SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE LESSON 143 THE SOURCE OF TRUE FREEDOM
MEMORY VERSE: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
TEXT: John 8: 1-59
Christ’s commitment to the Father’s will explains His action of going to the temple to preach and teach the people “early in the morning” after the feast of Tabernacles, where He had faced opposition. Christ’s attitude to His calling reveals that believers should not seek repose while the harvest of souls remains unfinished. We must be busy for the Master and win souls while we have opportunity. We must preach the word and labour for the Master “in season and out of season. This we must do making sure we emphasise forgiveness and freedom from sin, which Christ offers to all who seek Him with their whole heart.
Question 1. What challenge do we receive from Christ’s commitment to His calling?
- ACCUSATION AND TEMPTING INQUIRY OF RELIGIOUS HYPOCRITES (John 8:1-6; Matthew 19:3; 22:16-18; Mark 8:11; 10:2-6; Luke 10:25; 11:53; 20:20-23; 1 Corinthians 10:9)
While Jesus taught the people, the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. In the real sense, they did not bring the woman before the Lord for official trial but to get the opinion of Christ on the Law of Moses. If He had declared that she was guilty and allow them to stone her, they would have accused Him before the Roman government for inciting the murder. And if He acquitted her on the ground of mercy, they would have branded Him a blasphemous fellow who did not accept the position of the Mosaic Law. These religious bigots in an attempt to entrap the Lord, flouted the law by arresting the woman without the man. One thing that stands out here is the hypocrisy of the self-righteous, religious people. Similarly, some people think they are part of the Body of Christ because of water baptism, regular Church attendance, partaking in Holy Communion, tithing, almsgiving, and mere identification with a Bible-believing Church.
Question 2: Name religious activities that make people think they are of God.
2.HELPLESSNESS OF MAN AND FORGIVENESS OF PENITENT SINNERS ( John 8:7-11; Romans 3:23; 5:12-17; Psalm 51:5; Job 14:14; Mark 7:21-23; Ephesians 2:1; John 8:10,11; 3:3-6; Matthew 18:3; Acts 3:19,26; James 5:19,20; Titus 3:4-7; Hebrews 2:3; Psalms 51:1– 8).
The story of this woman is an awful testimony to the enslaving power of sin. That she could go into sin soon after the feast of Tabernacles, a period of sober reflection and self-humiliation, reveals that sin is a terrible slave master. Besides, her story reminds us that sin is universal. Man was created in the image of God – righteous and holy – but since the Fall, sin has enslaved humanity and subjected us to God’s wrath and condemnation. Those who have not tasted of Christ’s finished work of atonement do not have the power to overcome it. They cannot walk contrary to the world’s sinful system because they are under the direct influence of Satan. The degradation that sin brings upon its victims is evident in the story of the woman. Because of sin, she lost her dignity and became a subject of ridicule.
Question 3: Mention some of the effects of sin on a sinner.
The woman knew the position of the law on the sin of adultery and the fact that she was guilty. She knew that she deserved whatever verdict Christ would determine against her. She resigned to fate but to her surprise, Christ’s offer of forgiveness and salvation became hers, which was most underserving by the dictates of the law. Christ gave His life for the forgiveness of our sins, and removal of our guilt, and the cancellation of our condemnation.
Question 4: How can a sinner escape sin and enter the kingdom of God?
3. DEFINITE TRUTHS ABOUT CHRIST’S DIVINITY AND FREEDOM THROUGH CHRIST (John 8:12-29; Matthew 3:17;John 1:1,2,14; 10:30; Romans 1:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-3; John 8:30-36; 1 John 3:8; Luke 10:17-20; Romans 6:14; 7:24, 25; 8:1,2; 1 John 5:18).
The divine Sonship of Jesus Christ is a core teaching of the Christian faith. If Jesus were not God’s only-begotten Son; if He were not the sinless second Personality of the Godhead, then His death on the cross would have served no redemptive purpose. Jesus declared to the people: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). In the discourse that followed, Jesus lays claim to His deity and declares Himself as the only Source of true spiritual illumination and fountain of spiritual illumination and fountain of spiritual understanding. Only through Him can humanity be free from the power of darkness and have access to the light that lightens everyone that comes into the world.
Question 5: What does Jesus mean by referring to Himself as the “light of the world”?
Although the Pharisees manifested unbelief, some people still believed in Christ (John 12:42). In the midst of oppositions and open display of unbelief, the word of God should still be preached because God has other sheep which He must bring into the sheepfold (John 10:16). The Jews’ response to the subject of being set free through the knowledge of the truth indicates that a natural mind cannot receive the things of the Spirit. A sinner is in bondage to Satan no matter his religious, political, socio-economic background and present Church affiliation. Those who claim to have connection with religious leaders but live in sin should repent in order to avoid God’s judgement.
Question 6: What is the danger of disbelieving Jesus as the Son of God?
4.DIVINE SONSHIP OF CHRIST CHALLENGED (John 8:37-59; Luke 3:22; 22: 69,70; John 1:18,34-36; Mark 15:39; John 3:16; 5:20-23; 6:68,69;11:27)
Jesus, in His conversation with them, drew a clear line of demarcation between His Father and Satan their father. He maintained that He spoke what He has seen with His Father while the Pharisees lived by the dictates of their father, the devil. According to Him, a child will naturally exhibit the character traits of his father. He said, “Ye are your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do…” (John 8:44). After distinguishing His Father from that of the Pharisees, they understood the implication and quickly reacted. Like the Pharisees, many claim that they are children of God because they pray and fast, pay tithes, sing in the choir, work as ushers, bear Christian names, and engage in other religious activities. But all these will amount to nothing if such people still exhibit the nature of Satan. The good news is that sinners can be forgiven if they repent and accept Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Question 7: Give reasons Jesus referred to God as His Father.
