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Free from Sin!
Pastor Sam Chess
Grace Emmanuel
Church
I’m dropping you into what amounts
to a first century kangaroo court.
There is a large group of people
gathered in Jerusalem. They’ve
been there for the Feast of the
Tabernacles. Everything Judaism
represented was on the line. They
were celebrating what they called
their “holiest and greatest
feast…..five days after the Day of
Atonement.
This was a feast that dated back
to the Exodus from Egypt and in
represented to them:
FREEDOM!
It was like their national Fourth
of July… Every seven years the
entire law would be read publicly,
word for word.
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Take that setting and plug into it
a man, who is walking around the
countryside, healing thousands of
people, referring to himself as
the Son of Man, a direct quote
from the Book of Daniel where the
Son of Man is one with the Ancient
of Days. Many are calling this man
the “Anointed One”… the Messiah.
It’s important to know…These
people had lived in a society
where everyone had been expecting
the Messiah for hundreds of years
and every Tom, Dick, and Harry,
hungry for attention, would rise
up and call himself one. Many had
risen, many had, fallen, some
minus their heads!
Lets break into the 7th
chapter of John and I’ll give you
a taste of what’s going on:
(John 7:1-42) After
this, Jesus went around in
Galilee, purposely staying away
from Judea because the Jews there
were waiting to take his life. But
when the Jewish Feast of
Tabernacles was near, Jesus'
brothers said to him, "You ought
to leave here and go to Judea, so
that your disciples may see the
miracles you do…..after his
brothers had left for the Feast,
he went also, not publicly, but in
secret. Now at the Feast the Jews
were watching for him and asking,
"Where is that man?" Among the
crowds there was widespread
whispering about him. Some said,
"He is a good man." Others
replied, "No, he deceives the
people." …. Not until halfway
through the Feast did Jesus go up
to the temple courts and begin to
teach. The Jews were amazed and
asked, "How did this man get such
learning without having studied?"
Jesus answered, "My teaching is
not my own. It comes from him who
sent me. …..
At that point some of the people
of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't
this the man they are trying to
kill? Here he is, speaking
publicly, and they are not saying
a word to him. Have the
authorities really concluded that
he is the Christ? Jesus, still
teaching in the temple courts,
cried out, " you know me, and you
know where I am from…. At this
they tried to seize him, but no
one laid a hand on him, because
his time had not yet come. Still,
many in the crowd put their faith
in him. They said, "When the
Christ comes, will he do more
miraculous signs than this man?"
On the last and greatest day of
the Feast, Jesus stood and said in
a loud voice, "If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to me and
drink. Whoever believes in me, as
the scripture has said, streams of
living water will flow from within
him." On hearing his words, some
of the people said, "Surely this
man is the Prophet." Others said,
"He is the Christ."
His detractors didn’t arrest him,
they didn’t kill him. He left them
all fuming, veins standing out on
their necks. He slept comfortably
that night on the Mt. Of Olives.
Next morning He heads down the
hill up the other side to the
temple and it starts all over
again.
(John 8:25-30) "Who are you?" they
asked. "Just what I have been
claiming all along," … Jesus said,
"When you have lifted up the Son
of Man, then you will know that I
am the one I claim to be and that
I do nothing on my own but speak
just what the Father has taught
me. The one who sent me is with
me; he has not left me alone, for
I always do what pleases him."
Even as he spoke, many put their
faith in him. (NIV)
Here’s the climax we are going to
stop and look at today….
(John 8:31-36) To
the Jews who had believed him,
Jesus said, "If you hold to my
teaching, you are really my
disciples. Then you will know
the truth, and the truth will set
you free." They answered him,
"We are Abraham's descendants and
have never been slaves of anyone.
How can you say that we shall be
set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell
you the truth, everyone who sins
is a slave to sin. Now a slave has
no permanent place in the family,
but a son belongs to it forever.
So if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed. (NIV)
I. Living in Bondage vs. Living in
Freedom.
Jesus audience wasn’t so different
from what a group out at the “West
Fest” might look today. Some in
the crowd had completely embraced
Christ as Messiah, and more
importantly as their Lord. They
had completely surrendered their
lives and futures to God.
More of the audience were like
many sitting in churches today all
across America. They believed… at
least to some extent…..they
weren’t unbelievers. You could
certainly describe them as
interested in Christ but you
wouldn’t describe them as
free. They still lived,
daily, with sin ruling their
lives…..
Some… many in the crowd were not
believers but they weren’t
antagonist either. If people
wanted to believe in Jesus as the
Messiah that was OK…. As long as
they didn’t try to force their
views on any one else or suggest
that their religious views were
better than anyone else’s..…
In Jesus crowd were a group of
people off to one side who were
“antichrist” ….actually making
plans to kill him.
To them all; Jesus carved through
their preconceived viewpoints and
drew a line in the sand:
If you want to know
God, as I know God you must… “hold
to my teaching”
If You hold to my teaching….You
will start to truly understand
truth!
As you come to know truth you will
be spiritually be set free!
Even those in Jesus audience who
believed in Him were struggling to
get their minds around the
magnitude of what he had just
said. They questioned him…
“you mean free in some kind of a
symbolic way right Jesus.” You’re
not actually saying that someone
who believes in you will
experience actual spiritual
freedom…. Jesus… We all believe in
God, Jesus but it would be
improper to suggest that sin
doesn’t still hold us down….that’s
just part of being human…..
Jesus replied, "I
tell you the truth, everyone who
sins is a slave to sin. Now a
slave has no permanent place in
the family, but a son belongs to
it forever. So if the Son sets
you free, you will be free indeed.
Would you describe yourself as a
person living in spiritual
freedom?
If Jesus stood in front of you and
said, “Everyone who sins is a
slave to sin but if I set you free
you will be free indeed” …. Does
that sound like something you
think you should be experiencing
or does it sound fictional…
dramatic….to good to be true?
In my experience, I have
discovered that those who have not
accepted Christ as Savior have
accepted that they are sinners,
and most have come to believe that
their sinful behavior will follow
them to the grave.
More disturbing… are those who
have embraced Jesus as their
Savior who indicate to me that
they have come to believe that
their sinful behavior will follow
them to the grave as well.
I constantly hear about:
1) Controlling sinful habits that
seemingly can not be broken.
2) Secret sins that if they got
out would destroy reputations.
3) Attitudes of bitterness and
malice that control emotions and
lives.
4) Selfishness and pride that
destroy children and spouses.
5) Taste in entertainment that
leave one feeling dirty…yet a
raging thirst for more.
6) Rages that would destroy
everything and everyone in their
path.
7) A complete lack of motivation
for things godly or Christ-like.
8) A preoccupation with wrongs
done in the past present.
Does this sound like freedom?…… Is
this what it means to be “Free
indeed” ?
Pastor: some of those things you
mentioned describe me, but even
though I don’t live as if I’m
free….in Christ I’ve inherited the
position of freedom, so in spite
of how I live, the truth has
actually set me free!
Surely Jesus wasn’t trying to
suggest that you could actually
leave the sinfulness in your life
behind… was He?…
I don’t think Jesus was
“suggesting” anything…I think he
was bluntly telling it like it
is!…or like it was supposed to
be…..
“Everyone
who sins is a slave to sin. If
the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed…… If you hold to
my teaching, you are really my
disciples. Then you will
know the truth, and the truth will
set you free!
I looked up the words…just to be
sure they hadn’t changed their
meaning from the original Greek to
their English translation….maybe
they’re not as potent as they
sound:
Know- “to be absolutely sure”
Truth- “unconcealed facts”
Free- “delivered…liberated”
And the English definition of free
isn’t muddy either…
Webster: Free- not under the
control or power of another
Sound like Paul in the book of
Romans;
(Romans 6:1-16) What shall we say,
then? Shall we go on sinning so
that grace may increase? By no
means! We died to sin; how can we
live in it any longer?… we know
that our old self was crucified
with him so that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we
should no longer be slaves to
sin--
… do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its
evil desires. Do not offer the
parts of your body to sin, as
instruments of wickedness, but
rather offer yourselves to God, as
those who have been brought from
death to life; and offer the parts
of your body to him as instruments
of righteousness. For sin shall
not be your master…
(Romans 6:17-23) But thanks be to
God that, though you used to be
slaves to sin…. You have been set
free from sin and have become
slaves to righteousness.
Just as you used to offer the
parts of your body in slavery to
impurity and to ever-increasing
wickedness, so now offer them in
slavery to righteousness leading
to holiness…. now that you have
been set free from sin and have
become slaves to God, the benefit
you reap leads to holiness, and
the result is eternal life. For
the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)
When Jesus said: If you embrace my
teaching you will know the truth
and the truth will set you free…did
he really mean “Free“? Was
Jesus offering us the opportunity
to lay our sins down?…Not to be
daily under the control of the
evil one and his desires and
impulses in our life?
Yes! - There is no other way to
accurately look at these verses.
Feedom is not the variable here…..
If I find myself in a position
where I am free…since freedom is
not a variable I have to go back
and look for another variable…..
“If you hold to my teachings”
..
There’s another variable… If you
don’t hold to His teaching you
won’t know the truth….if you don’t
“know” the truth, the truth can’t
set you free!
If you’re not a Christian…. it is
because you have not embraced
Jesus “truth” !
If I’m a Christian and I’m still
not “free” …. perhaps it is
because I am confused by about
Truth.
Let’s talk: There is a battle
going on for your very soul. Just
as clearly as Jesus has paid the
price for, and offered you,
freedom; there is another who is
offering you lifetime of bondage.
There is one who makes it his job
to make sure Truth is distorted in
your mind.
Distorted truth is
the same as no truth at all.
This week we all took part in the
battle for our souls whether we
recognized it or not.
When you faced that temptation and
lost…that was part of the battle
for your eternal soul!
When you said those harmful,
slashing words you were playing
out the battle for your soul!
When you opened your eye-gate and
let those sinful images lodge in
your mind you were taking part in
the freedom vs. bondage debate for
your soul.
Some of us…engaged in battle this
week…lost the battle… and didn’t
even lift a sword!… we are so used
to losing the battle, to being in
bondage to our sin, that we have
come to believe the bondage is
normal.
Many of us have believed a
distortion of the truth because we
have been outfoxed by the “father
of deceit” Jesus said to the
battle losers of his day:
(John 8:44) You
belong to your father, the devil,
and you want to carry out your
father's desire. He was a murderer
from the beginning, not holding to
the truth, for there is no truth
in him. When he lies, he speaks
his native language, for he is a
liar and the father of lies. (NIV)
The truth is , the only real power
satan has over you is the power to
decieve you…if you allow him.
Example: Curr dog…
Satan can do nothing about your
position in Christ.. But if he can
distort the truth and deceive you
into believing his lies about
you…and God… you will spend all
your time cowering back in the
truck!
You don’t have to
outsmart him
You don’t have to outmuscle him
You have to “out truth” him!
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