If You Hold To My Teaching

Day 1

God’s Word

“If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples

And the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31

Understanding of the Word Brings Clarity

Holding to the teachings of Christ is a matter of life, death, freedom, and slavery. It is about making a choice either to live in the dark and never know the love that God wants to lavish on you, or to live in the light as a free person who is obedient to God. Jesus makes it clear that his teachings are not his own but that everything he teaches comes from God and God alone (John 7:16). The Word gives clarity to our lives, helping us make the right decisions based on the teachings of God and Christ (1Timothy 4:16) and not our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). The Word of God teaches us to love unconditionally, holding no parts of ourselves back, and giving God our all (Matthew 22:36–39). It teaches us to serve when asked and when not asked. It teaches us to seek him out wholeheartedly so that he may be found. It teaches us to commit to his plan of reconciliation so that all may know and hear the Word (2 Corinthians 5:18). God’s Word gives freedom from the bondage of sin. It clears up all confusion about him and helps to break the trap of frustration that we live in when we live apart from God and Christ.

Understanding the Word brings clarity to our lives and helps us to see all things clearly through God’s eyes and not our own. The Word will revive and breathe life into us, revealing our purposes on this planet and giving clarity to the eternity that awaits us. With God’s Word, we can win souls, change lives, and make a difference in this world. Holding on to the teachings of God that comes to us through Christ must be a priority in our lives. God has no interest in lip service, good intentions, or those who think maybe tomorrow I will change. God is looking for sold-out believers who bear the name of Christ and do not waver. He is looking for sold-out disciples who acknowledge Jesus as Lord of their lives and are obedient to his lordship. His expectation of all believers is a sold-out attitude within their minds, hearts, souls, and strengths and who live such lives inside out. We cannot choose what parts of the Word we will abide by. With God, it is either all or nothing (Revelations 3:14–16).

Day 2

If You Hold

“If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples

And the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31

Free Will

You have to love the God that we worship. Not only has he created our world, us, and everything in it, but he gave us his most prized possession—his one and only son, Christ. Christ, who is our Lord, demands obedience and loyalty. He is our Savior, granting us salvation through lordship. What an amazing gift God has given us. The scriptures say, “What is a man that you are mindful of him” (Psalms 8:4). It is mind-blowing that a creator would love his creation so much that he would sacrifice his own blood, his only child, to offer a life raft to a dying world that may or may not reach out for it. That is the true example of a father’s love for his children, loving us more than we love ourselves.

Free will—God is big on free will. Therefore, you will see many times in the gospel where Jesus often begins his conversations with the word if. Jesus always challenges us to exercise our free will in response to his teachings. The New Strong’s Concordance G1437 translates if from the Greek text as “uncertain and conditional”. It is amazing how Jesus uses a two-letter word to convict us on the decisions that we will make when it comes to following him. Uncertainty is a part of human DNA. Regardless of our status in society, we all have been faced with decisions that we have not felt confident about. Yet Christ knew this would challenge us to overcome our uncertainty and to be confident in our decisions to follow him. Following Christ has always been, and will be, conditional. If we choose to follow Christ, then there are standards that we are required to live up to, live by, and live out. It is expected of us to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27). Christ is clear in what he expects from anyone who picks up his or her cross and follows him. The conditions are laid out before us—all we must do is exercise our free will. Free will is truly one of God’s most awesome gifts to us. He doesn’t force himself on us, he didn’t make us robots, and he doesn’t require that we become Jewish. He empowers us with minds so that we can think for ourselves, hearts so that we can feel and connect, souls so that we may be convicted by his word, and strengths so that we may exercise our free will.

Day 3

If You Hold

“If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples

And the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31

Don’t Let Go

Promises are always made with the best of intentions but are not always kept. As parents, we make them. As young adults, we make them. As leaders and followers, we make promises that sometimes we don’t keep. Keeping our word is important because it says volumes about our integrity, especially when we give God our word. God speaks about being careful when making a vow to him. We should not be hasty or foolish or delay in keeping our vows (Ecclesiastes. 5:2–7). When we say that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, we say that we believe in his teachings and that we will live them out. We are giving Christ our word, our promise, that we will not abandon or compromise the gospel, the law, the Bible. Jesus says, “If you hold” (John 8:31; emphasis added). Hold is another keyword in this scripture; it signifies not letting go but staying with it. There are many different translations of the word hold when used in this scripture; these include if you continue (John 8:31 NASB), if you keep (John 8:31 CEV), if you remain (John 8:31 NLT), if you abide (John 8:31 ESV), and if you obey (John 8:31 GNT). All these words bear the same meaning for anyone claiming to follow or walk just like Jesus (1 John 2:3–6).

The New Strong’s Concordance G3306, translates continue from the Greek text as “to stay in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy.”

God is looking for true worshippers (John 4:24), not people who will let go when it gets tough. Standing firm is what we must do to honor our Lord, who has sacrificed so much for us. We must take our discipleship seriously and persevere through all situations, never wavering in our convictions. The teachings of the Bible define us as believers, build up our characters, and strengthen us in our daily walks. If we let go, then we fall back into being lost and poor in spirit, but if we hold on and press forward, then we are really his disciples.