John 8:37-59 - Child of God or Satan
Introduction:
last time we were together, we looked at (v.31). Those who have the true continual fellowship with Jesus in the Word, those who have a continued abiding fellowship with the Lord in the Word those are truly His disciples, those are His children. Those who have a love for God.
The Longest chapter in the Bible which is almost in the center of the Bible, happens to be on the Love for God’s Word:
"And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes." (Psalm 119:47-48)
"Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day." (Psalm 119:97)
"I hate the double-minded, But I love Your law." (Psalm 119:113)
"You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies." (Psalm 119:119)
"Therefore I love Your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold!" (Psalm 119:127)
"Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness." (Psalm 119:159)
"I hate and abhor lying, But I love Your law." (Psalm 119:163)
"Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble." (Psalm 119:165)
"My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly." (Psalm 119:167)
David declares his love for God’s Word that’s why he meditated in God’s word. He found joy, freedom, riches and peace in God’s word. David truly had a heart of a disciple. That’s why the Lord said of David that he was a man after God’s own heart that did His will.
A Disciple is abiding & continuing in God’s word. He is saturating Himself with the word of God. (Colossians 3:16; 1Pet.4:11; ps.119.11).
A. Who Is Your Father?
In Contrast—What does a disciple of Satan look like?
One thing is that those who are children of the Devil think they are children of God, they are truly deceived. Even though their believing the words of the devil & yet rejected the word of God, in their own minds they have rationalized that they are still living for God, when in reality they are living for Satan.
1. They Give No Place For The Word Of God (v.37-38).
a) My Word has no place in you (v.37). They come up with their own beliefs about God, which unknowingly to them are actually from Satan. These doctrines seem so wise & intelligent and so irrefutable, are actually whispers from Satan.
That in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1, NKJV)
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4, NLT)
1) It Doesn’t Matter What You Believe As Long As You Are Sincere.
Because all religions basically have the same teaching which is to love & that is the spirit of Jesus because He taught us to love. That’s the same as Ala, & Buddha, Confucius.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, NLT)
There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them.”" (Acts 4:12, NLT)
And all who believe in God’s Son have eternal life. Those who don’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them.”" (John 3:36, NLT)
But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars—their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”" (Revelation 21:8, NLT)
(a) There Is A Saying: The Road To Hell Is Paved With Sincerity.
q Illustration of Mom (with stuffed up nose) telling her child the sandwich is O.K.
q It does not matter how sincere & upfront she was, the fact is that the mayo was like poison because of her neglect of the reality of the truth of the situation.
2. They Trust In the Flesh (v.39)
a) Abraham is our father… we have a Jewish lineage (v.39)
1) Being A Decent Of Abraham Was Not A Passport To Heaven (Luke 16:19-31).
(a) They believed that simply being Abraham’s descendants, members of God’s chosen race, made them spiritually secure.
(b) It Was A Great Advantage In Knowing And Understanding God’s Will:
What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God." (Romans 3:1-2, NKJV)
who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen." (Romans 9:4-5, NKJV)
(c) But Without Faith In Him That Advantage Becomes A More Severe Condemnation. If Abraham himself was justified only by his personal faith, how could his descendants expect to be justified in any other way?
And he [Abraham] believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6, NKJV)
What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”" (Romans 4:1-3, NKJV)
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;" (Romans 3:21-22, NKJV)
b) If You Were Abraham’s Children, You Would Do The Works Of Abraham (v.39b)
1) Abraham Welcomed the Divine Messengers (Genesis 18:2)
Bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:8-10, NKJV)
Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:17, NKJV)
Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous." (1 John 3:7, NKJV)
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4:20)
3. They Want Christ Gone (v.40-41)
a) Now you seek to kill me (v.40)
1) Instead of submitting to the Him, they decided to get rid of Him.
During the tribulation, people’s hearts will be so hardened against God that they will run from rather than to Him (Revelation 6:12-17).
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”" (Revelation 6:12-17, NKJV)
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk." (Revelation 9:20, NKJV)
And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory." (Revelation 16:9, NKJV)
(a) People Don’t Want To Be Challenged With The Truth. They are not interested in what you have to say because their minds are already made up with their own belief systems.
(b) We have a reason for the hope that is in us. If you want to challenge that go ahead I know what I believe to be true & I can prove it.
Illustration—I believe that there will never be one more earthquake, tornado, hurricane, and not one more person on planet earth will die of starvation, I believe that! I say that’s a beautiful belief & I really like that but how do you know that? Well I just want to believe its true & I heard somebody else say it & when I think about it I have such a peaceful feeling inside of me. But when I think about the possibilities of these disasters I don’t like it, I don’t even want to hear about it.
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14, NKJV)
4. They Do The Deeds Of Satan (v.41).
a) You do the deeds of your father (v.41)
1) Your Works Will Prove Who You Are A Child Of. Jesus’ point is important. Our Spiritual Parentage Is What Determines Our Nature And Our Destiny.
(a) If You Have God As Your Father It Will Show In Your Nature
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:43-45, NKJV)
(b) If You Have Satan As Your Father, It Will Also Show In Your Nature.
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:10-15, NKJV)
(c) Their slammin Jesus by saying he was born of fornication. Their slammin the virgin mary saying she was a fornicator. You will live out what is in your heart.
5. They Have No Love For Jesus (V.42)
a) If God were your Father, you would love Me (v.42)
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments." (1 John 5:1-2, NKJV)
He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father." (John 15:23-24, NKJV)
If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed (1 Corinthians 16:22, NKJV)
6. They Cannot understand Spiritual Things (v.43)
a) You are not able to listen to My Word (v.43) You can tell people God loves you and wants to forgive you of your sins. They say, I am not a sinner, and that really offends me.
Illustration of Doctor giving bad news, you can either receive it or reject.
And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’" (Matthew 13:14-15, NKJV)
7. They Desire The Things Of The Devil (v.44)
a) The Desires of your father you want to do (v.44)
1) These Desire Show That You Have Never Been Converted (Eph.2:1-3)
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:14, NKJV)
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16)
And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24, NKJV)
God wants you to be holy… not in lustful passion (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, NLT)
8. They Live In A Lie (v.44)
a) Some say, “Hey, There are to many hypocrites in the church that’s why I don’t believe!
1) Hypocrites are lost. If you let hypocrites keep you from being saved, you will spend eternity I hell with them. Besides, you have to be smaller that what you hide behind. If you hide behind a hypocrite, you must be smaller than a hypocrite
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2, NKJV)
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.”" (Acts 17:30-31, NKJV)
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:" (Romans 2:1-6, NKJV)
2) True believers don’t live a lie-what you see them do at church is what they do in secret, nothing hidden.
3) There are those who want to appear to be Christians around Christians but in secret they are a different person.
9. They Don’t Want To Believe The Truth (v.45-46)
10. The Don’t Have The Ability To Hear (v.47)
11. They reject Jesus (v.48 cf. Matthew 10:32-33)
Your just a stinken Samaritan. You say that were not of our Father Abraham, well we say that your not a Jew either. You say that were of our Father the devil, well we say that you have a demon.
12. They see Good as Evil (v.48).
a) They are looking at a holy God and say I see a devil.
1) Our Society Today See’s Many Things That Are Evil As Good.
13. They Dishonor Jesus (v.49)
The illustration of a boy pushing a drunk out to the way of oncoming car & he says the boy is foolish for doing that. How would the Father feel?
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18, NKJV)
14. They Will See Death (v.50-52)
a) The Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15)
15. They Are Spiritually Deceived (v.55)
a) They believe in their mind they know Him!
Robert Shuller—In 1999, Larry King Live had as his guest Robert Shuller who is a Presbyterian Pastor at this time in the LA area & Larry King gets Robert Shuller on the Line and says,
Larry King: tell us Reverend Shuller where are you? Now he was over in Israel at this time?
Robert Shuller: “I am sitting right now where the shepherds were when the angels appeared and proclaimed the purpose of the whole faith, which is, to bring peace on earth (Matt.10:34). I am very interested to do what I can to bring peace on earth.
Larry King: Well why are you there?
Robert Schuler: well, I have had a wonderful few days meeting in the home of the Grand Mufti Muslim thinker and the leader of the great Mosk in Damascus
Larry King: Well, you are trying to bring religions together then.
Robert Schuler: Absolutely. I have seldom met with a man with whom I have felt more immediate kinship of spirit of agreement of faith than with the Grand Mufti of Damascus.
Later on in the interview Larry King says,
Larry King: I am the way, the truth and the life or your not, we got to get rid of that, ha?
Robert Schuler: Absolutely we have lost our humility. We religious leaders must begin to say, we will never try to convert other religious people to our own view points. Every way is right, every truth is right, every way is life.
Larry King: Thank you Robert Schuler.
16. They Wanted To Permenately Stop Those Convicting Words Of Jesus (V.56-58)