John 8:31-47 If You Really Were....

"If you continue to obey My teaching, you are truly My followers," Jesus said.  He also spoke about spiritual freedom and bondage, "Whosoever keeps on practicing sin is the servant of sin."

When Jesus mentioned the Father, they said Abraham was their father, and He replied, "If you were really Abraham's children, you would do the things Abraham did ... but you are trying to kill Me.  Abraham did nothing like that."

That literal translation about "practicing sin" was mentioned in my commentary and stopping practicing sin is how we grow.  "When we obey His Word, we grow in spiritual knowledge, and as we grow in spiritual knowledge, we grow in freedom from sin.  Life leads to learning, and learning leads to liberty."  It happens over time as we obey.

I liked this:  "Nature is determined by birth, and birth is determined by paternity.  If God is your Father, then you share God's nature, but if Satan is your father, then you share his evil nature ... The worst bondage is the kind that the prisoner himself does not recognize.  He thinks he is free, yet he is really a slave."

Father, thank You for setting me free and for continuing to help me grow in freedom from sin.  As we heard yesterday from Frances Chan, it's who we are in the end that counts.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford