And the Truth will set you Free

Open: Video Clip of Rob Bell with Oprah Winfrey

Transition: The Church will be even more irrelevant if we don’t stop using 2,000 year old letters as our best defense?? That is heretical teaching - and this guy is supposed to be a pastor. And his wife states that a church who is exercising Biblical faithfulness is “regressing.” A very sad commentary that more and more Americans are worshiping at the Church of O rather than Christ-honoring, Biblically faithful churches

The Truth will set sinners free from the bondage of sin ()

The Truth will set sinners free from the bondage of sin ()

Explanation: Jesus is talking to a group of Jews who are identified as people “who had believed Him.” The careful reader of John’s Gospel has already been exposed to those who seemingly profess faith in Christ, but in actuality are not genuine believers (cf. ; , ). These Jews in v. 31 are also not genuine believers as shown by Jesus’ response to them in vv. 37, 40, 44, 47.

Jesus is more interested in gaining a person’s heart than building a crowd, so instead of patting them on the back and telling them how good they are, He instead declares the importance of Truth. Jesus tells these would-be followers that only those who have come to KNOW the Truth by EXPERIENCE are the ones who are set free from the bondage of sin.

Illustrate: I know who Pastor Johnny Hunt is; I have heard him preach in person at least 8 or ten times, I have read some of his books, and I have personally talked with him one time. [Do I REALLY know Johnny Hunt? No. He has no idea of who I am, and wouldn’t know my name if I walked up and asked him]

Argument: Jesus is making a promise. He is declaring that those who know the Truth will be (not may be, not perhaps) set free. In the continuing context of chapters 6-8, Jesus is speaking to the particular Truth of His identity as the Messiah. Jesus is asserting that He, and He alone is the answer to the problem that plagues mankind. He is doubling down on His reality, not another person’s false idea of who He is. Christianity is inclusive in that Jesus is available to all, but Christianity is exclusive in that Jesus is the ONLY way to God.

Jesus also knows that there are many who think they know Him, but the sad reality is that they do not. Jesus does not desire to leave any person in this situation - He repeatedly warns of the dangers of believing with the head and not the heart () These are chilling words!

Application: Jesus does not want your spiritual status to be a mystery. The Bible was not written to confuse people. It was inspired by the Holy God of the Universe to reveal Himself, His Purposes, and His plan. A key aspect of His plan is to glorify Himself through the redemption of a people that will be His. Jesus is the fulfillment of the plan in that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (). Those who are saved are those who “abide in His word and follow Him” (John 8:31).

The Truth Offends those who are self-deceived (, , )

Explanation: The Jews take offense at the implication of Jesus’ statement. They sense that Jesus is telling them they are still in bondage. They huffily declare themselves to be descendants of Abraham, and that as Hebrews (the chosen people of God) they have never been in spiritual bondage to anyone. They obviously aren’t referring to physical bondage (Egyptian, Babylonian, Roman, etc). They are insulted that Jesus is telling them that they still need to become free, and don’t try to hide their elitist view of their moral superiority

Illustrate: Don Ellis’ FAITH Team; “are you calling me a sinner!?”

Argument: Jesus didn’t overly concern Himself with being politically correct and making use of soft and encouraging words. He was Himself the pure embodiment of Truth (), He continually prayed for His followers to be set apart by the Truth (), and He told Pilate the very Purpose of His Incarnation was to bear witness to the Truth ()

Jesus tells these self-deceived “believers” that they are actually sons of the Devil, not sons of the Most High. Talk about micro-aggression! The PC Police would write Jesus a ticket for that cruel and hurtful outburst. Don’t worry if Jesus told them the Truth that they might repent and be saved, don’t consider the benign motives behind the words - this language is harsh and unnecessary!

No way we should tell people who are practicing homosexuals that they need to repent. No, we should lovingly accept their “alternative lifestyle and celebrate their sin with them.

No way we should tell people that abortion is murder, and that is a horrific sin that is bringing God’s judgment upon our nation. No, we should focus on a woman’s reproductive rights, and not worry about the babies we are killing

No way we should judge people with addiction issues as having moral failings. That is harsh and unloving. Instead we should treat their disease just the same as diabetes or cancer and make sure they have their medicine. After all, Jesus can’t actually cure someone of a drug addiction

And we definitely have to stop talking about people of other faiths as being wrong. That is bigoted and intolerant. This is the 21st century - no one has the truth - what an incredibly narrow-minded, mean-spirited view! Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and Atheists are nice people and we aren’t entitled to tell them without Jesus they are headed for Hell. That simply shouldn’t be allowed!

In late 2016, Oxford Dictionaries selected “post-truth” as the word of the year, defining it as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. (Pew Research Center)

Application: In modern America, the only real sin is the sin of intolerance. And by this the cultural elites mean Christianity. It is highly offensive to claim to know Truth. What is your response to God’s Truth? Do you accept it as it is - The Very Word of God, or do you find yourself offended by the Bible’s truth claims?

The Truth of spiritual status is revealed through behavior ()

Explanation: Jesus tells them that their actions are are the outcome of their spiritual heritage. The ones who are spiritual descendants of Abraham will have a faith like his that results in accepting the things of God. Those who are simply physical descendants of Abraham are still by nature the sons of the devil and they reject the things of God. Most importantly, they reject Jesus as the Incarnate Son of God who is to be worshiped and adored.

Illustrate: It may look like a duck, but if it doesn’t walk like a duck or sound like a duck, then its not a duck

Argument: Why are we so slow to understand that behavior follows belief, and that how we live our lives really does matter. Something that may look like a duck, but if it brays like a donkey, and slithers like a snake, we certainly aren’t going to say it is a duck. Why then do we accept the idea that just because a person attends church, or did attend sometime in the past, he or she is a Christian?

Jesus was never one to give false hope, so why should we? Jesus didn’t accept a person as one of His disciples just because they gave lip service to Him. Jesus was, and still is, interested in the heart. Jesus was not reluctant to proclaim the Truth, even when it offended people. Jesus knows that making persons feel good about themselves is just being nice to people on their way to Hell.

Application: Absolute Truth does exist, and it really does matter. If Jesus is The Truth and The Way (And HE is!), then that demands that all the other religious systems are false and they are unable to provide salvation.

Examine your life to see if you are in the faith.

John: The Gospel of Belief The Discourse to the Believing Jews (8:31–59)

The word know (ginosko) occurs fifty-six times in the Fourth Gospel, and usually implies the knowledge gained from experience