08/05/2024 – The Truth of Christ Overcomes Self Deception
John 8: 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.
Truth has many enemies, but perhaps none is more dangerous than self-deception. We have a tendency to convince ourselves that we are in a better situation and condition than we really are. Reality may be evident to everyone else, yet we can attempt to create a more comfortable narrative… tell a more beneficial story about ourselves.
The world is in denial. People claim to be free to do what they want. But that is only true when you align your will with the will of God. When you do what God wants, you are free. When you decide to do anything against the will of God, you give up your freedom.
Self-deception is dangerous, particularly when believers are in denial. Here we find people who had believed in Jesus, but they were deceiving themselves. They claimed they had never been in bondage to anyone. It seems they had conveniently forgotten 400 years of slavery in Egypt, 70 years of captivity in Babylon and their present servitude to the roman empire.
Yet, our Lord did not remind them about any of that. Instead, He told them about the true reason people are not free: their own sin. Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to make us free from our sin. Only the Holy Spirit can convince us of this truth.