Freedom Road

Our pastor, as we said, is out of town this morning, and it's my privilege to open up God's Word and share some verses of Scripture with you this morning.

Our pastor, as you know, is leading us through a verse-by-verse study in the letter to the Ephesians. And that is going so well, I didn't want to risk messing that up. So I began to consider what might be the text this morning, what would be appropriate subject matter to bring as kind of a one-time message today. And then I began to think about the memory verses that we've been learning each month. And I thought what I would do is take that very first verse that we learned from John chapter 8, verse 31, and dig into that text and bring a message on that subject. And so if you will turn in your Bibles to John chapter 8 — perhaps you have a phone, you can use your phone these days — and turn to John chapter 8, but I would like you to read along with me if you're able. And I'm going to ask you to do something a little different today. I'm going to ask you to stand in reverence for the reading of God's Word. I think about Ezra in the time of the Old Testament. They would stand. Sometimes I think they even stood for the whole service. We won't ask that of you. All right. But beginning in John chapter 8, I'm going to actually begin in verse 30.

All right, and this is from the New King James Version.

I've read this already. I'm going to read it again.

"As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'"

Then there were some Jews in the audience who said this. In response, they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?" And Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, and the slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." You can have a seat.

Among the verses that just leap off that page — especially for us who have memorized this verse — is verse 31, when Jesus said to those Jews who professed a belief in Him, He said this: "If you abide, or if you continue in My word, then you are disciples indeed." And when Jesus spoke these words, by implication there's another truth that is stated, isn't there? And that is that there are many who make a profession of belief in Christ who are not truly disciples. And so in this verse, the subject matter is this: who are true disciples?

It's this same sentiment that led Paul to write this in 2 Corinthians 13:5. He said this, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified?"

And all through the Gospel of John, up until chapter 8, we have examples of those who were true believers, who were true followers of Christ, such as the apostles in chapter 1, who truly followed and literally followed Jesus. And then we also have examples, especially in chapter 6, of many who professed a belief in Jesus but who turned away.

They were attracted to Jesus for some of the superficial reasons that people show an initial attraction to things of religion, or even Christ today. Jesus was performing miracles. Jesus was providing food. And so there was this interest in the supernatural. They were interested in Jesus as a goody-giver, but they were not interested in the demands of Christ to turn from sin and to follow Him.

And you see in these believers in chapter 6, really you have the pathology of a superficial belief, a pathology of those who are not truly disciples.

That reality is throughout the Gospels. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7 in His Sermon on the Mount, as He's coming to the end of His sermon.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

Many are saying "Lord, Lord," many are doing religious things, and yet in the day of judgment, Jesus says, "I never knew you."

Jesus then tells the parables in Matthew chapter 13. He describes the true kingdom of God, and He gives many parables that are graphic illustrations of this reality. There's the parable of the soils. Do you remember that parable? How the word is the seed and it's sown, and some of that seed falls on rocky soil where there's no depth. And there's an initial appearance of vitality in life, but then when the scorching heat comes, it just dies and withers away.

Some of the seed falls in the weedy soil, and it's choked out, representing the cares of this world, the riches of this world. And so Jesus, in describing His kingdom, makes it clear that not all who make a profession of faith are truly His disciples. He tells other parables teaching the same truth. He has the parable of the wheat and the tares. And the wheat and the tares are growing up side by side, right next to one another.

And yet it was not discernible — the difference — until the day of judgment, when the angels of judgment would separate the wheat from the tares. There's the parable of the dragnet, where the fishermen would drag the net across the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, and much was collected, some useful, some useless. Again, demonstrating that there are many who profess to know Him who are not truly disciples.

Listen to this little phrase in Luke chapter 8, verse 13. It describes these people as those who "believe for a while."

Those who believe for a while. In 1 John 2:19, you're familiar with this Scripture probably, where John the Apostle says this. He speaks of those who came to fellowship and got a taste of the teachings of Christ. He says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us."

And what that verse is telling us is, there's such a thing as a part-time believer.

Someone who tastes heavenly truths, but then turns his back, and for the cares of the world or the carnal pleasures of this world, goes and does his own thing.

The last verse I'll share — and this is just a sampling — is in Hebrews 10:38. Listen to this Scripture. "Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul."

So I think you get the point. There are truly disciples of the Lord, and there is such a thing as a false profession. And so the question comes, what's the test? Paul said, "Examine yourselves to see whether you're of the faith."

Haven't you had these conversations? It could be of a family member.

Maybe there's the heartbreak of a parent — a wayward child who just kind of walked away from the church. And we wonder, is that person saved?

When I went to Osceola High School in Kissimmee, one of my best friends — my best friend for a number of years — we were so very involved in the church youth group. That was our life.

And after high school, we went our separate ways. We went to college, and when he walked away, he never came back. And he shows no interest whatsoever in the things of God.

And we wonder, is that person saved? We've all thought about that. That's a critical issue, and it's a critical issue here in the Gospel of John. What demonstrates the genuineness of our conversion? Okay, we have the question, right? Well, in John chapter 8 verse 31, we have for the first time in the Gospel of John a definitive statement of the test. In other words, what is the evidentiary standard by which the Scriptures mark one as truly a disciple of Christ? Say it with me. John chapter 8, verse 31. Say it — in the NASB it's fine.

"If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine."

One more time. "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine."

If you continue.

That word "continue" is a word that means persevering, enduring.

It speaks of an enduring faith, and it's enduring faith because it's God's gift.

It's not a faith of my flesh because my flesh is better than the next man or woman's. But it's a gift of God, and it is an enduring faith. It is a persevering faith.

Now, this begs the question: what does it mean to continue in the Word?

Does it mean I have coffee every morning and read a few verses?

What does it mean to continue in the Word? To continue in the Word speaks of a pattern of obedience to all that Christ has commanded.

To continue to lovingly obey the Lord. And the New Testament makes that clear. What did the Great Commission say? The Great Commission says, "Go ye into all the world" and do what?

Teach all things — "teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you."

When a person is born again, they confess Jesus as who? Lord. That is the Christian confession. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Kyrios — K-Y-R-I-O-S. Is that right, David Parker? Kyrios. Jesus is Lord. I am doulos — D-O-U-L-O-S. I am servant.

Jesus is Lord. I am a loving servant. He is the sovereign One. He gives the commands. I as His son obey His commands.

And that is the pattern, that is the continual pattern of my life. It doesn't mean I live a life of sinlessness in this world, but that's the pattern of my life. And it's visible.

Now I want to read a few verses of Scripture that verify this, and I don't want your eyes to glaze over. Sometimes when people read to us, we just kind of tune out. This is the Word of God, so tune in, all right? Listen to these words of Scripture, all right, making it clear that it's all about perseverance.

Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount gives a great illustration. And I ask you to listen to these words and think about them.

He gives a picture.

The storm is a picture of judgment.

The house that crashes and falls in judgment is the one who says but does not do. Do you see that? It's not about making a profession or saying words. It's about continued loving obedience, and that permeates the Gospel record.

Let me read a few more verses from Matthew. In Matthew 12:50, "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

Did you hear that?

"For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." In other words, you want to know who I have a relationship with? Brother, sister, mother. I have a relationship with whoever does the will of My Father in heaven.

And see, this is why people fall away — because doing the will of the Father in heaven is not always easy.

True discipleship comes with a cost. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:22, "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved." Again, Matthew 24:13, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

So that's the theme in Matthew. A relationship with Jesus is demonstrated and manifested by one who obeys Him.

Well, was Matthew on his own in that? Of course not. Let's look at the Gospel of John. Listen to these words. Tune in, not out, as I read these Scriptures from the Gospel of John. John 14:15 — Jesus says this, "If you love Me," fill in the blank,

"you will keep My commandments." John 14:21, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

Same chapter, John 14:24, "He who does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me."

So when you and I are obeying the Word of God, when the pattern of my life is obedience to the Word of God, we are giving evidence of a genuine love that was born in us through regeneration, that we've been saved. Because love shows itself. The Holy Spirit shows Himself in love. He shed abroad His love in our hearts. The fruit of the Spirit is what? Love.

Now moving to the next chapter, in John 15 — you know, the vine and the branches — He uses very, teaches the exact same truth, but with a little different language to enrich this teaching. He says this in John 15:10, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." Now listen for the pattern here.

In other words, just as Jesus demonstrated His love for the Father — because what? Because He obeyed what the Father said — we demonstrate our love for Christ as we obey what He has commanded us. You see the pattern there?

John can't let go of this. Just a few more verses, okay? You know, toward the end of your Bible, we have 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John before he writes Revelation. Listen to what he says in 1 John 2:3 and 6. "Now by this we know that we know Him" — get that? — "by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." And of course we know how Christ walked. He walked in obedience to the Father.

1 John 3:24, "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."

So what is the mark of a true believer? There are more verses, but I'm going to stop there. I think you're convinced. What is the mark of a true believer? It is not a mere profession, right? It's not a past event.

I can't look back and say, "You know, I got emotional as a teenager at a revival, and I walked the aisle and I signed a card, so I know I'm saved."

That could be part of someone's genuine conversion. I don't mean to mislead in that area. That could be the time when a person truly turned from sin, and he repented and turned to the Lord, and embraced Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

But that's not the evidence of salvation.

The biblical evidence for salvation is loving obedience to the Father. It is keeping His commandments. We are marked by our perseverance, right?

So, going back to that question — we've had those conversations — what about so-and-so?

What about this person who came in for a few weeks and walked down and signed a card, and now they're living their life as if nothing had changed?

I think these Scriptures answered that question.

Enduring faith is only enduring faith because it's the work that God has done in our heart. It's the faith that He has planted in our hearts. That's why Satan couldn't do a number on Job and destroy his faith — because of what God had done in his heart.

That's why the Apostle Paul could continue to proclaim the gospel to the very end of his life. Our men are studying 2 Timothy, and he's there at the end of his life in a prison, and his interest is still a single-minded interest — exalting Christ and sharing the gospel. He had an enduring faith because of what God had done in his heart.

My mom had a little saying in the first page of her Bible. It said, "A faith that fizzles in the finish was flawed from the first."

Pretty good, isn't it?

My mom could take me down with a sentence, and she often did. "A faith that fizzles in the finish was flawed from the first." So the true disciple is one who continues in His Word. There's a pattern of obedience to the commands of the Lord, and it's an obedience that's out of love. It's the obedience of a son, not a grudging slave.

Are you truly His disciple?

All right.

Now, that's the definition of a disciple. What are the benefits of true discipleship? And that goes to the next verse.

You can say it with me again. "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine." And you know what? I'd like to tack on the next verse, because the next verse then tells us the glorious benefits of being a true disciple. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." All right. Those are the benefits of true discipleship. Knowing truth and freedom.

Wouldn't you say those are two things that the whole world is pursuing? Yes.

Knowing truth and freedom.

People — I think people's existence is exhausted pursuing truth and freedom.

They pursue it in academia.

They pursue it in philosophy.

And they want to know the truth that will set them free from their habits, from their depression, from their weariness.

But they're fishing in an empty pond.

Some of you — Chesterton, was that his name? A philosopher. Some of you might recognize him. Of course, for him it would have been fishing in an empty bathtub. He tells a beautiful illustration about this pursuit of truth. He finds a man fishing in a bathtub, and there's not even any water in the bathtub.

I mean, no one gets up and says, "You know what? Today I am going to pursue ignorance and stupidity."

Or, "Brother Ken, today I'm going to go to jail. Ken, could you hook me up?"

Ken was an officer.

No, people are pursuing truth. They're pursuing freedom, but they're looking in the wrong places.

Where do we find truth? We find truth in Jesus.

2 Timothy chapter 3 speaks of this vain pursuit of people. It says, "Always learning, always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." And you know, the problem is, apart from Christ, we don't even recognize the truth. People don't recognize the truth when it slaps them in the face. Romans 1:18 says this, it is fallen human nature to do what? To suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That's human nature — to suppress the truth.

You go to a philosophy class. If I was to call my old Stetson University philosophy professor and say, "Could I come down and lecture next week?" "Well, yeah, you're an alumnus, and sure, come on down." And if I was to go into that philosophy class and be able to proclaim the gospel, how do you think I'd be received?

Brother Ken does street preaching. He goes out in Winter Garden very often and stands there and proclaims the truth.

And what is the natural tendency of so many? To go the other way?

Don't want to hear that?

You see, that is human nature — to suppress the truth. Ah, but for the true disciple, what does it say the benefit is? To know the truth, to know the truth. What kind of truth is He speaking about? Is He talking about getting a PhD? No, He's talking about eternal truth. He's talking about kingdom truth. He's talking about everlasting truth, spiritual truth. That's the kind — salvation truth.

Listen to this little phrase. We're in the study of Ephesians, and in chapter 4, pastor went over this verse with us, and there's this little phrase, and here's what it says. Ephesians 4:21, "Truth is in Jesus."

That is a very profound little statement. "Truth is in Jesus."

If you're in Christ, you know the truth. You can't find the truth anywhere else. Truth is in Jesus, right? Truth is in Jesus.

What did He say in John chapter 14? "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Truth is in Jesus. You know, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is the source of truth.

It says in John 16:13–14, "When He, the Spirit of truth" — the Holy Spirit — "has come," what will He do? "He will guide you into all truth." Jesus is truth. The Spirit is truth. And His Word, His revelation, is the truth. John 17:17, I believe, says this, "Sanctify them by Your word. Your word is truth."

You got it? Jesus is truth. The Spirit of Christ — the Holy Spirit — is truth and guides us in truth. His Word is truth. God is truth. No Christ — no truth.

If you doubt that — if you doubt that man denies the truth — just read on later in this chapter. These same people who had this initial superficial belief in Christ, later in John 8:44, it says, "You are of your father the devil." And in verse 45, they want to stone Him, they want to kill Him, when they're confronted with the truth.

All right. So, what is true discipleship? Continued loving obedience to the Father because of the faith that He has given to us. What is one of the benefits of true discipleship? You will know the truth. Now, what's the next benefit? You shall know the truth — and what will the truth do?

It will set you free.

Set you free. Deliverance. Now, does this come to us in a context? Yes, it comes to us in a context, of course. In John chapter 8, Jesus is speaking to Jewish people, most of whom have become very hostile to Jesus, because Jesus is exposing the hypocrisy of the false religion of legalism and works. All right. So this is the context in which it comes to them. In fact, you know what? Jesus characterized this religion of works, this religion of human achievement — "I'm going to be right with God, because I'm going to do this, this, and this" — in Matthew chapter 11, when He extended this invitation. Listen to these words. Jesus said,

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,

for My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Why were these people heavy laden?

Why were they weary?

Because of all the burdens that the religious legalists had put upon them.

"You have to do this, and you have to do this, and you have to do this, and you'll be right with God." And it was burdens they could not carry.

And then in fact, in Matthew chapter 23 — you know what, you can see why they were hostile to Him. He said to these false religious teachers, He said, "You are producing sons of hell."

Pretty strong language. "You're producing sons of hell with your legal system." The Jews were not free, and they could not admit it. They were in horrendous bondage to a false religion, and they did not see it.

Let's look at verse 33, and see how they respond to Him. Jesus has said, "You'll know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." And look how they answer Him. They answered Him, they said, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"

Do you see what they're saying?

We're Jews. We are children of Abraham. We've never been in slavery.

All right, now, first of all, from a historical standpoint, that's absolutely ludicrous, isn't it? We know from the biblical record, they were in slavery in Egypt. They were in slavery to Assyria. They were in slavery to Babylon. They were in slavery to the Medes and Persians. In some respects, they were in slavery to the Greeks. And as this is being spoken, they were under the heel of Rome.

So they were always in slavery.

But these false teachers — they knew their history.

They weren't denying that political history. They were saying, "We are spiritually free.

Because we are the descendants of Abraham."

And when Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free," they were radically offended, because they knew Jesus was saying they needed to be set free and they needed to be delivered.

This is the attitude that we see in Luke chapter 4.

Jesus goes to Nazareth, His hometown. Now, Jesus has been performing miracles, feeding the thousands, and the hometown boy comes home to Nazareth. And He's the visiting rabbi. And as the visiting rabbi, He's offered to speak in the synagogue, and they hand to Him the Scriptures, and they hand to Him Isaiah chapter 61.

And Jesus reads this to those Jewish people.

Handed the book of Isaiah.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me." This is Jesus speaking to those Jews. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Now, here's the point. Then He closed the book. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and here's what He said. He began to say to them, "Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

And the Bible goes on to say, "They were wroth. They were filled with rage," and in fact, they took Him out to the hill to throw Him off a cliff, and He passed through their midst. What angered them? Because this was a messianic passage, and He was saying, "I am now preaching to the poor, to the blind, to the spiritually oppressed" — and they would not accept that.

And that is exactly the attitude right here in chapter 8, verse 33. They see themselves as free. We're Abraham's children. We're free.

What kind of freedom is Jesus offering them? Let's look at verse 34 to answer that question, because they certainly didn't understand it.

In verse 34, here's what Jesus said to them. "Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.'" Freedom from what? Freedom from being in bondage and enslaved to sin. Jesus was saying the gospel will set you free from being in bondage to sin. It's freedom from sin. Freedom from sin's deception, from making you blind. Freedom from its dominating power. Freedom from its penalty, because Christ would pay the penalty. And one day, freedom from its very presence in glory. In Jesus, you will have freedom — freedom in its purest and fullest sense. That's why in Galatians 5:1 it says this, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." And they didn't want to buy into that. That infuriated them. And that's why they picked up stones to stone Him.

And so this is the point where we come to talk about true salvation.

What is true salvation? The true disciple comes to the Word of God

with a humble and penitent heart and accepts the diagnosis of sin.

Accepts the diagnosis of sin. And surrenders — we're going to sing "I Surrender All." Surrenders to the Lord, embraces the gospel, recognizing that the only remedy for sin is in Christ.

Lovingly obeys the Word. Acknowledges the truth of the assessment of that condition. And the false disciple wants what Jesus offers, but doesn't want to respond to the call to turn from sin and turn to righteousness and embrace Christ as Savior and as Lord.

That's the difference of a true disciple. Now he goes on and he says something in verse 35 that's shocking as we're closing down here. He says, "A slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever."

This would have overwhelmed them, this statement. Because in the background of this statement, every Jewish ear held the story of Abraham.

Abraham had two sons, didn't he? He had Isaac, the son of promise, and he had Ishmael, who was born of the slave, Hagar. Ishmael and Hagar were sent away. Isaac was the child of promise and stayed. You know what Jesus is saying to these Jews who are saying, "We are Abraham's children! We're spiritually free because of our lineage and our physical descent from Abraham." And Jesus looks at them and He says, "If you are a child of Abraham, you are Ishmael.

You're not Isaac."

The true children of Abraham are children by faith.

Faith in God, faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and what He did for us on the cross of Calvary. You know, in the very first chapter of John, it says this, "As many as received Him, He gave the right to become the children of God."

As many as received Him, He gave the right to become the children of God. You know, we can bring that illustration up to date right now —

this Ishmael and Isaac thing. You know, it's possible for someone today to walk into the house of God year after year after year after year and be in the house of God

and not be born into the family of God.

Right? What a tragedy.

Jesus would call these folks the tares,

exposing themselves to the truth,

and yet not turning from sin and embracing Christ as Savior and as Lord.

As many as received Him, He gave the right to become the children of God. You might have walked in here a slave. You can walk out His son. Put your faith in the Lord Jesus. He paid it all on the cross.

The Bible says that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scripture. He was buried and He was raised to life, and in Him we have forgiveness of sins. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we can do nothing but give You praise and thanksgiving for making us Your children, Lord, by imparting faith to believe Your Word,

to embrace the gospel truth.

We thank You, Lord, that by Your Spirit You open our eyes to the truth,

to know that the truth is in Jesus.

We're thankful, Lord, that You then teach us by Your very Spirit through Your very Word.

And Lord, we thank You for the freedom and the deliverance that comes through Christ Jesus our Lord

as the pattern of our lives

is bent on obeying Your Word,

confessing sins when we fail,

but pressing on toward the mark in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's in His name that we pray. Amen.