We have been looking a conversation Jesus had with the Pharisees about them being free. This devotion looks at exactly why they were not free and to what they were captives.
Nuggets
- Jesus had no quarrel about them being Abraham’s descendants.
- His beef was they were not acting like it.
- Instead of accepting Jesus, they were quarreling that their way of thinking was correct.
- Jesus was telling the Jews, “No, your dad isn’t God — it is Satan.”
Devotions in the What I Believe series
Devotions in the Religious Freedom category
Acting Free
Spiritual Bondage
Spiritual Freedom
Jesus the Liberator
What Religious Freedom Doesn’t Mean
In the last devotion, we started talking about religious freedom. Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free” (Jn. 8: 32 CSB).
Jesus had to do a lot of talking to get the Jews to wrap their heads around this. Let’s finish the conversation.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Freedom is, according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, “the ability of a person or group to be and do what they want instead of being controlled by another.” It is also referred to as liberty.
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We talked about liberty before. We said that it runs the gamut.
- Liberty means doing what you please,
- Liberty means freedom from arbitrary control.
- Liberty means the ability to choose.
- Liberty means freedom within specified limits.
- Liberty means going beyond the normal limits.
- Liberty means not following the rules.
Oh, yeah. That is a worldview definition. But that gives us an idea of from where the different players are coming.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Let's Put It into Context #2
- Jesus was teaching something totally different from what the Jews had grown up believing.
- We can’t just say we are disciples and not live that way.
- Worldview people get that being moral is knowing the difference between right and wrong, just not that it means God’s right and God’s wrong.
The Jews had been told for a long, long time that they were God’s people because of the covenant with Abraham. Jesus wasn’t invalidating the covenant. He was criticizing the religion that had grown up around it. He was trying to correct their reliance on tradition and rituals instead of a relationship with God. They thought being descendants of Abraham was enough.
The problem is that the Jews were just thinking of political and intellectual freedom. What the Jews didn’t get was Jesus was talking about the spiritual. He was talking moral bondage. That had always been — and will always be — His focus.
The Jews thought they were free because they had their religion, but they really didn’t. They didn’t have the relationship God for which was looking.
Sin is suicide. It is our choice whether we admit our sins, believe in Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, and confess God as Sovereign Lord. If we choose not to ABCD, we remain spiritually dead.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Then Act Like It
“‘Our father is Abraham,’ they replied. ‘If you were Abraham’s children,’ Jesus told them, ‘you would do what Abraham did. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You’re doing what your father does.’ ‘We weren’t born of sexual immorality,’ they said. ‘We have one Father—God.’” (Jn. 8: 39-41 CSB).
Go back to verse 37 a second. “I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you” (Jn. 8: 37 CSB).
Jesus had no quarrel about them being Abraham’s descendants. His beef was they were not acting like it.
Fawcett showed us the root of this disobedience. He wrote, “They disliked Christ’s doctrines. Had He spoken so as to gratify their pride, they might have been disposed to accept Him.”
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Oh, yep. Human nature. Flatter us, and we will fall into your line of thinking if we aren’t careful.
But it is more than just pride. Thomas listed other areas in which Jesus challenged them.
- Appearance
- Priorities
- Habits
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What Jesus was saying was that the Jews weren’t following Abraham’s faith. They identified more with Satan. Gregg wrote, “True family likeness consists in character and in actions, not in bearing the same name.”
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Jesus made a strong statement: “… you are trying to kill me …” (Jn. 8: 40 CSB). It wasn’t just an accusation — it was the truth.
Then, out of left field, the Jews lob in that they weren’t born out of wedlock. Well, Jesus was speaking of parentage, wasn’t He?
They couldn’t refute what Jesus was telling them. So, they tried to divert.
Godet gave us a little background on this statement. He wrote, “To understand these words, which have been so variously interpreted, it must be remembered that marriage with a heathen woman was, after the return from Babylon (see Nahum and Malachi), regarded as impure, and the children of such marriage as illegitimate, as belonging through one parent to the family of Satan, the god of the heathen.” They came from Isaac, the rightful heir.
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Know-It-Alls
“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word’” (Jn. 8: 42-43 CSB)
Can’t you just see Jesus giving the Jews a Gibbs slap here? Just a whop on the back of the head.
All throughout the gospels, Jesus proved time and time again that He was God’s Son. Yeah, there is an element that we just have to take on faith. Faith is the belief that the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them.
We have throughout the Scriptures people like David, Moses, and Isaiah telling us their conversations with God. Matthew and John were friends of Jesus.
The information was there for the Jews to understand.
The Jews just didn’t understand. They couldn’t see what was right in front of them.
Instead of accepting Jesus, they were quarreling that their way of thinking was correct. They didn’t want to listen to Jesus.
That was because they weren’t listening to Jesus’ word.
Oh, yeah. Word singular.
Believe.
Different Father
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God” (Jn. 8: 44-47 CSB)
Jesus was telling the Jews, “No, your dad isn’t God — it is Satan.” Oops. They were out of wedlock.
Well, yes. Jesus is talking figuratively. The Jews were still made in God’s image. They were still descendants of Abraham.
They just weren’t children of God. We become children of God when we ABCD.
Glossary
Also important was that the Jews were exhibiting moral characteristics of Satan rather than God.
Jesus accused Satan of being a murderer and a liar. Well, he did murder mankind when he succeeded in getting Adam and Eve to disobey. We are spiritually dead. He accomplished it through a lie.
Contrasting that is Jesus, Who never sinned. No one could accuse Him of sinning. No one did.
Making the Connections
Did you notice what Jesus was doing? He was not throwing away everything the Jews had always been taught. He was refocusing it.
It seems like many times these days, people want to just scrap everything and put something different in its place. Unfortunately, what they want to institute has a more worldview slant.
Robinson was very accurate when he wrote, “The two grand divisions of our race have always been ranged around Christ and Anti-Christ (1 John 4:2-6).”
When we read through this passage, we see all the times that the Jews are arguing for it to be their way. It doesn’t work that way. We are supposed to conform to God’s way, not expect Him to change for our preferences.
Edson addressed this. He wrote, “Freedom does not destroy law nor overturn authority.” God’s laws and commandments remain in effect.
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Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
The Jews thought they were in the right. They thought that down to their bones. There was no way they could be wrong.
There was no way they could be out of God’s Will. But they were.
How do we witness to a person believing they have fire insurance? How do we convince them it isn’t about fire insurance — it is about life insurance?
We’ve been looking at defending our beliefs when we are witnessing. That means we have to be secure enough to convince someone to accept our beliefs.
Our questions should still serve us to determine on what we need to focus.
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
We need to ABCD. That means we can give up a lot of fears.
• Fears of death
• Fears for eternity
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Wilberforce listed several things for which we should be on guard.
• Avoid temptation
• Solidify our place in God’s kingdom
• Stay in tune with Jesus
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Fawcett and Spurgeon told us how we can guard to accomplish Wilberforce’s list.
• Seek God
• Hear God’s Word and obey it
• Perform the service God has called us to do
• Love, trust, and imitate Jesus
• Love others
• Watch for and long for Jesus’ return
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Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
What is extremely sad is the fact that the Jews thought they were good to go. They thought Heaven was awaiting them.
It wasn’t.
Jesus said that not all who think they are believers will get to Heaven. We have to make sure we are living our lives God’s way.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
That is the only way we are assured Heaven. That is how we gain our freedom.
Loving Father. You give and give us so much. You ask for our love and obedience. We give that to You. Amen.
What do you think?
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