READING TIME: 5-9 MINUTES
February 17, 2020
John 8:30-32, Part 2
SUMMARY OF WHAT JOHN 8:30-32 IS TEACHING: Only believers who continue to obey Christ’s word are truly His disciples. Jesus is speaking to two different groups in John 8. In the entire chapter, Jesus was speaking to Judeans who opposed Jesus and were trying to kill Him but in vv. 30-32 Jesus was speaking to those who placed their faith in Him. My good friend Dr./Pastor Tom Stegall made the excellent point that these three verses are “misinterpreted mainly because of the erroneous theological assumption brought to the text by many Catholics and Protestants that a person must persevere in faith as Christ’s disciple to have eternal life” (Dissertation 147).
WHAT THE NEW TESTAMENT TEACHES ABOUT “PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS”
These notes are from Dr. Tom Constable’s helpful notes on John 8:31. True believers are capable of not following Jesus faithfully. Many Scriptural injunctions urge believers to follow the Lord faithfully, rather than turning aside and dropping out of the Christian race (e.g., 1 Tim 1:18-20; 4; 6:11-21; 2 Tim 1:6, 13; 2:3-7, 12-13, 15-26; 3:14-17; 4:1-8; Titus 3:8). John 8:31 is talking about discipleship, not salvation; and rewards, not regeneration. This last view misunderstands the teaching of Scripture regarding perseverance. The Bible consistently teaches that it is the Holy Spirit who perseveres within the believer, keeping him or her securely saved. It does not teach that believers inevitably persevere in the faith, but that believers can defect from the faith while remaining saved (e.g., 1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 1:15; 4:10, 16). It is the Savior who perseveres with the saints, not necessarily the saints who persevere with the Savior (2 Tim 2:13).
ADDITIONAL NOTES ABOUT JOHN 8:30-32
The text indicates that in response to Jesus’s teaching “many believed in Him” (v. 30). In the next verse Jesus tells those who believed, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” Many commentators read this as if it says, “If you faithfully obey My word, it proves that you have believed.” But it has already been pointed out that the word “abide” (Gk. menō) simply means to remain in close fellowship. Jesus is here speaking about the condition for discipleship—not the condition for so-called “real saving faith.”
In this exchange, we might paraphrase Jesus saying in an aside to these new believers, “It is good that you have believed and are born again. Now, abide in My words and be a disciple!” It is to those who have already believed that He introduces a conditional relationship with Himself. Later, in John 15, Jesus will expand on the concept of abiding and explain that it is the condition of fruit-bearing in the Christian life and that it is characterized by obedience to His commands and love for the brothers in Christ.
In the mixed crowd of believers and unbelievers, it was the unbelievers whom Christ addressed in 8:33-36, who mistakenly thought Christ was addressing them in verses 31-32. This is why they responded in their self-deception by testifying that they were free, but in fact, they were still in bondage to sin. These are the ones who sought to kill Christ (8:37-40). These are the ones whose father was the Devil (8:41-44). These are the ones whom Christ, twice, explicitly declares were not believers (8:45-46). Therefore, to interpret these unbelieving men described in John 8:33-59 as being the same men who were twice described by the apostle John as believers in 8:30-31 not only does violence to the context, but it creates an unnecessary and unscriptural contradiction between the testimony of John in verses 30-31 and the testimony of Christ in verses 45-46.
MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE “THEY” IN 8:33
While some argue that “they” refers back to verse 30 (i.e., to those who have believed in Him), the portrayal of those addressed in 8:33-59 renders this impression highly unlikely. Jesus says that they are slaves to sin; they have no belief in His word (v. 37); they are unable to hear what Jesus has to say (v. 43); they do not believe in Christ (v. 45); and they do not belong to God (v. 47). They, in turn, say that Jesus is demon-possessed (v. 48), and they picked up stones to stone Him (v. 48). Does this violate the principle of the near antecedent? Should the “they” of verse 33 refer to those in verse 32 and not the Pharisees of verses 27-29? Not necessarily. The principle of the near antecedent is only suggestive and not absolute. What might be the nearest antecedent contextually might not be the nearest antecedent in the author’s mind? For example, in Acts 4:11 “He” refers to Christ in v. 10, but the near antecedent is “this man” in v. 10.
The majority of the audience was hostile even though some of the Jews had believed in Him. Verses 31-32 is Jesus’s brief address to the faction of the crowd who had believed, an important acknowledgment that furthers the dialogue with His enemies because Jesus introduces the possibility of freedom.
We should view verse 30 as an interjection of John’s editorial comment designed to help the reader understand the context of Jesus’s remarks that follow in verses 31-32 (We see the same pattern used by John in vv. 27-29).
The issue in John 8:30-32 is discipleship, not salvation. To muddle this distinction between a believer and a disciple is to change the requirement for salvation from simple faith in Christ to faithfulness towards Christ, issuing in good works.
As mentioned above, there is a clear distinction in the Bible between the condition for salvation and the conditions for discipleship. It is clear that verses 31-32 are addressed to believers (v. 30), and that it is conditional for them (“If you”). It is also clear that this is not an invitation to enter His Word, but to abide in it. These believers entered the truth of the Word when they believed in Jesus. But they must abide in it to become true disciples. If Jesus’s statement here is a condition for salvation, consider the consequences: salvation is by works because the word “abide” (menō) means to adhere to, continue in, remain in, implying obedience. Also, no one would be sure he is saved until he dies because he would not know if he has continued obeying God’s Word faithfully until the end of his life.
The discipleship aspect of this passage is amplified by the result of abiding and becoming true disciples: knowing and being set free by the truth. True disciples are in a position to know more truth and find freedom in it. Intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ and God the Father is a privilege of those who obey the truth (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:4, 7, 10, 14). Abiding in truth not only frees the disciple from the shame and guilt of sin, the bondage of legalism and the error of false doctrine but also frees him to experience love, joy, peace and the other blessings of the spiritual life.
Those of us who have believed in Jesus Christ for salvation have a fuller and richer life awaiting us when we abide in (live in obedience to) God’s Word. We will have a more intimate relationship with God in which He will manifest Himself more and more to us. We will also enjoy the freedom of living under grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit. To remain in God’s Word certainly implies that we hear it, read it, study it, even memorize it, but most importantly, obey it.
The table below shows the vital distinction between “eternal salvation” and “discipleship.” Dr. Stegall explains how vital this distinction when he wrote that “to muddle this distinction between a believer and a disciple changes the requirement for eternal life from simple faith in Christ to faithfulness and continual good works. The result is a different gospel (Gal. 1:6–9) that is not the true gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone” (Dissertation 148).
Salvation from the penalty of sin (1st tense in the past) Discipleship; present tense salvation from the power of sin; progressive sanctification
Saved (Coming to Christ) Following after Christ
Has been justified; positional righteousness Is being practically and presently sanctified; practical righteousness
Spiritual birth Spiritual growth
Absolutely free Very costly
Believes in Christ as Savior Submits to Christ as Master; obedience to Him as Lord
Faith in Jesus Christ Works for Jesus Christ
Grace for eternal salvation Merit for eternal rewards
Justification Present-tense progressive sanctification
Gift given Prize earned
Relationship established Fellowship enjoyed
Believing in Christ for salvation from eternal damnation Committing to Christ as Lord
Damnation for unbelief Discipline for disobedience
Undeserved grace for salvation Freedom from the Law (Bing 4, 28)
An instantaneous event, at a point in time Lifetime process in time
Placed into Christ Transformed into Christlikeness
One condition of believing in Christ as Savior Condition is a commitment to Christ as Lord and abiding (remaining in fellowship) in Him
What God did for me What God is doing through me
Christ died on the cross for me; requires Christ’s cross I take up the cross for Christ and I die for Him; requires the believer’s cross
Saved from the penalty of sin Saved from the power of sin
Is finished Is not finished
What God gives believers What believers give to God
Non-meritorious Merits a reward
Benefit: eternal life Benefit: eternal rewards (Bing 4, 21, 28, 51, 53-54; Stegall Chapter 7; Freely By His Grace Chapter 5)
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