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Believing Jesus means trusting Him and living all that He says. Being Jesus' disciple means to hold steadfastly to what Jesus says in your thoughts, actions, attitudes, words and being. IF you do this, then God's Truth will set you free from the evil that hinders your spirit. To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 This conversation happened about 2000 years ago. It was recorded by the apostle John. It states that Jesus was speaking to Jews, people who were like Jesus. These Jews did believe Jesus. That means they saw him, knew him, and trusted that what Jesus said was true. Being a Jew and believing Jesus took courage. Most Jews were ostracized by the ruling counsel and criticized if they believed Jesus. (John 9:20-23, John 3:1-2, Luke 6:7, Luke 16:14, John 9:24-38) Jesus is speaking to the courageous and seemingly faithful people who know Him and trust Him. Then Jesus tells these Jews, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” While these nice Jews are standing around and listen to Jesus, trusting Him, Jesus gives them this warning: a specification. Jesus says “IF you hold to…” that means, if you, hold fast to, cling to with all of your being (Deut 6:5), live according to, continue in, and endure and stand. “ … to My teaching, THEN you really are My disciples.” That means that IF you live according to what Jesus says, what God says above all the other voices, THEN you really are Jesus’ disciples. A disciple is a student, someone who is under the instruction, correction, teaching, and learning of a teacher, in this case, the Lord Jesus Christ. Disciples in those days stayed with their teachers for years, day in and day out, to learn all they could from them. Jesus, then, is not speaking of their physical attention to Him, but the requirement of internalizing Jesus’ words in order to be His disciple. This is particularly good for us who do not see Jesus physically, but yet can read His words and know His thoughts, and thereby adhere to them with all of our being! (Psalm 1, 1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 4:7, Romans 12:2, James 1:18, John 17:17, John 8:51, Matthew 4:4, John 6:63) Jesus takes the stipulation ONE STEP further. IF you are Jesus’ disciple, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." That means that ONLY if you, hold fast to, cling to with all of your being (Deut 6:5), live according to, continue in, and endure and stand in Jesus’ teaching will you KNOW the Truth. Jesus has said time and time again that His Word is Truth, and His Word is eternal Life. So the progression makes sense that living His Word will set you free from sin and spiritual danger. (John 8:51, John 6:63, 1 Peter 1:23, Matthew 4:4, John 17:17, John 14:6, John 6:68) And by knowing the Truth, God’s Truth, Jesus’ Words which are Truth, by knowing and adhering to them in your mind, heart, emotions, attitudes, will, actions, etc, that Truth will set you free. This is the logical breakdown = Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, Then you are really my disciples. If you hold to my teaching, Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 Truth will set you free. Free from what? Free from lies. Free from deception. Free from what is bad. Free to enjoy what is pure and good. Free to be clean and holy. Free to be with God incessantly. Free to receive the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4) Free from what? From being entangled in evil and sin. Free from being entangled in destructive thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, etc. Free from sin of your own, and free from the snares of other’s sin upon you. Free from the internalized effects of bad thinking, wrong actions, harmful words, and more. This is why Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 nkjv To a woman in need, Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." … "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:10-14 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. John 7:37-39 "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30 All that the Father gives me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. John 6:37
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