True Discipleship (John 8:30-32)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:08.150 John, Chapter Eight versus thirty to thirty two. As he was saying these 2 00:00:08.310 --> 00:00:13.830 things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had 3 00:00:13.869 --> 00:00:18.989 believed in him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my 4 00:00:19.190 --> 00:00:25.940 disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 5 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:31.539 Thus far God's holy, inspired and inerrant word, you may be seated. 6 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:38.969 I've been preaching through the Fourth Gospel back home for the better part of 7 00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:43.329 the last two years. We've almost made it to the end of Chapter Eight 8 00:00:48.609 --> 00:00:54.200 in the Fourth Gospel. There are a number of themes that are important to 9 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:57.520 recognize. Many of these, I'm sure, will be familiar to most, 10 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:02.159 if not all, of you. If you were asked for a list of 11 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:06.790 key words in the Fourth Gospel, undoubtedly one of those words would be the 12 00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:11.989 word abide. It plays an important part in our text this evening. Jesus 13 00:01:12.030 --> 00:01:17.670 says, if you abide in my word, you truly are my disciples. 14 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:23.260 This is the third time in the English translation that I'm reading out of this 15 00:01:23.420 --> 00:01:26.099 evening, the English Standard version that I think many of you also have. 16 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:30.420 It's the third time that this Word Bide appears in the Gospel, and it 17 00:01:30.459 --> 00:01:36.769 will be used seven more times in Chapter Fifteen alone, where we most often 18 00:01:36.849 --> 00:01:42.010 think about this concept. But as good as these English translations undoubtedly are, 19 00:01:42.170 --> 00:01:49.359 they do not adequately communicate how common and important this word abide is in John's 20 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:55.439 Gospel. The verb abide appears Thirty Eight Times in the gospel of John in 21 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:59.280 the Greek text, and even though there are a few of these uses that 22 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:04.590 do not carry great theological significance, the majority of them, in fact the 23 00:02:04.670 --> 00:02:09.110 vast majority of them, do so. Even in Chapter Fifteen, where the 24 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:15.819 ESV renders this verb abide seven times, the Greek text has it twelve times, 25 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:22.099 and every one of those uses are highly significant. Now, it's not 26 00:02:22.139 --> 00:02:25.580 our purpose this evening to discuss all of the various ways that Jesus uses this 27 00:02:25.620 --> 00:02:30.250 term in the Fourth Gospel, but it is very important for our text today, 28 00:02:30.650 --> 00:02:37.610 because Jesus uses it here in addressing Jews who believed in him but whose 29 00:02:37.770 --> 00:02:44.560 confession of faith was questionable. And that too is one of the recurring motifs 30 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:49.759 in John's Gospel. It begins all the way back in chapters one and two. 31 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:53.639 The end of John Chapter two, we find that during the Passover, 32 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:57.919 many believed in Jesus, but he did not commit himself to them, he 33 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:02.069 did not entrust himself to them, he did not apparently believe that their profession 34 00:03:02.150 --> 00:03:07.629 of faith was genuine. And the text reminds us that Jesus did this, 35 00:03:07.069 --> 00:03:13.939 or did not do so in this case because he knew all men and had 36 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:16.819 no need for anyone to testify concerning what was in man, for he knew 37 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:24.860 it already. Abiding is the difference between a professed faith and a proven one. 38 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:30.090 Anyone can say at any given moment of their lives, I believe in 39 00:03:30.129 --> 00:03:36.449 Jesus, but only those who abide in that confession are truly disciples of our 40 00:03:36.569 --> 00:03:39.569 Lord, and this distinction, as we said, is a very important theme 41 00:03:39.770 --> 00:03:45.400 in John's Gospel. John's Gospel, of all the four Gospels, emphasizes the 42 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:50.599 idea of faith, of believing in Jesus. Although interesting, the noun form 43 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:54.870 of faith is never used in this book of the Bible. We Associate John's 44 00:03:54.909 --> 00:04:00.110 Gospel with faith, and yet the word faith, the Noun faith, never 45 00:04:00.270 --> 00:04:04.909 appears here, but it often speaks of believing or trusting, always using a 46 00:04:05.069 --> 00:04:12.580 verb form participle of come some kind, and verbs indicate action. Faith in 47 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:15.779 Christ is not merely a possession, like something we might put on a shelf 48 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:19.420 at home, you know, unless it's a book. Things on shelves at 49 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:24.019 my house usually stay there, there on a shelf, because they're not really 50 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:26.490 an important part of my life. If they were important, they would probably 51 00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:30.250 be on my person or in my messenger bag or or carried with me in 52 00:04:30.370 --> 00:04:33.529 the car every day. They stay on my shelves because they're not really connected 53 00:04:33.569 --> 00:04:35.730 to who I am or what I do, even though they may have some 54 00:04:36.449 --> 00:04:42.600 historical interest. Well, that's not what faith should be. Faith is something 55 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.959 we carry with us all the time. In John's Gospel, faith is something 56 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.360 that we do in fact by God's grace. Yes, not in our own 57 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:56.949 power or strength, but nevertheless it's something that we do because faith is active. 58 00:04:56.990 --> 00:05:01.709 It is trusting Jesus and intrusting ourselves to him. And here in this 59 00:05:01.870 --> 00:05:06.660 passage we have what we might call a test of true discipleship. Here are 60 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:11.660 Jews who believe in Jesus. We're ready to say praise God. Wonderful, 61 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:16.300 isn't that exactly what Jesus wants? But his next word seem to challenge their 62 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:21.970 profession. What is this test of true discipleship? That we see here. 63 00:05:23.089 --> 00:05:27.449 If you ask most Christians about their religion, that is the name that they're 64 00:05:27.449 --> 00:05:30.970 going to claim. They're going to say I'm a Christian, and that's perfectly 65 00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:34.649 appropriate. It's biblical, it's historical, it identifies us with Jesus Christ, 66 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:40.240 it locates US within a rich and glorious tradition. There is nothing wrong with 67 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:45.000 the word Christian per se. The only thing wrong with it is how superficially 68 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.310 it is so often used, because today in our society and cultural milieu, 69 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:54.430 it's not only people that are Christians. We also have Christian stores, Christian 70 00:05:54.430 --> 00:05:58.790 radio stations, Christian bands, Christian apparel, Christian jewelry, even Christian theme 71 00:05:58.910 --> 00:06:04.420 parks. And I don't object to all of those designations and I do believe 72 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:10.860 strongly in the propriety of Christian influence in and on our culture. But you 73 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:15.500 do have to admit that when every everyone and everything goes by the name Christian, 74 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:20.970 much of it probably isn't, at least in any kind of substantive way. 75 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:26.769 where I'm from, Back East, there are a lot of Bible believing 76 00:06:26.850 --> 00:06:31.649 people, goodhearted Christian people, but the reality is most people they are where 77 00:06:31.649 --> 00:06:35.959 Christianity. The same way that they wear John Dear hats and their profession of 78 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:40.279 faith in Jesus is often about as tattered and grungy as their head where. 79 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:46.040 The name Christian in the New Testament appears three times, and it's interesting that 80 00:06:46.269 --> 00:06:51.269 it does not appear to come from Christ himself or from the church. Instead, 81 00:06:51.310 --> 00:06:56.870 it appears to be given as a designation for the disciples of Jesus by 82 00:06:57.110 --> 00:07:00.430 unbelieving critics, and this is pretty common, by the way, in historical 83 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:06.660 movements. Adherents to certain movements often receive their names from their opponents and then, 84 00:07:06.779 --> 00:07:12.259 over time, they take ownership of that name, they adopt it as 85 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:15.850 their own, sometimes with a degree of pride. You think about whose idea 86 00:07:15.009 --> 00:07:18.810 was it that we would be called calvinists? It wasn't Calvin's idea. It 87 00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:24.649 wasn't originally any of ours. The term Christian does appear three times, twice 88 00:07:24.810 --> 00:07:27.170 in the book of acts and once in First Peter, Chapter Four, in 89 00:07:27.250 --> 00:07:30.319 Verse Fifteen, and if you study the context of those references, which we 90 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:34.040 will not do this evening, you will see perhaps why I say that it 91 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:39.680 does appear that this name comes from outside the Church and likely from a critical 92 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:46.470 context. By contrast, the New Testament uses the terms disciple, saint and 93 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:55.670 brethren hundreds of times to describe those who believe in Christ and who endeavor to 94 00:07:55.870 --> 00:08:01.500 follow him. Each of the names given to Christians in the Bible are descriptive. 95 00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:05.500 We're called Christians because we belong to Christ. We're called brethren because we 96 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:09.339 are part of the family of God. We are called saints because the Greek 97 00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:13.810 word for saint is just the same Greek word that appears at the beginning of 98 00:08:13.850 --> 00:08:18.089 the name of the Holy Spirit. It just means holy ones. We are 99 00:08:18.209 --> 00:08:22.329 called to be holy because we are sanctified, set apart, devoted to God, 100 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:26.759 and thus saints. And we're called disciples because we follow Jesus Christ. 101 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:31.840 A disciple is a learner, a student, a follower of a teacher and 102 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:37.559 of a teaching and that is to be our identity, that we are not 103 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:43.950 merely Christian in some kind of a cultural way, but we are actively following 104 00:08:43.990 --> 00:08:48.549 after Jesus Christ and seeking to learn from him. And so long as people 105 00:08:48.590 --> 00:08:52.870 think of Christian merely as a religion, just designation, they can easily overlook 106 00:08:52.909 --> 00:08:56.860 the practical implications of that kind of confession, at least in theory. We 107 00:08:58.100 --> 00:09:03.179 can receive God's gift of Baptism and recite the creed and partake of the consecrated 108 00:09:03.179 --> 00:09:07.220 elements at the Lord's table, and then re enter the world largely unchanged and 109 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:13.889 undistinguished except by our intermittent participation in a corporate gathering like this one. But 110 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:18.970 once we realize that to be a Christian means to be a follower of Jesus 111 00:09:20.009 --> 00:09:24.159 Christ, to be a student of Jesus Christ, to be a disciple of 112 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:30.519 the way of God, then that changes everything. At that point we can 113 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:37.879 no longer separate our religious profession or our religious identity from our personal identity and 114 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:43.149 our practice. We're not merely to be Christian by confession, but rather by 115 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:48.230 the lives that we lead and the way that we lead them. It's not 116 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:50.909 merely a label that we wear. It's to be who we are and it 117 00:09:52.029 --> 00:09:56.379 is to define what we do. Now, what is it in our text 118 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:00.620 that separates one who believes in Jesus in verse thirty at least claims that he 119 00:10:00.659 --> 00:10:03.500 believes in Jesus. What is it that separates that person from a true disciple? 120 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:07.330 But we find the answer to that in many places in the New Testament, 121 00:10:07.409 --> 00:10:11.289 not only the text that we're looking at tonight. For instance in the 122 00:10:11.330 --> 00:10:15.490 epistle of James, James asked rhetorically, chapter two, verse fourteen. If 123 00:10:15.570 --> 00:10:20.250 someone says he has faith but does not have works, can that faith save 124 00:10:20.330 --> 00:10:24.879 him? As a rhetorical question, obviously no. We see, are we 125 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:30.080 save by faith? Yes indeed. Are we saved by faith and faith alone? 126 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:33.519 Yes indeed. But can that faith save him? The faith that James 127 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:39.549 is speaking of cannot, because it is dead and and this is not because 128 00:10:39.590 --> 00:10:45.029 we are justified before God by our works or by faith plus works, or 129 00:10:45.070 --> 00:10:48.429 even by faith when it works. No, we are justified by faith alone. 130 00:10:48.070 --> 00:10:54.980 But the faith that justifies, true saving faith will never be alone. 131 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:58.899 In the justified person, it will always produce works. It will produce works 132 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:05.330 of Repentance, works of Obedience, works of perseverance. So look again at 133 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:09.610 your text here in John, Chapter Eight. Notice in verse thirty one Jesus 134 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:15.049 uses in the original text, which is correctly carried over here in our English 135 00:11:15.049 --> 00:11:20.360 translation. He uses an adverb in describing the state of those who abide in 136 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:24.679 his word. They truly are his disciples. That is in reality, you 137 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:30.159 could translate it that way. Or most certainly you are. My disciples in 138 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:35.750 truth, in reality. If you abide in my word, the reality of 139 00:11:35.789 --> 00:11:41.990 their faith is not in question. Their commitment to Jesus. That is true, 140 00:11:41.029 --> 00:11:46.830 disciples. Their commitment to Jesus is is real and abundantly clear. You. 141 00:11:46.029 --> 00:11:50.179 You know disciples because of who they are. Well, if they do, 142 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:52.779 how they live, the choices that they make, it's not because they're 143 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:56.980 sinless, it's not because they're perfect, it's not because they are holier than 144 00:11:58.019 --> 00:12:00.820 thou. In fact, that might be a sure sign that someone is not 145 00:12:01.049 --> 00:12:07.250 a disciple of Jesus. But nonetheless, you will know who is a follower 146 00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:11.769 of Jesus because they will be actively following him and not merely going by a 147 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:18.799 culturally religious designation. Some people like to talk about following Jesus and some people 148 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:22.240 like to follow him. It's only the latter who are really his disciples. 149 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:28.840 Verbal confession is of crucial importance in the Christian faith, but real faith is 150 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:33.629 more than just a verbal affam affirmation. Anyone can say I believe in Jesus, 151 00:12:33.350 --> 00:12:37.269 but anyone who says that and does not continue to walk with him does 152 00:12:37.389 --> 00:12:43.230 not belong to God. That's not what I say, that's what John says 153 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:46.259 in First John, Chapter Two, verses three, two, six. Abiding 154 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:52.980 in Jesus's Word is the proof of true discipleship. So let's talk about what 155 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:56.179 that means then. What does it mean to abide in Christ's word? Now? 156 00:12:56.220 --> 00:13:01.490 I think it's significant here that Jesus does not say if you abide in 157 00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:07.009 my words plural and the original text, as in our English translation, he 158 00:13:07.129 --> 00:13:11.929 says if you abide in my word singular. And that's not to say that 159 00:13:11.210 --> 00:13:16.120 the use of the plural here would be wrong. It wouldn't teach any false 160 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:20.279 doctrine. There's undoubtedly a sense in which we ought to abide in and endeavor 161 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:24.879 to live by all the words of Jesus. But our Lord did not use 162 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:28.350 the plural here, and I believe he did not in order to highlight the 163 00:13:28.870 --> 00:13:33.990 breath of his revealed will. He uses the singular to suggest a central idea, 164 00:13:35.110 --> 00:13:39.909 a central word, that a key teaching that summarizes and encompasses the whole 165 00:13:39.950 --> 00:13:45.299 A. John Develops this, by the way, in his second epistle, 166 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:48.980 second John, verse nine. I'll let you figure out what chapter it's. 167 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:52.500 See, in he said all who are transgressing and not abiding in the teaching 168 00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:58.610 of Christ singular in the original text, the teaching of Christ do not have 169 00:13:58.769 --> 00:14:05.090 God. Whoever's transgressing, not abiding in the teaching of Christ does not have 170 00:14:05.690 --> 00:14:09.279 God. Somebody says, well, which teaching? What specific teaching? That 171 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:15.919 misses the point. The reference here is not to individual ideas per se, 172 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:20.519 but it's rather to the doctrine of Jesus. We're either abiding in the doctrine 173 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:24.350 of Christ or we're not. We're either abiding in it or we're transgressing it. 174 00:14:24.549 --> 00:14:30.149 were either abiding in it or we're departing from it. And what does 175 00:14:30.190 --> 00:14:33.029 it mean to abide in it? Well, fundamentally, this is not a 176 00:14:33.190 --> 00:14:39.179 statement about our obedience to Christ in specific acts. It is a statement of 177 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:46.259 our commitment to the faith that we confess. That's what's highlighted by the use 178 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:50.779 of the singular here. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, 179 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:54.330 Paul says, you will be saved, but you must abide in that 180 00:14:54.409 --> 00:14:58.330 confession. This is the good word, this is the good news. Christ 181 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:05.730 Jesus died for sinners. Christ Jesus Saves Sinners and if you believe, your 182 00:15:05.809 --> 00:15:09.039 sins are forgiven, but you must abide in that. You can't say at 183 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:11.440 a moment in time I believe in Jesus, and then go on about your 184 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:16.240 business as if nothing has changed, as if you've checked the box, you've 185 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:20.470 paid up your eternal insurance policy and now you go on with the rest of 186 00:15:20.509 --> 00:15:26.070 your life as it was before. No, you must abide in that confession, 187 00:15:26.230 --> 00:15:28.669 not by saying it over and over again, but by living it. 188 00:15:28.830 --> 00:15:33.950 What do you believe? We confess the ancient creeds. We believe in God, 189 00:15:35.149 --> 00:15:37.340 the Father Almighty, and in One Lord, Jesus Christ, The only 190 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:41.059 begotten Son of God, and we believe in the Holy Spirit. That's what 191 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:46.100 we believe, and we say it again and again and again. It must 192 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:50.970 be true. Believing this is more than just reciting the words. It must 193 00:15:50.970 --> 00:15:56.529 be a true confession of what we trust ourselves to and that which we trust 194 00:15:56.690 --> 00:16:00.610 in. It's trusting in this blessed truth, it's living in the holy light 195 00:16:00.730 --> 00:16:04.360 of it, it's orienting our entire lives in full view of it, it's 196 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:11.600 aiming all of our endeavors every day in the hope of it. We tend 197 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:17.480 to measure ourselves in the wrong ways. We are not human doings, we 198 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:22.029 are human beings, and yet we tend to measure ourselves and identify ourselves by 199 00:16:22.029 --> 00:16:29.230 what we do. And so two men meet each other within forty five seconds, 200 00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:33.740 someone is going to say not, that's a great haircut, I love 201 00:16:33.779 --> 00:16:38.340 the color of your shirt, really appreciate you shining your shoes. They're going 202 00:16:38.340 --> 00:16:42.899 to say what do you do? What do you do? And we're going 203 00:16:42.940 --> 00:16:47.809 to measure each other. That's what men do. You See, what we 204 00:16:47.929 --> 00:16:51.889 do is not what defines us. It's who we are. Who Am I 205 00:16:52.049 --> 00:16:56.649 in Christ? I can glorify God with a prestigious career. I can glorify 206 00:16:56.690 --> 00:17:03.320 God clean it out, Porta John's and digging ditches. It's not what I 207 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:08.759 do that that is important in terms of my spiritual identity. My reality is 208 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.440 to be found in Christ. My true identity is by virtue of my union 209 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:22.109 with Christ. We live our lives in view of that word of Jesus that 210 00:17:22.269 --> 00:17:29.670 we believe and continue to believe. We don't simply confess it one time and 211 00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:34.380 then move on. We live, walk and one day die by that same 212 00:17:34.539 --> 00:17:41.059 faith. Our Church has been blessed and the last you're and a half to 213 00:17:41.180 --> 00:17:51.970 watch two women in our congregation die. Well, very well, so important. 214 00:17:53.369 --> 00:17:59.359 Visiting with one of them just several weeks ago now. The last time 215 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:03.720 I saw her before she died not long several hours before she died, I 216 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:08.480 told her I will see you again, and her eyes got big and she 217 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:11.910 said, oh no, she thought I meant I was I was going to 218 00:18:11.950 --> 00:18:17.109 come back and she was going to survive for another home call. And then 219 00:18:17.150 --> 00:18:19.430 suddenly there was peace on her face and she said, Oh, you mean 220 00:18:19.509 --> 00:18:25.190 up there? That's what she was longing for. She wanted to go be 221 00:18:25.309 --> 00:18:30.420 with the Lord. Everybody else was weeping. She was eager, looking for 222 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:37.059 and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord. I don't think it's 223 00:18:37.099 --> 00:18:41.099 wrong to have things that you'd like to do before you die, but I 224 00:18:41.140 --> 00:18:45.569 have to admit I'm not a big fan of bucket lists, because it seems 225 00:18:45.609 --> 00:18:49.289 to measure the significance of our earthly life by the experiences that we have, 226 00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:53.009 the things that we get to do. Paul says, to depart and be 227 00:18:53.089 --> 00:18:56.559 with Christ is a far better thing, far better, not at the end 228 00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:00.920 of your life but right now. Jesus could return this evening. Wouldn't that 229 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:04.839 be grand? Yesterday would have been better, but today would be spectacular as 230 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:11.910 well. Our whole life is to be oriented by this hope that we have 231 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:18.190 in him. That confession of faith defines who we are and whose we are, 232 00:19:18.509 --> 00:19:21.269 and it tells us what is real. It grounds us in why we 233 00:19:21.349 --> 00:19:23.269 are here. It helps us to know where we are going. And you 234 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:30.460 have two options with regard to that word abiding or apostasy. You're either abiding 235 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:37.299 or you're departing. And understand when we talk about apostasy, we're not talking 236 00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:41.609 about some big Haina Sin. It is a big Haina Sin, but it's 237 00:19:41.650 --> 00:19:48.450 a particular sort of sin. King David committed murder and adultery in the same 238 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:56.480 event, in his sin with Bathsheba, but he never committed apostacy. APOSTACY 239 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:03.680 is departing, it's walking away from Christ. An apostate can't be saved unless 240 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:08.630 he is brought to repentance, because only those who abide the long that's what 241 00:20:08.670 --> 00:20:14.750 Jesus says here. Now what are the promises of abiding? Jesus gives us 242 00:20:14.829 --> 00:20:18.829 too here in verse thirty two, in Verse Thirty One, he gives us 243 00:20:18.829 --> 00:20:23.779 this categorical condition. Only those who abide in my word are truly my disciples. 244 00:20:23.859 --> 00:20:26.859 But then there's this blessed promise verse Thirty Two. Two promises in fact, 245 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:30.460 he says first, those who abide in his word will know the truth. 246 00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:36.009 That's a blessed thing. And secondly, those who abide in his word 247 00:20:36.049 --> 00:20:37.930 and therefore come to know the truth will be set free by it, they 248 00:20:37.970 --> 00:20:42.369 will be delivered by it. Think about the first promise for a moment. 249 00:20:42.970 --> 00:20:47.450 What does Jesus mean when he says you will come to know the truth? 250 00:20:48.049 --> 00:20:52.920 This isn't just cognitive knowing. It's relational, it's personal, it's experiential knowledge. 251 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:56.720 This is having the truth of God living and active in our lives. 252 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:02.640 It's having the light of God's truth enlightening our hearts and directing our footsteps. 253 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:07.309 Those who abide in Jesus's word will not only be educated in right ideas, 254 00:21:07.670 --> 00:21:14.750 they will know personally and intimately the truth about this world and about the God 255 00:21:14.829 --> 00:21:18.309 who made it. And they will know the US because they will know him. 256 00:21:19.420 --> 00:21:29.140 Remember that no in the Bible oft carries this relational significance. Adam knew 257 00:21:29.339 --> 00:21:32.420 eve, his wife. Of course he knewer, they were married to one 258 00:21:32.420 --> 00:21:34.569 another. Know that. That what that means. This is a personal, 259 00:21:36.329 --> 00:21:45.890 intimate relationship. God knows those who are his, and Jesus is sheep. 260 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:56.000 Know Him notice also the consequence of knowing the second aspect, the second promise. 261 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:04.269 The truth that you know will set you free. You will know Jesus 262 00:22:04.309 --> 00:22:15.190 Christ and you will live in covenantal freedom and communion with him forever. The 263 00:22:15.269 --> 00:22:19.619 truth will set you free. That phrase has been adopted into our western vernacular. 264 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:22.579 You can hear it in movies and on TV shows, and sometimes in 265 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:26.740 profound ways, but oftentimes in kind of superficial and irreverent ways. The truth 266 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:32.210 will set you free. Well, that's true. You can't be free as 267 00:22:32.329 --> 00:22:36.529 long as you are deceived. You cannot be free so long as you believe 268 00:22:36.569 --> 00:22:41.410 a lie. Truth is freedom. Freedom from deception, freedom from the tyranny 269 00:22:41.450 --> 00:22:47.279 of false ideas, freedom from confusion, freedom from the uncertainty that is born 270 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:49.119 of not knowing what is real and what is not. See, that's the 271 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:59.509 problem here. Truth in scripture is reality. The Bible adopts what philosophers call 272 00:22:59.549 --> 00:23:04.630 a correspondence theory of truth. Truth is reality. God's word shows us what 273 00:23:04.910 --> 00:23:12.259 is real, and Satan pulls the world over our eyes to blind and confuse 274 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:18.700 us. Immediately after our text this evening, the Jews, to whom Jesus 275 00:23:18.740 --> 00:23:21.500 is speaking, will dispute that they need to be set free. They'll say 276 00:23:21.539 --> 00:23:23.579 this is we've never been in bondage to anyone. You're thinking, are you 277 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:27.569 kidding me? You've been in bondage to everyone. It's only their pride and 278 00:23:27.650 --> 00:23:33.769 their selfdeception talking. The saving work of our Lord will be of no value 279 00:23:34.049 --> 00:23:40.569 for those who deny their need for it. You cannot learn if you are 280 00:23:40.690 --> 00:23:47.200 convinced that you already know, and you cannot be saved if you don't know 281 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:52.799 that you are lost. Those who say we've never been in bondished to anyone 282 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.670 are the most enslaved of all, and the sad reality is that so long 283 00:23:57.750 --> 00:24:03.230 as they say that, they will remain in that slavery. Back in verse 284 00:24:03.309 --> 00:24:07.109 thirty one, when Jesus said, if you abide in my word. In 285 00:24:07.309 --> 00:24:11.500 Greek he uses an emphatic form of the Pronoun. This is something you can 286 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:15.299 do in Greek and you can't do the same way in English. In Greek 287 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:21.339 you have different forms of the pronouns and and there is a particular form that 288 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:26.930 will be expressed verbally or in written text that that has the verbal effect of 289 00:24:27.170 --> 00:24:32.609 putting something in bold faced type and underlining it. So when he says this 290 00:24:32.809 --> 00:24:36.049 to the Jews. What he says is if you believe in my word, 291 00:24:37.490 --> 00:24:42.559 not just my word, but my my word. The emphasis is on the 292 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:48.359 fact that it belongs to Christ, it concerns Christ, it comes from Christ. 293 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:57.509 You have to believe his word, not someone else's. Everyone believes someone's 294 00:24:57.670 --> 00:25:00.950 word. He realize that there's some people that would deny that. They would 295 00:25:00.950 --> 00:25:07.259 all pastor. That's not true, obviously. Well, I'm afraid that those 296 00:25:07.339 --> 00:25:11.099 who are certain of their rational objectivity and the empirical validity of all of their 297 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:15.220 conclusions are the most woefully deceived of all, and they're deceived by their own 298 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:19.339 arrogance. All of us believe someone's word. It may be our parents, 299 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:23.410 it may be our pastors, and may be our professors and maybe simply our 300 00:25:23.450 --> 00:25:29.890 own our own wisdom, our own enlightened ideas, but none of these voices 301 00:25:30.009 --> 00:25:37.279 in themselves can provide the truth which brings deliverance. The only truth that is 302 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:42.440 true, the only truth that can set you free, is Jesus's word. 303 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:47.119 You have to hear his voice, you have to believe what he says. 304 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:52.230 You cannot trust your own heart. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. 305 00:25:53.390 --> 00:25:59.190 You should never trust an earthly authority with blind, irrational faith. Even the 306 00:25:59.309 --> 00:26:03.779 best authorities are fallible. I'm sure that your parents want what they think is 307 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:07.819 best for you, but their voice can only be relied upon in so far 308 00:26:07.859 --> 00:26:11.539 as it speaks to you the word of Christ. Sure your pastor, who 309 00:26:11.579 --> 00:26:15.819 I love dearly sincerely, wants to teach you what is true as best he 310 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:19.329 understands it, but he is prone to error, both in his doctrine and 311 00:26:19.450 --> 00:26:29.329 his life. The voice you must trust completely is Jesus's. His word is 312 00:26:29.410 --> 00:26:34.960 the word which speaks undiminished and unadulterated truth. All other voices, all other 313 00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:41.640 authority, every other word and idea must be tested by, and ultimately subordinated 314 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:48.069 to, the word of Christ, the word of truth revealed in and by 315 00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:52.309 him. What is it that holds us in bondage in this world? Say 316 00:26:52.470 --> 00:26:56.589 seein obviously, most fundamentally, that's exactly right. It's sin that holds us 317 00:26:56.670 --> 00:27:00.509 in bondage. It's sin that we need to be delivered from. That the 318 00:27:00.630 --> 00:27:03.859 deliverance Jesus promises in verse Thirty Two. But understand something. It's not only 319 00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:08.019 acts of sin, it's not only temptations to sin, it's not only the 320 00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:15.619 general curse of sin on this world. It's also sinful ideas which blind and 321 00:27:15.769 --> 00:27:22.089 deceive us. You know that the world is constantly teaching us. We're talking 322 00:27:22.130 --> 00:27:25.849 about this at lunch a little bit today. Chestertown wrote about this at some 323 00:27:25.970 --> 00:27:29.609 length. The world's constantly educating us. You don't have to go to school 324 00:27:29.609 --> 00:27:33.279 to get an education. You may describe yourself as an uneducated person, but 325 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:38.039 it's not true. There's no such thing. All of us are educated from 326 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:41.519 the moment we come out of the womb. The world is teaching us, 327 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:47.990 but it's not teaching US truth. It begins educating us how to think about 328 00:27:47.990 --> 00:27:51.430 ourselves and others in the world in which we live long before we are aware 329 00:27:51.470 --> 00:27:53.990 of it, and some people sadly never become aware of it, and they 330 00:27:53.990 --> 00:28:00.259 are the most thoroughly educated of all. It's not the sort of teaching that 331 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:03.859 conveys truth. It mostly communicates lies, and it weaves them into our hearts 332 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:08.980 and minds so stealthily that we are unaware that they began as lies outside of 333 00:28:10.099 --> 00:28:17.170 ourselves. I love in Pilgrim's progress when Christian loses the ability to distinguish the 334 00:28:17.289 --> 00:28:26.329 devil's whisper and his own heart. How many Christians suffer the same? Let 335 00:28:26.369 --> 00:28:30.200 me give you some examples. You hear the world teach US ideas like this. 336 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:33.000 If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything. That's a 337 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:36.319 lie from the pit of Hell. Should never come out of Christians mouth. 338 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:40.240 Do you hear people in the Church say it? If you haven't got your 339 00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:45.230 health, you haven't got anything. All lies. What about this one? 340 00:28:45.670 --> 00:28:49.390 You must learn to love yourself to be able to love others. No lie 341 00:28:49.470 --> 00:28:53.910 from the pit of Hill. I know, I understand. I've heard before 342 00:28:55.029 --> 00:28:59.059 people try to explain that if you love your neighbor as yourself, you first 343 00:28:59.059 --> 00:29:00.059 have to love yourself, and so you have to love yourself in order to 344 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:03.539 be able to know. That's not what that means. Is Now what that 345 00:29:03.619 --> 00:29:06.299 means? I'm sorry. If you think that it is, ask your pastor 346 00:29:06.339 --> 00:29:10.329 about it. What about this one? You must learn to forgive yourself. 347 00:29:11.170 --> 00:29:14.130 One of that one's got some truth in it. I mean there are people 348 00:29:14.130 --> 00:29:18.170 who are so paralyzed by guilt and despair because of their evil deeds that they 349 00:29:18.250 --> 00:29:22.890 just can't move on. But the reality is the problem is not that they 350 00:29:22.890 --> 00:29:25.720 need to forgive themselves. The problem is that they need to believe the Gospel. 351 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:33.200 Because if that's you, your issue is not forgiving yours. I just 352 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:34.640 can't. I just can't forgive myself. No, no, no, let's 353 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:38.029 just call that what it is. You are saying that when God says your 354 00:29:38.109 --> 00:29:44.390 sins are forgiven, he's not telling the truth. You're saying that when he 355 00:29:44.589 --> 00:29:49.150 says Christ sacrifice is sufficient to save your soul, that's not true. What 356 00:29:49.269 --> 00:29:53.220 you're doing is you're disbelieving God. You say, boy, that's pastoral. 357 00:29:53.220 --> 00:29:57.019 That'll make him feel better, for sure, but it's true. It's true 358 00:29:57.299 --> 00:30:00.700 and it needs to be gently but firmly said. What about this? When 359 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:03.819 all this business about an invisible God and spiritual life as well, and good 360 00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:07.089 in its place, but we have to all act like grown up sometimes. 361 00:30:07.210 --> 00:30:11.450 I don't want to act like a grown up when act like a disciple of 362 00:30:11.490 --> 00:30:17.329 Jesus on a live in light of eternal spiritual truths that the world doesn't even 363 00:30:17.890 --> 00:30:21.799 recognize, doesn't even know a real they think it's a fantasy. Well, 364 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:26.400 sign me up for the fairy tale. This is the world that God made, 365 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:33.000 this is the world that is not the world that lies under deception. 366 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:37.029 So long as we believe the word of this world, we will not be 367 00:30:37.430 --> 00:30:41.509 free, we will remain in bondage. We will be slaves of a system 368 00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:45.789 that we do not even see. And who can set US free? Only 369 00:30:45.829 --> 00:30:49.500 Christ. How does he set US free? Through faith, by abiding in 370 00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:55.579 his word. Only then will we know the truth, the truth about this 371 00:30:55.700 --> 00:30:59.460 war world, which lies under God's curse and under the powerful influence of the 372 00:30:59.539 --> 00:31:03.529 devil, the truth about ourselves, that we are poisoned by sin and powerless 373 00:31:03.569 --> 00:31:07.930 to know or do anything good on our own, and the truth about the 374 00:31:08.049 --> 00:31:17.809 being who made us and sustains us and will redeem this creation. God does 375 00:31:17.890 --> 00:31:21.640 not save us apart from the truth. He saves US through the truth. 376 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:26.519 But this truth is not merely knowledge of facts. It's not simply a matter 377 00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:29.880 of having right ideas in contrast to the wrong ideas that are held by the 378 00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:33.869 rest of the world. This truth is personal. More specifically, it is 379 00:31:33.950 --> 00:31:40.990 a person, it's Jesus himself. This knowledge is relational, not merely information 380 00:31:41.150 --> 00:31:45.269 in our heads, but an intimate relationship which transforms our lives. This freedom 381 00:31:45.309 --> 00:31:51.140 Jesus promises is spiritual, not merely releasing us from a position of bondage, 382 00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:56.740 but setting our souls free to finally experience the joy and comfort and peace that 383 00:31:56.900 --> 00:32:00.859 comes through knowing God, who made us as his image bearers and who loved 384 00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:04.730 us from the foundation of the world. Jesus said, if you abide in 385 00:32:04.769 --> 00:32:08.130 my word, you truly are my disciples and you will know the truth and 386 00:32:08.690 --> 00:32:15.369 the truth will set you free. Do you believe this? Even so, 387 00:32:15.690 --> 00:32:21.119 may God, the God of truth, give us the grace always to believe 388 00:32:21.160 --> 00:32:22.759 it and abide in it. Let's balance, pray,