“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
“Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:42-47, NIV)
Those who are God’s children love him. That’s the first message in this group of verses. The true believer’s desire is to please God. They choose obedience out of love for their Savior.
1 John 5 begins with an affirmation of this truth. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:1-5, NIV)
Love for God is not a gushy feeling. Love is obedience to God’s commands. And, don’t miss this, obeying God’s commands is not burdensome for those who are his. He gives them victory over sin. Remember, those whom the Son sets free shall be free indeed!
The other message here in John 8 is that those who are not God’s children, but rather the children of the devil, do not love God. They hate him. They want to kill him – or if he’s unavailable, kill his followers. They want to defame him – or if he’s unassailable, defame his children. By their hate-filled actions, you will recognize them. They are the devil’s children. They are behaving like their father – a murderer and a liar.
Do you love God? Do you obey him? Same question. If you love God, if you obey him, if you believe in his Son, for that is one of his commands, you can know that you are in fact his child. The family resemblance is obvious. People know who your daddy is.
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