Trace It Back

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”— John 8:34-38

So in yesterday's devotional, we discussed that to know who Jesus is, these people must first know who they are. And Jesus told us who they are is determined by what they do. What they do is sin. Therefore who they are, are slaves to sin. But Jesus takes this one step further to clarify what this means about who they are from. And remember, they are putting up a big argument about who they are from. They think their father is Abraham. But because they have made all these wrong assumptions about their morality clouded by self-righteousness, they don't realize who their father actually is. And this is the real punch in the face. Jesus tells them their father is not Abraham — It's Satan, the Father of Lies. And I don't think they catch this.

What Jesus is doing is driving these so-called new believers toward genuine belief. He is helping them to see that verbal assent is not belief. Verbal assent is not belief at all. True belief understands these certainties: what they do, affects who they are, declares who they follow, and drives them to believe in the need for a Savior and a Lord. A Savior who saves them from the certainties of their sin. And a Lord who determines their actions into the future.

This is believing, and it's not easy believism. This is no ordinary call to salvation. This is different from the call to salvation we hear from most platforms today.

And here is what makes this hard for some to believe. When we trace our actions and heritage back on ancestry.com, we have only two beginnings. Your heritage begins with Satan, or it starts with God, which makes you a son of one or the son of the other. And most people have a hard time accepting that their actions are immoral enough that they can admit they are sons of the Devil. But if we can come to terms with this and accept that we are all sons of the Devil, we will and should run as fast as possible to a Savior and Lord. And that's belief. It's a belief that rewrites our history, heritage, and inheritance.

ASK THIS: What about you? Are you a son of Satan or a son of God?

DO THIS: Make your decision.

PRAY THIS: God, I believe my actions have declared I am a sinner, therefore, a son of Satan. I believe in you as my Savior and Lord, accept your truth and mine, and commit all my mind, soul, heart, and action to you today and every day. Rewrite my story as a son of God by the name of Jesus.

PLAY THIS: My Savior, My God.