December 20, 2013 (John 7-8)
From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:
Scripture: “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.” John 8:31-32 NLT
Observation: In John chapter 6 many of the disciples of Christ turned from Him and followed Him no more. His teaching was not easy and it demanded faithfulness. Here in chapter 8 Jesus is sharing the same message of required faithfulness to another group of Jewish believers. Jesus clearly laid out what it meant to be His disciple. It is crystal clear that to be His disciple one must not only believe in Christ’s teachings, but must submit to them and be careful to remain faithfully dedicated to them. It is by this faithful dedication that we discover His truth. And it’s only by this careful and faithful dedication that His truth can ever truly set us free from the slavery of sin. Those who the Son sets free are free indeed.
Application: Faithfulness is a consistent theme throughout the entire Bible. From Genesis to Revelation the requirement of faithfulness is never abolished. Jesus Himself felt the need to stress the importance of faithfulness several times in His public ministry here on earth. If it was important enough for Him to mention so many times shouldn’t we consider His teaching on the subject a little more seriously? Yet in our day, a message about faithfulness preached the way Jesus taught it is often touted as “legalistic” and “religious”. Western Christians have been bamboozled with lies about how free and cheap Christianity is. It cost us nothing and nothing is required from us! But what did Jesus feel about the matter of faithfulness? What did Jesus think about being faithful? What did Jesus say about being faithful? What did Jesus do? He is our perfect example; I think it would be a great idea to faithfully follow Him!
Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes it’s hard to understand Your teaching. Sometimes I fail because of my unbelief and unfaithfulness. Please forgive me. Help me to learn Your teaching and apply it to my life every day. Clear my mind of the lies that have been told by satan and his demons, help me focus on Christ and remain faithful to Him forevermore, in Jesus name, Amen!