This document discusses Jesus' statement in John 8:31-36 about truth setting people free. It argues that Jesus was not referring to academic knowledge, but rather knowledge of himself. It notes that true freedom comes from knowing Jesus, and that those who commit to following his teachings as disciples will gain this freedom from being slaves to sin. The document explores the context of Jesus' statement and the difference between those who believe on impulse versus those who truly commit to learning from and abiding in Jesus.

1. TheTruthWill SetYou Free
VeritasVos Liberabit– John 8:31-36

2. VeritasVos Liberabit
▪ One of the most quoted
verses
▪ Almost always out of context
▪ “Any text divorced from its
context can become a pretext
which is a false premise.”
▪ Jesus is not speaking about
academic knowledge, but of
the knowledge about Himself

3. VeritasVos Liberabit
▪ What liberates Man is
knowledge of Jesus
▪ The idea is that the academic
knowledge learned at school will
set students free
▪ One of the most well known
Bible verses to believers and
unbelievers alike, but at the
same time it is one of the most
misunderstood verses

4. 31 ‘So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of
Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make
you free.” 33They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s
descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone;
how is it thatYou say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus
answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who
commits sin is the slave of sin. 35The slave does not remain
in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if
the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’
John 8:31-36

5. ABIDE IN ME,YOU SHALL KNOWTHETRUTH
▪ Vv31-32, Notice Jesus is now
speaking to those who DO
believe in Him
▪ Where’d the come from?
▪ Let’s back up to vv 28-30 to
refresh 0ur memories
▪ These were Pharisees– some
of whom started to Believe!

6. ABIDE IN ME,YOU SHALL KNOWTHETRUTH
▪ Does this mean they all got
“saved”? Don’t think so…
▪ This section is described being
about “Those who believed and
yet did not believe…”
▪ ?
▪ They were inclined to think what
Jesus said was true, but they
were not prepared to yield their
lives to Him in total dependence

7. ABIDE IN ME,YOU SHALL KNOWTHETRUTH
▪ In other words, they started
to believe Jesus on an impulse
▪ To understand this clearly, we
need to go to the Parable of
Sower, Matthew 13:4-6
▪ The group of people
described by Jesus in v4-6 are
the ones

8. A.W.Tozier said this…
“First, we must consider the person who becomes a disciple of
Christ on impulse.This is likely to be the person who came in on a
wave of enthusiasm, and I am a little bit suspicious of anyone who
is too easily converted. I have a feeling that if he or she can be
easily converted to Christ, he or she may be very easily flipped back
the other way. I am concerned about the person who just yields,
who has no sales resistance at all. Actually, I go along with the man
or woman who is thoughtful enough about this decision to say
truthfully: “I want a day to think this over,” or “I want a week to
read the Bible and to think about what this decision means. I have
never considered it a very great compliment to the Christian church
that we can generate enthusiasm on such short notice.The less
there is in the kettle, the quicker it begins to boil.There are some
who get converted on enthusiasm and backslide on principle!”

9. We can see how Jesus felt about this type of
person in John, chapter 2
23 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at
the Passover, during the feast, many
believed in His name when they saw
the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus
did not commit Himself to them,
because He knew all men”
▪ In other words, their faith was not
saving faith in Jesus, but the
acknowledging faith about Jesus
Christ

10. If you have this kind of faith…
▪ It CAN grow into SAVING faith
▪ How? 2 very important topics He
touches on next
▪ Abide and Disciple, vv 31-32
▪ “Abide” appears 17 times in the NT,
but John takes 15 times in the Book
of John, 1 & 2 John

11. Abide…
▪ One biblical scholar said, “ ‘Abide’ is a
long obedience in the same direction
with Jesus.”
▪ The Greek word for ‘abide’ is ‘meno’
which means “to remain, to continue
to be present”
▪ So you may ask, “How can I abide in
Christ?” Simple. Learn about His
Word, the Bible

12. Disciple…
▪ ‘Mathetes’ is the Greek word for
‘disciple.’ It means ‘learner.’
▪ Are you a learner of Jesus Christ?
▪ If your salvation is true, you will
have a strong desire to know the
Word of God; obey His commands
from the Bible; and strive to grow
in Him spiritually.

13. A SLAVE OF SIN
▪ Vv 33-34, Can you believe these
goofballs?
▪ Jewish rulers with complete
amnesia and total self-denial
▪ It’s as ridiculous as when I doze off…
▪ They’d been in and out of captivity
from the beginning, and were
then too!

14. A SLAVE OF SIN
▪ In v35 Jesus’ reply was dealing with the spiritual aspect of
freedom
▪ Sin enslaves because every act of disobedience to God creates
self-imposed alienation and generates a trend to further
disobedience that inevitably makes escape impossible
▪ Sin might be overcome, but the attitude and habit of sin are
right there to bring down the addicted
▪ The structure of the Greek word of “whoever commits sin” is
in the present tense, which implies a continual and habitual
sin rather than an occasional lapse

15. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SON AND SLAVE
▪ Vv 35-36, A slave has no security, because he
can claim no family ties that entail obligation
towards him
▪ The son of a family has permanent status
within it.
▪ Jesus enlarged this analogy by stating that
while a son is rightfully a partaker of family
privileges, the Son can make anyone free as
He wishes

16. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SON AND SLAVE
▪ How can slaves of sin be set
free?
▪ Only by the Son of God
▪ How does He do it?
▪ Through the power of HisWord.

17. Today’sTake-Home!
▪ New Life leads to learning, and learning leads to liberty from
sin
▪ When we obey His Word, we grow in spiritual knowledge
▪ When we grow in spiritual knowledge, we grow in freedom from
sin.
▪ If the carnal things around you appeal to you more than
seeking the truth through the Bible, you have a major
problem you must take care of immediately.
▪ First, repent to the Lord and seek His guidance to go back to your
first love
▪ Secondly, start to learn about Him through the Bible