Are You Dead in Sin or Alive in Christ?

John 8:21-36 

Jesus Predicts His Departure

21 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come."

22 So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"

23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

25 Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"

And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."

27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

28 Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

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. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Jesus told the Pharisees more after they had doubted His testimony of His divine identity and He had taught a bit more in the temple about the kingdom of God out of the Old Testament scriptures.  He told them that they would be unable to follow Him where He was going and would be equally unable to successfully seek Him out.  Instead, they would die in their sins if they continued in disbelief and rejection of His equality with God (Philippians 2:6-7) as His Son who alone is able to deliver them from sin’s penalty as justly due to us all (Romans 6:23).   Jesus told them plainly that He is not of this world as they were and therefore cannot follow Him when He asc into the heavens and throne from which He came down to earth.  We all must believe that Jesus is the ‘I Am’ (Isaiah 43:13, John 8:58, 10:30, 38) who is Yahweh (Exodus 3:14) by the very meaning of His name.  Believing He is anything less than divine as the only Son of God the Father keeps us in our sin and its judgment as the consequence without believing God and His Word given to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of all who take Him at His word and put their trust in Him and His work (John 6:29) alone.  There is no other way (Acts 4:12).  These Pharisees refused to accept His word (John 12:48) and therefore remained in their sin (John 3:18-19) without hope.  Even after hearing this the religious leaders still asked who Jesus was because they were incapable of understanding without ears opened by God to hear His words (John 8:47).  Jesus told them that He had been telling them who He is all along and that He was telling them what He who sent Him told Jesus, but they could not even understand that He was talking about the sender being His Father God in heaven above.  Jesus then told them the only way for them to grasp this was after He had been raised up from the grave because the resurrection would prove His identify by that ability over life and death.  He did just as His Father gave Him to do and many did hear, believed, and received (John 1:12) Him by trusting His words to them just as we do now to eternal life with and in Him.  Remaining in this word of Jesus Christ makes us His sheep (John 6:65, 10:27-28) by giving us the ability to hear and grasp the truth which sets us free from sin’s penalty of eternal death in suffering for unrepentant and unforgiven sin.  His truth sets us free indeed!  Continuing in sin without repentance and faith is enslavement; trust and receiving Him through His word set set us forever free from that bondage.  If He sets us free from sin then we are free indeed and can no longer be punished eternally for sin not taken from Hos hand of forgiveness and Grace.  Are you still dead in sin or alive in Christ with this assurance?