John 8:31-32 The Likes and Dislikes of Natural Man 7/18/2004 ßŕ
#1. Abraham’s Seed (John 8:37-40, Rom 9:7)
#2. I Honor My Father (John 8:48-50, Phil 2:8)
#3. Abraham and Christ (John 8:56-58, Rom 4:13, Heb 11:10, Psalm 25:14)
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel according to John 8:31 (2X). In the past two weeks I have brought you two sermons on John chapter 8. Using the background of the first 11 verses the Lord Jesus announced Himself as “the Light of the World”. What was the purpose of this Light? The purpose was to expose the darkness in the souls of this world. And how was this Light received? Not very well. He was rejected wherever He came. People do not like it when their sins are exposed. Today we are going to finish this chapter in the Gospel of John. The title of the sermon today is, “The Likes and Dislikes of Natural Man” (2X). And today we are going to see what reception the Lord Jesus received when He brought the Gospel Truth. How do people react when they hear that they were born in bondage, in slavery, and how will they react when they must consider whether they are
Joh 8:31-32 ¶ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed
on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.
Did those Jews in His audience really believe on Him? No!
They were not believers the way we understand believers to be. They only temporarily
believed on Him, like the seed that fell on the wayside, and temporarily
their enmity against Christ was put to rest. That is why Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word”. If they had been true believers there would be no question that they
would continue in His Word. This is the mark of true “Discipleship”.
Someone who truly has been saved will continue in the Word of God. This is what
the Bible teaches. There are no backsliders. And then Jesus said, “Ye shall
know the Truth”. To know the Truth is something more definite than to know
what is true. To know the Truth means to understand what the Bible says
with regard to the salvation of men, and this revelation comes through
the mediation of the incarnate Son of God. Christ is the Truth. He said in John
14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father but by Me”. As the Law came by Moses, so grace and Truth came by
Jesus Christ. He came to fulfill the signs and the shadows that the OT era was
pointing to. Therefore we read in
Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34-35 Jesus
answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the
servant of sin. And the servant
abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son
therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
We see here that the natural man does not like to hear that he has
to be made free. The plain message in these verses is that before the
natural man can be made free he has to hear the Truth. He has to hear
that he is unrighteous and not fit to enter God’s holy Heaven and be in the presence
of an infinitely righteous God. He has to hear that he has no wisdom
concerning the salvation of the Bible and therefore he is full of foolishness
and vanity, and all his words and actions are foolishness and vanity in the
sight of God. He has to hear that he has no ability or willpower to do
anything good in the sight of God, because he is under the complete dominion of
sin. He has to hear that he has no freedom to lose himself from the
bondage to sin that he is in, because he has been taken captive by the Devil at
his will, and he fulfills the lusts of his father the Devil. He has to hear
that only the Truth of God can deliver him, but he cannot receive God’s Truth,
and he cannot believe God’s Truth, and he cannot please God, and he cannot
think a godly thought, and he cannot come to Christ unless God by grace will
grant him these abilities. This the natural man does not want to hear. And so,
the natural man will deny that he must be made free, and he will deny
that he has ever been in bondage. This was the proud boast of these Jews. But
even in the literal historical realm they lied. They were in bondage in
#1. Abraham’s Seed (John 8:37-40, Rom 9:7)
Joh 8:37-38 I know
that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath
no place in you. I speak that
which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your
father.
Joh 8:39-40 They
answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye
were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a
man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: This did not
Abraham.
Here in this chapter a distinction is made between Abraham’s seed and Abraham’s children. Those who are called Abraham’s seed are the physical descendants of Abraham. Those who are called Abraham’s children are the spiritual children of Abraham. This is not an absolute rule, but it is a distinction, which is also made in many other verses. For example, God says in Rom 9:7, “Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called”. Here in John 8:37 the Lord Jesus emphasized that though these Jews were the seed of Abraham, they certainly were not the children of God. There was hatred in their hearts and they were seeking to kill Him who was the Son of God. Moreover, His Word had no place in them, or had no entrance in them. They did not receive His Word because they were wayside hearers. They did not know what to do with the Word of God. The natural man has no place for the Word of God, because he is too busy with his own concerns, and certainly he has no place for the Word of God in his heart. The Lord Jesus emphasized that there is an infinite gulf that separated these Jews from Himself. Now He leads them up to their real parentage. Paraphrased, He says, “Your actions tell who your father is, as My doctrine tells who My Father is”. The basic principle that the Lord Jesus laid out was this: “Men’s character and conduct are things that are formed, and they indicate the character of the one who formed them”. Your actions prove that from a moral and spiritual point of view neither Abraham, nor the God of Abraham is your father. And when they answered Him, “Abraham is our father”, they were reflecting their self-righteousness, because they were contrasting themselves with the heathen. Paraphrased they answered Jesus, “The heathen are in bondage; this we know. But You are now talking to those who belong to the covenant people; we belong to the Jewish church; we go straight to heaven”. Look at today’s churches and listen how their pastors preach. They preach as if everyone in the congregation is saved and on the way to heaven. But if a pastor would preach that everyone comes into the world as a despicable sinner on the way to Hell, and if a pastor dares to apply this to those cute little babies in the congregation, then one half or three quarters of the congregation would leave that church, and the pastor’s salary would be cut by 75%. The great masses of religious people inside the churches have put their trust in a form of godliness, but they know nothing of the power of Godliness. They resent being compared with those on the outside. They will claim to belong to the true Church, and that they are Christians, not infidels. But the Bible clearly teaches us that every church will have her share of infidels. There are unsaved people in every church, and thus the pastor must especially preach to those who need salvation. Here in verse 37 Jesus granted them that they were Abraham’s seed, which means the physical seed of Abraham. But in verse 39 Jesus denied them to be Abraham’s children, because Abraham is the father if them only that believe. Abraham would not condone these actions of the Jews against Jesus. Natural descent counts for nothing, but a spiritual relationship with God counts for everything. Therefore Jesus scolded them that they were:
Joh 8:41-42 Ye do
the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication;
we have one Father, even God. Jesus
said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded
forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye
not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are
of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a
liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And because
I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Joh 8:46-47 Which of
you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me. He
that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because
ye are not of God.
The Jews said, “We have one Father, even
God”. Does this not reflect the beliefs of
the church today? Those in far distant lands may be heathen, but
#2. I Honor My Father (John 8:48-50, Phil 2:8)
Joh 8:48 Then
answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a
Samaritan, and hast a devil?
Joh 8:49 Jesus answered,
I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
Joh 8:50 And I seek
not mine own glory: There is one that seeketh and judgeth.
They told Jesus that He was a Samaritan, meaning that He was an enemy to their religion. And they told Jesus that He was indwelt by a demon, meaning that He was obsessed by a proud and lying spirit. These were insults thrown in the face of the Lord of glory. What a frightful insult to the One who will be coming as the Judge of all the earth. Jesus calmly answered, “Ye do dishonour Me”. The Lord Jesus Christ was dishonored by man, but the Father was honored by Christ. How did Christ honor the Father? He honored the Father by remaining humble in the face of these insults, because He came as the Suffering Servant of Jehovah. He honored the Father by being obedient to the Father, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”, Phil 2:8. When we think of Christ honoring His Father we must think of His humiliation and His crucifixion. The Bible teaches that the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross is the pivotal point in history on which all the OT and NT focuses. There at Calvary occurred the greatest event of all time. The Lord Jesus Christ was bearing the guilt of my sins and the sins of all those whom He came to save, and in order for Him to get back into God’s holy heaven He had to pay the penalty for all those sins, and He had to pay the full price, which was the equivalent of an eternity in Hell. You and I are not able to pay that penalty for an eternity. But Christ was able to pay, because in addition to being fully man He was also fully God. And to prove that the penalty was fully paid, God raised Him from the grave in which He tenderly was laid by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus.
There at Calvary all the sins of all the elect were fully paid,
and all the sins of all the reprobate were passed by. There at Calvary
God signed in blood the Last Will and Testament He had drawn up in which the
beneficiaries were named, which were all those who were placed in Christ from
before the foundation of the world. And there at
Joh 8:51 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my
saying, he shall never see death.
Joh 8:52 Then said
the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the
prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of
death.
Joh 8:53 Art thou
greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom
makest thou thyself?
Joh 8:54-55 Jesus
answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that
honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not
known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a
liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
The Lord Jesus laid down another principle in verse 51, “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death”. Certainly this cannot refer to physical death of the
body, because only two people in the entire history of mankind have escaped
physical death. But the Lord Jesus spoke about the 2nd death,
which is eternal torment in the
#3. Abraham and Christ (John 8:56-58, Rom 4:13, Heb 11:10, Psalm 25:14)
Joh 8:56 Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57 Then said
the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham?
Joh 8:58 Jesus said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am.
Literally verse 56 reads, “Your father Abraham leaped for joy that he should see My day, and he saw and rejoiced”. It says that Abraham looked forward with joy and he jumped for joy that he was allowed to see the Object of is desires. And he saw it and rejoiced. What did Abraham see? Abraham saw the humiliation of the Lord Jesus Christ as it was terminating in the death of Christ. This brought great sorrow to Abraham as he meditated on his sins, but even greater joy when he understood that this suffering and death of Christ would blot out the guilt of all his sins. Moreover, Abraham saw also the victory of Christ over His enemies at the cross and at His resurrection, and the glorification of Christ at His ascension into heaven. But HOW did Abraham see Christ’s day? First, Abraham saw the day of Christ by faith in the promises of God. Secondly, Abraham saw the day of Christ in types and figures. In offering Isaac on the altar and in receiving him back in figure from the dead, Abraham received a marvellous foreshadowing of Christ’s death and resurrection. Thirdly, Abraham saw it by special revelation. We understand from Rom 4:13 and from Heb 11:10 that God was pleased to show the OT saints much more of His Covenant than is written in the Scriptures. We read in Psalm 25:14, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant”. Well, Abraham rejoiced when he saw the day of Christ. If these Jews rejoiced not at the appearing of Christ before them, then in no sense were they like Abraham. Then said the Jews to Him, “hast thou seen Abraham?” This was a silly question, because Jesus had not told them of seeing Abraham, but of Abraham seeing His day! But they were unable to distinguish between the two. Then Jesus said unto them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am”. Here was a full disclosure of who Jesus Christ was and still is. Jesus confirmed for us that He is none other than Almighty God. The Jews understood this very well, because they picked up stones to cast at Him. Why do so many people deny that Jesus claimed to be God? They say that Jesus never said this in the Bible. We have come across several instances in this chapter that Jesus Christ claimed to be God. And there are many more chapters in the Bible where this is confirmed. Moreover, If He is not God then we all are in serious trouble. In order for Him to take our sins upon Him, He had to be man, fully man. Man has sinned and thus man must pay the penalty for those sins. But He also had to be God. Only if He was God could He atone for our sins in a period of less than 24 hours. Only if He was God could He endure the equivalent of an eternity in Hell. Only if He was God could He endure such great sorrow in His soul so that He could cry in victory on the cross, “It Is Finished!” If our redeemer is not God then we do not have a Savior, because he would have been consumed in the process of atoning for the sins of even one of His people. If our redeemer is not God then He could never have paid for the sins of all His elect, and He could never have been victorious over Satan and all his demons. But praise God that we understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is God Himself, even if we have trouble grasping this concept. Therefore we shudder when we read that:
Joh 8:59 Then took
they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the
temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
This is a sad chapter in the history of the nation of