As we began looking at the 8th chapter of John two weeks ago, we saw a woman accused of adultery being thrown at Jesus’ feet. After Jesus challenged anyone in the crowd who was without sin to cast the first stone, they all dispersed as they realized that none of them were sinless. And then Jesus asked the woman:
“Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you” (John 8:10)?
The woman replied that there was no one left to accuse or condemn her, to which Jesus replied:
“Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on, sin no more” (John 8:11).
Jesus did not accuse her, but accepted her. He did not condemn her, but forgave her. And He did not reject her, but challenged her to begin living a life of righteousness. And, of course, He does the same with you and with me today. Because of the blood He would later shed on the cross for all of our sins, He was able to forgive this woman, just as He is able to forgive us today.
As Jesus gathered followers from amongst the crowd, He said to those Jews who believed in Him:
“If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
Let’s begin by talking about “truth.” What aspect of truth is Jesus referring to? He’s not focusing on scientific truth with all of its various connections with the physical and biological sciences, or even historical truth as critical as that is, but Jesus was focusing on spiritual truth, and spiritual truth is truth that must first be revealed by God to us. Once again, for us to know spiritual truth, it must be revealed to us, and in this case, Jesus is the One who reveals it to us. That’s why every word that Jesus spoke throughout His ministry is so important. And guess what? The truth that Jesus came to share with us has been recorded for us in the New Testament. And that’s why it is so critical for us to read the Bible, which is God’s Word to us. And Jesus said that if we abide in Him and his word (that is, to stay connected to and engaged with Jesus and His word) , we will know the truth that He revealed to His disciples and which was later written down and passed on to us.
Furthermore, if we “know the truth,” that “truth” will “make us free.” Free from what? At the core, freedom involves our need to be free from both the penalty and power of sin. The penalty of sin is separation from God (both now and for eternity), and the power of sin, has to do with having the power each day to overcome the temptations of sin in its many forms, such as our aberrant thinking, our flawed character, our debilitating emotions, and our ungodly actions.
What did Jesus tell us about being freed from the penalty of sin? Of course, we are all familiar with Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, which we covered in the 3rd chapter of John:
“For God so loved the world that He send His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish by have eternal life” (John 3:16).
And then, what did Jesus say about overcoming the power of sin? Jesus continued in this chapter by saying:
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin….If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36).
Did you notice something interesting? In every case, whether it’s finding freedom from the penalty of sin or the power of it, it’s all about THE SON! He is the only One who can set us free from both. In simple terms, we need Jesus, the One who not only grants us the freedoms just mentioned, but He is also the One who imparts LIFE to our mortal bodies. If you haven’t done so, just ask Jesus to transform you and to give you His LIFE. He will always do what He promised to do, for as John says in his first letter,
“He who has the Son has the LIFE” (1 John 5:12).
We need the SON! Just ask for Him to fill you with His LIFE. That’s it! He is the ultimate “Promise Keeper!” He will always do what He promised to do.
God bless each of you.
