“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” (John 8:24-28, KJV)

To be honest and to be sure, this type of preaching arouses great animosity and even hatred on the part of those to whom such words are delivered. Then Jesus states the reason, and in no uncertain terms, for their spiritual depravity
Then they asked, in effect; “Who are You to deal out threats to us like this?” However, even though they dismissed His Words as inconsequential, the bitter consequences would be reaped nonetheless; their treatment of Him and Him Alone decided their destiny, as it does every man.

Let this writer say without debate, as God is True, so is Christ and he who accepts Christ accepts God the Father, and He Who rejects Christ rejects God the Father. The  time of them knowing Christ has not even yet arrived, but will take place at the Second Coming when they look upon Him Whom they have pierced [Zecharia 12:10; Revelation 1:7]
In the Greek text Jesus literally says, “Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins,” echoing God’s self revelation as “I AM” in Exodus and Isaiah. The religious leaders trusted heritage and law-keeping, yet stood condemned because they refused to bow to the One their Scriptures proclaimed.

“Who art thou?”, was not innocent curiosity but hard hearted resistance to the authority of  “I Am” standing before them. “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am” points to the cross, where Jesus’ identity and mission are unveiled.
In being “lifted up,” He is both crucified in shame and exalted as the saving Lord, making plain that the rejected Nazarene is truly the eternal Son. Zechariah foretold a day when God would pour out a spirit of grace and supplication. John applies this to Christ’s crucifixion and His future appearing, when “every eye will see Him…even those who pierced Him,” and the nations will grieve over their rejection of Him. To accept Christ is to accept the Father, and to reject Christ is to reject the Father, because He is the eternal Son, one with God.

Our calling is to mirror His posture: trusting the Father, heeding His Word, and relying on the Spirit rather than resting in religious confidence or personal strength.
Religious familiarity, moral effort, and spiritual talk cannot erase sin; only faith in the crucified and risen Christ delivers us from dying in our sins.

Grace