So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:31-32).

When I first read this passage, I thought these Jews were "saved," because the text says they "believed." But Jesus accuses these very same Jews of wanting to kill Him (8:38), of having the devil as their father (8:44), of not believing in Him (8:46), and of not being "of God" (8:47). These "believing" Jews retort by accusing Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a demon (8:4), and they cap it off by trying to stone Him (8:59). 

Ths is the reason for Jesus's words: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine." The belief of the believing Jews did not amount to saving faith. They only believed what was consistent with their own preconceived ideas. They rejected Jesus's lofty claims of being the Son of God and the Savior from their sins. 

Today, I spoke to my Iranian friend at Starbucks, who insisted that Muslims will also go to heaven because they believe in Jesus. I told him that they will not go to heaven because they believe the wrong things about Jesus. Muslims reject the biblical testimony that Jesus is the Son of God. They do not believe that He died for our sins and rose again from the dead. They reject that He is the only way to God even though Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). What the Muslims believe about Jesus does not amount to saving faith. 

Friends, we cannot claim to be Christians and wear Christ on our sleeve. He must be in our hearts, not at the periphery of our lives but at the very center. If we have wholly identified with Christ's death and resurrection, how can we go on living our own way? Paul wrote,

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).

We are not our own. We have been bought with a price. Therefore, we live to glorify God with our lives. Only as we abide (remain, stay put) in the teachings of Christ, the Word of God, are we His disciples and true Christians. If we only embrace what fits our personal sensibilities or what seems acceptible to our reason and don't take Jesus at His every word, then we fall short of saving faith. We deny His Lordship and reject the perfection required for Him to be our Savior. 

Therefore, my friends, let us intentionally and daily meditate, memorize and apply His glorious Word to our lives. Let us encourage one another in this spiritual discipline, which will help us in our daily fight against our sinful natures housed in our bodies. Let us pray for one another so that our thoughts, affections and wills might be more perfectly conformed to God's thoughts, affections, and will. As we do this, let us also obey the command to reproduce our devotion in others, who will also do the same, for we are all commanded to "make disciples..." (Matthew 28:9-20).

After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him (John 7:1).

These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come (John 8:30).

Notice two somewhat competing accounts here. In the first instance, Jesus did not want to go to Judea because of the murderous Jews. He even told His biological brothers that He was not going. Yet, in the very next instance, we find Jesus going and boldly teaching in the temple (i.e. in Jerusalem of Judea).

Jesus' unwillingness to go is completely understandable. Who would want to appear at a place, where murderers were after Him? But then, why did He ultimately go? I think there are three clues in the text to help us to understand:

1. He initially went in secret, so that the murderous Jews could not find Him (cf. John 7:10-11).
   
   
2. He did not show Himself until the height of the feast, where there were likely a lot of people, and He taught in the midst of them, so that He had the protective cover of the crowds (cf. John 7:14,25).
   
   
3. Ultimately, He was not arrested because God was providentially protecting Him until the time God had appointed for Him to die for the sins of the world (cf. John 8:30).

Jesus had no martyr complex. He did not want to get arrested or to die. He took every precaution to protect Himself and avoid unnecessary confrontation; however, He did so without neglecting His mission. 

Friends, is there not an example here for us to follow?

I am reminded about the recent news of a Christian, who was arrested for leaving a Bible in a North Korean seaman's club. Apparently, he had left it deliberately, and it had pictures of him and his family inside it, along with his name and phone number. While the boldness and zeal of this man might be commendable, it seems a very foolhardy way to go about sharing the Gospel. Perhaps he could have put some more thought into it rather than do what seems like an impulsive act.

Jesus' example reminds us to be careful, thoughtful, and deliberate while fulfilling our calling. Let us not be impuslive and foolish but use the wisdom and resources God has given us to declare His truth. 

The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil (John 7:7).

There is a principle here that is true not only for Jesus in relation to the world that rejected Him. It is also true of people in general. When you say that something someone says or does is evil, they will likely hate you for it. Of course, they may not use such strong language as "hate," for that puts them in a bad light. They would prefer to say that you disappointed them or hurt them. This reaction keeps them in a position of superiority. But the underlying feeling is close enough to hate.

Now, this reaction may be natural, but it is neither Christian nor biblical. Should we hate others just because they expose error in our words or because they reveal the wrongness of our actions? Consider these words by Solomon:

Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning (Proverbs 9:8-9).

Perhaps the reason why we do not love those that rebuke us is that we are not so wise. The Bible says that scoffers hate rebuke, yet the wise and just welcome it and become wiser by it. 

The church is called to judge its own (1 Corinthians 5:12) and believers are called to admonish one another (Matthew 18:15-17; 2 Timothy 4:2; Colossians 3:16), but sometimes the only admonishment that happens is of those that do the very admonishing commanded in Scripture. No wonder the church looks so much like the world. It has bought into the cultural lie of tolerance and accomodation. 

The world says that it is intolerant to say that homosexuality is a sin. But doesn't the very definition of tolerance require that those that practice tolerance do so because they are against the philosophy or practice which they are tolerating? Consider this definition from Google:

tolerance: the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.

What the world often means by "tolerance" is not tolerance but agreement, which violates the very definition of tolerance. Thus, what the world hates is not that Christians are intolerant but that Christians will not tow the line that accepts homosexuality as a morally valid sexual preference and practice.

Friends, there is a lot of muddling and redefining of terms, and unless we are careful, we can be swept into the very misinformation that seek to marginalize Christians as intolerant and hateful. 

Unfortunately, this same muddling and redefining of terms exist in the church as well. Christians that identify unbiblical teaching or practices are labeled disrupters of church unity. Rather than promoting healthy discussion and even debate over questionable teachings and practices, some churches choose rather to silence and marginalize those that earnestly seek to promote truth. 

But is this squashing of all disagreement what the Bible means by unity? Why then does Paul write,

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval (1 Corinthians 11:19). 

Paul recognized that by necessity there would be differences within in the church. What is more, in the most famous extended discussion on church disunity, where there was a problem in the Corinthian church because of divisions caused by favorite personalities (e.g. there was a party for Paul, a party for Apollos, and a party for Cephas), he concludes that there is only one litmus by which all differences must be measured in the church, namely, the Word of God:

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other (1 Corinthians 4:6).  

What is telling is that this passage falls right at the end of the extended discussion on church division (1 Corinthians 1-4), so that it highlights the central and most important point Paul was trying to make, namely, that they should stop playing favorites, squash their misguided pride, and agree with one another with respect to the central importance of the Word of God. This is biblical unity. It is not agreement with the strongest group. It is not agreement with the majority opinion. It is agreement that arises out of submission to biblical truth.

What is more, Paul writes that gifted people were given to the community of believers so that believers might be built up into the unity of the faith and knowledge of Jesus, whereby, 

"we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to beome in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ" (Ephesians 4:14-15). 

Christian unity and maturity was to happen as believers spoke to one another in love, iron sharpening iron, dispellng error and doctrinal confusion, with believers having a Berean spirit, such that they would check every teaching, whether by layman or minister, to see if it lined up with the truth of Scripture. The Bereans did this and were considered noble for it:

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11).

This, my friends, is biblical unity. Unity does not mean "tow the church line" or even "believe everything the pastor preaches". It means that every teaching must line up with Scripture. If people are united around something or someone else, this is not unity. It is apostasy. 

John 8
29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him."

I often feel trapped by my decisions because I think I am not or may not do what is right or best.

What pleases me is actually a continuum. I imagine it is so with God. He created us to have many bends, preferences, and varying desires. Even among the trinity we see at time their wants are not exclusive. At the garden Jesus would prefer not to be crucified but his greater want is unity with the father and his current want. ('Will' would be a better word since 'want' communicates a deficit.)

When I watch movies or how God directs things, I say I want a certain end to be, but will be surprised by a better end. Romans 14 speaks of not judging people’s styles. There are definite signs of maturity but what even the immature do in Christ is still pleasing to God, if they maintain embodied with Jesus.

Barnabas and Paul had it out over Mark. Each represented God; Paul the zealous, Barnabas the merciful and of grace. In the end God got glory and the gospel propels out. Each responded with their own seasoning, but the goal was the same.

Please him. Be convinced of God (who he is, what he is about) in your own mind so there is greater zeal. Then you will not be wavering and can be used as a high tech tool.

Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” (John 7:41, 42 NIV)

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked,  “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” (John 7:50-52 NIV)

Both the Jewish people and their rulers knew that the Scriptures prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; however, they seem to have thought that Jesus was born in Nazareth of Galilee. Remember, even His early disciples thought this (John 1:45), prompting Nathanael to ask, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:46). Perhaps Jesus' detailed birth accounts in Matthew and Luke were in part designed to dispel this wrong information. 

There are certainly other reasons why the Jewish people and their leaders rejected Jesus as their Messiah; however, isn't it interesting that one of the prominent reasons, shared amongst themselves, was that they believed He was born in Galilee? Thus, they rejected Him on the basis of misinformation. Perhaps if they had taken the time to search out His background, they would have discovered that He was actually born in Bethlehem of Judea and then moved to Nazareth to escape persecution from Herod. They would have realized that He truly fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2,4).

Jesus told the Jewish leaders: 

You study  the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, (John 5:39 NIV)

Even though they knew the Scriptures, they did not make the connection to Jesus. The same could be said with respect to the signs Jesus performed. He did the signs of the Messiah, but they still did not believe in Him. Both the leaders and the people kept demanding even more signs. But those who believed in Him recognized that Jesus performed the signs of the prophesied Messiah.

Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” (John 7:31 NIV)

In John we learn that the words "believed in him" does not always imply saving faith. There are a number of occasions where this belief turns to rejection. However, it is sufficient to recognize that these Judean Jews were not ignorant. They knew what the Scriptures taught with respect to the prophecy and signs of the coming Messiah. 

Friends, this is a sobering reminder for us too. As a general rule, knowledge that is not correctly understood or properly applied is meaningless and may even be dangerous. This is no less true of biblical knowledge. As believers in Christ Jesus, let us both rightly know and rightly apply the Word of God to our lives. 

Jesus talks to Jewish converts.

(John 8:31-38)

"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 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?" Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 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. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father."

Being a disciple means literally 'a follower of ones doctrines or teachings'. Jesus states to know the Truth of God we must 'follow' his teaching. Being a disciple is not just mental exercise but a physical act - we don’t just read our bible but we live it, obeying and living the life called out in the teaching.

Jesus says knowing the truth will set us free - what does that mean? God is a holy God and there is payment for sin, sin puts us in debt or bondage. Knowing the Truth is literally living as disciples, and it sets us free from the debt of sin.

Jesus says that as slaves we are not part of the family, but a son belongs to it (the family) forever. Once we accept Christ as our savior we are sons and daughters of Christ and we belong to Gods family - forever. This is another important part of being a disciple is the assurance of eternal salvation - 'once saved always saved'. The bible is clear that we cant lose our salvation - even if we fall, or fail to keep Jesus teachings we are still saved. There are consequences, but the key is that we repent and return to God.

The law said to bring the accused, with witnesses, before God. There the accused is stoned.
This happened. The accused was brought. But our merciful Lord, pointed at the logs in their eyes. Essentially, "if you can see clearly, throw stone at the accused." The ones who had seen the most, who had done the most, the oldest ones left first. Eventually, alone with the accused, God says, "why are you here before me. There is no accusation here. Now, do not find your self here again."

No one was willing to stand against the woman, including our lord.

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Verses 12-59 I read these passages from the jews stand point and could feel utter frustration. "Wait, you want me to believe you based on your testimony and the silent testimony of the Father? "Also, now you have proven to me your wrong, for you said tno one would tast death yet the prophets and Abraham did." But we don't see a retort of the latter; only the reaffirming of their doom, if they don't believe him. If this was the entirety of his testimony, I can imagine it would less glorifying for God. But we have the numerous prophecies and laws before hand. We can know the character of God and therefore can know if this Jesus guy is reflective. We have prophecy being stated by Jesus. We have signs before, during, and after. God gave us enough to be able to understand and believe; our response to this information, reveals who your father is.