Can You Be Born a Christian?

John 8:31-38, CEB

Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They responded, “We are Abraham’s children; we’ve never been anyone’s slaves. How can you say that we will be set free?”

Jesus answered, “I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  A slave isn’t a permanent member of the household, but a son is.  Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you really will be free.  I know that you are Abraham’s children, yet you want to kill me because you don’t welcome my teaching.  I’m telling you what I’ve seen when I am with the Father, but you are doing what you’ve heard from your father.”

                Throughout my life, I have often heard people say, “I was a born a Christian.”  Over the years, I’ve come to understand that most of the people who say that mean that they were born to parent(s) who were Christians.  However,  I have discovered that, on many occasions, people who say that do, in fact, believe themselves to be a Christian solely because their ancestors were Christian.  They use the word “Christian” to describe a heritage of sorts.  To these people, they are not saying anything about what they believe of who/how they worship.  They are describing who they are from. Further, they believe themselves spiritually justified by the lineage alone.

                This is the contention of the Jews who are engaged with Jesus in a lengthy discussion about slavery and freedom.  The Jews object to Jesus’s well-known statement about being set free by the truth.  They protest because they “never been anyone’s slaves,”  implying they have no need to be set free.  They base this assertion on the fact that they are “Abraham’s children.”  As suggested above, this is an appeal made on the basis of ancestry, not belief or practice.  They are descendants of Abraham.

                But they have missed the crucial part of what Jesus said because they were triggered by the talk of being set free.  Jesus precisely identifies what leads to the truth:

“You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Being faithful to Jesus’s teaching is what leads to knowing the truth and knowing the truth leads to being “free.” The slavery Jesus is alluding to has nothing to do with who your ancestors were.  It is the condition of sin, which we discussed in the last reflection.  It is being disconnected from God that puts people in slavery.  Sin makes it impossible to perceive the reality of the truth that is Jesus, much less be inclined to follow His teachings. The insidious reality Jesus is trying to expose here is that the Jews believe themselves to be free all the while being in the bondage of ignorance about who Jesus is. 

                This is not unlike those in our current day who believe themselves to be Christians (which is literally means “in Christ”) because of who their parents or grandparents were.  Jesus’s words here are corrective not just to first century Jews, but many modern-day “Christians.”  The slavery persists to this day.  More on that next time.

Questions:  How would you describe the “slavery” Jesus references in this discussion?  Have you ever experienced it?

Prayer:  Jesus, expose any deception within ourselves that keeps us from the truth you would have us know.  Show us if there are any ways in which we are enslaved.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for people you know whom consider themselves Christian, but don’t seem to have an active relationship with Jesus.

Song:  No Longer Slaves – Zach Williams