Jn. 8:30-37, WDY’K: God Keeps His Children Forever (4)

b)    This perseverance involves the believers’ continuing in his Christian experience (Heb. 3:6: whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end; 6:11: and we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end).

i)      Not all who appear to believe or who say they believe are true believers.  In John 2:23-25 Jesus understood this and regarded men accordingly.  And as He understood, later in His ministry many who had claimed to be disciples turned away (John 8:30-37).  It would seem that Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:9-24 fits what we are talking about.  This is not new.  The Nation of Israel failed to understand this truth.  For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God (Rom. 2:28-29).  Jesus, in the parables of Matt. 13, said this would characterize this age.  The “visible” people of God would be comprised of wheat and tares, and the revealing of the hearts would not take place until the judgment (Mt. 13:24-30, 36-43).  This fits the apostate church that is predicted in the end times of this age (the “falling away” in 2 Th. 2:3).

ii)   The believer must/will continue in the word and doctrine of Christ.  It seems to me this is what is going on in Jn. 8:30-37.  The passage says many believed in Him.  Some would say that settles it: they are believers!  But then Jesus specifically addresses these people.  In v31 He challenges them to be “My disciples indeed” by abiding in His word.  “Indeed” sounds like they would be better disciples rather than worse disciples, but either way they would be disciples.  However, “indeed” is aleitheia, the word for “truth.”  Jesus is saying they would be true disciples, the opposite of which it seems would be false disciples.  In v35 the challenge is to be sons rather than slaves.  When Jesus offered them “freedom” (v32) they claimed to already be free because they were Abraham’s descendants.  But again, Jesus makes a distinction between true (“indeed,” v36) freedom and false freedom.  Those who are not free indeed are those of which He says, My word has no place in you (v37).  Having spent considerable time on this passage let me give you additional ones: 1 Jn. 4:2-3; 2 Jn. 1:7-11; 2 Pet. 3; Heb. 5:10-6:11; Col. 1:21-23.  In each case note the emphasis on continuing in the word.  We close this post with 1 John 4 where the issue is specifically the confession of Christ as having been fully man.  In other words, it concerns truth about the incarnation.  We have not completed this point so I hope you will return in the next post as we “continue on continuing.”