Slaves of Their Freedom

INTRODUCTION

“The heart wants what it wants”. I don’t know if you remember who made this saying popular. His name is Woody Allen, is the guy at the ages of 55 was in a relationship with a 21 girl and got married. And to clarify, Allen had been dating her mom for years and was her functional stepdad.

In an interview in 1992 Walter Isaacson, calmly but persistently probed Allen’s heart for some kind of regret, apology, or even moral uncertainty, but Allen simply refused to admit he’d done anything wrong.

At the very end of the interview, Isaacson asked why he did it. Allen paused, then proffered his iconic line, “The heart wants what it wants.”

“This saying has entered not only the vernacular but also the belief system of our generation; it’s become a kind of self-perpetuating justification for anything from adultery to chocolate cake.” Is like saying I am free to do whatever I want.

This is the exclamation of Freedom of our day.

But what does it mean to be free?

Let's study together the biblical text under the title: Slaves of Their Freedom

Text: (John 8:31-36)

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 8

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

1. ”We are not slaves." Modern freedom

Our study text is in the context of a conversation of Jesus with the religious leaders. It all started the day before in Chapter 7. Many people came to celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus began to teach, and the religious leaders did not want to accept Jesus words, so they wanted to arrest him (John 7:44).

The next day Jesus returns to teach, and an adulterous woman is brought to him. Jesus forgives her and makes her free. And tells them, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). The conversation escalated. Some hate him and some believed in him.

Jesus tells them: if you abide in my words that are the truth then you will be truly free. So, they say: We have never been slaves. Let's stop here for a moment.

What were They saying? It is well known that the Israelites had been slaves on several occasions. Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece, Rome. Most likely, they were referring to a spiritual freedom. As Rabbi Akiva had said. We Israelites are children of the King. They did not consider themselves slaves, any more than they considered that they had to be baptized by John. We are not slaves... We don’t need it; we are son of Abraham.

For the religious leaders of Jesus's days, freedom was tied to their religious and racial heritage. We are children of Abraham... This guarantees us that we are free. We have the revelation of God. We have the Torah and the prophets. We are God's chosen people. So, we are not slaves.

They understand freedom in an external way. Just like me. I am a third generation SDA. And…

- I keep the 10 commandments – I am not slaves. That's what the Jews did.

- I am the remnant of the end-time - I am not slaves.

- I have the pro-health message – I am not slaves.

- My church has the prophetic gift – I am not slaves.

- I am an Adventist, I am not like the others, never be a slave. But… Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was making the same mistake of the religious leader of Jesus’s time.

If we see freedom in the modern era, we are living in the other conner.

No right, no wrong no rules for me. I’m free

Free from what? From the age of the Enlightenment, where the pen of philosophers freed the world from religious absolutes, through naturalistic science and postmodern postulates. Everyone has ridden the wave. We are free...

- The heart wants what it wants

- Follow your heart

- You make yourself

- Just do it

- Speak your truth

- Be true to yourself

We no longer must live under the "oppression" of a Bible or rules that tell us what to do and not to do. We are free.

Now here we have two types of thinking. Those who feel free because of their religious heritage and those who feel free to do whatever they want. Culture and religiosity.

But what Jesus had in mind when He said slave?

2. Real slavery – sin

Let's go back to the biblical text:

34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:35).

I remember in my adolescence I spent the afternoons on the court playing basketball. All kinds of boys and men came there. Many times, it was a hostile environment. But I wanted to play. I remember a guy; he was one of those boys who lived a "free" life. He took pride in his adventures with girls, dressed irreverently, was the best at parties, played well, and always smoked cigars. He was a free young man, we saw him and even wanted to be like him. But one day he said something that I never forgot. He didn't stop smoking, and someone told him why you didn't stop because you are going to get sick. He simply said, "I can't stop anymore." “His passions forged his fetters”. He was a slave to his own freedom.

For Jesus, then, the ultimate bondage is not enslavement to a political or economic system, but vicious slavery to moral failure, to rebellion against the God who has made us. The despotic master is not Caesar, but shameful

self-centeredness, an evil and enslaving devotion to created things at the expense of worship of the Creator. In Jesus’ view, Caesar himself is a slave[1].

These words offended the Pharisees… Jesus looked upon these men, the slaves of malice, whose thoughts were bent upon revenge, and sadly answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” They were in the worst kind of bondage, —ruled by the spirit of evil. (DA, 466)

Jesus said: Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. There is no human being who is not a sinner, therefore, we are all sinful slaves. Paul said it very well: "There is none righteous, not even one.” (Rm 3:10)

From Jesus’s view, slavery comes from the inside out, because sin is an internal condition in the heart of the human being. It was Jesus who said,

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Mt 15:19).

The Bible teaches that sin is going in a direction contrary to God. It is disobeying God's will. Sin is living in rebellion against the Creator of the universe. And let me tell you this lovingly and firmly. You will never, never, never be happy if you live in sin, for sin is slavery and no slave is happy.

You may outwardly observe God's Law and still be a slave like the Pharisees were. Like I was. On the other hand, you can walk around believing that you can do anything you want, you are just walking in bondage to your own fleshly desires.

Here's the real reality: Modern freedom is nonsense, just cheap debauchery. The freedom of religious heritage is hollow and empty. What will be our way out?

3. How to Be Free

Come with me to the text again.

35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:35-36).

Let's imagine that So-and-so was someone with a lot of money in Jesus' time. Land, livestock, houses and slaves. Now a son of a slave family was born at home. He was like another child in the family, but he was the son of slaves. One day a season of crisis arrived in the region. No rain, the cattle began to die, no planting. The savings began to dry up and the So-and-so began to sell possessions. After selling almost everything, only the slave remained, who was like a son and his children. Who was So-and-so going to sell to? What makes him not sell his blood child? Why doesn't he sell it? Simple, it's his son. The son is the one who remains at home and is not a slave. The son is the one who inherits, the son is the one who has the authority. Hallelujah...

Jesus is the only Son of God who came to bring freedom to the slaves of sin and death. He is the Only One that has the power to make you free indeed. And not only that, but he has also come so that we may be called, hallelujah, children of God.

The text reads: But to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to be made children of God (John 1:12).

A slave cannot free another slave. That is why God sent us Jesus, God became flesh, free, without sin or blemish, the pure lamb of God to bring freedom.

Freedom... Jesus sets us free from sin and sets us free for his glory. This is my last idea today.

There are two types of freedom. Negative freedom and positive freedom. The negative is what I am freed from and the positive what I am freed for. Today the most popular is the negative one. No right, no wrong no rules for me. I’m free! This concept of freedom arises from the postmodern worldview that does not believe in moral absolutes, the ultimate meaning of life is personal happiness and pleasure. There is no more sin

Everything that restricts me from doing what I want is the enemy of freedom. It doesn't matter if it's the church, the government, the Bible, my parents, or God Himself. So, freedom, is the twisted way of looking at things today, is the "liberation" to do whatever things we can think of.

This is not the freedom Jesus had in mind. But positive freedom is choosing and choosing well.

Freedom for the NT is not to distance myself from authority in order not to obey, but to disassociate my life from the loving relationship with sin. Positive freedom means that we need a power external to us to overcome our strong desires for self-gratification and satisfaction of our deep desires for self-love.

True freedom is not the liberty to do anything we please, but the liberty to do what we ought; and it is genuine liberty because doing what we ought now pleases us.[1]

How this is possible?

Jesus said: The Truth will make you free; If the Son makes you free you will be free indeed.

The only condition upon which the freedom of man is possible is that of becoming one with Christ. “The truth shall make you free;” and Christ is the truth. Oh yes… Truth is first of all an event that took place in the person of Jesus Christ (1:17; 14:6). Sin can triumph only by enfeebling the mind and destroying the liberty of the soul. Subjection to God is restoration to oneself, —to the true glory and dignity of man. The divine law, to which we are brought into subjection, is “the law of liberty.” James 2:12. (DA, 466).

Those of us who have received Jesus and have been made children of God now by grace we have the power by His Holy Spirit to choose what is good. Then also by grace we can be made into human beings of Love. We do not walk like animals satisfying our impulses and desires, instead, we decide to freely submit to the divine will and wisdom. The Opossum and my friend's chickens.

When I freely decide to submit to God's law and live in obedience to Him, then I am freed by the Spirit from my evil desires. Sin has no power over me if I choose to use my freedom to submit to God.

CONCLUSION AND CALL

- We are all slaves.

- Not slaves to a government, slaves to sin

- Christ is the only one who can deliver you

Every human being is a slave to sin, even if he understands that he is free to do what he wants. Freedom is not only to eliminate what enslaves you, it is to give you the power to choose what is good.

Come and recognize your inner bondage and receive the freedom of Christ's sacrifice.

[1]D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 350.

[1] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 350.