April 19: Believing His Salvation.
HIS TRUTH.
"You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."--John 8:32
Hiroo Onada was a soldier who refused to give himself up when the Japanese emperor surrendered in 1945. He stayed in the jungle, hiding for twenty-nine years, long after World War II had ended. He only surrendered when in March 1974, his former commander flew to where Onada was and reversed his orders from 1945. Can you imagine hiding and surviving in the jungle for almost thirty years after the war was over? How about us? Are we living with the joy of salvation that Jesus achieved for us, or are we still under the yoke of fear?
There are two radically different types of Christians today: enslaved and redeemed! And you can usually tell the difference right away! It is sad to see so many Christians still hiding in the "religious jungle," barely surviving two thousand years after the loud cry of Jesus, "It is finished," reverberated throughout the universe (John 19:30). In the Gospel of John, "truth" is closely associated with the person of Jesus (see John 1:14, 17). Jesus announced that He is the Truth: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). Back to John 8, Jesus was talking to the Jews who supposedly believed in Him: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (verse 31, 32). But the listeners of Jesus reminded Him that they were Abraham's descendants! Completely disregarding their current oppression under the Romans and dismissing their past bondage in Egypt and Babylon, they claimed that they had never been enslaved to anyone. How could they be set free? (verse 33). This is where Jesus clearly states that freedom is not found in your ancestry, pedigree, or religious system. Sin is an equal opportunity oppressor, and Jesus is the only answer: "Everyone who commits sin is the slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever, the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (verses 34-36). The war has been won; Jesus is victorious. Do not be enslaved by fear but rejoice! He makes us free indeed!
My Response:___________________________________________________________
HIS TRUTH.
"You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."--John 8:32
Hiroo Onada was a soldier who refused to give himself up when the Japanese emperor surrendered in 1945. He stayed in the jungle, hiding for twenty-nine years, long after World War II had ended. He only surrendered when in March 1974, his former commander flew to where Onada was and reversed his orders from 1945. Can you imagine hiding and surviving in the jungle for almost thirty years after the war was over? How about us? Are we living with the joy of salvation that Jesus achieved for us, or are we still under the yoke of fear?
There are two radically different types of Christians today: enslaved and redeemed! And you can usually tell the difference right away! It is sad to see so many Christians still hiding in the "religious jungle," barely surviving two thousand years after the loud cry of Jesus, "It is finished," reverberated throughout the universe (John 19:30). In the Gospel of John, "truth" is closely associated with the person of Jesus (see John 1:14, 17). Jesus announced that He is the Truth: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). Back to John 8, Jesus was talking to the Jews who supposedly believed in Him: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (verse 31, 32). But the listeners of Jesus reminded Him that they were Abraham's descendants! Completely disregarding their current oppression under the Romans and dismissing their past bondage in Egypt and Babylon, they claimed that they had never been enslaved to anyone. How could they be set free? (verse 33). This is where Jesus clearly states that freedom is not found in your ancestry, pedigree, or religious system. Sin is an equal opportunity oppressor, and Jesus is the only answer: "Everyone who commits sin is the slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever, the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (verses 34-36). The war has been won; Jesus is victorious. Do not be enslaved by fear but rejoice! He makes us free indeed!
My Response:___________________________________________________________
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