Alliance Church
Pastor David Welch
“Badge and benefits of a bona fide believer”
Chapter 8 of John focuses on Jesus as the light of the world and the only way out of darkness. We were encouraged to revive the light, reflect the light, and reveal the light.
INTRODUCTION
Today we finish chapter 8 where Jesus continues His bold temple teaching claiming Himself to be the light of the world, the source of truth that sets the captives free. We learned in verse 30 that as He spoke about Himself as the light and the witness of His heavenly Father and that apart from belief in Him these people would die in their sins, that many came to believe. Only genuine belief results in true freedom and adoption into the family of God.
We live in an age of easily believism. Becoming a Christian is as easy as joining a new multilevel marketing company. They require minimal commitment to receive the benefits of discounted product. Many sign up for the benefits of the product but have no intention of being an ambassador. You just do only want you want and leave the rest to someone else. You only have to invest what little time you want and hope to become elevated by others who will invest the time for you. No life change required. Too often, people market Christianity in the same manner; offering minimal risk with maximum return. Just add Jesus to all the rest. Come to Jesus and let him fill you life and make you whole on your own terms. Early Christianity flourished because it called for radical commitment. They turned to God from idols. Today no turning required.
Many will be surprised when they stand face to face with Jesus. Matt 7:21-23
For that reason Paul calls us to test ourselves to see if we be in the faith.
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test? 2 Cor. 13:5
Today’s passage provides a test of genuine belief as well as an encouragement to bona fide believers Jesus offered a test of true discipleship to those who had believed in Him because of his teaching. This crowd quickly degenerates from a leaning to believe him to an eagerness to bombard him with boulders. They degenerate from distrusting his teaching to questioning his very character.
Passage John 8:31-59
Jesus points to one particular characteristic here that sets a true disciple apart from those who only want to go along for the ride.
The badge of a bona fide believer
“If you abide in My word, you are truly disciples of Mine”
Only those who abide in the Word of Christ are truly disciples. The core disciples heartily affirmed their conviction that Jesus alone had the words of eternal life (John 6:68).
What does it mean to abide in His Word?
The word abide has a broad range of meaning.
a verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy) :- abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry or wait (for)
It is used in an everyday sense of staying at a place. “Stay home until noon!”
It is used to indicate constancy in a particular state of being. “Remain unmarried.”
It is used in reference to living in a city or town. “I live in Bremerton, Washington”
The weight of the word points to someone who continues, remains or stays in close association with a place or person or state of being. In this passage Jesus points to those who commit themselves to and have a heart and passion for learning and obeying the word of God. The badge of genuine belief is a commitment to remain associated with the words of Christ that is equal to a relationship with Christ himself.
To call yourself a follower of Christ when you don’t have a passion to learn or do what he taught is hypocrisy. This principle goes back to Jesus teaching Martha the only needful thing in life is to get in a place to learn from Jesus. Jesus commissioned his disciples to make disciples by baptizing and teaching them to obey Christ’s words.
Abiding in the words of Jesus calls us to structure our life according to the principles and truths taught by Jesus so as to maintain a vital relationship with Jesus himself.
What might abiding in the words of Jesus look like?
Listening and talking to Jesus – study and prayer
Abiding in the word requires more than a couple hours each Sunday.
We need daily exposure to the truths taught by Jesus.
We need to take advantage of good books, good teaching.
How much time do we spend searching Scriptures as opposed to surfing the web or switching the TV channels? Do you have any learning goals related to your knowledge of spiritual things?
Man cannot live by bread alone but by EVERY word that proceeds from the mouth of God! Peter urged his readers to long for the sincere milk of the world that by it they may grow with respect to their salvation. True disciples have an ingrained inner insatiable hunger for the truth. True disciples order every aspect of their life according to what they learn in the Scripture.
We now live in an age where people embrace the concepts of Christianity without adopting the conduct of Christianity. It is kind of like buying life insurance that you put away in the drawer only till you need it. Any lifestyle change that might extend the quality or length of life may be recommended but not necessarily required. Such a concept is not genuine Christianity. Christianity is a relationship of committed obedience to Christ. Early Christians died for the sake of their belief. Either we believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life or not. If we do, we need to live like we believe it.
You are not considered a resident of Bremerton if you don’t live in Bremerton.
You cannot claim to live in the word or by the word if you don’t know or obey the word.
The benefits of bona fide belief
New perception of truth
Those who operate their life according to the world will know the truth in a new way. Before I went to the hospital and CCU I had some knowledge about hospitals and emergency rooms. Only by living (abiding) there for a short time did I gain an experiential knowledge and a whole new perspective. Until we commit to living under the word and doing it, we will have only a limited understanding of spiritual truth. When we commit to obey it and live by it, God continually open up new insight into truth previously unknown.
He transforms us from glory to glory. Truth begets truth. Just as basic math paves the way to higher mathematical reasoning, so spiritual truth applied paves the way to greater and greater understanding of our incomprehensible God. In fact, when we fail to obey truth and suppress the truth by our intentional sin we slide the slippery slope exposed in Romans 1 ending with a darkened heart and depraved thinking no longer able to retain a true knowledge of God.
New privilege of freedom
New perception of truth brings freedom from the bondage of sin.
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus clearly indicates what He means by bondage and freedom.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. John 8:34
Sin, indicated here, deals with offense against God, a failure to abide in the words and ways of God. Spiritually, everyone is born a slave of sin, dead towards God.
No matter one’s heritage or connection, we are all slaves of sin doing our thing not God’s. Only relationship with Christ the light and life of men brings about true freedom. That freedom comes from an internal knowledge of the truth. Later in John 17:3 Jesus will reinforce this concept.
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Paul connects knowing truth and living truth in Romans 6.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Rom 6:12-13
How?
Knowing we are identified (baptized) with Christ in his death and resurrection.
Knowing our old self was crucified with Him that the body of sin might be rendered powerless.
Knowing that Christ died and rose again and we too are truly dead to sin but alive to God.
Knowing that sin shall not be master over us.
Peter connects a new spiritual perception with a new spiritual performance.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:2-4
How can we possibly live above sin when we remain in ignorance concerning God’s provision for freedom from sin?
If I don’t realize oil lies under my property I will continue to live in poverty and possibly die in poverty even though I am in reality extremely rich.
In this case knowing truth makes all the difference in the world. Failure to perceive truth equals failure to practice truth. Knowing the truth leads to living the truth. It all starts with abiding in close relationship with Christ and his teaching. That brings a new perception of truth. That new perception of truth brings a new freedom from bondage to sin.
The lies of the enemy keep us in bondage to sin. Whenever we live according to the lies of the enemy as perpetuated by a devil directed world system we continue to struggle with bondage to sin. That is why we have the Scriptures. That is why we need to continually remind one another of our wealth and worth in Christ.
Jesus clearly confronts these Jews, who most likely believed in Christ for relief from their political condition, concerning their personal life and the sinful condition of their heart. It is clear that they had no desire to abide in his words as they immediately began to argue with his words. You can’t argue and abide at the same time. From this point, Jesus gradually but conclusively exposes their evil heart and deficient belief.
"We are Abraham's offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You shall become free'?"
They lived in denial. Their people had continually been enslaved by someone because of the hardness of their hearts toward the word of God. Even now they were under Roman rule. The unbelieving heart refuses to recognize personal culpability or wrongdoing. It is hard to admit we are not master of our own destiny or that our struggles have to do with our own sin. They Jews banked on their national Abrahamic ties to position them in favor with God. But Jesus emphases the heart condition not the ethnic tradition. Everyone who fails to walk according to the truth is a slave. Jesus reminds them that a slave may enjoy the benefits of the master’s house for a time but is conditionally subject to removal or dismissal or sale at any time. Only the true children of the Master are guaranteed a permanent heritage. There are some who benefit by following Christian principles and by having grown up in a Christian home but only those who are personally born or adopted into the family of God will reap the eternal benefits promised to the spiritually related children of God. Only relationship with Jesus brings about genuine freedom. Jesus acknowledges these Jews have a physical relationship with Abraham but lack the spiritual relationship Him designed to break the bondage of sin. What are you counting on to put you in favor with God?
Jesus continues to expose their heart. “Spiritually you live according to a different heritage and father.” “As opposed to the true believer who abides in my word, My word has no place in you. Therefore you seek to kill me because you are only doing what you heard from your father as I am only doing what I hear from My Father.”
Jesus obviously set up a contrast here between Him and them that puts them on the defensive. “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus continues to disassemble their reasoning.
It that were true you would be doing what he did. You want me dead because I told you the truth. Abraham didn’t want me dead when I told him the truth. So the conclusion is that you are acting according to the deeds of your father who is not Abraham because you aren’t acting like Abraham.
Feeling trapped by the truth they now become furious and begin to attack his character.
"We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." John 8:41
We are not the ones whose birth is in question. “Besides, God is our father.”
Jesus responds first by shattering their reasoning and then unmistakably reveals the truth identity of their father. “If God were your father, you would been loving me all along, because I came from the Father and I am here now according to His eternal plan not any personal agenda.” “You don’t understand my words because you cannot bear to hear the message I bring.”
In contrast to the true believer who operates according the words of Jesus and gains new perspective and new freedom, these Jews were not able to understand because they refused to accept the truth concerning their spiritual bondage and need for a new father.
Jesus bluntly exposes their true spiritual heritage.
• You operate according to the nature of your father the devil.
• Your desires reflect his evil desires.
• He is a murderer and a liar by nature. And you seek to kill me and refuse the truth.
• There is no truth in him or you.
• You do not believe me because you choose to believe the father of lies.
• You do not hear my words or abide in my words because you are not of God.
• Those who are of God hear my words and abide in my words.
Here again Jesus points out the badge of a genuine follower of Jesus is to hear and heed the words of Jesus. At this point they are infuriated even more and continue to attack His character.
“You are a dirty rotten Samaritan.”
“You are out of your senses with a demon.”
New Promise of eternal life
"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." John 8:51
These now hostile Jews will not accept any claims from Jesus and ridicule his promise of eternal life. “Who do you think you are?” “Abraham and all the prophets after him died and you promise your followers no death.”
Jesus responds, “I come on behalf of the one you claim is your God but you don’t even know Him. But I know Him and I keep his word just as my true followers keep my word.
And your physical ancestor Abraham looked for me and saw me and rejoiced.”
The crowd noticeably picks up on this compelling claim and again challenges Jesus.
The Jews therefore said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"
Jesus, with full divine authority, confidently affirms...
"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
I am Yahweh.
I existed from eternity past.
I am the God who interfaced with Abraham.
I am the same God revealed to Moses at the burning bush.
I AM.
The Jews unmistakably understood this incredible claim and ran to find stones to kill him.
But Jesus “was hid” from them at this time because it was neither the means nor the moment for Him to die.
CONCLUSION
What do we learn from this account?
The Badge
The badge of a bona fide believer is a continual longing to know and do, hear and heed the words of Jesus out of a longing to really know Him.
The bogus believer is clearly characterized by the Jews from this passage.
• They don’t realize they live contrary to the words of Jesus in the bondage of sin.
• The word has no place in their heart.
• They practice the things of their evil nature.
• They long for the things contrary to God.
• They do not understand spiritual things because they don’t want to hear or change.
• They choose not to trust Jesus or believe what He taught.
• They are not of God.
• They do not know God.
Benefits of bona fide belief
New perception of truth
New freedom from sin
New promise of eternal life
From two other passages I would add two more benefits abiding in the words of Jesus.
New perseverance in the storms of life
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall." Matthew 7:24-27
New power in prayer
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7
Today is a call to genuine discipleship. Where are you?
Check your attitude and actions related to the words of Jesus. What place do they have in your life?
A bona fide believer shapes every aspect of their life according to the timeless teaching of Christ.
NOTES AND RESOPNSE
What truth stood out or was reaffirmed in my thinking today?
What emotional response did I feel as a result of hearing the truth?
What does God want me to do today or this week as a result of hearing the truth?
What does lifestyle change do I need to make to conform to the truth today?
