John 8:42-47
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?
47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
In chapter 8 of John, Jesus is speaking to a mixed audience.
There are some Pharisees, some people who believe in Him, and some people who do not.
Jesus speaks primarily to these who did not believe in him, including the Pharisees.
They were seeking a sign and looking for a way to trap Him or trick Him.
The truth Jesus speaks here is hard for them to accept.
They believe they are of their Father Abraham, which in itself can be a problem.
In the old covenant they should love and worship God and Him alone.
Not Abraham.
But they had elevated Abraham to an almost god-like status.
Think about what Jesus is telling them and then examine yourself.
Do I love Jesus?
Do I understand Him?
Can I not read and understand what Jesus teaches?
We know that some lessons are more difficult and take time to understand.
But most of what the Bible and Jesus teaches is pretty plainly stated and easily understood.
Love God, love your neighbor, love one another.
These are not things Satan wants us to do.
He will tempt us to be selfish and hateful and angry.
Basically, making a miserable life for any who will fall for his lies.
Jesus asks us to see the truth of what He teaches.
To accept that, without Him, we are sinful pawns of evil.
Without the Lord, we are of Satan.
There is no middle ground.
This offended a lot of the Jews.
And it still offends a lot of people today.
We tend to be proud and do not want to admit we are wrong.
It hurts our self-image, and we recoil at that idea.
But we must humble ourselves and admit that without God, we are sinful.
We must be willing to listen and evaluate ourselves through the Bible.
That truth can hurt but we need to hear it.
To really listen to it and examine ourselves.
If we never spend time in the Bible, we are not following Jesus.
If we are not spending time in prayer with God, we are not following Jesus.
We need to learn our faults to correct them.
This only comes from the Bible, God's word.
We also need to pray and build a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Believing in Jesus is the way.
Only Jesus.
Take time to listen to Jesus, read what He teaches.
Evaluate and examine yourself.
Then repent and be reborn in baptism.
Don't let the hurt or the offense of the truth keep you from saving your soul.
Change your life for the better and be saved.
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