Wednesday after Cantate
Posted on May 5, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. John 8:21-36 (NKJV)
8:21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Devotion
The Jews thought they were sons of God because they were Abraham’s descendants. But they weren’t sons in God’s house. They were slaves to sin because “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” Neither biological descent from Abraham nor pursuing righteousness by works of the Law bring freedom from sin. Freedom from sin’s harsh servitude can only be achieved by faith in Christ, who has atoned for the sins of the world and sets sinners free from slavery by faith in His death for their sins. Jesus sets believers free from sin so that they may be sons of God and abide in God’s house forever. By faith in Christ, sins are forgiven and we are freed from sin’s tyranny over us. By faith we are free indeed.
Being free from sin’s slavery means that it is no longer our master. We don’t have to fulfill the flesh’s wicked desires that arise from within our hearts. In fact, we are to fight the desires of the flesh. If we consent to those desires then we actively sin, and live as if sin were our master again. We fight each temptation by living instead as sons of God who are free from sin’s tyranny. As sons of God we want to avoid sinning. Sons want to please the Father in heaven by living according to His commandments, loving their neighbors around them, and by growing in righteousness outwardly and inwardly.
Prayer: O God, who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will, grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest and desire what Thou dost promise, that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
