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The Gospel of John IV - Lesson 6

                  Jesus as the Light of the World                                John 8:1-59                                (Continued)

  1. A SINFUL WOMAN FINDS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (John 8:1-11) (Continued)
    1. The Quiet Dispersion of the Pharisees (John 8:7-9) (Continued)
      1. The conviction of the accusers (John 8:9) (Continued)
        1. The righteous can develop their conscience so that it provides spiritual guidance in this life.
          1. It can be exercised by the application of the word to our lives (Hebrews 5:12-14).
          2. It can be kept sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit by exercising ourselves to keep it void of offense (Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16; Romans 13:5; 1 Timothy 1:5, 19; 1 Timothy 3:9).
          3. As such, it becomes a tool by which the Holy Ghost bears witness to the actions of our life (Romans 9:1).
    2. The Great Salvation of the Saviour (John 8:10-11)
      1. No accusers (John 8:10: Romans 8:33)
      2. No condemnation (John 8:11; John 3:17; Luke 19:10; Romans 8:34)
  2. CHRIST PRESENTS HIMSELF AS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (John 8:12-47)
    1. A Proof of His Deity (John 8:12-29)
      1. The testimony of the Son (John 8:12)
        1. The light of the world (John 3:19-21)
          1. The Sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2)
          2. His face as the sun (Matthew 17:1-2; Revelation 1:13, 16)
          3. A light from heaven (Acts 9:3-5)
          4. The image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)
          5. The brightness of His glory (Hebrews 1:2-3)
        2. The light of life (John 1:4-9)
      2. The record of the Son (John 8:13-20)
        1. His own witness (John 8:13-16; cp. John 5:31)
        2. The Father’s witness (John 8:16-20, 54; John 5:37)
      3. The blindness of the Pharisees (John 8:21-24)
        1. As to His destination (John 8:21-22)
          1. The lost (John 7:33-36)
          2. The saved (John 14:1-3)
          3. Every man will either die in his sins (John 8:21, 24) or he will die in faith (Hebrews 11:13) which today means to die in Christ (or “sleep in Jesus” – 1 Thessalonians 4:14).
        2. As to His origin (John 8:23; John 17:13-16)
        3. The condition of the believer illustrated
          1. He is “in the world” (John 17:11).
          2. But he is not “of the world” (John 8:23).
        4. As to His identity (John 8:24; John 3:36; Revelation 21:8)
      4. The sending of the Father (John 8:25-29)
        1. His judgment (John 8:25-26; John 5:22; Acts 17:31)
        2. His words (John 8:26-28; John 3:14; John 12:32-33)
        3. His presence (John 8:29, 16; John 10:30)
        4. His will (John 8:29; John 4:34; John 5:30; John 6:38; Hebrews 10:5-7; Romans 12:1-2)
    2. An Obstacle to the Jews (John 8:30-47)
      1. The shallow belief of the Jews (John 8:30)
        1. Not true belief (cp. John 8:48, 59)
        2. As before (John 6:14-15; John 7:31)
        3. As the devils (James 2:19)
      2. The requirements of true discipleship (John 8:31-32)
        1. To continue in the word (John 8:31; Romans 10:17)
        2. To know the truth (John 8:32; John 17:17)
        3. To be made free (John 8:32)
      3. Doctrinal problem in John 8:31
        1. The problem
          1. Does this verse teach a works salvation?
          2. Does this verse teach that salvation can be lost?
        2. The frequency of the problem
          1. The problem is not limited to John 8:31.
          2. It is found in the Jewish epistle of Hebrews (Hebrews 3:6, 14 ).
          3. It is found in the Gentile epistles of Paul (1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Colossians 1:21-23).
        3. What do the passages say?
          1. They make a statement about the present
            1. “then are ye my disciples” – John 8:31
            2. “ye are saved” – 1 Corinthians 15:2
            3. “yet now hath he reconciled” – Colossians 1:21
            4. “whose house are we” – Hebrews 3:6
            5. “we are made partakers of Christ” – Hebrews 3:14
          2. The statement about the present (above) is made contingent on an “if.”
          3. The “if” clause refers to actions to be found in the future.
            1. “If ye continue in my word” – John 8:31
            2. “if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you” – 1 Corinthians 15:2
            3. “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled” – Colossians 1:23
            4. “if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” – Hebrews 3:6
            5. “if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end” – Hebrews 3:14
            6. Summary – All of these passages state that we now are something if our future actions prove it to be so.  They do not say that our future actions will give us these things; else they could not be a present possession.  Since future action cannot be the cause of a present condition, it can only be proof that the apparent present condition is genuine.
            7. For instance, 1 Corinthians 15:2 does not say that you will be saved if you keep in memory what was preached to you.  Rather, it says that you are now saved if you keep these things in memory.  Your future actions will prove your present possession.  In other words, if you can forget the preaching of the gospel and live as if you never believed, then you prove that “ye have believed in vain”-your faith was not true faith in the gospel of Christ. This interpretation applies to all five passages studied in this section.
        4. What do these passages mean?
          1. They do not teach a works salvation or the possibility of losing salvation.
          2. They do teach that someone can claim to be saved and can go through the outward motions of believing without truly being born again.  This is consistent with other passages of scripture (Matthew 7:21-23; Acts 8:9-13, 18-23; 2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:16).
          3. They do teach that those who turn totally from God after they have professed to know Him indicate by their actions that they were never truly saved (Matthew 13:18-21; Mark 4:14-17; 1 John 2:19; 2 Peter 2:20-22).  [NOTE: This does not change the fact that only God can know in every case and we must trust Him to sort things out in the end (Matthew 13:24-30).]
          4. They do teach the importance of making sure of the validity of our salvation even after we have trusted in the Lord (2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10).
          5. They do teach that one of the proofs of our salvation is our faithfulness in serving God (1 John 2:3-4; cp. Titus 1:16).
      4. The only source of freedom (John 8:33-36)
        1. The denial of the Jews (John 8:33)
        2. Their bondage in sin (John 8:34; Romans 6:16-17); contrast with our liberty in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 2:4; Galatians 5:1, 13; James 1:25; 1 Peter 2:16)
        3. The strength of the Son (John 8:35; Hebrews 3:5-6); our sonship (Galatians 4:5-7)
        4. The provision of the Son (John 8:36; Luke 4:18, 21)
      5. The real lineage of the denying Jews (John 8:37-47)
        1. Not the children of Abraham (John 8:37-40); Abraham’s seed but not Abraham’s children (Romans 9:7-8)
        2. Not the children of God (John 8:41-43; Galatians 3:26)
        3. But the children of the devil (John 8:44-47)
          1. The devil (John 8:44)
            1. A murderer (1 John 3:12)
            2. A liar (Genesis 3:1, 4; 1 John 3:8)
          2. The children (John 8:45-47)
            1. Seeking to murder Christ (John 8:37, 40, 59)
            2. Rejecting the truth (John 8:45-47); cp. John 8:46 with 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22
  3. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD HONORED AND DISHONORED (John 8:48-59)
    1. Dishonored by the Jews (8:48-52)
      1. Accused of being a Samaritan (John 8:48)
        1. Their hatred of the Samaritans (John 4:9; Matthew 10:5)
        2. The history of the Samaritans (2 Kings 17:22-28, 32-34; Ezra 9:1-3)
      2. Accused of having a devil (John 8:48-49, 52)
        1. Because of His knowledge of them (John 7:19-20)
        2. Because of His hard sayings (John 10:19-20)
        3. Because of His power with God (Mark 3:22-23)
      3. The cause of their accusations (John 8:50-52); His offer of everlasting life (see Luke 5:18-26)
    2. Honored by the Father (John 8:53-55)
      1. The greatness of the Son (John 8:53)
        1. Greater than Abraham (Hebrews 7:6-8)
        2. Greater than the prophets (Matthew 12:40-41)
      2. The glorifying of the Son (John 8:54; John 12:27-30)
      3. The Father’s relationship with the Son (John 8:55)
    3. Greater than Abraham (John 8:56-59; see John 8:33, 39)
      1. Making Abraham glad (John 8:56)
      2. Coming before Abraham (John 8:57-58; Micah 5:2)
      3. The great “I AM” (John 8:58; Exodus 3:13-14)
      4. Hated by the Jews (John 8:59)
David Reagan

Daily Proverb

Proverbs 17:15

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.