“As He was saying these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””, John 8:30-32 HCSB
- Yesterday I said: “Rated R: The following material is only for mature audiences and contains my conjecture and contemplation as I seek to better understand God’a Word. I could be off: I always read that passage as if Jesus was saying that the Jews who had believed Jesus had to *start* obeying His teachings, and I while I think that is true, it sounds like Jesus was saying that they needed to *continue* in Jesus’ word. ( I could have probably derived that from “hold” but I read “hold” as “obey”). That may not seem like a big difference but it is a difference nevertheless. I have understood and used this passage to draw the distinction between believing and obeying but is that what Jesus intended to say or was He making the point that they needed to **continue**, i.e, continue to do what they were presently doing in regards to His word?”
- I asked David Mathis what he thought about my thoughts and he wisely shared the following:
“I’d say I agree with what you wrote here and I also don’t think it necessarily contradicts your previous understanding, but goes along with it. To me, the main thought of this passage is that some people “believed” in Jesus – that is, they were convinced he was speaking truth, was from God, was who he claimed to be, etc. And to those people, Jesus said if they “continue in” his Word, they will really be his disciples and they will know the truth, etc. So discipleship is about a lifestyle, not just a one-time decision. It’s something that continues… and as this lifestyle of practicing Jesus’s ways continues, the impact is growing knowledge of the truth and growing freedom. (As you read on, you see Jesus is talking about freedom from sin.)
I think this is a similar thought to what Jesus said in Matt. 7:24-27… “the one who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on rock.” By putting Jesus’ teachings into practice, we build a life that can withstand the storms of time. That doesn’t just happen by mental assent to the fact that Jesus is the son of God, but we build a spiritually solid life by putting his teachings into practice. So biblical discipleship is not just believing the truth ABOUT Jesus, but practicing the words OF Jesus. And the result is that we build strong, solid, spiritual lives – being transformed into the likeness of Jesus, increasingly free from slavery to sin.”
- Here is the full passage David refers to:
““Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great! ””, Matthew 7:24-27 HCSB
- Back to John:
“As He was saying these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered Him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will become free’? ” Jesus responded, “I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”, John 8:30-36 HCSB