow in your understanding of your identity in Christ.

Causes us to understand, more deeply, your blameless position with God is based exclusively upon Christ.

Causes us to understand that the path to more freedom, in this life, is leaning more on the finished work of Christ…

And, less on your good or bad day as a Christian.

Reminds us that we lean not on piety and exclusively on Christ.

Christ is the faithful Shepherd to lead us to rely more and more upon Him.

That is what Genuine faith looks like in contrast to Fraudulent Faith.

Fraudulent Faith does not truly acknowledge bondage to sin.

Fraudulent Faith declares…

Spiritual Bondage is an Over-exaggeration

When Jesus tells those who had believed in Him that a true disciple of His would be set free…

They did not welcome His teaching.

John 8:33 (ESV)

33 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’?”

When they say the last phrase…

How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

It is a challenge with an ugly tone towards Jesus.

But, what did they mean when they said…

We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.

Now, the historical truth of them being under the control of another Nation was unavoidable.

They had been under the political captivity of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Syria, and now Rome.

They were currently in service to Caesar.

And, they were looking for the Messiah to free them from such control.

So, they’re response to never being enslaved was not in connection with political servitude.

What they were saying was what has been recorded in the Talmud…

Rabbi Akiba stated…

Israelites are kings’ sons, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Jews saw themselves as sons of the Kingdom.

There was no need to enter the kingdom of God.

They thought of themselves as already citizens because of their being of the lineage of Abraham.

This understanding of theirs is exactly why Jesus moves in the next verses to state the difference in Son and Slave.

This is exactly why we hear so much explanation and correction of the main thought that being of the lineage of Abraham was enough.

John the Baptist stated to the religious leaders…

Matthew 3:9–10 (ESV)

9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The Jews were unwilling to see that entrance into the true, spiritual, sinless Kingdom of God was different than entrance into the physical, foreshadowing type of Kingdom of the Nation of Israel.

This is why Jesus was so adamant to explain to Nicodemus the proper entrance into the Kingdom of God is not physical lineage…

But, spiritual birth and spiritual lineage…

—> As in spiritual seed.

The New Covenant had done away with the Old Covenant.

The New Covenant brings with it new stipulations.

The old stipulations of the Old Covenant are done away with fully…in the New Covenant.

The Jews are unwilling to consider such a thing.

Fraudulent Faith does not acknowledge the fulness of humanity’s true spiritual bondage.

It looks for personal privilege as an excuse to think they’re the exception.

Fraudulent Faith has no room for hearing truth that are not consistent with what they already believe.

John 8:33 (ESV)

33 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’?”

They think they have no other cruel master than Caesar.

But, Jesus teaches them truth that can set them free.

Enslavement Defined

John 8:34 (ESV)

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

Now Jesus teaches them what kind of slaves they are.

Jesus is not speaking to political or economic slavery.

He is speaking of slavery to moral failure.

Slavery to rebellion against God, their Creator.

Their master is not Caesar.

Their master is sin and the enslaving devotion to created things at the expense of worship of their Creator.

The freedom they need is not from Caesar.

The freedom they need is from a much more cruel master…

Sinful self-centeredness that is at enmity with God.

Jesus continues…

John 8:35–36 (ESV)

35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

The Son & the Slave

Jesus is saying to them…

You are not sons of the Kingdom of God…

You are servants of the Kingdom of God.

Slaves do not hold permanent residence within the house.

Only the Son holds permanent residence within the house.

It is His rightful place and inheritance.

The one and only Son is Christ.

In Christ…meaning when we abide in Christ’s Word.

When we believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are set free from our slavery.

We are made sons and daughters of the most high God.

We are given a permanent citizenship in the Kingdom of God.

We are adopted into the family of God and made joint heirs with Christ.

That same rightful place and inheritance that Christ deserves…

We get by grace.

But, these promises are only for those who love Christ.

These promises are only for those who love His Word.

Do they truly love Him?

Do they love His teaching?

John 8:37 (ESV)

37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

Jesus is not denying their physical lineage from Abraham.

He has more to say about that.

But, notice that Jesus says you want to kill Me because His word has no place in them.

No Room for God’s Word

This is a main characteristic of Fraudulent Faith.

They’ve professed faith in Him.

But it is not faith in who He truly is.

Nor is it faith in what He truly provides.

This is taking the name of Jesus and molding Him to the image of your self desires for your perceived needs.

This is creating a God of your own imagination and where God corrects that false, imaginary view of God…

God’s correction is trampled underfoot.

Rejected with no shame or sorrow.

What Jesus is saying is that they’re only accepting Him as the Messiah they want Him to be…

Rather than the Messiah He is and the New Covenant He brings.

Which is a fraudulent acceptance of Him.

No acceptance at all, really.

And they do this because of their father.

In other words…

The Differences Have A Root Cause

John 8:38 (ESV)

38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Jesus is going to say a lot more about this and in more explicit ways.

And, we’ll start looking at that next Sunday, Lord willing.

Let’s think about this...

Christ is not saying that the abiding in His word is what earns discipleship.

He is saying that a true disciple will manifest a characteristic…

And, that characteristic is abiding in His word.

If you are His disciple you will:

Continue to observe His commands.

Know the truth.

Be set free from the curse of sin.

Be freed from the effects of sin.

These are benefits we receive from the work of Christ.

These are characteristic of a person who has been born again.

In Christ, we experience true freedom.

True freedom, biblically, is not the ability to do what you want to do…

But the ability to do what you ought to do…

While having a new want…to do what you ought.

And, we have that freedom of want and freedom of doing in Christ.

Philippians 2:13 (ESV)

13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Christ saves us from beginning to end.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Closing Prayer