Jesus – Believe in Jesus and live
Part 4
“The truth will set you free”
John 8:31-32
Intro
From John chapter 18
On the day He was crucified
Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate
Being tried on false charges.
Pilate asked Jesus if He is indeed a King as many were saying
Jesus replied
“You are right in saying that I am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the worlds, to testify to the truth.
“Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
To which Pontius Pilate replied, “What is truth?”
What is truth?
Many today are asking this question
“What is truth?”
We live in a time when many claim that there are no absolute truths
Many teach that there is only what is right for you.
If you have boy parts and want to identify as a girl that’s your truth
If you don’t like your race, just call yourself something else- that’ your truth
If this grapefruit wants to be a pineapple- that is its truth
This is why
Sexual sins
Abortion which is only legalized murder
All sorts of dishonesty and deception
Addictions of all kinds
Are running rampant in our country today
It fact in our world
They teach that there is no real right or wrong
It seems in the world today that there is no clear line to use as a standard for our behavior and beliefs
Just the absolute belief that there are no absolutes.
Notice I said seems
I said seems because there are very clear truths written right here in God’s word
Jesus said in John 14:6
Jesus said
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
In a world searching for the truth, the truth is closer than most believe or want to believe
It is so close that it is sad that many fail to see it
So many fail to reach out and grab it
Today as we look at our text
I want you to know the power of knowing the truth and the freedom the truth can bring.
In today’s world the desire to attain freedom is the source of many wars and conflicts
Countries and traditions all over the world
Are collapsing
People are demanding their God given right to be free
Ironically even those who do not claim to know God
Will use
“God given”
When referring to their right to freedom
Many have fought and died and are fighting and dying for that right as we speak
Freedom is a wonderful thing
But
Many people in the world are not free
They think they are
But
Many are still in bondage to sin in their lives
Many of those mentioned are not even aware that they are slaves to sin
Please open your bibles to John 8:31-32
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus Christ is the Truth
In this passage of scripture he is talking to people who have believed in him
Many who had once followed for the wrong reasons
Believed for the wrong reasons were falling away
Remember last week we talked about the ones who were coming to Jesus for what they could get
To get fed or healed
What Jesus is doing here is urging those who were still with him
Those who really want to be his followers
To hold to his teachings
To stick
To remain in him as John 15:4 states
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
These words “Remain in me “have great spiritual meaning
To remain in Jesus
Means to accept the truth
Embrace the truth
Live the truth
And
This truth
Is Jesus Christ himself
To remain means to place ourselves
Our whole selves into his care
Accept his guidance and direction in our lives
To draw life from Jesus
By living in the truth of his mercy and his love
We all have the ability to know the truth
God puts it in us to search for this truth
From our creation
We have a desire to know God
A desire to find this truth
But many miss it
You see
In order to know the truth
I mean really know the truth
You must know the one who is the truth
Once you know the truth
I mean really know the truth
Then
And only then
Can you be free
The Truth will set you free
Not freedom from oppression as many have tried to claim by misquoting this verse
Not freedom from the troubles of this world
Not freedom from illness or hardships
Not freedom from any of the physical things that we think keep us in bondage
But Spiritual freedom
True freedom
Once again Jesus focuses on the spiritual
He works on a higher plane- his ways are not our ways
He works in many ways that our finite human brains cannot comprehend
You see
We often tend to focus on the physical
The ----what can we get now?
But
Jesus is teaching us about true freedom
Here in these few verses
He is showing us that by believing in the truth and accepting the truth
We can be freed from the bondage of sin in our lives
We can be freed from the penalty of that sin
By accepting the truth we can be truly free
Sometimes we have trouble grasping what it means not to be free
We live in a free country
We are not slaves to man
Most of us are free to come and go as we please
Work where we want
Live where we want
But
Jesus says in verse 34
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
In spite of our perceived freedom
If we are living in sin
And make no mistake we all sin
And
If we are not delivered from our sins and the penalty of those sins
Then
We are not truly free
Nor will we ever be
So
Let’s take a quick look at how sin enslaves us
And
How accepting the truth frees us
Sin
All sin has a tendency to spread
Like briars in a fence line
Like a small-amount of weed spray in a tank
Let the briars go uncontrolled and they will soon take over
Growing bigger and more tangled
Put the spray in the tank and the water inside is no longer clear and pure
It becomes something else
Just a small amount of sin can contaminate us
And
Sin has a way of growing
Spreading
And if not controlled
It will soon control us
Dominate us
Jesus- the living truth has the power to free us from our sins
And to free us from the penalty of our sins
Jesus – the living truth has the power to help us become the people that God planned for us to be
Even if sin is
Restraining us
Mastering us
Controlling us
Or enslaving us
Jesus
Can break the power of sin over our lives
He and he alone is the truth that sets us free
He is the source of truth
He is the perfect standard of what is right
He frees us from the penalty of our sin
He frees us from our own self deception
He frees us from our own misguided ideas
He frees us from Satan’s deceptions
He shows us the way to eternal life
This freedom
True freedom
Goes way beyond the physical
Jesus gives us true freedom by giving us the freedom to follow him
The freedom to choose him
The freedom to obey him
The freedom to seek God
Jesus’ perfect truth frees us to be all that God intended us to be
His truth gives us the freedom to be true Sons and daughters of the living God
He gives us the ability to become his true children
So as Pilate asked “What is Truth?”
“What is Truth”
“Jesus is Truth”
So
If the truth will set us free
And the truth is Jesus
Let’s look at some of the truths about Jesus
First off I want to tell you I was shocked at what I found when I typed in the words
“The truth about Jesus”
On Google
I was shocked at all of the websites that called themselves “true”
Websites that promoted lies
False hoods
Manipulations of the very truth they claimed to have a grasp on
In the biblical time there were many who were trying to disprove Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah
But no one denied that he existed
Not only do the naysayers of this day want to disprove his deity, they deny his very existence and want to convince you and I of this lie as well
By denying his existence, they think they no longer have to deal with Jesus
Boy are the in for a rude awaking
Please do not allow these false prophets to sell you a different truth about Jesus
You see
Many claim to know the truth about Jesus
But
There is only one truth and it is written in his word and is his word
And
Jesus is the word in the flesh
And God’s living
Life changing
Written word
Tells us about this truth
And the very world that God created scream about this truth
Psalm 19:1
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.”
God put it in the hearts of men to know this truth
Failure to see it
Is a failure on our part to allow the Spirit to show us the truth
Reveal to us what is Truth
In order to really get at the truth of who Jesus is
We need to go back to the Old Testament
Back to the book of Exodus chapter 3
When Moses met with God on Mount Sinai
God showed himself to Moses in the form of a burning bush
God told Moses to tell the people about him
Moses asked what I shall tell the people when they ask me
“What is his name?”
God said” I AM WHO I AM”
Tell them
“I AM” sent you
This is very significant in our study today
Because Jesus in revealing his truth to us used the same title for himself
“I AM”
In John 8:58
58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!
He did not say, I was
He did not say I will be
He says” I Am”
In this verse Jesus is telling all who will listen that he is God
God the Son
Part of the three in one
The second part of the trinity
“ I Am”
I believe we can see the “Truth “
When we look at Jesus through his “I Am” statements
We see the truth that is Jesus
Jesus used the same phrase “I AM” in seven statements about Himself.
In all seven, He combines I AM with tremendous metaphors which express His saving relationship toward the world.
All appear in the book of John.
In these seven statements
He answers the question
What is truth?
John 6:35
I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”
In this verse Jesus shows us his truth
He shows us that, he was not created as some claim but has always been
He shows us that he as John 1 says is the word and the word has always existed
He shows us the truth of his purpose
To give eternal life
He shows us the truth of his deity as the “one who came down from heaven
God in the flesh
God the redeemer
God the Son
John 8:12
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Jesus shows us his truth in this verse
He is the light
This means he has the power to overcome the darkness
And darkness on a spiritual level is always evil
Only Jesus as God can overcome evil
Only by being God could Jesus have this power and authority
And the truth is------He does have this power!
He does have this authority!
He and the Father are one!
GOD – 1 God in 3 persons
John 10:7-9
“I tell you the truth; I am the gate for the sheep.
“I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me[a] were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved
I am going to speak in cowboy terms here
Jesus is standing in the gap for us
The truth of his love
Provides for us
The truth of his grace
Protects us
And the truth of his word fends off the wolves and false prophets that are trying to deceive us
By being the gate
By standing in the gap
He is our advacate
He is the gate to heaven/eternity
No other gate is needed
He is the one and only gate to eternal life
Only God has this ability
So once again
The truth is evident
Jesus having this ability
Shows once again that he is God
John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd”
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep..
Again in verse 14-15
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father know me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
When Jesus uses phrase “the good shepherd,”
He is showing us the truth of His inherent goodness
His righteousness,
And
His beauty.
As shepherd of the sheep, He is the one who protects, guides, and nurtures His flock.
He as the shepherd has full authority over and full responsibility for his sheep
In verse 15 Jesus states that he knows the Father and the Father knows him
And that he came to lay down his life for the sheep
Jesus gives us a view of the truth of his purpose
He came to be the sinless
Spotless sacrifice that our sin required
To lay down his life for the sheep
Only as God could he be that sinless sacrifice
Only as a man could he shed this blood
The truth once again
Is the if Jesus is not God – he could not be that perfect sacrifice
If he was not human he could not have died
Only as God in the flesh could he provide the necessary sacrifice
That is truth
And that truth cannot be denied
John 11:25
“I am the resurrection and the life.[a] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
Jesus is talking to Martha just before he raised Lazarus from the dead
The truth he is showing us here is that
A believer in Jesus will never die
Jesus has the power over death
And the power over life
He promises in this truth
That a true believer will never suffer spiritual death
But that through him we as believers will receive eternal life
The simple truth is Jesus
And Jesus alone
Is the Resurrection and the life
Only through him can we receive this life
Only through him can we receive this resurrection
Only one kind of life
LIFE in relationship with God
Is truly life
And Jesus is the only way to get this true life
John 14:6
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Jesus restates this truth
He is the only way
He is the only truth
He is the only way to this true life
Eternal life with God
No one else can build this bridge
No one else can fill this role
He is not a way
Not a truth
Not a life
He is the real deal
The all inclusive
Only way to the Father
Belief in God without belief in Jesus is an effort in futility
Because without the Truth that is Jesus
You are just standing on the outside looking in
Without Jesus
There is no way to get to the Father
John 15
“I Am” the true vine
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
“I am the True Vine” is the last of seven “I am” statements of Jesus recorded only in John’s Gospel.
These “I am” Statements point to the truth of His unique divine identity and purpose.
Jesus said, “I am the True Vine” to his closest friends who were gathered around Him. It was only a short time before Judas would betray Him; in fact, Judas had already left to do his dirty deed
Jesus was preparing the eleven men left for His pending crucifixion, His resurrection, and His upcoming departure for heaven.
He had just told them that He would be leaving them
He knew this would upset them
So
He gave them this picture of the TrueVine as one of His encouragements.
Jesus wanted His friends, not only those eleven, but those of all time, to know that He was not going to desert them
But that HE
Would continue to nourish and sustain them just as the roots and trunk of a grape vine produce the energy that nourishes and sustains its branches while they develop their fruit.
Jesus wanted us to know that, even though we cannot see Him
We are as closely connected to Him as the branches of a vine are connected to its stem.
Cut off from the trunk, a branch is dead.
Just as a vine’s branches rely on being connected to the trunk from which they receive their energy to bear fruit, Jesus’ disciples depend on being connected to Him for their spiritual life
So, we depend on Jesus for everything, starting with our very life
Including our reconciliation with God through Him
No one can serve God effectively until he is connected with Jesus Christ by faith.
No one can serve God effectively until they accept the TRUTH
Jesus is our only connection with the God who gave life and who produces in us a fruitful life of righteousness and service.
Jesus is the truth
And
The Truth will set you free!!
Close from the heart
Pray
