The Hope of Deliverance

In 2013, a movie was produced called “Twelve Years A Slave”

Based on a book by the same title

Solomon Northrup

A free black man from New York state

His father used to be a slave but was given his freedom before Solomon was born

Solomon worked at various jobs, as a farm worker and laborer.

But he was educated and he was a very good violin player

He was well-known in the area and was often asked to play the violin at various functions

One day he was approached by two men who owned a circus and they recruited him to play the fiddle at their circus in New York City.

He did and apparently did a great job because then they asked him to come to Washington DC

The year was 1841

Solomon was 32 years old and had a wife and 3 children

At this time, New York state had laws against slavery

But in Washington DC, slavery was still very much legal

And, in fact DC had one of the nation’s largest slave markets.

But Solomon went with these two men and they turned out to be traitors.

They drugged him, kidnapped him and he ended up being sold as a slave into the deep south, Louisiana

Initially he was purchased by a man named

William Prince Ford—a Baptist preacher.

Generally a kind man but who saw nothing wrong with buying and selling human beings like property

However, soon after Solomon was sold to Ford, Ford fell into financial difficulty and had to sell his slaves

This time, he was sold into the hands of a cruel man named John Tibault who treated him very badly, often whipping him for minor “offenses”

And later, Tibault hired Northrup out to another man named Eldret, who then sold him to a man named Epps. And Epps kept Northrup as a slave for almost 10 years.

Epps was also very cruel and inhumane

He drove his slaves hard and often whipped them if they didn’t meet their work quotas.

Things seemed desperate for Solomon Northrup who doubtless wondered if he would ever taste freedom again and whose wife and children had very little idea of what had happened to him

Solomon needed a deliverer—someone to do for him what he could not do for himself

But something changed

In 1852, Epps hired an itinerant Canadian carpenter named Samuel Bass to do some work for him

And while Bass was at the Epps farm, Solomon overheard him expressing views against slavery

And he gathered up his courage and talked to Bass and told him who he was and what had happened to him.

Well, Samuel Bass took pity on Solomon and, taking on a grreat deal of personal risk, he agreed to write some letters to some people that he knew in Solomon’s hometown of Saratoga Springs, NY

Because the letters might fall into the wrong hands, Bass did not use his own name, Solomon’s real name, or Solomon’s exact location

But eventually, One of these letters found its way into the hands of Solomon’s wife who forwarded it to an attorney, and,

Four months after Bass wrote these letters, an attorney showed up at the Epps plantation with legal documents which proved Solomon to be a free man and Epps was compelled to let him go.

Solomon was reunited with his wife after 12 years of slavery

You know, I find this story striking because it so illustrates our human condition—created to be free and to live free, yet finding ourselves in slavery

Maybe not slavery to another person

But certainly in slavery to sin

In slavery and unable to do anything about it. Unable to find our way to freedom

And just like Solomon Northrup, in desperate need of a Deliverer. A Savior

Someone to come and do for us what we can not possibly do for ourselves

This Advent season, as we think about hope, I would like us to focus on the hope of deliverance

Adam and Eve

Last Sunday we read the story of the Fall.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God by taking and eating the fruit that He had forbidden them to eat.

And immediately they found themselves in bondage and in need of deliverance

Slaves to shame and fear

Shame: They realized that they were naked and tried to sew together fig leaves to make some kind of covering for themselves

And Fear: They heard the sound of God walking in the Garden and their shame gave way to fear and they hid themselves from God

This was a bondage to sin which resulted in shame and fear, and there was nothing that they could do nothing about. They needed a Deliverer

And so God stepped in and came to them. He called them out of hiding and He made clothes for them

Children of Israel

The Children of Israel, the descendants of Jacob found themselves in slavery in a foreign land, far away from the land that God had given to their ancestor, Abraham

Joseph had been sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt

An act that at the time seemed cruel and inhumane, but, yet God used Joseph in Egypt to lead the Egyptians through a terrible famine and deliver them

And also deliver the people who lived around Egypt by providing food for them

And God had raised Joseph up to a position of power in Egypt

Yet, 400 years later, there arose a ruler who didn’t remember Joseph and did not respect the descendants of Joseph’s father, Jacob

And out of fear for how numerous they were, this ruler made the Israelites work for him.

They became the common laborers. They built cities for this Pharaoh

But the harder he worked them, the more that they multiplied, and the more the Egyptians feared them

And so then it says that the Egyptians made the Israelites into slaves.

They were “ruthless” with them

That means, they were violent. They tried to crush them

The made bricks

They worked the fields

And on top of that, Pharaoh passed his most cruel order yet. That is, that every male child born to the Israelites should be killed.

The situation for the Israelites seemed impossible. There was nothing that they could do for themselves

They needed a Deliverer

Exodus 2:23–25 “23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.”

God saw

God knew

And God had a plan in place to deliver His people

And God came to Moses, a fugitive prince of Egypt, wanted for murder, and hiding out in the wilderness of Midian disguised as a shepherd.

And God takes this scared, timid man, and gives him a mission, and authority and power, and sends him into the presence of Pharoah

With the message, “Let my people go!”

And Moses leads over a million people out of Egypt, back through the wilderness, to the banks of the Jordan River, where they cross the river and take back the land that had belonged to Abraham

But we know the story, how, because of their sin and their rebelliousness

The people time and time again found themselves in bondage, crying out for a deliverer

And time and time again, God would send such a deliverer to bring freedom to a people in bondage

We could point to

Gideon

The people were oppressed by the Midianites

They were hiding in the mountains, in caves while their land was ravaged by marauders

They did not have the strength or the ability to free themselves

And so God raises up a deliverer: Gideon

Again, a scared, timid man threshing wheat in a wine press in order to hide from the Midianites

But God raises him up, and empowers him and against seemingly insurmountable odds, with a small band of men, he conquers a huge army

And through Gideon, God delivers his people

David

The people are being oppressed and bullied by the Philistines

Trying to fight for their lives but seemingly unable to shake off their oppressors.

King Saul and his army are at their wits ends and they are frightened and intimidated by the might and massive Philistine champion, Goliath

Their position seems impossible because nobody has the ability to beat him

And so God raises up a deliverer

A shepherd named David—young and confident, with absolute faith God

And he walks in with nothing but a sling and wins a mighty victory by killing the giant and giving the Israelite army the break that they needed to beat the Philistines

And God, through David, delivers His people from bondage to the Philistines

And we could go on.

Story after story of how God delivered His people

But by the end of the OT, this cycle is getting wearisome

the people are longing to be free and to stay free

They are crying out for their Messiah

The One who will completely deliver them.

Who will conquer whatever foreign power has them under their thumb and lead them completely and finally out of bondage

But, of course, they have a problem, just as we all do

The real problem was not the nations surrounding Israel that had their eye on this corner of the world and saw a land that seemed ripe for the picking

The problem wasn’t

Egypt

Philistia

It wasn’t the Syrians

Or the Assyrians

Or the Babylonians

Or the Persians

or the Greeks or the Romans

It wasn’t a problem that military might could conquer.

The problem, just as it is for all of us, is sin.

The problem for them, and for us, is a heart that rebels against God, causing us to go our own way

The problem is, that apart from Christ, we are slaves to sin.

This was the problem for the Israelites.

And so, in the opening pages of the New Testament in Matthew chapter 1 (you can turn there if you want)

An angel appears to a young man named Joseph, whose fiance has become pregnant.

And Joseph doesn’t know how, and he’s frightened

And the angel says to him, In Matthew chapter 1:20, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. What has happened to her is of the Holy Spirit. She’s going to bear a son, and you shall call His name”...............what?

JESUS!

Now, in and of itself, this name isn’t so remarkable. There were other men who also had this name.

The name “Jesus” is a Latin form of the Greek word, lesous

Which in turn is derived from the Hebrew name “Jeshua”

And Jeshua means “The Lord Saves”

There were other men with this name

The most notable, was Joshua (also a form of the name Jeshua), who led the people of Israel into the promised land and led them to great victories over their enemies.

He certainly lived up to his name as a savior of Israel

And so, when the angel comes to Joseph and says, you will name Him Jesus,

That might not have been terribly significant to him.

But what the angel says next is very significant!

Because the angel goes on to say

“…for He will, save His people from their sins.”

Not from military domination, or from slavery, not captivity

But, from their sins!

And with that statement, the angel goes right to the heart of our problem as people and points us directly to what is on the heart of God.

That is, for His people, His image bearers, to be saved from bondage to sin and return to Him

And this is really good news! This is a great message of hope!

This message that Jesus was to be the one to save His people from their sins is one that brings great hope!

God sent Jesus into the world and with Jesus came the hope of deliverance

Because, if we are honest with ourselves, I’m sure that all of us know what it is like to be in bondage to sin

All of us have been there, and have experienced sin exerting it’s domination on us.

Whether we are dealing, or have dealt with things like

anger

Unforgiveness

lust

Addictions

Work

Social media

The list could go on of the things that we find ourselves in bondage to.

And sometimes, we can sugarcoat it and call it “bad habits”, but, the fact is, these things are sins.

And the fact is, they are things that exert control over us

We find ourselves constantly dealing with these things or being overcome by them

Jesus didn’t sugarcoat it when He said, in

John 8:34 “34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

“Practice” —actively participates

which means that if we agree to go along with a sin

If we willingly continue in grudges or unforgiveness

If we willingly continue in lust or anger, or slander

Or whatever it is

If we willingly go along with these things, which are sin, we are slaves to it.

In the Book of Romans, chapter 6 we are also given this picture.

That sin enslaves those practice it

I know what those things are for me.

Those things that in the past have exerted dominion over me

Those things that today still pull at me and war to dominate me

What are those things for you?

The hope that we celebrate today is that Jesus was sent to save, to deliver us from slavery to sin

From bondage to sin!

Turn with me to Romans 6

English Standard Version (Chapter 6)

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

There is this picture—being slaves to sin.

And remember! When Jesus talks about being slaves to sin, who is He talking to?

Religious people! People who give to their life to doing what they think is the right thing

Many of Pauls’ readers here in Romans are doubtless religious poeple doing what they think is right

and that’s just the problem. Because in other places in Scripture, we are given this picture that being a slave to sin is the same as being a slave to the law

Which, for religious people like us, means that we are a slave to trying to earn righteousness with God by works.

And in that way, we are slaves to sinful thinking, sinful living

But Paul goes on here

And I want us to pay attention to the active verbs in this passage.

7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Did you read all of the active words here?

Consider yourself dead to sin

Consider yourself alive to God in Christ Jesus

Do not let sin reign in your mortal body

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness

Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life

Present your members to God as instruments for righteousness

that means, present your body, all the parts of your body

Your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your hands and feet

Your whole body as instruments of righteousness

And this is not a thing where we are saving ourselves

It’s not a thing of

if I just think right

And do right,

Then God will be pleased with me and will save me

That’s not it at all

Rather, this is an active participation in what

Our Savior

Our Deliverer

has already done for us!

The Israelites in the wilderness, had already been set free from bondage

It was up to them to consider themselves or to think of themselves as being free

Which was a struggle for them at times.

When things got hard, they said, “Man I wish we were back in Egypt!” Back in familiar territory. Back where at least we knew we would have food for our next meal.

It was hard for them to consider themselves as free

It was hard for them to present their bodies to live as free people

But Paul says, this is exactly what you need to do

Consider yourselves to be free

Present your bodies as instruments of righteousness

And, in fact, you should now become a different kind of slave

Wait a minute, I thought we were talking about being free.

Now, we are talking about being slaves again?

Well, yes. Because, actually, Scripture I believe is pretty clear that we are always serving someone or something

And in this case, in Romans 6, Paul instructs us to become

Slaves to Righteousness. Start serving righteousness

Romans 6:17–19 “17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”

You are to be a slave to righteousness which means that our allegiance is no longer to the law and trying to earn our

but we come under the authority of what God through Jesus Christ has done for us.

We submit by faith to the truth that the righteousness of God has been credited to us based on what Jesus has done for us.

We are no longer slaves to our own efforts and sinful ways, we have been delivered from that.

So, this is the hope that we celebrate this Advent season

So, as the angel told Joseph, Jesus has come in order to save us from sin

Set us free from the bondage of sin