2017.02.12                            John 8: 21-36

                   Genuine Discipleship

Good Morning everyone… It is wonderful to see you here… I have Good news for you… His name Is Jesus… As many of you know… We teach through the Bible verse by verse… We are studying the Gospel of John and we find ourselves in John ch 8 again this morning… As I have been saying we are near the end of Jesus earthly ministry… In about 6 months He will be crucified and He will Rise from the dead… His enemies are becoming more and more determined to kill him… In fact in this chapter alone… They tried to attack Him 10 times… They did not succeed… That is because it was not yet time… As we pick up the text today…. Jesus is once again offering His enemies a chance to see with their ears…. Repent and believe the Gospel… He is confronting their sin and pride and rebellion… There is still time for them to repent… Today in the middle of this chapter, Jesus teaches those who have believed what true and genuine discipleship means… As we saw last week… Salvation begins with Scandalous Grace… That is what happened to the woman caught committing Adultery… And to the woman at the well… When we see the truth about ourselves… Then we repent of our sins and we believe the Good news of the gospel… We receive the same radical grace and mercy… But Just like the woman caught in the act of adultery… We also here the Command… Go and sin no more… For context… let´s read beginning at John 8… v21…

John 8: 21-29          NKJV   slt 2000

21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” 27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

21 Nun sprach Jesus wiederum zu ihnen: Ich gehe fort, und ihr werdet mich suchen, und ihr werdet in eurer Sünde sterben. Wohin ich gehe, dorthin könnt ihr nicht kommen! 22 Da sagten die Juden: Will er sich etwa selbst töten, daß er spricht: Wohin ich gehe, dorthin könnt ihr nicht kommen? 23 Und er sprach zu ihnen: Ihr seid von unten, ich bin von oben. Ihr seid von dieser Welt, ich bin nicht von dieser Welt. 24 Darum habe ich euch gesagt, daß ihr in euren Sünden sterben werdet; denn wenn ihr nicht glaubt, daß ich es bin, so werdet ihr in euren Sünden sterben. 25 Da sagten sie zu ihm: Wer bist du? Und Jesus sprach zu ihnen: Zuerst das, was ich euch eben sage! 26 Ich habe vieles über euch zu reden und zu richten; aber der, welcher mich gesandt hat, ist wahrhaftig, und was ich von ihm gehört habe, das rede ich zu der Welt. 27 Sie verstanden aber nicht, daß er vom Vater zu ihnen redete. 28 Darum sprach Jesus zu ihnen: Wenn ihr den Sohn des Menschen erhöht haben werdet, dann werdet ihr erkennen, daß ich es bin; und ich tue nichts von mir selbst aus, sondern wie mich mein Vater gelehrt hat, so rede ich. 29 Und der, welcher mich gesandt hat, ist mit mir; der Vater läßt mich nicht allein, denn ich tue allezeit, was ihm wohlgefällt.

You will remember that we read verse 21 last week… Jesus was offering His enemies the same Radical grace and mercy that He had shown the woman taken in Adultery… He was pointing to His substitutionary death for their sins… They knew He was talking about dying… But they did not clearly understand what he was saying… Then He pointed out the truth that He was their only hope for Salvation…

v23,24… I am from above… Just a few day before they heard Jesus say…  I am the true bread come down from heaven… John 6:51…

v24… If you do not believe… you will die in you sins…

He is offering them the truth… He wants them to repent of their sins and come to Him for Life… It was all so difficult for them to take in…. They did not want to repent and so they refused to believe… look at v28

v28,30… When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He… Jesus is again Prophesying of the cross… I always do what the Father taught Me and say what the  Father tells me to say… These references to the Father are more proclamations of His Diety… let´s read the next section… v30…

John 8: 30-36          NKJV   slt 2000

30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 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’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

30 Als er dies sagte, glaubten viele an ihn. 31 Da sprach Jesus zu den Juden, die an ihn glaubten: Wenn ihr in meinem Wort bleibt, so seid ihr wahrhaftig meine Jünger, 32 und ihr werdet die Wahrheit erkennen, und die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen! 33 Sie antworteten ihm: Wir sind Abrahams Same und sind nie jemandes Knechte gewesen; wie kannst du da sagen: Ihr sollt frei werden? 34 Jesus antwortete ihnen: Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch: Jeder, der die Sünde tut, ist ein Knecht der Sünde. 35 Der Knecht aber bleibt nicht ewig im Haus; der Sohn bleibt ewig. 36 Wenn euch nun der Sohn frei machen wird, so seid ihr wirklich frei.

v 30…  “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him… many believed in Jesus… At least some of these who believed Him… Saw with the eyes of faith… They Heard with their ears…

v31…Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed… If you abide… You are truly my disciples…

Who is a true disciple? Who is a true follower of Christ?  True in the sense of genuine, authentic…?

In v 31… we are reminded of a  very important Biblical truth… Many people say that they are Christians… They make professions of Faith… They get baptized… They become faithful church goers and do good things… But in truth… They are only fans of Jesus… Trying to use Jesus to get what they want in life… For many, It is cool to be a Christ follower… Sure why not… He will give me everything that I want… I can have perfect health and perfect wealth… They name the name of Jesus… They want to identify themselves as believers… And so they do all of the Christian things… But in truth they have not been converted… God has not taken out their hearts of stone… He has not yet given them hearts of Flesh…. He has not yet put His Holy Spirit in them… They have not moved on into genuine faith and discipleship… There are many fake Christians in Europe and America… There are no fake Christians in Muslim lands…. They know the price of true Christianity in those dangerous places… There is no easy believism in Saudi Arabia… There are no prosperity mega churches in Iran… Jesus points to perseverance In Him and His Words of Life as the ultimate proof of the genuineness of faith… His disciples knew what He was talking about… Jesus had been teaching about the differences in the people who say they believe for some time…

Many of Jesus´ parables pointed to the difference between true faith the results in Salvation… And a false temporary faith that is not real at all…

 Most of Matthew 13 is about the differences…

Often in the Gospel of John we have seen examples of faith and belief…   We have seen true faith in the case of the early disciples already in chapter one...  And we’ve seen less than true faith in chapter two… Remember…

Jesus didn’t commit Himself to them because He knew what was in their heart… and He knew their faith wasn’t   real…

Now, we meet another group of believers here in verse 30 who came to believe in Him…  In verse 31...  John refers to them as…Those who had believed… We they genuine believers…? Genuine faith is demonstrated in joyful obedience… 

This is not a new issue…  Jesus has called for true faith and obedience all along… There is no easy believism in Jesus´ Words of Life… Everywhere we look we see the connection between faith and obedience from the heart…

Here in these verses… Jesus is focusing on true discipleship… Jesus says… You believe…ß Then abide in my Word…. Live in it…. Follow it…. Charis it like David did… Hide it you heart… Abiding in my word  Always includes genuine faith… And genuine faith produces obedience…

I mentioned Matthew 13…. Here Jesus gives us a picture of the kingdom in His parables…    Perhaps the most important is the parable of the soils… There we discover that there will be people who make superficial commitments…

We see them in the rocky soil and the weedy soil… Their faith is superficial…  It’s temporary… and when tribulation or persecution comes along… or because of the love of riches or the cares of this world…

They wither and die… That is why there are no fake Christians in Muslim lands…

Jesus describes them as “Those who believe for a while… Luke  8:13…    And then poof… They disappear…

The Apostles were very much aware of this issue…   Listen to what John wrote in 1 John 2… v19…

1 John 2:19                 NKJV   slt 2000

19 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.

19 Sie sind von uns ausgegangen, aber sie waren nicht von uns; denn wenn sie von uns gewesen wären, so wären sie bei uns geblieben. Aber es sollte offenbar werden, dass sie alle nicht von uns sind.

John is saying… there are going to be people who are going to be superficial Christians…  They are not real…

They will not endure… They will go out from us… and demonstrate that they really are not genuine believers…. They are not true disciples…

So how do we know who is real? 

There are many who “believe” in some sense… But they fade away… The fact that they fade away is proof they were not genuine believers…  Back to John 8… v30,31…

John 8: 30,31              NKJV   slt 2000

30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

30 Als er dies sagte, glaubten viele an ihn. 31 Da sprach Jesus zu den Juden, die an ihn glaubten: Wenn ihr in meinem Wort bleibt, so seid ihr wahrhaftig meine Jünger,

So here we meet some Jews who… according to verse 30 and 31, had believed in Jesus…  They believed because at first it’s kind of easy to believe...  You’re drawn by the crowd… as we saw in John chapter 6… Many were fascinated by the supernatural…  He’s healing people  and casting out demons…  He’s giving free food… Jesus was  doing all those kinds of things…  He  provided amazing benefits…  It all seems so wonderful…    

Sadly… People still seek Jesus on the basis of what they believe He will give them…

They still come after Him seeking personal fulfillment… They are people who want a better life… people who want answers… They want more out of life… They want to feel secure… Many are afraid of death… And they should be…. The wages of sin is death… Romans 6: 23…

For all these reasons and more…  Starting to believe in Jesus is easy…  But when their own sin filled fallen nature starts to pull them away from Jesus… The kinda sorta believer walks away from their only hope… That is because half-hearted believers still love their sin…

They are unwilling to yield to the hard demands of true repentance and humble submission to Christ….

They are the hard ground and rocky soil of the parable…  They only showed a Shallow… temporary  faith…  Their hearts have not been transformed… Paul warns of danger and encourages us to hang on to Jesus… look with me at Romans 12...v2…

Romans 12: 2                       NLT   Neues Leben

 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

2 Deshalb orientiert euch nicht am Verhalten und an den Gewohnheiten dieser Welt, sondern lasst euch von Gott durch Veränderung eurer Denkweise in neue Menschen verwandeln. Dann werdet ihr wissen, was Gott von euch will: Es ist das, was gut ist und ihn freut und seinem Willen vollkommen entspricht.

Let God transform us into new people…. He will transform the way we think… How? By abiding in His Word… In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus asked a very important question… Look at Luke 6: 46…

Luke 6:46                 NKJV  slt 2000

46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

46 Was nennt ihr mich aber »Herr, Herr« und tut nicht, was ich sage?

You say I am Lord…. But you do want you want…. Come on now… Stop pretending to love me…

So what is the mark of a true believer?  It’s not a profession…  It’s not some past event…  It is a continuing loving obedience…  Obedience out of love for the Lord who has redeemed them… 

It is in following the Word of God…  That is the proof that our Salvation is real… We become True Disciples…  It is where we find a precious gift… Look at verse 32…

John 8: 32               NKJV   slt 2000

32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.“

32 und ihr werdet die Wahrheit erkennen, und die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen!

v32…You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.“

The truth is that Jesus is Lord and he deserves to be Lord of our lives…. We have been bought with a price… We have been redeemed…

Knowing and believing the Truth will produce true freedom... True freedom comes from Genuine discipleship…People are looking for and freedom… No limits…  We want what we want… When we want it… And no one has the right to limit our freedom...

They want the truth that frees them from their confusion and   struggles…  They want the truth that frees them from fear… They want to be free from the fear of sickness and death… Freedom from the bondage of sin and death…

 Here in verse 32 Jesus offers something wonderful if we become genuine disciples…  He says… You will know the truth… What truth is he talking about?  He is talking about spiritual truth… The truth that produces transformation and Salvation…  

Jesus is offering the life transforming Radical grace that changes everything… It is the truth that makes us truly free…

So what kind of freedom is Jesus offering them?  Look at verse 34…

 v34… Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin…

Freedom from what? Freedom from Slavery to sin…  These scribes and Pharisees were not free…  They were slaves to sin…  How do we know they were slaves to sin?  Because sin was the pattern of their life… It was religious sin… pride… arrogance and rebellion… It was all carefully hidden in their very religious ways…. They kept the law perfectly… At least that is how it looked to the people… It was all a show… Jesus loved His enemies enough to tell them the truth… He was offering them grace and mercy… He wanted to set them free… Look with me at Matthew 23: 23-28…

Matthew 23: 23-28                NKJV  slt 2000

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

23 Wehe euch, ihr Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer, ihr Heuchler, dass ihr die Minze und den Anis und den Kümmel verzehntet und das Wichtigere im Gesetz vernachlässigt, nämlich das Recht und das Erbarmen und den Glauben! Dieses sollte man tun und jenes nicht lassen. 24 Ihr blinden Führer, die ihr die Mücke aussiebt, das Kamel aber verschluckt! 25 Wehe euch, ihr Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer, ihr Heuchler, dass ihr das Äußere des Bechers und der Schüssel reinigt, inwendig aber sind sie voller Raub und Unmäßigkeit! 26 Du blinder Pharisäer, reinige zuerst das Inwendige des Bechers und der Schüssel, damit auch ihr Äußeres rein werde! 27 Wehe euch, ihr Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer, ihr Heuchler, dass ihr getünchten Gräbern gleicht, die äußerlich zwar schön scheinen, inwendig aber voller Totengebeine und aller Unreinheit sind! 28 So erscheint auch ihr äußerlich vor den Menschen als gerecht, inwendig aber seid ihr voller Heuchelei und Gesetzlosigkeit.

They were lying to themselves… Jesus says… You fool the people…. But I know the truth about you…. And I am offering you the same grace and mercy that I offered the woman that you dragged in here… It is not too late… repent and believe the Truth…. I am your only hope…v36…

v36… Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed...

Jesus alone offers freedom from slavery to sin…   freedom from spiritual blindness… freedom from the fear of death… You will never have to live in fear of judgment… You don´t need to be afraid ever again… That is true freedom… Paul gives us a wonderful Explanation of this great truth…

Close

Look with me at Romans 8 v1-4…

Romans 8: 1-4     NLT   Neues Leben

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied in us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

1 Also gibt es jetzt für die, die zu Christus Jesus gehören, keine Verurteilung mehr. 2 Denn die Macht1 des Geistes, der Leben gibt, hat dich durch Christus Jesus von der Macht der Sünde befreit, die zum Tod führt. 3 Das Gesetz konnte uns nicht retten, weil unsere menschliche Natur ihm widerstand. Deshalb sandte Gott seinen Sohn zu uns. Er kam in menschlicher Gestalt wie wir, aber ohne Sünde. Gott zerstörte die Herrschaft der Sünde über uns, indem er seinen Sohn stellvertretend für unsere Schuld verurteilte. 4 Das tat er, damit die gerechten Forderungen des Gesetzes durch uns erfüllt würden und wir uns nicht länger von unserer menschlichen Natur, sondern vom Geist Gottes leiten lassen.

It is all about Jesus… He has done this work in us… In an instant we are perfect in God´s eyes…

He has made us Holy…. And we are being made holy day by day… We are being transformed into the likeness of His dear son… Hebrews 10: 14-18…

What good news… Jesus paid it all for us…  That is the scandal of Grace… It is His grace and mercy poured out on us…  that should motivate us to love and serve the Lord with all of our hearts… Joyful obedience to our great LORD AND Savior Jesus Christ…  Let´s pray…