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04/16/18 - John 8


April 16, 2018 – John 8

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." John 8:31-32

Real Christians are those who obey Jesus' words---and by doing so discover His Truth.

There’s an old saying:  those who Can, Do … and those who Can’t, Teach.  That may or may not be true (it depends on the teacher), but one things is for certain:  Those who Do, Know!  By doing something, you know it far better than simply by being informed.  Truth is not discovered by hearing information, but by learning it through application.

Jesus wasn’t looking for people who wanted to know about His ways.  Jesus was looking for people who wanted to follow & obey His ways.  That’s not because Jesus wanted to be in charge.  It’s because Jesus wanted people to really KNOW the Truth.  And you can’t truly know something’s true without doing it, obeying it, experiencing it.  Truth must be experienced to be fully known.

That’s why Jesus also said: “If you love me, you will obey my commands.”  People who want to know are those who follow the teacher’s instructions.  Obedience isn’t about making God happy with us, it’s about knowing Him and learning His ways.  And Jesus promises that when we obey, we’ll not only know the Truth, but it will free us from all the baggage of sin and disappointment.  No longer will we wonder about other options to God’s commands, we will KNOW His way, and develop the memory muscle to do it that way.

So it begs the question: what are we avoiding in our obedience?  Is there something we have been taught from God that we haven’t tried yet?  Is there something God says is sin in the Bible that we haven’t given up yet?  What disobedience are we still holding on to?  Make a 90 day experiment – obey what God says to do (or to believe), and watch what happens.  You may just discover what Jesus is talking about here – by holding to His teaching, you’ll discover its Truth, and find great freedom!

I’m thinking of changing that old saying to something a bit different:  Those who Do, Know … and those who Know, are Free!   Sounds a little like Truth.

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