FOUR GREAT SAYINGS OF JESUS II
A Series of Devotional Sermons
Second Great Saying . . . “The truth shall make you free.”
Throughout this or any year, as we move forward in worshiping and serving God, keep in mind the first of our great sayings of Jesus - “Continue in my love.”
Before we get to the second great saying, I think it would be worth our time to take a quick look at what others have said about the kind of love Jesus had in mind when He commanded us to love one another.
In the “love chapter” of the Bible – 1 Corinthians 13 – Paul described all of the characteristics of true love, then he came to this conclusion: “Love never fails.” Based on Paul’s description of Christian love, we can say that:
Love is real in the lives of folks: who are patient . . . who are kind . . . who do not envy . . . who do not boast . . . in whose lives there is no sinful pride . . . who are not rude . . . who are not self-seeking . . . who are not easily angered . . . who keep no record of wrongs . . . who do not delight in evil . . . who rejoice with the truth . . . who love in such a way that their love always protects . . . always trusts . . . always hopes . . . always perseveres.
Sounds like standards that are next-to-impossible to live by!
Yet, if you enter a covenant with God our Father to love others as He loved us, the Spirit of God will take control of your life and lead you to become the kind of person Paul described in the great love chapter.
If you are looking for a one-sentence summation of all that Paul has woven together into a composite of love, then look no further than the simple statement once made by St. Thomas Aquinas: “To love anyone is nothing more than to wish that person good.”
Listen to this bit of wisdom by an ordinary fellow by the name of Fred Beck: “A ‘bit of love’ is the only bit that will bridle the tongue.” Now, we all could benefit if we abided by that bit of wisdom.
Three old English proverbs speak rather poignantly to love as the theme of our lives:
“Love makes the world go around.”
“To be loved, love.”
“Love will find a way.”
The second of our GREAT SAYINGS OF JESUS is about TRUTH.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
Do you realize that we live in an age of tremendous uncertainty?
Far too many folks no longer know what they believe – the consequence of which is that we seemingly have lost sight of the meaning of commitment.
We live in a world divided by opinions that range from one extreme to the other. We can feel the polarization everywhere we go. In the realm of theology, we are polarized. In the political realm, we are polarized. In the philosophical arena, we are polarized.
The truth of the matter is that we tend to believe whatever we last heard on some radio or television talk show, or what we last read in the newspaper, or what we last heard in the beauty or barber shop – or perhaps what someone said over a cup of coffee at the Waffle House.
You know, God gave us inquiring minds . . . a tongue with which to ask questions . . . eyes for reading the Word of God. Perhaps we ought to tune our ears to the “still small voice of God” within us rather than get so hyped by the “one-liners” we hear from so many human voices.
Now, I cannot tell you – and would not if I could – who to listen to or who not to listen to, about their opinions. I can, however, without blinking an eye or raising my voice, say to you that, in my early adult life, I had to face the question as to who Jesus was, and whether I was going to believe what He said and do what He willed. I read and studied the Bible when I was just a teenager, and I continued to do so in college and seminary, as I searched for answers.
And today, fifty years later, I can say to you without reservation that I believe what He said - and I try, to the best of my ability, to do what He says Christians ought to do.
The astonishing declaration made by Jesus when He walked this earth – the claim that turned the religious hierarchy against Him - is the same saying of Jesus that we must face today and decide whether to believe. Here is what He said - “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father except by me.”
Please understand that I am not the only person who ever wrestled with the inescapable fact that either Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, or He was the biggest liar in history. Which was it?
Buddha said toward the end of his life, “I am still searching for the truth.” But the Bible says that Jesus said, “I am the embodiment of all truth. All truth is centered in me.”
Now, here was my dilemma. I came to Jesus as I was – uneducated, an IQ somewhat above average, a strong desire to please God in my life – and I was told that God would be pleased if I repented of my sins, accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior, and declared Him to be the Lord of my life.
The question was whether I was willing to be identified with Jesus Christ and therefore be known as a “Christian” – a person who is a believer in and follower of the Christ of the Cross.
If I am going to be one of His disciples, I must believe in Christ, and be so committed to Him that I would take Him at His Word and be willing to follow His way and His will for my life. To do that, I would have to get into His Word and absorb all that He said into my very being so that His teachings would define who I am.
Basically, that is exactly what Jesus said to those Jews who had come from Jerusalem to hear Him and to join His mission: “If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth; and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
I could do none of that until I settled it in my heart and mind as to who Jesus was. So, I got into His Word – bought me a red-letter edition of the Holy Bible – and I stayed in His Word – and I prayerfully studied His Word – and I asked the Spirit of God to teach me and show me the way.
I cannot tell you the exact moment of the exact day on which I concluded that Jesus was Who He said He was. But I can tell you that I did, in fact, reach that conclusion, and settled it once and for all, that there is no other way but His way to come to the Father – and the reason is that He most definitely demonstrated by His actions that He was indeed the person whose life embodied the truth of God.
How else do we explain his miracles of healing? How else do we explain His ministry of teaching and preaching with power? How else do we explain His resurrection? Even one of His crucifiers concluded, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
For fifty years, the fact that He was the Son of God – the embodiment of the truth of God – I have experienced time and time again as His Word has been preached in power and we have seen evidence of the moving of the Holy Spirit of God in and through changed lives!
Mr. & Mrs. Politician, you want to talk about the need for change? What I can tell you is this: “What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart.”
Folks, if you want to be His disciple, in the fullest meaning of the concept of discipleship, you must set as your goal - at the beginning of your new life in Christ and at the beginning of each year - to examine yourself and determine where you need to improve to meet the criteria for being one of His disciples.
As it was in my search for the truth, your Christian journey must begin with belief . . . continue in the Word . . . show signs of progress as you gain knowledge of spiritual truth . . . put it into practice in your life.
Do you realize the difference it makes in your life when your Christian journey begins with belief in Christ and continues with devotion to the study and practice of God’s Word? Jesus said it very simply: “You will know the truth and the truth will make you FREE.”
Discipleship based on TRUTH results in Four Freedoms:
(1) Freedom from fear – you will never again have to walk alone.
(2) Freedom from self – Christ will change you into a new person.
(3) Freedom from other people – you will no longer need to worry about what other people think you ought to do or should have done; your only concern is to be and do what God says.
(4) Freedom from sin – your close daily walk with Jesus along with your constant talks with God will enable you to gain control over sins, habits, self-indulgences, irritabilities and weaknesses of the flesh that, before
Christ came into your life, were so very hard to overcome.
The truth sets you FREE to be the person you ought TO BE!
Here is the simple prayer that paved the way for me to experience new life in Christ:
"Oh, that a new man may arise in me
That the man I am may cease to be.”
Or perhaps you would prefer to pray:
“Oh, that a new woman may arise in me
That the woman I am may cease to be.”
Glory be to God who assures those who pray that prayer,
"Behold, I (Jesus) make all things new!”
God will change you into a new person if you pray that prayer.
“What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, since Jesus came into my heart.”
“Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart, Lord Jesus,
Come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart, Lord Jesus.” Amen.
