John chapter 8 and verse 31 to 47.
This is on page 1074 of your Red Church Bible.
John 8 verse 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.
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,
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.