The Oldest Trick in the Book: Exposing How God’s People Fall for the Serpent’s Playbook

Chapter Six: Hearing Jesus — How Real Disciples Are Marked by Their Response to Truth

It is not difficult to see that the serpent has worked hard to make religion complicated, contradictory, and full of conflicting claims. But Jesus said something that cuts right through all of it: “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37)

That simple statement gives us both the dividing line and the solution. The dividing line is this: People either hear Jesus or they don’t. The solution is just as clear: Only those who are committed to truth will truly hear Him.

The Apostle Paul put it another way when he said that many are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7) In other words, being religious or educated or deeply involved doesn’t mean a person is on the right path. It all comes down to whether they hear Jesus—and follow Him.

Why does this matter so much? Because one of the most basic truths in the Bible is this: A person’s spiritual identity is defined by who they listen to and obey. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

This isn’t about special revelation, mysterious feelings, or mystical insight. It’s about a pattern of life that shows a person is truly listening to Jesus. Anyone can say they follow Him. But genuine disciples are marked by their faithful response to truth.

Jesus put it plainly: “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock.” (Matthew 7:24)

It’s not just hearing His words that makes us wise. It’s doing them and living them. And responding with trust and obedience.

That’s why Jesus rebuked those who heard His teaching but didn’t act on it. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46)

It’s not just a profession of faith that marks us as His followers—it’s the response of faith. And the proper response of faith is obedience.

Some people have been conditioned to view the word “obey” negatively, as if it implies legalism or loss of freedom. But that mindset fits perfectly with the serpent’s playbook. Just look at how well it worked on Eve. The serpent led her to believe that obedience was restrictive—and that disobedience was the path to wisdom and godlike status. And how do we know she believed him? Because she acted on his words. She didn’t just ponder the idea—she trusted it enough to put it into practice.

That’s exactly what Jesus is getting at in Luke 6. If He is truly our Lord, then we will do what He says—we will put His words into practice because we trust Him. That’s what real belief looks like. And more than that, if we love Him, we will love His commandments. They won’t feel like a burden.

“For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:3)

“If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” (John 15:10)

So ask yourself: according to Jesus, to whom would His commandments seem grievous? And if someone tells you that we don’t have to obey the commands of Christ, consider this—are they aligning themselves with the serpent’s playbook, or with the immutable standard of truth given by God?

This contrast between those who obey and those who reject His commands appears throughout the New Testament. It isn’t just about obedience in general but specifically about how people respond to the truth that Jesus reveals.

Here’s what we mean:

Jesus is the clearest expression of God the world has ever seen. Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that God spoke through many prophets in the past, but now He has spoken through His Son. And John 1:17-18 says that while the law came through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time, but the one who truly reveals the Father is the Son.

So, when we talk about hearing Jesus, we mean hearing what He says about God, righteousness, sin, salvation, judgment, and what it means to follow Him.

That hearing is what separates true disciples from false ones. It’s not about who sounds spiritual. It’s about who actually listens and applies what they hear, proving their trust by their actions.

“Yes, a man will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” (James 2:18)

This is where the conversation in John 8 becomes especially important. Jesus is speaking to a group of Jews who believed in Him (John 8:31). Instead of praising them, He challenges them. He tells them that only those who continue in His word are truly His disciples. He warns them that they are slaves to sin, and that they need to be set free. And He tells them that if they were truly Abraham’s children, they would do the works of Abraham. Instead, they are seeking to kill Him.

Their response? Anger, defensiveness, accusation.

That chapter ends with the Jews picking up stones to kill Him.

So what happened? Why would people who believed in Jesus suddenly turn against Him?

The answer is simple: They didn’t really hear Him. They listened to His words, but they didn’t receive them. They heard the sound of His voice, but they didn’t let it transform their hearts.

Jesus explains it clearly:

“Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word. You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.” (John 8:43-44)

In this moment, Jesus directly connects who we hear and who we belong to. He says that we will hear His words if we truly belong to God.

And that’s the heart of this chapter:

The one you listen to is the one you belong to.

Let’s dig deeper into this connection between John 8 and what it reveals about true discipleship. To help us see the contrast more clearly, let’s compare the spiritual condition of the people Jesus confronted in John 8 with what Paul says in Romans 6 about those who have truly been set free from sin. When we do, we’ll see that the language Jesus uses in John 8 is nearly identical to Paul’s language in Romans 6—but the outcomes are opposite.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

John 8 (Unchanged Slaves to Sin)	Romans 6 (Freed Disciples)
They claimed to believe (v. 31)	They obeyed from the heart (v. 17)
They continued in sin (vv. 34–35)	They were freed from sin (v. 22)
They resisted the truth (vv. 40, 45)	They became obedient to truth (v. 17)
They did the desires of their father (v. 44)	They became servants of righteousness (v. 18)
They were ready to kill Jesus (v. 59)	They bore fruit to God (v. 22)

 

This comparison is striking. Both groups heard the truth. But only one group let it transform them from the inside out. That’s the real test—and proof—of discipleship.

It’s not just whether we hear the truth—it’s whether we respond to it with obedience and trust. The people in John 8 thought they were God’s children, but Jesus said their actions proved otherwise. Paul says the same thing in Romans 6:16: “Don’t you know that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obedience, his servants you are whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?”

Like it or not—and whether it matches what you’ve been taught or not—Scripture is clear: we are either servants of sin or servants of righteousness. And that depends on who we believe and obey. According to Jesus, there’s no neutral ground. Our true identity is revealed by who we obey.

This is the same truth we see all the way back in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3, the serpent offered Eve a different version of truth. And just like the people in John 8, she believed the lie. She acted on it. She obeyed it. And by doing so, she showed who she was listening to. That’s what caused the fall.

Let’s compare what happened in John 8 with what happened in Genesis 3. The patterns are striking:

In both cases, the core issue is the same: Who are you listening to? Who do you believe? And how does that belief shape your actions?

This isn’t just theology—it’s the foundation of spiritual life and death. Just as believing the serpent’s voice led to death in Genesis 3, rejecting Jesus’ voice leads to death in John 8. The difference is not in the opportunity to hear the truth—it’s in how people respond to it.

And what kind of response does God want? He’s not looking for those who try to impress Him with credentials or clever arguments. He’s looking for people who will respond like trusting children. Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)

Typically, little children don’t come with arguments. They don’t try to outsmart their parents. They accept what is said in simple trust. That’s what God wants from us when it comes to truth.

In fact, Jesus praised the Father for hiding truth from the so-called wise and revealing it to the humble:

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants.” (Luke 10:21)

This isn’t about being naïve—it’s about being open-hearted. It’s about being humble. That means being willing to listen, trust, and obey.

And that takes us back to what Jesus said in John 8. Those who are “of God” hear God’s words with a heart ready to receive. And those who aren’t of God simply won’t hear, no matter how clear or true the message is.

That’s why Jesus told the Pharisees, “He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.” (John 8:47)

It’s not a hearing problem—it’s a heart problem. The people who rejected Jesus weren’t intellectually confused—they were spiritually resistant. The Bible calls it hardening of the heart. That means they had no room for the truth because their hearts were already full of something else: pride, fear, ambition, tradition, and the desire to protect their own image and control.

Jesus had already told them, “You seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.” (John 8:37) The truth didn’t fit their agenda, so they pushed it out. And that’s what people still do today.

In contrast, the ones who hear Jesus are the ones who have room in their hearts for what He’s really saying—not just what they want to hear. And they prove it by their actions.

Jesus said, “If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.” (John 7:17)

That verse is so important. It tells us that the key to recognizing truth isn’t education—it’s desire. If you want to do God’s will, you’ll know when something is truly from Him. If you don’t, no amount of study will help you see it.

That’s why Scripture warns that those who reject the truth aren’t just left in confusion—they’re handed over to deception. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 that those who don’t receive a love for the truth will believe a lie instead:

“They didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Because of this, God sends them a powerful delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

This is a strong warning. God doesn’t force anyone to believe a lie, but when people reject truth, they open themselves up to deception. And once that takes root, they may even feel more confident in the lie than they ever were in the truth.

We saw it in John 8. We saw it in Genesis 3. And it’s still happening today.

That’s why the issue of hearing Jesus is not optional. It’s not just a theological side point. It’s the main thing. Because who we hear—who we believe—determines who we follow.

“It will be, that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:22-23)

And who we follow determines who we belong to.

When Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear my voice,’ He wasn’t speaking in riddles. He meant that those who truly belong to Him will recognize His voice, love His words, and follow His lead—even when it’s hard. That’s the difference between falling for appealing lies and accepting truth that may seem undesirable at first.

And that’s the mark of a true disciple—not religious appearance, not biblical knowledge, not church tradition or attendance. The real test is whether we recognize and respond to the voice of the Shepherd.

Those who don’t will eventually listen to another voice. And the longer they resist Jesus, the more convinced they may become that the counterfeit they have fallen for is real.

This is why spiritual discernment doesn’t start with intellect—it starts with surrender. It starts with humility. It starts with a desire to know and do the will of God, no matter the cost.

And that’s what we’ll keep emphasizing. Because the moment we stop hearing Jesus, we don’t just drift—we get recruited into something else. A different voice. A different system. A different spirit.

And if we’re not alert, we won’t even notice it happening. Why else would Jesus keep repeating this warning? Clearly, He saw it as something deeply concerning.

Those Who Are Willing to Hear

It’s important to understand that Jesus’s distinction is not about predestination but about one’s willingness to receive God’s words. This willingness is what separates the true from the false, the faithful from the merely religious. God looks for hearts that are open to truth.

Jesus made this clear in John 14:23–24: “Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me.’”

Obedience isn’t just about rule-following—it’s a reflection of love. Those who love Jesus will keep His word. Those who don’t, won’t. And Jesus says that’s not just a personal issue—it’s about whether someone is receiving the Father Himself.

Jesus also warned about what happens to those who reject His word. In John 12:47–48, He says, “If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke will judge him in the last day.”

Rejecting Jesus’ word isn’t a neutral act—it’s a rejection of the very truth that will one day stand as our judge. That’s why hearing and receiving His word is so critical. It’s not just about this life. It’s about the one to come.

Even among those who followed Jesus, many found His teachings hard to accept. In John 6:60–63, 66, we read:

“Many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?’ But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them, ‘Does this cause you to stumble? … It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.’ … At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”

Jesus didn’t try to soften His message to keep the crowd. He spoke the truth. And those who didn’t want it walked away.

This pattern—of some receiving and others rejecting—is exactly what Jesus explained in Matthew 13:

“¹⁰The disciples came, and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ ¹¹He answered them, ‘To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them… ¹⁵For this people’s heart has grown callous. Their ears are dull of hearing. They have closed their eyes, or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.’” (Matthew 13:10–11, 15)

Jesus wasn’t trying to hide the truth for the sake of confusion. He was acknowledging the reality of hardened hearts. The problem was never that God didn’t speak—it was that many didn’t want to hear.

And that brings us back to the very beginning. When God created humanity, He declared everything “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Adam and Eve were not created with an inherent inclination toward evil or destruction—other than their mortality, which is implied by the necessity of the tree of life. Their status as God’s image-bearers was not fixed or unchangeable, but depended on their relationship with Him, which in turn depended on the choices they made, as seen in the commandments He gave them.

This relational design hasn’t changed. From the beginning, our identity has always been tied to how we respond to God’s words. And as we’ll see next, that same voice still speaks today—and how we respond to it reveals everything about the condition of our hearts.

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