ABIDING IN CHRIST’S WORD
OR
FOLLOWING THE FATHERS OF LIES
SUNDAY APRIL 11, 2021
Scripture To Consider:
“Then Jesus said to those Jews [Jewish religious leaders] who believed 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.’ 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”?’”
“Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. And a 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. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My Word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.’”
“They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.’”
“Then they said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My Word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.’”
“But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell you the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s Words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” John 8.31-47
Something To Consider:
Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed.” Each person makes his or her choice every day to abide in Christ’s teaching or to follow the father of lies. Abiding or continuing in His Word of truth sets a person on a course to spiritual freedom. On what course are we? Are we on a course that leads us and others at the end of our lives to spiritual freedom? Or are we on a course that leads us and others to dying in our sins?
Our abiding or continuing in Christ’s Word leads us on an eternal path of redemption and forgiveness. Paul wrote in Colossians 1.14, “In whom [in Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of our sins.” Forgiveness is the first step in our escaping the bondage to sin! Have we taken that first step to spiritual freedom? Are we maintaining our spiritual freedom through God’s forgiveness of sin when it is required on our journey to and with Jesus?
Something Else To Consider:
These Jewish leaders claimed never to have been in bondage. As a nation they had been in bondage to Egypt, Babylonia, the Assyrians, and at the present they were under the rule and dominion of Rome. They misunderstood their Jewish history and that Jesus was speaking of spiritual freedom from the bondage to sin, death, and the fear of the grave.
There is much preaching and teaching today concerning our escaping the bondage of poverty by increasing our net worth, but little is said concerning our escaping the bondage to sin. Here in America there is much attention to becoming politically correct. In the so-called church this same evil has invaded and enveloped the teaching and preaching. It is as if the religious leaders do not want to upset the people speaking about such things as the need for forgiveness of our sin or the truth concerning end time events.
And yet, if we would focus our attention on abiding in Christ, observing all things He taught, and teaching the people of God what it was that Jesus taught, we would receive a balance of all things required to live true end time Christian lives. If we would focus on abiding in the Word of Christ, we would not be found following the father of lies!
Jesus announced in John 10.10, “The thief [speaking of the father of lies] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they [those who abide in His Word] may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The life Jesus spoke of was spiritually and not financially as is wrongly reported by the many end time false prophets of this 21st century.
Something More To Consider:
Jesus also said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.” We too can be in bondage to such things as lust, riches, power, and pride, and not know it or be willing to admit it. But our abiding in the Word of Christ ensures our personal freedom from the desires of the flesh and the eternal damning effect of following the father of lies. Therefore, let us be among those willing to abide in the Word of Christ.
And yet, the alternative of not abiding in Christ and in His Word is that it opens the door to our abiding in the evils of following the father of lies. And this may be accomplished by our following after others who are unwilling to abide in Christ’s Word. Either way, we all are following someone! Therefore, make sure who we are following are themselves walking the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life.
The Jewish leaders of our Scripture to consider thought themselves men of faith because they were Abraham’s descendants. Many today think themselves men, women, and young people of faith due to a church membership or their regularly attending an organized worship service. If our spiritual leaders are not abiding in Christ’s words by teaching others to observe all that Jesus commanded, there is a good possibility we are following the father of lies.
A Few Final Words:
Jesus acknowledged, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” In other words, if we are not abiding in His Word, if we are not studying to show ourselves approved unto God, then we may not be Christ’s disciple, according to Jesus! And if we are not a disciple of His truth, we may not know His truth, and thereby may still be living in bondage.
The Word of God is a dividing factor between the spiritual camp of Jesus Christ and the evil and wicked camp of Satan, the father of lies. Therefore, those who are of God listen intently to hear His voice over all the noise and lies of the enemy. And the voice of God is the voice and words of Jesus, the Word of God come in the flesh!
According to Jesus, “He [or she] who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you [all those who are not true disciples] are not of God.”
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, keep us in a place of hearing and heeding the words of Jesus daily, that we may be the children of God, both now and forever. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 