So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, “You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” (John 8:31-38)

Mankind lives under the strain of mystery; unanswered questions plague him at every level. Where did I come from? Who am I? What is my purpose? In his fallen lineage, he comes up with the wrong answers, perpetuating his misery through time. It really gets back to this, “Who’s your Daddy?”

For instance: “Where did I come from?” The origin of our species was not primordial matter. It was the mind of God. This wrong answer is toxic because it precludes Jesus (who preceded our beginning) from our beginning. The answer to our problem was removed from the dialogue about our problem. The father of lies has heard our questions and lied to us. This lie regarding our origin, now assumed to be hard science, enslaves billions. The only person by whom we might be saved is Jesus Christ, and He explains why: “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

Because Jesus has been with the Father, He knows precisely what has gone wrong. Darkness entered into mankind at the Fall, making him susceptible to lies. Satan has masterfully woven his lies into the fabric of society through the most sophisticated philosophies and the vainest of speculations. These are the things we have heard from our father in darkness. Our problems can be traced to our pedigree. Who is our father? Are we children of deception, or are we children of light?

“But,” we protest, “we are Christians! We have the Holy Spirit—The Counselor and Spirit of Truth; we can’t be deceived…can we?” Unfortunately we can. Keep in mind who Jesus is speaking to in our passage—Jews who had believed in Him. It is to believers Jesus speaks this hard word: My word has no place in you.

These young believers had lived their lives just as we have, conditioned by the lies woven seamlessly into culture in order to enslave us and steal from us. Jesus offers the remedy for their problem and ours: “and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

This was offensive. “What do you mean! We have great pedigrees. We are the offspring of Abraham. We have never been enslaved!” Jesus corrects them, explaining that if you have practiced sin you have demonstrated your enslavement. Then he makes a peculiar statement: “And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

If we abide (or remain) in his Word, the truth will deliver our enslaved minds and transform us into sons who abide in the Father’s presence. Slaves do not remain in the house forever. Over time, Truth sets us free. We are liberated into the freedom of God’s children. Freedom is our inheritance and our destiny.

(For those digging deeper: please check out the beautiful passage in Romans 8:18-25.)

The Jews believed their pedigree exempted them from deception. Christians also fall into this trap. The Jews were offended, and so are we when someone implies we’re not enlightened  or  free. As one who has dealt with post-conversion deception (PCD), I have a suggestion: pay attention to the things that offend you.

Recall the Jews reaction to the Truth; “What do you mean!”  We Christians react the same way and then take our stand upon our pedigrees: “I am Christian. I am not deceived!” In my ongoing journey out of religious darkness, I am discovering that what offends me is an indicator of what enslaves me. As one who has always found himself innocent on all counts, I believe our protests often reveal specifics of our bondage.

Perhaps you are saying, “Thank God Almighty! I’m not offended with anyone. I’m free at last!” All I can say is, “Good luck with that.” I can’t speak with the authority of a professional counselor. However, with whatever authority personal experience brings, I can say—the most enslaving lies exist in the form of unchallenged assumptions we have about our reality. The father of lies is no amateur. He makes sure his lies get buried deep into our identities. They become the unedited tapes that drive our lives—perfected patterns of thinking, enabling us to abide in deception instead of Truth. Wherever we are in the process of our salvation, the Truth is the only thing that shall set us free… and it will likely offend us when we first hear it.

Father, glorify Your Name as You continue to lead us out of slavery into the glorious freedom you have purchased for us as sons and daughters. Truly, Lord, we slaves will not remain in the house forever, but we children shall. Amen..

 

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