Freed
Opening Prayer
Father, “You are the God who sees me” (Gen. 16:13). I offer myself, faults and all, to You.
Read John 8:31-41
[31] To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. [32] Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [33] They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” [34] Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. [35] Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. [37] I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. [38] I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.” [39] “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. [40] As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. [41] You are doing the works of your own father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What is the great reward for knowing the truth?Which parts of your heritage are you most proud of? Your nationality, upbringing, moral code, church tradition? The Jews here are proud to claim Abraham as their ancestor, but they don’t behave like him (37,40). When Jesus points out that they are “slaves to sin” they are once again shocked (34). Why? I’m sure I would feel similarly aggrieved if someone publicly corrected me. I like to think I’m a faithful believer; I should be spared such humiliation. But notice: these are Jews who “had believed him” and they are not spared (31). It’s painful to acknowledge, but we all need God’s truth to set us free. Many Muslims, too, are proud to claim Abraham as their ancestor, but can be enslaved by their heritage. A 25-year-old Muslim girl, whose father slavishly followed the words of the “Hadith” (“Order your children to pray when they are seven years old, and beat them if they do not do so when they are ten years old”), says she found it increasingly difficult to “please the god of Islam.” She grew up with huge fears about death. But when she heard about Jesus on YouTube, she says, it “broke my barrier of fear…and without hesitation I submitted my life to the Lord Jesus, because he is the God of love and peace.”
Apply
Memorize Jesus’ words in John 8:31 and thank him for the freedom that he brings.
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