John 8:30-36 NASB1995: As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

Do you see what Jesus was saying here? Do you understand the gospel message he was teaching here? He did not teach that we could believe in him and therefore we are now saved from all sins and heaven is now secured for us when we die. He let those who believed in him know that if they CONTINUED in his word (in his teachings), then they were truly his disciples (followers). And he let them know that everyone who commits (practices) sin is a slave to sin, and the slaves will not have eternal life.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

Now, this is not the gospel message which is commonly being taught today in the USA where I live. The majority all appear to be teaching an altered man-created version of “the gospel” which appeases human flesh and which makes no requirements of “believers” to die to sin and to obey God in practice. Many are teaching a gospel which denies that any of us have to repent of our sins or obey God, while others make it optional, for they rely upon verbal confessions of faith in Jesus Christ to give them eternal life.

So, what is commonly taught today as “the gospel” is a mixture of truth and lies created in the minds of humans who want to convince people that they can “believe” in Jesus and that now secures them forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, but regardless of how they live. Although some people may teach this innocently, there are many charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” among us, some (or many) of them serving as pastors of “churches,” who are lying to the people, to send them to hell.

And yet you will rarely hear any preacher preach that if sin is our practice, and not obedience to God and to his commands, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, even if we did make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. But it is what Jesus taught. It is what his New Testament apostles taught. And if we read the Scriptures in their appropriate biblical context we will see that our salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life with God require that we obey God, and not sin, as a matter of life practice.

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

So, please take this to heart. And please do not depend upon anyone, no matter who they are, to tell you the truth. But study the Scriptures for yourselves, in their full and appropriate biblical context, and you will see that Jesus and his apostles taught salvation from sin and eternal life with God as requiring that we, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, must die with Christ to sin and now live to please God in walks of surrender to him in obedience to his commands, or we do not have eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

If We Continue in His Word
An Original Work / January 15, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love