Bible Study September 9, 2023
(John 8:32) (ESV)
32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (ESV),
32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NLT).
32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NASB),
32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NIV),
32 “And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin].” (AMP)
God is interested in our being honest. We may alter the truth (tell a lie, a sin) to a man but God knows the truth. My parents did not punish us often once we hit twelve or thirteen we just told them the truth. I remember a couple in the first church I pastored who had two children. The dad one day asked me about what to do about his six-year-old daughter lying to him. He would punish her for what she did. I suggested to him if he wanted to punish her (which I do believe in punishment) he should punish the lie she told because for some reason she was afraid to tell him the truth. Maybe her hesitance to tell the truth lies with the dad. Telling the truth should never cause punishment maybe rebuke by a parent.
No matter what we do in life, in business, in the church (even) we must be honest. If we find someone doing wrong we should not condone the wrong activity. Society and the church seem to condone sinful activity as okay – what then becomes of the church’s witness in the world keeping in mind the church is the “corporate body of believers. That is the reason Jesus came to earth to save people from making bad decisions, from acting against His will. Then accepting the sinner in love.
Sin has an interesting idea for many people. There is the idea floating around out there that sin is acceptable if we continually ask God to forgive us. The question becomes what is sin? It is willful, if I continue to do the same thing should I expect God to forgive me for the sin I am committing? Jesus discussed this in Matthew 18:22.
The struggle for Americans is that forgiveness requires admitting God’s control over our lives. We should not take revenge, because vengeance is the lord’s (Deuteronomy 32:35). We should not judge, because ultimately God will judge everyone (John 5:28-29). So, forgiveness demands a posture of humility where we remember we are not masters of our own fates, that we will all be judged in the end (Revelation 20). Since America as a country was founded during an act of rebellion against another power, we have individualism ingrained in our culture. We don’t like admitting we aren’t in control of our lives, that there are higher powers we will all answer to.
Live in the truth of the Gospel.
God Bless
Asbury Chapel 