Abide in Christ's Word
John 8:31-36 (NKJ)
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 “And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
Several years ago a movie came out Called “The Big Lebowski.” The main character in the movie, portrayed by Jeff Bridges, was a man who called himself “The Dude.” And the Dude had a great line in that movie. When the Dude is asked what he does for a living, He says, “The Dude abides.” The answer was hilariously vague because, if you think about it, almost everybody abides somewhere. Everybody dwells somewhere, everybody calls someplace home, everybody stakes out a place and says, “Here’s where I stand.” The more important question, though, is this: where do you abide?
That’s a good question to ponder as we celebrate the Reformation today in church. Where do you abide? Where do you dwell and make your home when it comes to what you believe?
At his trial in the city of Worms in 1521 Martin Luther knew exactly where he abided. When the emperor and the other officials commanded Luther to recant—to take back everything that he’d written, including his defense of the gospel—this is what he said: “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason… my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” In a room surrounded by enemies, surrounded by the temptation to back off and “go-along-to-get-along”, Luther chose to abide in Christ’s Word.
How could he do that? Where did he find the strength to stand firm? In the encouragement of Jesus Himself. Surrounded by enemies of God’s Word and the temptation to “go-along-to-get along” when it comes to spiritual things, Jesus encourages each and every one of us to abide in His Word!
1. Abide in Christ’s Word because it’s the truth.
You and I can abide in Christ’s Word, we can stand firm in it because it’s the truth! It is “the truth,” as in the only truth there is when it comes to a proper understanding of who God is, who we are as human beings, and our relationship with God. Speaking of Himself Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Our God is “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16), who “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). And so everything He says must be true. “Sanctify them by Your truth,” Jesus says, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The Bible even refers to itself as “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, Colossians 1:5).
This is why Jesus makes such a big deal about abiding in His Word. This is why he says, “If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed” (v. 31). True disciples—true followers of Jesus—believe His words are true! How can you say you’re a follower of God on one hand, but then not want to believe that Jesus is telling you the truth? That was the problem with that big crowd Jesus was talking to in Jerusalem. Some believed Jesus, but most didn’t. And yet those who didn’t believe Jesus still thought of themselves as faithful followers of God.
And that’s still a problem! We live in a world that largely doesn’t believe in truth anymore. And the world’s attitude about truth has filtered down even to the churches. There are churches, many Lutheran churches even, where the people say they’re followers of Jesus, but they reject what Jesus says when it makes them feel uncomfortable or when it goes against their view of the world.
These are the attitudes we encounter every day. So how do we deal with it? Do we abide in the Word of Christ? Do we remain faithful to God’s Word because we know it’s true? Or do we become “shrinking violets” in the face of others’ false opinions? Have you ever watched a sumo wrestling match? It can be kind of hard to watch. But the whole point of sumo is this: the wrestler has to drive his opponent out of the ring. What do you think happens when the opponent doesn’t resist? It isn’t much of a wrestling match, is it? When it comes to the Word of God, we’d rather say nothing and do nothing than risk losing or making someone mad at us. But if you’re standing in the ring of God’s Word, and someone else is pushing on you, and you don’t resist, what do you think is going to happen?
Stand firm on the truth of God’s Word! Abide in the Word of Christ! Stake your claim on that word and say, “This is where I live!” Is it easy? No way! But it is what Christ calls us to do!
And He not only calls us to do it, He makes you a promise: “If you abide in my Word, you are my disciples indeed. And you will know the truth” (v. 31-32a). The more you abide in the Word of Christ, the greater your knowledge of God’s truth (2 Peter 3:18). The more you abide in the Word of Christ, the more you will rely on it and believe in it. The more you abide in the Word of Christ, the more you will be unwilling to accept anything else in its place. It was only after Luther began teaching at Wittenberg, after studying the Bible every day, did he start to realize the truth of God’s Word for himself. Only after studying the Bible every day, did Luther find the confidence 499 years ago to stand up to the false teaching about indulgences that was going on in the church!
And that’s not just because the Word of Christ is true, it’s also because of what His Word has the power to do. You and I:
2. Abide in Christ’s Word because it sets you free.
It’s the last promise Jesus makes to those who abide in His Word: “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (v. 31-32). Yet free from what? The crowd listening to Jesus couldn’t figure it out. “We’re Abraham’s descendants,” they said. “We’ve never been in bondage to anyone. What do you mean, ‘make free’? We’re free already!” (v. 33). In their opinion they were God’s people and slaves to nobody, not like those Gentiles enslaved to their worthless idols. Even today most people still live under the illusion that they’re free, that nothing’s holding us back, that we can do anything!
But with the truth of His Word Jesus reminds us of a reality that’s hard to face. He told the crowd, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (v. 34). People like to talk about having a free will, but the truth is, when it comes to our own will, we are nothing but slaves—slaves of sin. We are chained down by sin’s desires, shackled by sin’s guilt, imprisoned in sin’s shame, and compelled by sin’s hopelessness to keep on sinning. To keep on refusing to meet God’s expectations, to keep on doing what we want to do instead of what He wants us to do. And if we were to remain in our slavery to sin, we’d come to a point when that slavery would be the death of us for all eternity. For, “A slave does not abide in the house forever” (v. 35). We need someone else to set us free. Someone who’s not a slave like us. We need a Savior.
And that’s exactly what we get in Jesus: a Savior! “A slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (v. 35b-36). By His holy, sinless life and by His innocent death on the cross, God’s own dear Son, Christ Jesus, sets you free from the slavery of sin. He destroyed the chain of guilt that keeps you shackled to your sins, by taking your guilt on Himself and paying for it with His own blood. By His sacrifice He removes sin’s shame and hopelessness from your life! That’s what the Word of Christ tells us! Your sins are forgiven!
And by the power of that good news message, Christ sets each and every one of you free! As you hear the good news that your sins are forgiven, God removes the chains of sin from your life and replaces them with the royal robes meant for His own dear children! The Word of Christ, in all of its truth, sets you free whenever you hear it! Free from those sins that are plaguing your conscience, enslaving your mind with regret and fear. Free to turn away from your sins and live as God’s children, giving glory to Him each day in your thoughts, your words, and your actions!
One of the devil’s great lies is that if you abide in Christ’s Word, if you believe in it and do what it says, you’re living in slavery. That somehow you’re limiting your freedom. But the truth is just the opposite! Outside of Christ and His Word, there is no freedom at all, only sin and death! The only place where true freedom is found—the freedom to do what is good, the freedom to serve God as His child, the freedom to live forever—that freedom can only be found by abiding in the gospel of Christ.
That freedom is what Martin Luther rediscovered and that freedom is what we celebrate here today. Live in that freedom, this day and always. Don’t let anybody push you out from it or pull you away from it. Trust in the truth of that Word and remain steadfast in it. Abide in Christ’s Word, the Word that sets you free, now and forever. Amen.