Sermon Tone Analysis

Exegetical & Homiletic Point: If you hold to Jesus teaching, you are really his disciples and you’ll be free.

Intro

How can we tell who your parents are?

If we got all the kids into a big group, and mixed you all up, then we asked a random person off the street to come in and sort out which children belonged to which parents, do you think they’s be able to do it?

More or less, yes!

Like Father like Son.

Genetic traits, but also personality, mannerisms and even what we wear all indicate the clan or family that we belong to!

How could someone be able to tell who your spiritual father is?

We should have family traits, we should look and sound like we belong to God, and we do that by LISTENING & OBEYING Jesus!

This is why it is so important to listen and obey your parents, because they are training you to be able to Listen and Obey GOD, your heavenly Father.

But, if we don’t listen and obey God, we have to ask ourselves, do I belong to God? Perhaps you are

Recap

Off the back of feast of Tabernacles

Jesus going toe-to-toe with people, esp. the religious leaders who are trying to murder him.

the Gospel of John is all about showing that Jesus is the one we must believe in to receive true life.

We’re not just talking about life as in you’re breathing right now, but we’re talking about the fullness of life - through new-birth we can have this life as it is meant to be lived, and guarantee of an even better life to come!

In this part of John’s Gospel, God teaches us more about what it means to believe in Jesus and have life.

There were plenty of people who were at least partly willing to believe Jesus was a divine messenger, but Jesus pushes them to be all in.

Because unless you are all-in with Jesus, you’re not in at all.

Even today, there are plenty of people who are willing to claim some connection with Jesus, but don’t take him seriously.

Consider the fact that the census data that has just come out shows that almost 44% of Australians identify as Christians.

This self identification has no basis in reality, because that would mean 2 out of every 5 people in Australia should be regularly attending Church!

These people are willing to have some loose connection to the Christian religion, but are not willing to hold on to Jesus teaching.

But this instruction from Jesus is not just for all those people out there who tick “Christian” on the census without any regard for what Jesus says.

This is for us too, we who follow Jesus, and regularly listen to what he has to say.

It is for us who pray to him.

It is for those who dare to step into pulpits across Sale and across Australia today, claiming to speak on behalf of Jesus.

Are you really a disciple of Jesus?

Are you really a disciple of Jesus?

We want to “make every effort to confirm [our] calling and election.”

(2 Pe 1:10).

We want to be sure that we have “not believed in vain” (1 Cor 14:36).

We want to make sure that Jesus will NOT say to us “I never knew you.

Away from me, you evildoers!”

(Mt 7:23).

Are you really a disciple of Jesus?

In order to answer this question, we will ask 5 Questions that this text will answer for us.

These questions are in-part all the same question, just asked from different angles.

5 Questions that will help us determine if we belong to God.

Are you Free? (v31-32)

This is the first question.

Jesus will tell us how we can be free in these opening verses.

But lets start at v30 to set the context:

Who is the audience for these words?

People who believe in Jesus.

As we shall see from the rest of this passage, that term “believe” must be used loosely.

When push comes to shove, there will be many people who “believe” in Jesus who will reject him.

Theirs is a fake faith.

It is not genuine.

These “believers” are responding to what Jesus has said, they like what he’s talking about.

But Jesus is not content to leave people in the safe-space of easy-beleivism.

Like he did back in Chapter 6 of John, he wants to drive home the gravity of what it means to follow him.

You can’t just say he’s a great bloke, you can’t just tick “christian” on a census, you can’t just be sprinkled when you’re a baby, you can’t rely on being a church attender.

Being a true disciples of Jesus involves receiving all that Jesus has said.

Not just the bits we like.

In fact, you know you have a real faith when you come up against doctrines that grate against you, but you believe them anyway because it’s in the Bible.

It goes to show that we believe that we must conform to Jesus and not He conform to us.

So here, Jesus presses these believers “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples” - All the fun bits, all the hard to swallow bits.

If you hold to Jesus teaching, you are his dsciples.

But this isn’t just a head thing, it’s a life thing.

It has implications for how we live.

We can’t say “I believe Jesus’ teaching” and the turn around and do the opposite.

You’re not really “holding” it the are you?

The greek work that is translated “hold” here is probably better as “abide” which you will find in some translations.

Remain, stay in, continue it, exist in.

It is the place where Jesus disciples dwell.

But what is the result of remaining in Jesus teaching?

You will know truth.

You will know what is true, because Jesus is truth, he is the word of God and no liar.

You will know the truth about the world and be able to see through all it’s lies.

And knowing this truth, you will be free.

Free from the yoke of deception in this world.

Free, as we will see shortly, from Sin. Free from the need to measure up, free from the need to proove yourself to God.

You are free to live the holy life in Jesus Christ.

Application:

The Sinners prayer - great and terrible (like Ron has said).

It shows you how easy it is to come to Christ - nothing in my hands i bring, but it glosses over the fact that coming to Jesus means giving up your whole life!

Real disciples abide in Jesus teaching, not just the bits that are convenient.

Real Disciples are free!

Are you really a disciple of Jesus?

The next question will once again help us answer this.

Are you Slave or Son? (v33-37)

The crowd who are listening to Jesus, many of whom are “believers” respond to what Jesus has said:

They had obviously been slaves to many foreign powers in a literal sense, but they thought that, spiritually speaking, they were not enslaved.

The other nations were enslaved to idols and to demonic gods, but they were Israelites part of God’s chosen possession.

Ever since God called Abraham, their people group had known the true God in some sense or another.

Despite the rulers like Egypt and the Romans who ruled over them at that time, they saw themselves as spiritually unshackled, not enslaved.

They saw their decent from Abraham as a sign of their freedom.

Abraham was the father of their nation.

But Jesus is going to set the record straight...

Now it’s made clear, the practice of sinning has made them slaves of sin.

They may have been free from idol worship, but they were still slaves to sin.

Lets hone in on this opening line here: Everyone = All.

Practice sin, Lives in sin, it is the life of sin not the occasional slip up.

This person is a slave.

And what slave can free themselves?

This is our state unless Jesus frees us from sin.

All of us naturally are born into this state.

God reaches out and gives us new life, cleanses us and frees us.

We are Justified, and given the Holy Spirit.