Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Truth Sets Us Free


In John 8:32-59- The Truth Sets Us Free:

In verse 32 is one of the most profound verses in all the scriptures. It is a simple and powerful fact. The truth sets us free. For example, if people believe that a baby who dies without baptism is forever damned from returning to heaven, "And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven."(D&C 137:10) sets them free from anguish and lingering guilt of having neglected this rite for the child. If one has lived a life of serious sin, and upon repenting and changing lifestule still believe that he or she will forever be a 'second class' citizen in the church, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."(Isaiah 1:18)-will set him or her free from feelings of being permanently limited by past lifestyle. Elder Richard G Scott said "If you have repented from serious transgression and mistakenly believe that you will always be a second class citizen in the kingdom of God, that is not true"
As we continue on from verse 33 we learn that those who sin are slaves to sin, and the only way to be free of sin, is with Christ.
In verse 39, that True followers of Abraham, would do the works of Abraham. Christ says to the Jews that if they were true followers of Abraham they wouldn't desire to kill him. They reply that they are loyal to God and not born of fornification. (We learn that the words "fornication and adultery" are often used in the Bible to refer, symbolically, to complete disloyalty to God.
In verse 43, it teaches us that there are some people who, because of their beliefs or lifestyle, simply can't stand the truth. In verse 44, the Savior gives us a brief but concentrated description of the devil.  In verse, 48, we learn is a major message for us. As learners, we have the obligation to actively receive the gospel when we hear it, rather than simply hearing it.
In verse 48, the phrase "thou art a Samaritan" is saying, that Jesus is 'illegitimate' and God is not his father. The Samaritans came from remnants of the ten northern tribes of Israel, who intermarried with non-covenant people, mainly Assyrian occupational armies, beginning in about 722 BC., and apostatized. Thus, Samaritans were considered  by the Jews to be former members of the House of Israel who had "stepped out on God" by marrying non-members and thereby had polluted the race. They were "illegitimate"children, therefore, were despised by the Jews.
Finally in verse 58, the Savior tells the Jews, that He is the Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, and that the reason He has seen Abraham is the he is the god of Abraham and appeared to Him.

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