the truth will set you free

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The Truth Will Set You Free Veritas Vos Liberabit– John 8:31-36

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Page 1: The truth will set you free

The Truth Will Set You Free

Veritas Vos Liberabit– John 8:31-36

Page 2: The truth will set you free

Veritas Vos Liberabit▪One of the most quoted verses▪Almost always out of context▪ “Any text divorced from its context can become a pretext which is a false premise.”▪ Jesus is not speaking about academic knowledge, but of the knowledge about Himself

Page 3: The truth will set you free

Veritas Vos Liberabit▪What liberates Man is knowledge of Jesus▪ The idea is that the academic knowledge learned at school will set students free▪One of the most well known Bible verses to believers and unbelievers alike, but at the same time it is one of the most misunderstood verses

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31  ‘So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’

John 8:31-36

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ABIDE IN ME, YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH

▪Vv31-32, Notice Jesus is now speaking to those who DO believe in Him▪Where’d the come from?▪ Let’s back up to vv 28-30 to refresh 0ur memories▪These were Pharisees– some of whom started to Believe!

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ABIDE IN ME, YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH

▪Does this mean they all got “saved”? Don’t think so…▪ This section is described being about “Those who believed and yet did not believe…”▪ ?▪ They were inclined to think what Jesus said was true, but they were not prepared to yield their lives to Him in total dependence

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ABIDE IN ME, YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH

▪ In other words, they started to believe Jesus on an impulse▪To understand this clearly, we need to go to the Parable of Sower, Matthew 13:4-6▪The group of people described by Jesus in v4-6 are the ones

Page 8: The truth will set you free

A.W. Tozier said this…“First, we must consider the person who becomes a disciple of Christ on impulse. This is likely to be the person who came in on a wave of enthusiasm, and I am a little bit suspicious of anyone who is too easily converted. I have a feeling that if he or she can be easily converted to Christ, he or she may be very easily flipped back the other way. I am concerned about the person who just yields, who has no sales resistance at all. Actually, I go along with the man or woman who is thoughtful enough about this decision to say truthfully: “I want a day to think this over,” or “I want a week to read the Bible and to think about what this decision means. I have never considered it a very great compliment to the Christian church that we can generate enthusiasm on such short notice. The less there is in the kettle, the quicker it begins to boil. There are some who get converted on enthusiasm and backslide on principle!”

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We can see how Jesus felt about this type of person in John, chapter 2

23 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men”▪ In other words, their faith was not saving faith in Jesus, but the acknowledging faith about Jesus Christ

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If you have this kind of faith…▪ It CAN grow into SAVING faith▪How? 2 very important topics He touches on next▪Abide and Disciple, vv 31-32▪ “Abide” appears 17 times in the NT, but John takes 15 times in the Book of John, 1 & 2 John

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Abide…▪One biblical scholar said, “ ‘Abide’ is a long obedience in the same direction with Jesus.”▪The Greek word for ‘abide’ is ‘meno’ which means “to remain, to continue to be present”▪So you may ask, “How can I abide in Christ?” Simple. Learn about His Word, the Bible

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Disciple…▪ ‘Mathetes’ is the Greek word for ‘disciple.’ It means ‘learner.’▪Are you a learner of Jesus Christ?▪ If your salvation is true, you will have a strong desire to know the Word of God; obey His commands from the Bible; and strive to grow in Him spiritually.

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A SLAVE OF SIN ▪Vv 33-34, Can you believe these goofballs?▪ Jewish rulers with complete amnesia and total self-denial▪ It’s as ridiculous as when I doze off…▪They’d been in and out of captivity from the beginning, and were then too!

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A SLAVE OF SIN ▪ In v35 Jesus’ reply was dealing with the spiritual aspect of freedom▪ Sin enslaves because every act of disobedience to God creates self-imposed alienation and generates a trend to further disobedience that inevitably makes escape impossible▪ Sin might be overcome, but the attitude and habit of sin are right there to bring down the addicted▪ The structure of the Greek word of “whoever commits sin” is in the present tense, which implies a continual and habitual sin rather than an occasional lapse

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SON AND SLAVE

▪Vv 35-36, A slave has no security, because he can claim no family ties that entail obligation towards him▪The son of a family has permanent status within it. ▪ Jesus enlarged this analogy by stating that while a son is rightfully a partaker of family privileges, the Son can make anyone free as He wishes

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SON AND SLAVE

▪How can slaves of sin be set free? ▪Only by the Son of God▪How does He do it? ▪Through the power of His Word.

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Today’s Take-Home!▪ New Life leads to learning, and learning leads to liberty from sin▪ When we obey His Word, we grow in spiritual knowledge▪ When we grow in spiritual knowledge, we grow in freedom

from sin.▪ If the carnal things around you appeal to you more than seeking the truth through the Bible, you have a major problem you must take care of immediately. ▪ First, repent to the Lord and seek His guidance to go back

to your first love ▪ Secondly, start to learn about Him through the Bible