John Ch8v31-47 - Truth And Lies

John chapter 8 and verse 31 to 47.

John 8 · chapter mention

This is on page 1074 of your Red Church Bible.

John 8 verse 31.

John 8:31

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

They answered him,

We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been slaves of anyone.

How can you say that we shall be set free?

Jesus replied,

Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Now a slave has no permanent place in the family,

but a son belongs to it forever.

So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

I know you are Abraham's descendants,

yet you are looking for a way to kill me,

because you have no room for my word.

I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence,

and you are doing what you have heard from your father.

Abraham is our father, they answered.

If you were Abraham's children, said Jesus,

then you would do what Abraham did.

As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me.

A man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.

Abraham did not do such things.

You are doing the works of your own father.

We are not illegitimate children, they protested.

The only father we have is God himself.

Jesus said to them,

If God were your father,

you would love me,

for I have come here from God.

I have not come on my own.

God sent me.

Why is my language not clear to you?

Because you are unable to hear what I say.

You belong to your father, the devil.

And you want to carry out your father's desires.

He was a murderer from the beginning,

not holding to the truth,

for there is no truth in him.

When he lies,

he speaks his native language,

for he is a liar and a father of lies.

Yet because I tell the truth,

you do not believe me.

Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?

If I am telling the truth,

why don't you believe me?

Whoever belongs to God

hears what God says.

The reason you do not hear

is that you do not belong to God.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Well, good morning again.

Nice to see you all today.

We continue in our studies in John's Gospel.

And today we're chapter 8.

And we're going to be thinking about

truth and lies.

Truth and lies.

Let's pray and ask for God's help.

Jesus says,

If God were your father,

you would love me.

Father, we ask that you would give us a heart

that loves the Lord Jesus

and loves his word,

loving his ways.

Please, will you change us

and cause us to love you more?

Amen.

Well, we're reaching a point

in the Gospel of John

where we're being confronted

to make decisions

about Jesus.

So there's no more sitting on the fence.

He's saying,

you either do believe in me

or you don't believe in me.

Track back with me to verse 24.

A summary, if you like,

of what he's been teaching

in this last section.

Verse 24.

I told you that you would die

in your sins.

If you do not believe

that I am he,

that is the one who can forgive

and give life,

you will indeed die

in your sins.

Verse 30.

Even as Jesus spoke,

many believed in him.

They heard his truth

and they believed.

In fact, Jesus is going further

in the text

that we've just had read to us.

Jesus is pushing us

to see if our claims

to believe in Jesus

are actually genuine and real.

You see, not everybody

who claims to be a believer

is a true believer.

Look what Jesus says

to the very same people

who have just said,

we believe in Jesus.

Look at what Jesus says

about them.

Verse 45.

Yet because I tell the truth,

you do not believe me.

They say they believe,

but Jesus says,

no, you don't believe.

Think of it this way.

I claim to be Irish.

You probably,

well, most of you,

think I am Irish.

When Ireland play,

I put on the green jersey

and I wave the tricolour

and I sing

and I support my team.

But what you don't know is,

please don't tell anyone,

I have a British passport.

I wasn't born in Ireland,

I was born in London.

I'm not an Irish citizen.

According to the state,

I am not Irish

and as I came to the airport

yesterday evening,

I had to go in a queue

that was not for Irish citizens.

Just because I claim to be Irish

doesn't mean I am.

Well, same with our faith.

Just because we claim to believe

doesn't mean we are true believers.

So how do we know

who is a real believer?

How do I know if I

am a believer?

Well, we're going to look at two

big things.

Believing the truth

or believing

in lies.

Believing the truth

or believing in lies.

First, believing the truth,

verse 31.

To the Jews

who had believed in him,

Jesus said,

if you hold

to my teaching,

that is,

if you continue

in my teaching,

if you remain

in my teaching,

you are really

my disciples.

Then you will know

the truth

and the truth

will set you free.

You see,

this is the mark

of a true disciple

of Jesus.

If I am a genuine believer,

I will have a growing desire

for the truth.

I will submit

to the truth

and I will want

to live

by the truth.

We can't separate

belief in Jesus

and the truth

from Jesus.

The sign,

the evidence

that we believe

in Jesus

is that we believe

and take seriously

the truth

that Jesus

teaches.

So what is

the truth

that Jesus

teaches?

Well,

there are three

things we want

to look at

that if we are

true believers,

we must accept.

First,

I am a slave

to sin.

Verse 32.

He says,

you will know

the truth

and the truth

will set you free.

They answered him,

well,

we're Abraham's

descendants

and have never

been slaves

of anyone.

How can you say

that we shall

be set free?

Now,

that's a strange

thing for them

to say,

isn't it?

Because if you know

anything about

Abraham's descendants

that the history

of Israel

in the Old Testament,

you will know

that their history

is one of slavery.

They were slaves

in Egypt,

weren't they,

under Pharaoh?

And then later on,

they were slaves

in Babylon

under Nebuchadnezzar.

And currently,

as John writes

the gospel,

they are being ruled

by an enemy force,

by the Romans.

So why are they

claiming to Jesus

that they're free?

Well,

it seems they would

rather believe

in their own lies

than accept

what is true.

A reality,

as we'll see,

that is running

deep in their hearts.

In fact,

not only have they

been political slaves,

Jesus says

they are spiritually

slaves.

Verse 34,

Jesus replied,

very truly,

I tell you,

everyone who sins

is a slave

to sin.

Now,

that's a hard truth

for us all,

isn't it?

Everyone who sins

is a slave

to sin.

No,

no,

no,

no.

No,

I'm not a slave

to sin.

I'm free

to live

and do

as I please.

I make

my own choices

and my own

decisions.

But here's the point,

we can't help

but make sinful

decisions

and choices.

Here's a test

for us all.

this next week

from here on

till next Sunday,

make a promise

to yourself

that we won't

think anything

bad about anyone,

that we won't

say anything

cross or hurtful

to anyone,

or behave

in a way

that is selfish

to anyone.

Okay,

let's promise

to do that

for a whole week.

Well,

I don't think

we'll get past

the day,

never mind

a week,

and we'll find

that we've broken

the promise

many times.

In fact,

we can't even

manage to live

up to our own

standards

of what we say

is good and right.

This is how

another writer

in scripture

put it.

Can you relate

to this?

For I have

the desire

to do what is

good,

but I cannot

carry it out.

For I do

not do the

good I want

to do,

but the

evil I do

not want

to do.

This I

keep on

doing.

Sound

familiar?

Because it

resonates?

The truth

is we are

all born

as slaves

to sin.

But here's

another truth.

I am set

free

by Jesus.

Verse 35.

Now a

slave has

no permanent

place in the

family,

but a son

belongs to

it forever.

So if the

son sets

you free,

you will

be free

indeed.

Now the

problem of

being a

slave is

you can't

free yourselves.

That was

certainly

true of

Abraham's

descendants.

They were

slaves in

the history

in their

past to

Egypt.

Their

freedom

didn't come

from within,

but it came

from one

from the

outside coming

to them

to free

them.

God had

said,

you can

follow on

screen,

he had

said to

Moses,

I am

the Lord,

I will

bring you

out from

under the

yokes of

the Egyptians.

I will

free you

from being

slaves to

them,

and I

will redeem

you with

an outstretched

arm and

with mighty

acts of

judgment.

Now what

God physically

did for

the people

then,

he is

saying now

that spiritually

through his

son,

he is going

to release

and free

people.

Verse 36,

if the

son sets

you free,

you will

be free

indeed.

Jesus

comes to

set us

free from

our slavery

to sin,

he wins

our freedom

by dying

our death

with his

outstretched

arms on

the cross.

He takes

my sin

and your

sin

and he

takes the

judgment

that we

deserve

so that

we can

be truly

free.

now you

might find

that

uncomfortable

too because

we like

to think

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

I can

sort it

out

myself,

I can

do it,

but we

can't.

The truth

is only

Jesus

can set

us free.

And here's

the third

truth,

I am

a son

forever.

Verse 35,

go back

to verse

35.

Now a

slave has

no permanent

place in

the family,

but a

son belongs

to it

forever.

They're

complete

opposites.

A son

is different

to a

slave.

A slave

is under

a master.

a son

is loved

by his

father.

A slave

is on the

outside of

the family.

A son

is in

the family.

A son

can never

be disowned.

They are

free to

live and

receive all

the good

wonderful

gifts from

the father.

What about

the daughters?

Well,

why aren't

the daughters

written in

here?

Well,

in the

first century,

the son,

the eldest

son,

would receive

the inheritance

of the

father.

Now Jesus

is saying,

when I set

you free,

you all

become sons.

Men and

women,

you will

all receive

the inheritance

from God.

Life today

and life

eternal

forevermore.

You see,

when Jesus

sets us

free,

we enter

into the

family of

God.

A family

where we

are loved

and treasured

forever.

And I

want us

to hear

that today.

If you

have been

set free

by Jesus,

you are

in his

family,

safe

and secure.

No matter

what anybody

else may

say about

you or

to you.

See what

it says

at the end

of verse

35?

you are

a son,

an

inheritor,

and you

belong

for how

long?

Forever.

Safe

and secure

in the

family of

God.

So those

are three

truths that

we must

accept,

that I

am a

slave to

sin,

only Jesus

can set

me free,

and when

I do,

oh,

how

marvelous

and how

wonderful,

I

become a

son

forever.

And it

all leads

to freedom.

You see,

believing this

truth from

Jesus leads

to freedom,

not a

freedom to

do whatever

we want,

but a

new freedom,

a freedom to

start living

in a way

that we

could never

do before.

he sets

us free

from our

slavery to

sin so

that we

can begin

to live

as the

true

children

of God.

You see,

when we

believe the

truth,

we are

given by

God brand

new desires

and a

new power

by the

Holy Spirit

to be able

to live

them out.

A life

where we

love

God's

word,

and a

desire to

live by

its truth

and to

be changed

by it

day by

day.

Believing

the truth

leads to

a life

of glorious

freedom.

So,

do you

believe the

truth?

Here's the

second one.

believing in

lies.

If you

don't believe

the truth,

then the

only other

option is

we're

believing

in lies.

Look at

verse 37,

the end of

verse 37.

Jesus says

to them,

you're looking

for a way

to kill

me

because you

have no

room

for my

word.

true

believers

hold to

the truth

of Jesus

teaching,

but those

who don't,

well,

there's no

room.

You can't

possibly

absorb or

take in

his word.

You don't

want it.

And listen

further to

what Jesus

says when

we do

not accept

his

teaching.

Verse 43.

Why is

my language

not clear

to you?

because you

are unable

to hear

what I

say.

You belong

to your

father,

the devil,

and you

want to

carry out

your father's

desires.

Not very

seeker-friendly,

is he?

He doesn't

mince his

words.

He is saying

very clearly,

if you are

not a child

of God,

if you don't

accept my

truth,

you are a

child of

the devil.

It sounds

a bit

extreme.

Is Jesus

not being

over the

top here?

Well,

let's think

this through

together.

Again,

three things.

First,

let's think

about the

devil.

The devil

is not an

imaginary

being who

runs around

in a red

suit with

horns poking

out his

head and

a pitchfork.

No,

he is

real.

That's

what we're

told in

verse 44.

Second

part of

verse 44.

He is a

murderer from

the beginning,

not holding

to the

truth,

for there

is no

truth in

him.

When he

lies,

he speaks

his native

language,

for he

is a

liar and

the father

of lies.

You see,

the devil

is one

who seeks

to deceive

and to

distort.

That's

why John,

the writer

of John's

Gospel,

who also

wrote the

book of

Revelation,

speaks about

the devil

like this.

He calls

him that

ancient

serpent

called the

devil or

Satan,

who leads

the whole

world astray.

That's his

mission.

mission.

His

mission is

out to

turn people

from the

truth by

presenting a

whole lot

of lies.

So we

mustn't say,

oh, the

devil's not

real, it's

just fake.

No, he's a

real character.

Don't

underestimate

his work.

He does

not hold

to the

truth.

And the

devil, we're

told, is

the father

of lies.

So what's

his big

lie?

What's the

big lie he

tells us?

Well, as

these verses

suggest, we

need to go

back to the

beginning of

the story of

the Bible.

Remember when

the devil came

to Adam and

Eve in the

garden?

God had

made it

very crystal

clear to

them.

They could

enjoy all

the fruit

of the

garden.

It's all

yours.

I abundantly

give it to

you.

You can

feast and

eat and

delight in

all that I

give you,

but do

not eat

from the

fruit of

the tree

in the

middle of

the garden.

If you

eat it,

you will

die.

die.

And then

comes along

the devil.

Remember

what he

said?

Here's his

lie.

You will

not certainly

die, the

serpent said

to the

woman.

I think I

have it there

on the

screen.

For God

knows that

when you

eat it,

your eyes

will be

opened and

you will be

like God,

knowing good

and evil.

Not just

knowing the

difference between

good and

evil, but

you will

become the

masters of

it.

You will

decide and

determine what

is good

and what

is wrong.

Here was

his lie.

God is

mean and

unkind.

He's

restricting

you.

If you

want true

freedom, you

decide what

is right and

what is best

for you.

It's your

life.

You know

better than

God.

you know

what you

need.

And the

problem is

we have

all believed

the lie.

In

1990, the

year that I

did my

leaving cert,

a song was

released by

the Soup

Dragons.

I don't

know if you

remember them.

It became

an anthem as

we broke

free from

the regime

that we

called

school.

And in

hazy-filled

living rooms,

we danced

around like

aeroplanes,

whizzing around,

shouting and

singing at the

top of our

voice.

I won't sing

it to you,

but I'll give

you the

words.

Don't be

afraid of

your freedom,

freedom.

I say,

love me,

hold me,

love me,

hold me,

because I'm

free to do

what I want,

to be what I

want any

old time,

and I'm

free to be

who I

choose to

get my

booze any

old time.

That was

us as

teenagers,

living the

life of

freedom.

Doesn't it

capture what

we all want?

The absence

of rules and

the right to

choose?

don't let

truth get in

the way and

spoil your

party.

Truth

restricts

you.

Do what

you want.

Choose who

you are.

Be free.

But what

does it say?

End of

verse 44.

When he

lies,

he speaks

his native

language,

for he is

a liar and

the father

of lies.

It's all

lies.

The reality

then,

is simply

this.

The freedom

that we

crave is

not true

freedom.

Go back

to verse

44.

You belong

to your

father,

the devil,

and you

want to

carry out

your father's

desires.

desires.

And those

desires are

not good

desires,

they are

sinful

desires.

And those

desires don't

give you

freedom,

they will

enslave you.

You see,

these desires

are like

substance

addictions

that we

can't break.

People who

are addicted

can't get

themselves out

of it.

and it's

like us,

we desire

something or

someone,

we crave

for it,

and we

get it,

but it

never ever

satisfies.

And so the

desire increases

and intensifies,

and we indulge

more and more

in a life of

my rights

and my

choices,

and throwing

off more

rules,

and,

well,

it brings

happiness,

it does

bring joy,

but it

never lasts.

it leaves

us empty,

it breaks

us and it

destroys us,

and so the

cycle goes

on and on.

The more

we believe

the lie,

the more

we live

the lie,

and the

less we

are truly

free.

You see,

believing in

lies

leads

to

slavery.

Believing

in lies

does not

set you

free.

We are

not free

to choose

and be

who I

want and

do what I

want.

We're

actually

trapped

and

imprisoned.

In fact,

the danger

is we

can become

death

to the

truth.

Verse

46,

Jesus

says,

can any

of you

prove me

guilty of

sin?

Am I

saying

anything

at all

that is

wrong?

Then if

I'm telling

the truth,

why don't

you believe

me?

whoever

belongs to

God

hears what

God says.

And the

reason you

do not

hear is

that you

do not

belong to

God.

You see,

if we

don't believe

what Jesus

says,

then we're

not a

son or

a child

of God.

We're a

child of

devil.

We

haven't

gained

freedom.

We've

actually

lost our

freedom.

We live

in a

self-absorbed

destructive

life from

which we

cannot escape

ourselves.

ourselves.

You see,

Jesus'

message is

clear,

isn't it?

We're all

believers.

We either

believe the

truth of

what Jesus

says,

or we're

believing in

lies.

We're either

set free to

live as God

desires,

or we're

enslaved by

our own

desires.

Jesus is

coming to

us afresh and

saying,

embrace the

truth.

Surrender

to the

truth.

Know the

joy of

being the

free children

of God.

Because when

Jesus sets

you free,

look at

verse 31,

if you

hold to

my

teaching,

if you

remain with

it, if you

continue in

it, you

are really,

you are

truly my

disciples,

then you

will know

the truth,

and the

truth will

set you

free.

Are you

a believer

in the

truth,

or are

you believing

in lies?

Let us

come to

Jesus

afresh and

listen to

his truth

and know

the freedom

as true

children of

God.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Father,

there are

many,

many voices

that we

hear,

voices in

our own

minds,

coming from

our own

hearts,

voices from

outside,

voices all

around.

We pray

that we

would be

attuned

to the

truth of

your word,

knowing that

it is good

for us,

that it

sets us

free,

and enables

us to

live the

life that

you have

created us

and called

us to

live in.

Father,

help us

that we

would be

wary of

the lies,

that we

would turn

from them,

that we

would hear

you afresh

and walk

in your

paths.

Thank you,

Lord Jesus,

that you

have set us

free,

and that

by trusting

you,

we are

free

indeed.

Amen.