True Christianity 11
Using Father Abraham as our example
Gal 3:6-9 NKJV
6 just as Abraham “BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
If you want to follow Jewish tradition … let’s go back to the origins of the nation of Israel.
Reading John Chapter 8, A woman was caught in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus by the Scribes and Pharisees, who were Jesus’ greatest opponents.
They tested Him by saying, “in the Torah Moses commanded us to stone such a woman, what say you?” They were using the highest authority in Jewish Law and culture to discover how Jesus would deal with it, knowing that if He did not agree with the Law, they could accuse Him of being a heretic, but if He agreed with the Law and said that she should be stoned, He would be accused of wanting to lead a revolution against the authority of Rome … making decisions pertaining to life and death.
Jesus, knowing their wicked intent, simply asked them a question … “Check your own heart and life, if you are without sin, go ahead, stone her” Of course they could not, as every Jew is fully aware that it is impossible to fully keep the Torah, the Law of Moses. Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the Glory and perfection of God … and the Law is there to prove it.
Once they had all left, Jesus tells the woman, “I do not condemn you … go and sin no more”.
The love and grace of God was so fully demonstrated in the Messiah, He is reaching out with loving arms, not to condemn but to seeking to save the lost sinner.
In verse 12 Jesus says “I am the Light of the world, the one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life”. If you will follow Jesus, and no longer be bound to the letter of the Law, you will have the Light, of Life, Who is Jesus … that Zoe, eternal and perpetual Life that He and the Father have.
Of course the Pharisees objected and from verse 13 we find Jesus also taking the Pharisees back to the origins … first His own origin, that is, He comes out from the Father’s Presence in Heaven and that He had come to bring the Father’s grace to mankind. He was fully aware that He was going to be condemned and murdered by the very men who spoke with Him, however, His mission was not to condemn them, but to save them.
In verse 31 Jesus makes a statement that would send shock-waves around the Hebrew world … “If you abide in My Word, you will be My disciples … Not disciples of Moses or the Torah anymore, but My Word, My Disciples, and you will then know the Truth and My Truth will set you free … not just give you rites and good works to follow … but My Word will set you free from sin and the sin nature itself.
Jesus did not bring another truth to add to the books of Moses … the book of Moses was there for the purpose of revealing the Messiah who was to come … Jesus came, fulfilled the Torah and the Prophets … the Life and teachings were built upon the foundation of the Torah … but moved on to its fulfillment in Him …and the Gospel dispensation began …. Know My Word which is The TRUTH and MY TRUTH will set you FREE from SIN.
When the SON set you free, you are truly free!!
The Law cannot set one free from Sin, but the Gospel of Christ does.
The Jews retorted, we are Abraham’s offspring, we are not in slavery … the foolishness and willful blindness of the Jewish leaders was astounding. They were in subjection to Rome and the very Law they relied upon screamed that they are enslaved to sin every time they offered a sacrifice in the Temple.
Jesus simply says, that one who commits sin is a slave to sin Vs 34.
However, when the Son liberates you from the snares and power of the sinful nature, you are truly free.
You, Jewish leaders are of your father the devil, wanting to do his desires and murder Me. You are happy to lie and plot to murder Me because you are under the power and control of the father of lies and murder, satan himself.
If you knew God, you would hear and understand that I have come to set you free from the power of satan … but you hold onto your position, possessions and practices as they give you what you want. Jesus simply expose them for who the really are.
They accused Him of being a Samaritan … a non-Jew, therefore a Gentile sinner and demon possessed Vs 48.
Vs 51 Most assuredly, I say to you. The words used by Jesus here are “Amen, Amen”.
Amen, Amen … I say to you … this will happen with all certainty, beyond any doubt or argument … If a man keeps My sayings … My saying … not the sayings of Moses, My sayings, he will live eternally.
The Jews once again try and argue with the Truth and Life … “Now we know you are demon possessed, Abraham and the prophets have died”. In other words, those with the highest position of honour in the Jewish world were mortal … they have passed away. “You say that anyone who keeps or lives by Your words will never die” …
Jesus responds; “My Father, Whom you say is your God, honours and glorifies Me. Abraham rejoiced when he was shown My coming.”
The Jews laughed him off, being carnally minded, all they saw was a human standing in front of them; “You are not even fifty years old … and You have seen Abraham?”
Jesus responded with the answer that no-one can skirt around. Either Jesus is Who He says He is, or respectfully, He is insane or a liar …. Jesus’ reply is earth shattering to the Jewish mind and nation. The God Whom they had worshiped and served since Moses revealed Himself as “I Am”.
Jesus replied to the Jews; “Amen, amen, most assuredly, most certainly, without argument, Before Abraham was, I AM”. In other words, Jesus told them that He is the Everlasting One, the God Whom they had worshiped and served for generations.
The following is a literal translation of Calmet’s note on this passage: – “I am from all eternity. I have existed before all ages. You consider in me only the person who speaks to you, and who has appeared to you within a particular time. But besides this human nature, which ye think ye know, there is in me a Divine and eternal nature. Both, united, subsist together in my person. Abraham knew how to distinguish them. He adored me as his God; and desired me as his Saviour. He has seen me in my eternity, and he predicted my coming into the world.”
Abraham saw the Saviour of the world coming in human form, as his Seed, he believed in the Lord and trusted that He would fulfil His promise.
The LORD spoke to Abraham and promised that he would have a son (Isaac), and in his Seed (Jesus Christ) all nations would be blessed. Abraham believed Him and the LORD accounted his faith to him as righteousness. This happened before he was instructed to circumcise himself and all the males in his household as a sign of the covenant they had entered into.
Because of the entire Abrahamic covenant, which was before the Mosaic covenant with Israel, God promised that He would send His Son as the Seed of Abraham to save and bless the nations of the world. And that all who would believe in that Seed with the same simple trust that Abraham had, would enter the blessing of Abraham.