True Discipleship

Introduction

Our passage this morning comes from John 8:31-59. As you turn there, I would like for you to consider something. In your experience in the church, and I know that varies from person to person, what is your definition of maturity in Christ? Maybe think of someone who you’ve thought of as being mature when you were growing up in church. I wonder what comes to mind? Maybe it was their leadership ability. Maybe they were a great listener. Maybe they were what we might call a “prayer warrior.” Maybe it’s a family member, like a grandparent or parent. A pastor. A Sunday school teacher. A mentor. Definitions abound. And honestly, we are all wanting to pursue this maturity. I’ve yet to find a sincere Christian who doesn’t want to be a more mature Christian.

But how do we define that? We need to look at the authoritative word in our life, and see what the Bible says. In fact, as we encounter Jesus in this passage, he is addressing spiritual maturity and true discipleship. By using the people around him who actually weren’t believing, he shows us how to be mature disciples, true disciples. With that in mind, let’s look at the passage for this week.

John 8:31–59 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.” 39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 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.” 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Let’s pray:

Father, as we open your authoritative Word, impress upon us what it means to truly live a life that is sold out for you. A life that forsakes everything else for the sake of knowing you more and more. A life that is more concerned with your glory than the passing and fading temporariness of today. Show us what it means to be true disciples. You have so graciously given us your word; help us to abide in it. We trust your Spirit to apply this word to our hearts and our lives. Now, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Christian maturity — or discipleship — is really the theme of this passage. Verse 30, right before our passage, indicates that many people believed in him. They believe in Christ based upon his teaching that he and the Father are one. And so, Jesus wanted to ensure that this was true belief. He wanted to see what they were made of, in other words. He wanted to make sure that they would remain or abide in that belief. He starts his teaching off quickly with instructions on how to do that: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The main marker of maturity in the Christian life is a continued and steadfast dependence on the word of God. Some of you might still be deceived into thinking that maturity means more reliance on yourself. But that’d be wrong. Maturity in Christ realizing that you can’t rely on yourself. Maturity in Christ — true discipleship — is abiding in the word of God.

What we’re going to look at today is what happens when we abide in the word of God. That’s the main point today: When we abide in the word of God, we experience true discipleship. True discipleship bears fruit, and the three fruit of true discipleship that we see in this passage: Sanctified freedom, a spiritual family, and a sure future.

Abiding in the Word of Christ Grants Sanctified Freedom

Jesus begins his teaching here by addressing those who had believed in him based on his teaching in verses 21-30. Jesus here wanted to ensure that they would continue in that faith, to persevere to the end. The seed of faith had been planted, and Jesus was there to make sure that there would be God-glorifying fruit. That’s the process of discipleship. “If you abide — remain — in my word, you are truly my disciples.” Obviously there is a concern here about ones who might not truly be disciples of Christ. So that’s why we’re focusing on ‘true discipleship.’ And the first aspect Jesus gives of those who abide in the word is freedom. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

What’s he talking about here? If we look a little further into the passage, we find our answer. They counter his claim about freedom in a natural way. Again, this fits with a common motif we find in John’s gospel account: Time and time again, Jesus is talking about spiritual things and the people he’s talking about can’t seem to understand. That’s because to understand the teachings of Jesus you must be given new life, new eyes, and a new heart by the Holy Spirit. But they aren’t there yet. They are not true disciples. They believed Jesus earlier, but that just meant they temporarily agreed with him. You can’t believe in Jesus as Savior then reject his teachings. That’s what they do right away: They say, “We’ve never been enslaved.” They must have been forgetting that four hundred year period in Egypt back in Exodus, or that whole episode in Babylon. Nonetheless, they claim that they have never been physically enslaved. And to an extent, in their lifetimes, this was true. This particular crowd of people had never experienced slavery. They were also thinking in terms of the traditional teaching that espouses true freedom being found in your ancestry.

We need to look at this self-attestation of the Jewish people: “We are offspring of Abraham.” What does that have to do with anything here? Jewish people rely heavily on their genealogies, and tracing their lineages back to the Old Testament Fathers, particularly Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They often believed that because they were the physical offspring of Abraham that they were in the covenant. This was a badge of honor, a symbol of pride for the Jews. “We have Abraham as our Father.” They say this again in verse 39. It’s, however, a dangerous thing to presume upon the riches of God’s kindness and forbearance and patience (Rom 2:4). John the Baptist had warned them of this when he taught the Jews, saying, “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.” They believed that truly belonging to God’s people was purely based on their ancestry. And in that, they thought they were free.

But Jesus returns to them to answer their question, “How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” He makes this a matter of faith and repentance. Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. They thought they had spiritual freedom based on their family lineage; however, spiritual freedom is found in the person and work of Christ. You can have the clearest lineage — you could be a direct descendent from the holiest person to ever walk this earth, and still be a slave to sin. The only way out from the bondage of sin is the freedom given by the Son of God.

Jesus then uses the metaphor of an ancient household: “the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.” The Son had the authority to release captives. The Son remains in the authority of the Father’s house forever. Therefore: if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. Everyone is born in the bondage of sin. And the only way out of it is being freed by the Son. This goes hand in hand with what Jesus had been teaching: the will of the Father and the Son go hand in hand. So if the Son sets you free, you are indeed free. It does not matter what your last name is. It does not matter where you were born. It does not matter what your socioeconomic background is: The only thing that matters is your name graven in his hands. The only thing that matters is your name written in the Lamb’s book of Life. If you are free today in Christ, you are free indeed.

One day we will all stand before a holy God, and we will not be able to claim our last name. We will not be able to claim our clout or credibility. We will not be able to claim our grades or genealogies. We must say, “I need no other argument; I have no other plea; It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me.”

But what does this freedom look like? I called this sanctified freedom. Because this freedom is not a license to live however. We can’t say, “We have freedom — let’s go sin.” No, Jesus is calling us to sanctified freedom: Freedom to live for Christ. Freedom to pursue the good works he has made for you. Freedom to live as described in Paul: Romans 12:1–2 “1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This can only come by abiding in the Word of God. Where are you abiding today? Are you still abiding in frivolous things? Abide in the word.

This grants us a sanctified freedom. Freedom that is pursuing holiness. That’s what sanctified means: Pursuing holiness. In Christ, we have real, real freedom: Freedom in Christ is pursuing God’s will. True discipleship is not claiming anything but Christ and Christ alone. And that requires that you see yourself as one in bondage to sin, repent, and turn from that sin. And turning from sin produces in us a sanctified freedom. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. That sanctified freedom is a fruit of true discipleship of abiding in the Word.

They were obviously not abiding in the Christ’s word: Look at verse 37: He knew who they were. They were Jews according to their birth, but they were seeking to kill him. Then he gives some foreshadowing using family language, and that leads us right into our second point.

Abiding in the Word of Christ Gives a Spiritual Family

Verse 38: “I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” Jesus about to illustrate to them that abiding in the word of Christ gives a spiritual family. Jesus was considering his relationship with the Father, which we’ve covered a few times in the past few weeks. And he references their father. They are under the impression that he is talking about Abraham. They say, “Abraham is our Father.” Again, a point of pride, and even of salvation in their minds. But then Jesus exposes them: He knew their lineage; in fact he planned their lineage. But they thought that simply based on their Abrahamic lineage that they would be good with the Messiah. In fact, because they were descended from Abraham, they thought they were also children of God: Look at verse 41: They are claiming that their lineage is pure. Abraham was God’s son, therefore they are the children of God based upon that. But the Son of God is claiming that they were seeking to kill him. If they were truly Abraham’s children, they would act as Abraham acted. Abraham was a model of sanctified freedom: He believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He trusted the promises of God, and lived a life of humble obedience.

Abraham did the works of God: Genesis 12:1–4 “1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”

If they were truly in Abraham’s heritage, they would have the same trust of God. What Jesus is saying here is this: You can’t accept Abraham and reject Christ. They’re trying to pit Abraham against Jesus. But Jesus was the true and better Abraham. Abraham pointed forward to Jesus. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. What did he believe about God to experience this righteousness? He believed in a coming Messiah! Abraham was the father not of those who were simply his grandchildren and great great grandchildren to the thousandth generation. Abraham was the father of those who would be found in Christ. Jesus was not talking about physical family here. He was talking about the spiritual family of God!

If God were their father, they would have known that Abraham came to pave the way for the Messiah, and they would have recognized Jesus as the Messiah. They would abide in his word. But they are not in this spiritual family. If you do not accept Jesus as Messiah you are not a child of God. If you do not abide in the word of Christ, you are not in his family. You cannot reject the Son and have the Father. In fact, that puts you squarely into a different family: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.”

They wanted to murder Jesus. The devil’s character from the beginning has been murderous. They were liars and murderers. Their character spoke about their spiritual family tree. They might have had the same last name as Abraham, but they didn’t have the same spiritual lineage. Their spiritual family tree was bearing rotten fruit. They were not on God’s family tree: If they were, they would have been bearing godly fruit.

Earlier I said that it doesn’t matter what physical family tree you belong to — all that matter’s is your name in the Lamb’s book of life. What does matter is your spiritual family. Abiding in Christ’s word — following him and being discipled by him — brings you into a new spiritual family. No longer are you of your father the devil but you’ve been adopted into a new family. Jesus even talks about this in Matthew 12:46–50 “46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””

So that begs the question: What family are you a part of? Your life will tell the story. If you’re following the devil, your life will be full of deceit. Your fruit will be rotten. And some of you might be. You haven’t fully submitted yourself to abiding in the word of Christ. But if you are in Christ, the word of God promises you that you are a new creation. And that new creation has a new family. That is expressed most obviously through the life of a local church. This is where the Christian life is designed to happen. Brothers and sisters who gather together to hold one another accountable, love one another, serve one another, and remind one another of the sure future we have in Christ. It is to that final point that we now turn.

Abiding in the Word of Christ Guarantees a Sure Future

True discipleship grants sanctified freedom, gives a spiritual family. And that spiritual family is expressed in the local, gathered church. And one part of being a church family is that we are helping one another of the guarantee we all have of a sure future.

The Jews begin accusing Jesus of having a demon. This is also another work of their father Satan. Anyone abiding in the word of Christ would never accuse Jesus of such a thing. He then makes a promise for anyone who is abiding in his word: They will never see death. This was a huge claim. Everyone die, they thought. Even Abraham and the prophets died. Now he’s claiming that anyone who follows him will have eternal life? This is too much for them.

But Jesus is right. The Father was going to glorify him by raising him up after his sacrificial death, putting death to death for all who would believe. This is the real God that they are only claiming to believe in. We know their faith isn’t true faith. True faith would see Jesus as the Messiah. He says that they have not really known God the Father. Abraham was pointing forward to him. Abraham didn’t live so that the people would live their lives looking backward. Abraham lived so that they would look forward to a Savior. And they missed him when he came. Hebrews 11:13 “13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

Abraham had a sure future in Christ. We, as Christians have a sure future in Christ. And abiding in Christ’s word reminds us of that sure future. We will one rise together with Christ, who is the firstborn of the resurrection. We will dwell with him in glory forever. That’s our sure future, our concrete hope. The one who was before Abraham, before Noah, and before even Adam has guaranteed our sure future when he defeated death once and for all by his resurrection. We share in that with him.

Conclusion

True discipleship looks like abiding in the word of Christ. True discipleship — growing in Christ for the glory of God — looks like abiding, or remaining, in the word of Christ. Trusting his word, relying on his word, and finding confidence in his word. That leads to true discipleship. True discipleship comes by abiding in the word of Christ, and abiding in the word of Christ leads to sanctified freedom, a spiritual family, and a sure future. Jesus covers all of that in these verses. So I asked earlier: What is a mature disciple? Christ answers: One who is abiding in the Word, and by abiding in the Word, experiencing sanctified freedom, a spiritual family, and a sure future. If you will abide in Christ’s word, I can promise you that you will experience those blessings in your life.

Let’s pray.