Something Real

James Heffington

Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

John 8:31–59

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Introduction

Verse 30 tells us, just as the end of chapter 2 did, there were hearers placing faith in Jesus. But Jesus challenges the validity of their faith. They professed faith with their mouth but did not genuinely believe and trust in their heart. So Jesus begins to talk about the place where the “rubber meets the road.”

Where the Rubber Meets the Road — the point at which a theory or idea is put to a practical test.

It was easy to conclude that Jesus was someone special. That He was extraordinary could be seen through the miracles He had done. But to accept Him as Messiah was no easy exercise for a Jewish audience in first century Jerusalem.

And that is where the rubber met the road…Do you believe, have faith that He is the Messiah??? Not a good teacher or miracle worker…not simply an extraordinary man…but the Messiah!

Jesus simply did not “fit the bill” — He was not exactly the right person according to His audience. They expected the Messiah to be someone quite different than Jesus appeared to be.

In order to become an actual follower of Jesus a person must know and believe the truth of who He is and then follow Him…obey His teaching

The proof is in the pudding — You can only say something is a success after it has been tried out or used.

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” — GK Chesterton

“Christianity is not being weighed in the balance and found wanting. It’s being tried, found difficult and rejected!” — Leonard Ravenhill

You can only say you are a Christian when you have genuinely believed the truth of who Jesus is and committed your life to Him.

Once you have done so your life is changed. You are set free from slavery to sin. You don’t want to sin anymore. It is not in your nature to do so. You desire holiness and righteousness…God’s nature and way of doing things.

Each and every person is born into the bondage of sin. We are born with a sin nature and this nature leaves us helpless in the face of temptation to sin. It keeps us in a constant state of rebellion against God.

But once we give our life to Jesus we are given a new nature in Him. We now desire God and His way of doing things. We hate sin, die to it and detest its presence.

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we might reject temptation, take the way out when it comes and pursue God’s way of doing things.

The Jews were offended by Jesus’ implication that they were slaves at all. That’s the way of the natural man isn’t it. We take offense that idea that there is anything wrong with us; that we might be in any need that we cannot provide for in ourselves.

The Roman empire was one of the “greatest” to rule the world. For hundreds of years the Romans dominated the Mediterranean, building magnificent cities, roads that remain today and imposing their “peace” upon those they conquered. At the time of Jesus and in the centuries after the power of Rome seemed unassailable. By the fifth century after Christ the citizens of Rome had enjoyed eight centuries as a superpower. Regaled with tales of victory by their armies in far off places and convinced of their superiority to the barbarian hordes they were convinced their city could never fall. Then in the first decade of the fifth century they awoke to find Alaric, king of the Visigoths, standing at their gates with his army. What a preposterous man he was thinking Rome would fall to his power! Envoys were sent out to conduct negotiations to have him move away. They began with threats: an attack on Rome would be met by the almighty strength of her innumerable warriors. Alaric’s reply was simple: “The thicker the grass the more easily scythed.” The envoys realised Alaric could not be fooled by their empty threats. What then would be the price of his departure. Alaric explained that his soldiers would move through the city taking all the gold, silver and anything else of value that could be moved. They would also take with them every barbarian who had been enslaved. The envoys became hysterical. “But what would that leave us?” the demanded. “Your lives” Alaric replied. And with that Rome’s centuries as an apparently unbeatable superpower came to an end.

By the fifth century after Christ the citizens of Rome had enjoyed eight centuries as a superpower. Regaled with tales of victory by their armies in far off places and convinced of their superiority to the barbarian hordes they were convinced their city could never fall. Then in the first decade of the fifth century they awoke to find Alaric, king of the Visigoths, standing at their gates with his army.

What a preposterous man he was thinking Rome would fall to his power! Envoys were sent out to conduct negotiations to have him move away. They began with threats: an attack on Rome would be met by the almighty strength of her innumerable warriors.

Alaric’s reply was simple: “The thicker the grass the more easily scythed.”

The envoys realised Alaric could not be fooled by their empty threats. What then would be the price of his departure. Alaric explained that his soldiers would move through the city taking all the gold, silver and anything else of value that could be moved. They would also take with them every barbarian who had been enslaved.

The envoys became hysterical. “But what would that leave us?” the demanded.

“Your lives” Alaric replied.

And with that Rome’s centuries as an apparently unbeatable superpower came to an end.

The Gospel says we are sinners, rebels, filthy scum in need of the cleansing blood of our Messiah and the salvation from death and hell that only He can bring.

These folks couldn’t see it — After all they were children of Abraham and this along with their circumcision made them think they were in right relationship with God and free from any kind of spiritual or moral bondage.

They were totally incapable or seeing the reality of their situation because their pride and self-sufficiency had blinded them to who they really were.

Have you ever run into someone like that? Full of pride and self-sufficiency. They walked an aisle and were baptized at some point in their life so they believe their relationship with God is settled. They believe themselves free from sin, hell and spiritual death because they acquiesced to some religious ritual in their past?

But their heart was no more given to God than the people to whom Jesus is speaking in our passage today. It wasn’t real…They were only giving lip service to the deep realities of faith in Christ. They have never known Him.

Jesus wants them to understand…and wants us to understand today as well… Right relationship with God isn’t the result of one’s lineage, religious activity. It is a matter of genuine faith in His Son…belief in His identity and trust in His work on our behalf.

Your Life Tells The Story

Sometimes people come into my office and profess to be a Christian but their life tells another story. They profess to believe but their life doesn’t back up their testimony.

Someone once said the greatest sermon you will ever preach is a life of faithfulness to Christ. And that is true! Your life preaches.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was Professor of theology at the University of Berlin in Germany in 1930’s. At this time German Christians were divided over Hitler. One group allied themselves with Hitler, they wanted a “pure” German nation. They formed an official German church which supported Hitler and banned Jews from holding official positions in the Church. Bonhoeffer was among those who could not go along with Hitler’s anti-Jewish, radically German vision. With others he set up an underground church which explicitly refused to ally itself to Hitler’s Third Reich vision. It was dangerous. In 1937 Bonhoeffer was sacked. He flees to London. Two years later Bonhoeffer’s faced with a choice. He’s been offered one of the most prestigious theology appointments in the world – lecturing at Union Seminary in New York or returning to Germany to head up an illegal, underground seminary for the churches who refuse to go along with Hitler. He decides his faith is meaningless if he takes the easy option. He heads back to Germany and finds Hitler so evil that he abandons his commitment to non violence and gets involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The plot fails and in 1943 Bonhoeffer’s arrested. In prison he leads worship services for his fellow prisoners, until the fateful day April 9, 1945 when he’s executed by the Nazis. Through all this what distressed Bonehoeffer was the way so many Christians could sell out to Hitler’s evil vision. How could people who owned the name of Christ so betray Christ? How could they pray in a church which banned Jews from holding office? It convinced Bonehoeffer that religiosity in and of itself was worthless. It didn’t matter how fervently a person believed in Jesus, how many times each day they prayed, how earnestly and sincerely they sang hymns on Sundays. In the end the measure of spirituality is not how we are in the church but how we are in the whole of life.

Through all this what distressed Bonehoeffer was the way so many Christians could sell out to Hitler’s evil vision. How could people who owned the name of Christ so betray Christ? How could they pray in a church which banned Jews from holding office? It convinced Bonehoeffer that religiosity in and of itself was worthless. It didn’t matter how fervently a person believed in Jesus, how many times each day they prayed, how earnestly and sincerely they sang hymns on Sundays. In the end the measure of spirituality is not how we are in the church but how we are in the whole of life.

Francis of Assisi once said, ““Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

Jesus tells these folks, You are still slaves to sin. The Son, Jesus, is here to set you free from sin and when He sets you free you will indeed, certainly , absolutely be free! They will have an eternal place in the family of God…they will truly be God’s people. As it is their genealogical connection to Abraham is worthless.

They are physical descendents of Abraham but they are ready to kill Jesus…betraying the truth of their heart and who their true spiritual father was…the devil.

The answer Jesus, “Abraham is our father!” — But if this were true…if he were their spiritual father they would do the things Abraham did…they would live their life by faith in God and have faith in Jesus as their Messiah.

Galatians 3:6–7 HCSB

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, then understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons.

These people were intent on murdering Jesus not genuinely believing in Him.

“We are not illegitimate children” — The Jews saw themselves as the chosen people of God…He alone was their father and they could never be considered illegitimate as a result.

But if God were their father they would love Jesus

1 John 4:7–8 HCSB

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Those who have God for their father have lives which exemplify love…and this would most certainly be demonstrated toward the Son of God whom the Father had sent to save the world from their sins!

But the language of the children of Satan is one of murder and lies. Satan murdered the human race through lies and deception in the garden leading to spiritual death for all of humanity. These people had no ear to hear the truth because their native tongue is lies and their natural inclination is to kill anyone who speaks truth.

Their life betrayed them…the intentions of their heart demonstrated who their “father” really was.

You Are A Samaritan and Demon Possessed

This was about as low a blow as a Jew could hurl upon another Jew. The Samaritans were hated, despised and viewed as followers of Satan. So to call Jesus a Samaritan and claim he was demon possessed was an insult that went hand in hand.

The Jews “simply thought that for a Jew to question the paternity of other Jews was so despicable that only a demon possession could explain it.”

Jesus denies it and all claims that He is crazy, possessed by a demon or a Samaritan. He is simple following the Father’s will for His life. He says and does what the Father gives Him to do and in so doing honors the Father.

Jesus denies it as well as the claims that He is crazy, possessed by a demon or a Samaritan. He is simply following the Father’s will for His life. He says and does what the Father gives Him to do and in so doing honors the Father.

Never See Death

I am not possessed by a demon — Jesus is not demon possessed but rather following the will of the Father. He is seeking the Father’s glory in all that He says and does.

He who keeps my word will never see death — And if anyone would listen, have faith and follow Jesus, they will never die...At this they again accused Him of being demon possessed.

Jesus was suggesting that His word was superior to Abraham or any other prophet…They of course thought He was glorifying Himself…trying to make Himself out to be someone extraordinaire...But He was not glorifying Himself…but the Father.

that His teaching would lead to eternal life seemed preposterous to the people. But He was not glorifying Himself…but the Father.

Glorify — To demonstrate or be a witness to the power and glory of someone or something

Again Jesus states His life is to the glory of the Father. He is glorifying the Father in His life, words, deeds, death and resurrection. He is demonstrating the character or the Father all the time.

The Father is demonstrating His power and character through the Son and in so doing lets the world see who the Father is.

The people appeal again to Abraham but Abraham saw the day of Jesus and rejoiced. Not only that but He believed! He had faith!

Many scholars believe that the events of gave Abraham a panoramic view of his descendents…that He actually was given a vision of Jesus and he rejoiced at such. The other alternative view here is that Abraham is in Paradise and Jesus in His ministry at the present when Jesus was speaking.

However it happened…Abraham saw Jesus and His ministry, believed and rejoiced…they are not children of Abraham because they simply did not want to believe…Jesus did not meet their expectations of what Messiah was supposed to be.

You are not yet 50 years old — They took His words literally…He is not yet 50 but He is claiming to have been a contemporary of Abraham! Then the big moment comes...

Before Abraham was born I am — He is the “I AM.” Jesus is God and the people are ready to stone Him for such a claim…but it was not time and this was not the way…Jesus simply slipped away.

Conclusion

This entire passage has one main idea, “Saying you are a Christian doesn’t make it so.” You can say you are a follower of Christ but that confession doesn’t mean that you actually are. You can be baptized, go to church and even participate in the ministries of the church and still be lost.

These people thought they had the right pedigree. They were descendents of Abraham. They went to the temple and participated in the religious life of the people of God. The men had been circumcised and the women had been faithful. They were adamant that they knew God and were His people. But they weren’t.

God’s people are those who believe Jesus is who He said He is, “I AM” and trust their life to Him…follow Him.

Those who do so are filled with the Holy Spirit, given a new nature and empowered to a new kind of life…it truly is a “born again” experience.

Becoming a Christian costs you everything you are so you might become someone entirely new. It requires repentance from sin, death to who you have been so that you might be raised to walk in a new life.

D A Carson — “But such faith costs not less than everything, and the freedom it brings presupposes that life before such faith is pitiful slavery. By sketching genuine faith in such stark terms, Jesus is standing true to a pattern we find elsewhere: he is never interested in multiplying numbers of converts if they are not genuine believers, and therefore he insists on forcing would-be disciples to count the cost.”

But such faith costs not less than everything, and the freedom it brings presupposes that life before such faith is pitiful slavery. By sketching genuine faith in such stark terms, Jesus is standing true to a pattern we find elsewhere: he is never interested in multiplying numbers of converts if they are not genuine believers, and therefore he insists on forcing would-be disciples to count the cost

We cannot make excuses for family members who walked an aisle and never gain darkened the door of the church or never took seriously the commitment they professed with their mouth or even through the waters of baptism.

None of us can take solace in have hearted confessions and religious performance. Those who know Jesus have counted the cost and given Him their life.

People want something real…they are looking for it…grasping for it…dying for it…and the Gospel is real…Jesus is real…the changed life He offers is real.

Being prophetic in leadership and preaching is challenging but it can also be transforming. Take the case of the once racially segregated churches in South Carolina, USA. One of the Baptist Churches there appointed a new preacher, who though very uneducated, understood the gospel. Most pastors would recoil at his preaching method. For his first sermon he simply flipped the bible open and started preaching the words his finger landed on, Paul’s words to the Galatians that in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. In 1950’s southern USA where churches were racially segregated the application was obvious, at least to the preacher. There shouldn’t be black churches and white churches, there should just be churches made up of black and white. The deacons weren’t so appreciative of this message and demanded that their new preacher preach something different! The preacher did do something different – he fired the deacons and kept on preaching his message of racial unity. Many people left the church. His already small congregation became even smaller, dwindling to just four people. But then it started to grow, bit by bit, until it included people of all races. One congregation member was a lecturer in English Literature at the university of Southern Carolina who would drive 70 miles to listen to this uneducated preacher. His reason? “Because that mean preaches the gospel.”

The deacons weren’t so appreciative of this message and demanded that their new preacher preach something different! The preacher did do something different – he fired the deacons and kept on preaching his message of racial unity. Many people left the church. His already small congregation became even smaller, dwindling to just four people. But then it started to grow, bit by bit, until it included people of all races. One congregation member was a lecturer in English Literature at the university of Southern Carolina who would drive 70 miles to listen to this uneducated preacher. His reason? “Because that mean preaches the gospel.”

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