You Are Free

Pastor Brandon Andrews Sr.

Free to Be! • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

The Freedom of a Christian

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John 8:31–36 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Will today’s disciples please come forward? Will the true worshippers, please open their mouths? Where are the truth bearers and the sons and daughters of God? In the face of natural disasters, rising crime, peak immorality, deception in political arenas, pending wars, high death tolls and international over population, who’s walking in true discipleship? Why are the “saints” quiet? Why are we so easily able to be deterred, distracted, discouraged and divided? Where are the disciples?

I’ll tell you where they are, they are working, they are serving, they are loving, they are in their word, they are preaching and teaching, the problem is not there are no disciples, the problem is that there are not enough disciples! There are more doubters then there are truth tellers and more of those attempting to change objective truth to subjective truths than those standing on the truth. There is an abundance of people pleasers and a shortage of non conformers. Plenty of scripture posters and not enough scripture pictures! Where are the disciples?

Jesus, for all that he was, the son of a carpenter, born of a virgin, a teacher, a prophetic mouthpiece for God, the Son of God himself, was also in this set of scriptures something else. In this go easy and openly accepting version of Christianity we ignore the disrupting force that Jesus was. We love to quote the turn the other cheek Jesus, we make fun of the morally high and ethical Jesus, and we run to the come as you are Jesus, but we reject the Jesus, that caused uproar, and discomfort. We love the part of Jesus that serves us, and hide the requirements of Jesus that calls us to serve. Where are the disciples? Are we not called to disciple today or are we afraid? No I don’t think we are afraid, what I think we are, is worse, I think most of us are still slaves.

Jesus, I won’t say liked to cause disturbances or disruptions, no I will not paint him that light because the suggests the intent to hurt harm or cause chaos, and that was not his way. Yet he needed to cause the, why? Because he, being God understood that things could not continue to go on as they had been going on. It was not ok, for the standard that was currently in the Earth to continue. He was sent to provide an example of how to live and love the way God intended for us to live and love and that was the cause for disruption. Jesus was a man of discipline and conviction! Not discipline the way we view it, he didn’t need to yell scream, or cuss someone out, he just stood on business. Who he was was who he was at all times, what he said was what he said at all times, and what he did was what he did at all times. Discipline. He did not make excuses for why he would fall short, he did not change the standard for it to meet him where he was, he was not a people-pleaser nor a loyalist, if one was walking beneath the standard and he knew them and had an audience he would inform them.

So he finds himself here. IN Jerusalem. He wasn’t apart and away sending DM’s making subliminal shots on Social media, he didn’t start a group text talking about the Jews, he was in their domain talking to them. Yet he was not just saying anything, he was saying the words of his father, he was reciting the lessons that he’d been teaching during his entire ministry, and when he was seen with sinners he was seen ministering to them. As a matter of fact he was so distinguishable amongst the sinners, that people were able to identify that it was him around them. So while in Jerusalem, we get to this exchange, 1st this is a high intensity exchange that has gone forth over a couple of days, even to the point where it now involved other people.

In the opening of John 8 we see the Pharisees, “finding” a woman caught in the act of adultery, and once catching her, they brought her to Jesus, to test him. The goal was to either prove that he wasn’t for the law or to prove that his peaceful teachings were actually flawed. They brought her before him and said “the Law of Moses, commands that we stone her to death, what do you say should be done” Jesus begins to write in the sand without saying a word. The Pharisees begin to press him for a more immediate response in which his reply to them was “let he who has no sin cast the 1st stone” indicating that there was no man able to declare a finite judgement upon another man, his burden was not and is not to condemn the sinner but to save them through repentance. He then looked at the woman caught in the act, and said to her “go and sin no more” indicating that there needs to be an ending to a particular way of life for all men. Jesus says 2 different things to 2 different parties for 1 solid message, that he highlights in our text today.

John 8:31–32 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The next day Jesus comes back into the temple to teach and reveals that he is the light of the world, and declares that he is the son of God, and of course stirs the pot and ruffles religious feathers (true disciples will upset the lost and the religious). He then gives a qualifier, to a piece of the crowd, those who believed in what he’d said so far he said (Jn 8:31) this was a qualifier,

We must continue in his word

In word and deed

In action (praying, preaching, teaching, and serving)

And (JN 8:32)

Know-to have a deep understanding of or be personally acquainted with

Truth- ἀλήθεια-(al-ay-thi-a) this is revelation, or the truth of God that Jesus brings. Many people thought they knew God and many people today think they know God, but it’s what Jesus says about him that is what is the truth

Make Free- to cause to be set free

To be free means to be declared free, it is an authoritative declaration that only one sitting in authority can instill

Slaves were bound until either their debt was paid or forgiven

Unless one is declared free they are but a fugitive to their master

John 8:33–35 KJV 1900

They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

Semantics! arguing on Technicalities. The doubters in the crowd more than likely, declaring their lineage and that they have never needed to be free from anything.

We will get caught in a cycle and dare I say completely miss out on God’s gift, because we can’t recall the direct dire need for a saviour. You do not need to have near death experiences, and horrifying testimonies to be in need of Jesus. All people, of all ethnicities, backgrounds, need Jesus! The bible said there are none righteous, no not one. We all need him.

Jesus replies, (JN 8:34)

Commits-or is committed to a lifestyle that practices (acts, thinks, considers, is led by) sin is a servant of sin

Not sinning on a case by case subject matter

One who’s 1st nature is to sin, who isn’t convicted by their acts of sin, who excuses the sinful nature as apart of their human makeup