Untitled Sermon (10)

Use a guitar and a guitar lessons book.

Am I free to play whatever music my heart desires on the guitar?

So, let’s take this book. How to play the guitar....

Is it meant to GIVE or take away my freedom?

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I can do what I want. The best way to live my life is to do whatever I feel like, do what seems right and best to me, live out my truth....

In Jesus’ day there was a group of people who believed they were living in freedom. But they weren’t. In John 8, Jesus is at a feast…a big party where they celebrated God’s presence. A big party that was often filled with lights. And Jesus stands up in the midst of this party and says, “I’m the light of the world...”

They don’t like that very much…and so Jesus has a bit of a debate with the religious leaders. Here is part of that debate:

John 8:31–37 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

Let me tell you briefly why we are in this text this morning. In April we are doing a 5 week series on what Jesus said in Luke 4. He read from Isaiah 61 and said, “this has been fulfilled.” Last week we saw that Jesus proclaims good news to the poor. This week we see that Jesus gives liberty or freedom to captives.

The word there in Luke 4 for captives, sometimes translated prisoners, comes from Isaiah 61 and there it is likely pointing to those who have been sold as slaves because of their debts but who would be set free with the year of jubilee. Their debts are forgiven. The meaning is far more than something like Jesus busting people out of prison. The meaning is what we find here in John 8.

Jesus gives freedom.

What does this mean? What is freedom? What does it mean that Jesus sets captives free?

Freedom.

That’s a word we hear quite often these days. No matter which side of the political aisle you are on, I’d almost bet that your leaders have said at some point within the past few years, “You need to vote for me, because if you don’t the other side is going to take away your freedom.”

But is that’s more the type of freedom defined by the Collins Dictionary— “the state of being allowed to do what you want to do.” It’s the idea that freedom is me doing what I want to do. And I suppose that’s a definition of freedom.

But just ask an addict if “doing what you want to do” actually is freedom—or if its bondage. Just look at the book of Judges in the Bible, it’s when everybody did what was right in their own eyes. Tell me if that looks like freedom.

Or even look at our own nation. Everybody is doing what they want to do—or fighting about getting to do what they want to do—and realizing that when our freedoms intersect, when this is our definition and meaning of freedom, then what happens is that me exercising my “I’ll do what I want” has an impact on your “I’ll do what I want”…and so in order for ME to be free, I have to shut down YOUR freedom.

What if, that isn’t God’s definition freedom. What if freedom is more like “being able to do what I was created to do”? That gets us a little closer to what we saw earlier with that guitar.

What does it mean to be truly free to play the guitar? It means that I know it well enough to actually play. And that book—it’s not meant to restrict my freedom. It’s meant to GIVE me freedom.

But what happens if I’m convinced that I’m the greatest guitar player in the world. I don’t need to follow the rules. I just make my own music. Do what I feel like?

Watch this interaction with Jesus and those who had believed in him. These were people who were professing some sort of a faith in Jesus…but as the story progresses we see that this is clearly not saving faith. I mean look at verse 44 what Jesus says to this same group, “You are of your father the devil.”

What we have here are like Jesus’ parable of the soils. If you remember that, Jesus says for some the word is planted on different kinds of soil. Some false on a the path—birds swooped in and took it, others fell amongst rocky places and it couldn’t take any root, others fell among thorny places and it was choked out.

What is happening here is that something about Jesus has sparked some interest for them. They believe in him. But it’s the type of belief that is in one of those soils…because look what happens.

Jesus says, “if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples...” Now what’s he saying…he’s not saying, “If you obey me, then you’ll actually be disciples”. It’s the other way around. He’s saying if you’re actually my disciples—if you really have belief—then you’ll abide in my word.” True disciples listen to Jesus. If you don’t care about listening to Jesus, you aren’t a true disciple.

And look at what happens here in verse 32. If you abide in Jesus’ word…then you’re going to know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Now what is that assuming? It’s assuming two things. 1) That apart from Jesus you don’t know truth. You might know true things, you might know facts, but you don’t know truth. You don’t have the right set of glasses by which to see the world.

2) If you don’t know Jesus then you aren’t free.

Now, that’s something that causes us to rise up. What do you mean I’m not free! That doesn’t quite hit…that doesn’t slap like it’s supposed to in this text…let’s try this...

You aren’t free, you are a slave.

This is a little insight into how Jesus’ words would have landed in the first century:

To many free persons, slavery was too demeaning for a person of free birth to endure; slave behavior was shameful for a free person. Thus, for example, many free persons considered slaves lazy, gossipy, deceptive and otherwise virtueless; some expected that one could often ascertain slaves and nobility by their appearance. The aversion toward slavery and manual labor was widespread among those of higher class. Thus, in some texts “slave” functioned as an insult. R. Akiba, who studied with teachers contemporary with John, also insisted that even the poorest in Israel must be viewed as free persons by virtue of their descent from Abraham and the other patriarchs.

They object. We haven’t been enslaved to anyone....

Uhmmmm, bro. Do you know your history? Egyptians? Assyria? Babylon? Persians? Greeks? And now Rome. But they realize that Jesus is speaking something greater. They know he is talking about spiritual bondage…and they couldn’t swallow that. They had the Law. They were free.

What about you? How does Jesus saying this track with you today?

Listen in to what Jesus says in verse 34. Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. What he’s telling us is that sin always leads to bondage. A few verses later he is going to tie all of this to demonic influence. He will say to them,

John 8:44 ESV

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The devil has a plan for my life. And he has a plan for your life. It’s to feed us lies—to convince us of a certain reality—and its usually centered around freedom. You won’t actually die, God’s holding out on you, be free, eat the forbidden fruit, do what you want, be a god…but as Jesus says, “he’s a murderer.”

This is the plan he has for your marriage.

This is the plan he has for your kids.

This is the plan he has for your life.

Click the link. Scroll through the forbidden pics. Linger over that conversation with a co-worker. Give in to the anger. Get that endorphin release on social media. View the world this way....be cynical.

He offers you freedom…be who you want…do what you want…cast off restraint…if people really love you they’ll support you in this endeavor…nobody can tell you what do do…

Taste and see, he’ll say. And so you bite. You dabble a little. And all the while he keeps on lying to you. Your life starts to fall apart a bit—but rather than questioning this serpentine counsel, you’ll dig further in. Start questioning reality, questioning God, getting frustrated that you can’t just play the guitar the way you want…why isn’t the world how I WANT…and the spiral will keep you on a descent.

He aims to take everything from you. Even your own faculties. Your own mind. Your own desire. Your own hearts. And he aims to have you shouting “FREEDOM” all the way into full and complete bondage.

And when you get to the bottom, or near the bottom, when you’re in a spot where you can barely recognize yourself, when you’ve lost so much, when so many things are broken…he’ll whisper to you again. Well, this is the way things are. This is WHO you are. People like you don’t change. People like you don’t deserve goodness. People like you don’t deserve hope. Might as well just be you…that’s the only way you can start feeling better about yourself.

Oh, but let me tell you about this thing we call a resurrection....

If the son has set you free, you will be free indeed! He has freed the captives…What does this mean?

Year of Jubilee. You no longer have debt. Grace covers every sin. Spurgeon:

Suppose I could find out a sinner so vile that Jesus Christ could not reach him; why then the devils in hell would take him through their streets as a trophy; they would say, "This man was more than a match for God; his sin was too great for God's grace." What says the Apostle? "Where sin abounded"—that is you, poor sinner;—"where sin abounded"—what sins you plunged into last night, and on other [dark] occasions,—"where sin abounded"—what? Condemnation? Hopeless despair? No, "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound." I think I see the conflict in the great arena of the universe. Man piles a mountain of sin, but God will match it, and he upheaves a loftier mountain of grace; man heaps up a still huger hill of sin, but the Lord overtops it with ten times more grace; and so the contest continues till at last the mighty God plucks up the mountains by the roots and buries man's sin beneath them as a fly might be buried beneath an Alp. Abundant sin is no barrier to the superabundant grace of God.

2. Death no longer has a hold

This is why we celebrate the resurrection. It means that death has lost its sting. It no longer has an ultimate claim upon our lives. We believe in the resurrection—so we grieve as those who have hope.

But the resurrection…freedom to captives…in bondage to the wages of sin is death…is not only about the next life. It’s about this life as well...

3. Sin no longer has you in bondage.

There is a story told of a feud between a couple of brothers in the 14th century. Raynald III and his little brother Edward. Edward captured Raynald and built a room around him featuring windows, a door, and a promise. That promise was that as soon as he left the room his title and property would be given back to him.

He stayed in there for 10 years, never leaving the room. Why? Well Raynald was grossly overweight and couldn’t fit through the door or the window. He had to lose weight to leave the room. And Edward knew that his older brother couldn’t control his appetite…so he sent him delicious food every day. Raynald didn’t become more thin…he actuallly increased in size.

Edward, they said, was cruel. But he remarked “my brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills.” That’s a pretty apt picture of how we are apart from Christ. We can leave whenever we desire—but we’re in bondage. Only Christ can set us free.

And this is part of what he means by giving liberty to captives. He changes our desire. Sin is longer our master. That is part of Paul’s argument in Romans 6. We have DIED to sin. Our hearts have been changed. Sin is no longer our mater. But he says something interesting.

Therefore, let sin no more reign. Don’t let it be king. If you are in Christ you are free. You can be set free…and Christ changes your desires…but you might still be in a type of bondage or feel like you are in bondage…what gives?

Apparently, you can keep a powerful elephant chained simply by tying it to a post. The elephant is powerful enough to break the chain. It could uproot the stake and run away. But it doesn’t. Why? Because when the elephant was young and much weaker, its owners tied it to a tree. Eventually the animal learned that it couldn’t escape. It gave up. Even after it gets older and much more powerful it doesn’t believe it can be free from the chains.

Does this not illustrate the way in which our enemy can leave believers enslaved to past sin? We were held in bondage for so long that we’ve bought the lie that we cannot have freedom. But the words of Jesus are powerful. If the Son sets us free, we are free indeed. No chain is powerful enough to hold us.

4. You are brought into the family

Have you experienced the benefits of the resurrection. Do you have that freedom? Are you living in that freedom?