Abiding in Christ (John 8:31-59)

I feel like I am not alone in my thought processes growing up. There is probably someone here who will think that I am reading their minds as I proceed.  As a child, I barely got into trouble. In fact, I was so shy that I had one friend for most of my Kindergarten year, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to have friends, but because I didn’t want to talk with people. It wasn’t until I got into sports that I started wanting to make some bad choices. Or, what everyone else considers to be bad.

A bit later I began to go to church and it wasn’t until after High School that I went through a rebellious phase in my life. As I repented and returned to the Lord I was forced to realize something about myself. I had been a rotten sinner all along. The capacity for the evil that I had committed dwelt within me all along. It just took it a while to come forth. In early years shyness held it at bay. My parents were integral in holding it at bay for a while during High School. The influence of Christian friends and church held it at bay for a while, but eventually, it came out.

With a little bit of introspection, I realized that I had been wicked all along. It is a lesson that I wish I’d learned earlier that Jesus teaches here.

I don’t know what you think of yourself. I can’t know that for sure. I do hope that you will think about yourself throughout this message. I do hope that you will consider your own goodness and/or wickedness in light of what Jesus has to say here to those people that had followed Him in the midst of the conflict at the Feast of Booths. Eternal life is not found in anything that you can do. It is not found in our heritage. It is not found anywhere but Christ.

Eternal life is not found in anything that you can do. It is not found in our heritage. It is not found anywhere but Christ.

Eternal Life is found only in Christ.

Our freedom from sin, our adoption into the family of God, our everlasting unity and life with the Godhead is found only in Christ.

Eternal Life is found only in Christ.

Think back a few years ago and you’ll remember that we left off with Jesus in a pretty intense scuffle with very influential Jewish Leaders as he declared that He banishes the darkness. Now, it seems that only those who believe what He has had to say remain (John 8:31). At this point, Jesus’ discussion is only for those who have remained.

You would expect for the tone or topic to get a bit softer but that’s not actually what happens at all. He says the words,

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples”

And this ends up being the foundation of the entire rest of the discussion in Chapter 8. So, what does Jesus mean here?

To abide means to remain or stay. This is interesting terminology because they have already remained with Jesus apparently while others had left.

It is the habit of Jesus to challenge his followers faith and it seems that this is what He does here. To abide in Christ means to dwell in His teachings, or to remain in what He says. His challenge to them is to remain in Him. This teaching would do two things. One, it would help them to understand what faith in Him was because they would be repenting of what they believed and trusting in Him. They would now be abiding in Christ and not their old way of life. But it would also weed out the false conversions. Hearing that they had to abide in Christ is not going to be satisfactory to everyone there. In fact, upon hearing the rest of what Jesus had to say it became obvious that those who had remained to hear Jesus did not actually remain in Him.

We rebelled against God. We are sinners who have earned His wrath and justice. Yet, He made a way for us to be saved from His wrath. Jesus Christ came and took God’s wrath upon Himself. He took upon Himself the punishment that was mine. And then rose from the dead three days later. He has perfectly achieved righteousness for me through His perfect life. He has perfectly achieved forgiveness of sins for me through His death on the cross. And He has risen from the dead. My response is simple. It is to repent and believe. It is to turn from ruling my own life and trust in Jesus Christ who has accomplished my salvation completely for me.

It is the person who trusts in Christ that abides in Him. And we will see here what happens with those who “abide in Christ”.

Those Who Abide In Christ:

Are Free From Bondage To Sin (Vv. 31-38)

Jesus tells the people that they can be free if they abide in Him. That necessarily means that Jesus is saying that they are not currently free. They are in bondage.

Their response is that they are God’s people, “offspring of Abraham” (John 8:33), they are free. Then Jesus hits them with the response that should shatter us to the very core.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

Now, the claim to be following Jesus has been put to the test. They don’t just take in the words of Jesus, they begin to reject His Word. And the funniest part of this is that they can probably see Roman Soldiers who actually control the area. It also reveals the misunderstanding within their heart about what it is that they believe about their relationship with God.

Freedom is what this is about, but it’s not about physical freedom. I can be in bondage in the freest country in the world. I can also be free while I’m chained to a prison wall. This is true freedom. It is freedom from sin.

Jesus reveals to them that the real issue here is sin by saying that the one who practices sin is a slave to sin. This runs at the heart of who we are. The non-Christian is by nature in bondage to sin. But the tricky part about this is that they do not believe that they are in bondage to their sin.

I loved the Lord of the Rings movies and am back to reading the books. In it Smiegel finds a ring. He actually kills someone for this ring. It is the One Ring that he finds and it takes over his mind. He has to have it and he has to keep it. The One Ring dominates his thoughts day and night. It actually possesses his mind and drives him mad. Smiegel is held captive by the ring.

Does he realize that he is enslaved to the ring? No. He doesn’t. The enslavement takes him all the way to his death. He falls into a pit of molten lava catching the One Ring…with a big smile on his face because it was what his heart desired.

Smiegel actually blocked his only hope. His only hope was the destruction of the ring, yet he perished with it in the end. He did not survive to see his salvation from the One Ring.

We are born enslaved to sin. For some of you, it is hard to see. It may be too soon in your life for you to see the wickedness in your life, but it’s there. The one who sins is a slave to sin. And then you start considering your life. You smarted off to your parents before going to school today. Then disobeyed teachers, sometimes in secret, or you spoke badly of friends. You spent time today looking at things you shouldn’t have on the internet and thought about them throughout much of the day. You are likely going to do it all over again tomorrow and all the while sit here and think that you are not yourself enslaved to sin. Without Christ, you are enslaved to sin. Like Smiegel, you will love and cherish your sin all the way to the grave without Christ. There is only one hope for you and it is Christ. Without Him, you will fall in terror to your doom enslaved to sin. Only He can set you free. “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Christ died, to free you from the penalty of sin. Christ lived, to credit you with His righteousness. The Holy Spirit works the new birth in you to give you spiritual resurrection and freedom from sin. The Holy Spirit works in you to guide you into righteousness. Your only hope is the freedom that Christ gives. Trust in Him.

Christian, you are a people who are free from this bondage to sin. Abide in Christ. Do His Word. Live in Him. This is what we are to do. The person who is a Christ follower will follow Christ. Are there areas of your life in which you are living in rebellion? We do not dwell in darkness, we abide in Christ.

Jesus informed them that the slave does not remain in the house forever, but the son does. His status is much different than ours. He is the Son, they are slaves. And, His status gives Him the right to give to them freedom.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 ESV)

The temper of the people must be beginning to flare. I can see it now. The people sitting here do not actually believe in Christ as one would have hoped at the beginning of this passage. They are not abiding in Christ. The words of Christ find no place in their hearts. They are rejecting Him.

And their rejection reveals just who they are.

Are God’s Children (Vv. 39-47)

Jesus claims to have God as His Father and claims that His hearers have a different father. Jesus testifies against them by saying that if they were who they claimed to be then they would be behaving a bit differently. We must understand that Israel has been considered God’s Son throughout the Old Testament. You have Jesus, here saying that they are slaves and that He is God’s Son. Interestingly, they prove that this is true by behaving the way they do toward Him.

Abraham had Himself received Heavenly messengers in Genesis 18 and now, as the Jews speak with a man from Heaven, they reject Him outright. Abraham listened to God’s Word in the messengers from Heaven while they are not. They are rejecting the message from Heaven.

Another person is known, in Scripture, for the rejection of God’s message. It is Satan. And Jesus says that they are behaving like, Satan and not like Abraham. But He says it more harshly…much more harshly. They are acting like their Father, Satan, and not His Father, God the Father.

Now, in an even more revealing statement, they have been and are seeking to kill Jesus. This again is laid out as proof that they are not who they believe themselves to be.

This is an argument at this point. They retort.

“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”

They can’t seem to fathom the possibility that Jesus is talking about something bigger than a physical kingdom. They can’t seem to understand that Jesus is talking about something greater than the country they grew up in. They don’t understand that He is talking about more than the parents they had. He is talking about being united to God through the death and resurrection of His Son. They believe themselves to already be united to God because of His choice of national Israel and Jesus then lays it out for them.

“Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do you 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. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8:43-47 ESV)

That is incredibly heavy stuff. The one who hears God’s Words, or abides in God’s Word is of God. The reason they do not like what Jesus has to say is that they are acting out of their sinful character. Their father is not God, their father is Satan.

They are of the world. They are dominated by the Satanic world system that is in rebellion against God. Because they are of this world system they do not love the message that has come down from Heaven concerning Christ and their very selves. He has already delivered to them their only hope. It is Him. The Son sets free from sin and he also brings us into God’s family.

Those who trust in Christ, those who abide in Him, they are God’s children. They hear Christ and abide in Him. Those who are not part of God’s family don’t hear the word of Christ.

They don’t hear because they are not of God.

We do not begin our lives as God’s children. We belong to the world system that is dominated by Satan. This is the air we breathe and until we are brought from death to life as members of the family of God we don’t even realize that this is the case. A fish doesn’t realize it’s in water, nor do we realize that we are living in a world that is dominated by rebellion against God until it is flung in our faces like it is here.

Being God’s children is not about being a human; it’s about being united with God. It’s about having Him as our Father and this can only happen through being united with Christ through His perfect life, death, and resurrection. When we trust in Christ we are moved from being children of this world and Satan to being children of God.

As Christians, we are God’s children. We hear the words of God in Christ because we are God’s children. We were ourselves wretched sinners who deserved nothing but God’s wrath and justice. And even so, this is the case Christ died for us and brought us into the family of God.

This also explains the world to us in categories that a lot of Christians don’t seem to understand. We believe that Christianity is the only truly logical way to live, but many other people don’t feel that way. In fact, most other people don’t feel that way. Most other people don’t believe Christian morality at all. But is this not what we should expect? Should we expect the world to believe what Christians believe about morality? They are not God’s children. Should we expect the world to be in full agreement with us concerning the hot topics of our day, like Abortion, Sexuality, Marriage, and much, much more? No, we should not. We are the redeemed. We are God’s people. They, however, are not. They need something more than for us to give them our moral code. They need Jesus. They desperately need to be united to God through the work of Christ. What they need to hear from us is the gospel.

This also should cause us to be immensely grateful for what God has done for us. We have been rescued out of this world that is in rebellion against Him and brought into His family. We should be in awestruck wonder that God has brought us into His family, to be one of His own.

Will Have Everlasting Life (Vv. 48-59)

When I was a teenager the presentation of the gospel was different than it is now. The most popular way was for people to just walk up to you and say, “If you died tonight would you go to Heaven?” It was simple and startled a person into thinking about where they would spend eternity.

I don’t think that this is as effective today. I think it is still effective in some instances, but our culture’s dynamic has changed. As America has become more secular in its thinking fewer people even consider what will happen to them when they die. I’m not sure of all the reasons why. I think it is probably a conglomeration of reasons. There are more atheists in our culture than there have been in the past. There are also more people who just believe that there are many paths to the same “god”. There are also probably many other reasons for this being the case. But, whatever the reason people are not pondering this question even as much as they were ten years ago.

Though the concept is not thought about as much, it is still a reality that Jesus has us consider here.

The Jews actually believed Jesus had a demon. They actually believed that he was both “a Samaritan and have a demon” (John 8:48). Hopefully, you remember how much the Jews despise the Samaritans from our discussion of the Woman at the Well a few months ago. Now, not only do they heap that hatred upon Him, but also that He is demonic. Jesus’ response was to simply say that He is honoring His Father. He is sticking with what he has been saying all along. He is from above and has the message from above. He is here only to glorify the Father. Then, He adds something else for them to consider.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” (John 8:51 ESV)

Those who abide in Christ are freed from their bondage to sin, they are brought into the Family of God, and now they have everlasting life.

This is an absolutely astounding statement. Those who abide in Him, just as He has been discussing throughout this message, “will never see death”.

We know from later discussions in the Scriptures exactly what this means. When a Christian dies, his soul goes to be with the Lord in Heaven where he awaits the day of the Resurrection and lives in the New Heavens and New Earth.

That person that places their faith in Christ will keep His Word, we have discussed the New Birth from John 3. God makes it so. Our pattern of life will be that of keeping Christ’s Word. That person who has trusted in Christ “will never see death”.

There is an obvious question from their perspective that needs to be answered. How is it that Jesus can say that those who abide in Him will not die even when Abraham himself died. Is Jesus claiming to be greater than Abraham?

Yes, that is exactly what Jesus is claiming. Abraham looked forward to the day when the great promises given to him would be fulfilled. The promise that was not fulfilled in Abraham’s day would eventually be fulfilled in its fullness in Christ as He became the blessing that would reach all nations promised to Abraham. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything Abraham looked forward to. So, yes, Jesus is greater.

But, Jesus doesn’t end here. He says that Abraham, “saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).The Jews, not understanding exactly what Jesus was driving at stated the obvious. Jesus isn’t even 50 years old and is claiming some sort of interaction with Abraham. Then Jesus uttered the phrase that made them want to kill Him.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58 ESV)

Jesus could have said, “Yes, I’ve seen Abraham. Before Abraham was, I was.” This would denote simple existence before Abraham, but that’s not what Jesus did here. Jesus said, “before Abraham was, I am.”

This word “I am” is much more than first meets the eye. It goes all the way back to Exodus 3.

Moses was terrified of the mission that Jesus had given him. He asks who it is that he was sent by to deliver this message of deliverance to the people of God. God answers, with what can be transliterated into English a YHWH. The word translates into English as Yahweh and some people translate it as Jehovah. It means “I am” and denotes an amount of self-existence that is hard for us to fathom. When God tells Moses His name is I Am, it is as if He said, “I am, have always been, always will be, and depend upon no one or nothing for my existence.” And because God revealed Himself this way it became known as God’s personal name. He had wanted His people to know that He was the eternal Creator of all things.

 

Now, as we move ahead in history we run into Jesus who is saying “before Abraham was I am”. You may be thinking that it doesn’t mean what I just said that Jesus meant, but the proof is in the reaction of the people. Upon saying this there is no more discussion; they pick up stones to throw at Him in an attempt to kill Him.

Jesus was claiming to be God and they knew it. They believed this to be an offense punishable by death because they did not accept the words He had stated. They did not believe. They did not abide in Him.

Why is it that Jesus could say that abiding in His Word was abiding in God’s Word? Because He was claiming to be God.

Why is it that Jesus could say that not listening to Him was a sign that they did not have God as their father? Because He was claiming to be God.

Why is it that Jesus can assure us that if we trust in Him we will have everlasting life? Because He is God.

This leaves us considering our relationship to Christ. If you are here and are not a Christian then you will live forever without Christ in what is known as eternal death. Those who believe will be with Christ forever in everlasting life. We are evil, enslaved to sin, and destined for Hell. Our only hope is Christ, who is God come to rescue us.

If you don’t know Christ, trust in Him. Turn from ruling your own life and trust in Him.

If you are a believer here today, then you must find great joy in the inheritance that is yours and never-ending. Christ has purchased for you a future that is incredibly glorious at the cost of His own blood. Live as if this is the case. You can sacrifice things in this life knowing that you have what is glorious coming to you in the next. Live as if this life is not all there is.

Grasp these ideas together and beautiful things will happen here at Trinity Baptist Church. Lost people will come to faith in Christ. Believers will live courageous lives in this dark age because they know that they are freed from the bondage of sin, are loved by God, and have everlasting life.

The question before you is a simple one. Are you abiding in Christ? Have you trusted in Him?

 

R. Dwain Minor