By Pastor Alex Ruelo
John 8:31-36 says, “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” Did Jesus want you to be Christians? When he came to earth, did He teach for you to be Christians? No. He actually said that you are my disciples if you remain faithful. The word Christian was only used when He was gone. Jesus was not even called pastor when He was on this earth. He simply wants us to be His disciples - to follow, obey and be faithful to Him. In this verse, the people were a little disappointed with Jesus when He said that they will know the truth and it will set them free. They said that they were sons of Abraham and they never became slaves. But in truth, during this time, they were slaves of the Romans. But Jesus said that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. Many of us are slaves to sin. So either you are a slave to sin or a slave to righteous living. The question is, if you are a slave, who is your master? If there is a master, there is a slave. A slave always follows the commands of his master. Who is your master?
Hebrews 11:25 says, “He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.” During the time when Moses was called by God, he left his being a prince. Instead of enjoying all the pleasures his life has to offer, he left it to follow God. Some people really enjoy sin. It feels good for a season. The more you enjoy it, the more you do not care about living righteously. For if many people would just choose righteous living, the church would be overflowing right now.
But the truth has bad news. The bad news is that we are not free. Even if God has freed us from our sins, we are still slaves to it. We are not totally free. We have been freed when Jesus Christ died on the cross. But many of us choose to go back to our old self. The truth is, you say you are free in Christ but you use that to cover up your sins. Christianity becomes your license to sin.
The truth also has good news. Our world was sent a Savior to free us. Jesus Christ rescued us from all of our sins. But sometimes, when we do not live out His goodness, we take credit for what He has done. When you ask people why they are saved, the answer, more often than not, will be because they received Jesus. But nothing you will ever do can ever save you. You are saved because He died on the cross and saved you from your sin. He saved us and freed us from the things that hinder our progress.
You have to live in the truth that Jesus said we are truly His disciples if we remain faithful to His teaching who know the truth so that it can set us free. Let us not remain in our sins. God does not want you to be stuck in that place. We think we have everything figured out. But no. There is more.
Be faithful to the truth. Be faithful to the teachings of Jesus and be real disciples. John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Know the truth. 1 Corinthians 12:1 says, “Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.” Many Christians do not know the truth and that is the reason why they fail. The world nowadays is halved in two:the truth and the lie. John 8:44 says, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” There are also two families in this world: the family of God and the family of the devil. Which family do you belong to? Have you seen a person who wants to be a slave of sin? Life is always two sided. It’s either black or white, the truth or lies. Not because you believe in something, it is true. And not because you do not like something, it is a lie. The world is throwing a lot of ideas in the world and you should know which ones to believe. Paul tells you not to be ignorant. Ignorance is never an excuse. Be responsible with the freedom that God gave you. Knowing the truth gives you the responsibility to share it with others. Even if they do not believe it right away, it is your responsibility to tell them. 2 Peter 2:1-3 says, “But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.” False prophets will will be around to teach you lies. Know the truth.
Romans 6:1-2 says, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” Jesus died on the cross to free you from all your sins. But you choose to bring along that one sin that you cannot let go of. The future is yours for the taking. Let go of it. You are part of the family of God. You are free indeed.
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