Freedom Comes From Truth

What you believe is your truth for you. What I believe is my truth for me.

There are many truths; it is simply relative to the person and the situation.

That has to be a small sampling of some of the most bizarre and confusing statements one can read. Philosophers have been searching for truth for centuries. Scholars continue to chase after the definition of truth.

As our culture and society continues on this planet, truth is becoming more and more obscure. As a result, there is confusion and chaos. There is injustice and immorality. There is license and lawlessness. This creates its own form of bondage and slavery.

People are searching desperately for truth. They look for it in various religions.  They hope to find it in drugs or drink. They chase after it in pills and parties.

Francis Schaeffer describes it this way:  People imagined that by denying the existence of absolute truth and by throwing off the shackles of biblical morality they would finally be set free. Instead, they found themselves only more empty and enslaved to destructive passions. 

It is as if there is a treasure everyone knows about, yet they can't find the map. So what are we to do?

You and I must help people experience freedom.

That can only happen when they discover the truth; Jesus Christ. 

Today, we’ll be looking at:

Real Freedom,

Wrong Freedom,

and the Results of Freedom, as we study John 8.31-36 together.

Real Freedom - 8.31-32

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

You will recall the last time we were talking about how to avoid getting into heaven. And then at the very end, John wrote that unique comment: "many came to believe in him." In this section, Jesus begins by speaking specifically to those who had chosen to believe in him.  From the context, it appears that their belief might not have been a saving belief. In other words, they believed the facts, but were not to the point of surrendering their lives to Jesus. Leon Morris explains:  This is a most dangerous spiritual state. To recognize that truth is in Jesus and to do nothing about it means that in effect one [aligns] oneself with the enemies of the Lord.

It is as if Jesus is saying to them that if their belief is genuine they will do what Jesus says to do. He states,

"if you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine."

Many people find this difficult to accept. Part of the problem is that people want eternal life, but they believe it is completely possible to live the way they have always lived. We do not ever see this presented as an option in Scripture.  In fact, throughout the Bible, it is obvious that not all faith or belief is saving faith or belief.  The reality is that if a person is truly born-again, they will live according to the ways of Jesus Christ. They will want to do the things that are pleasing to God. They will not want to please their own flesh. 

There is also the problem that some people believe, yet they are afraid to go to the next step of total surrender for fear of what it might do to them.  They may be rejected by some.  They may even lose their jobs or be considered dead to other family members.  The Bible tells us that even the demons believe and tremble.  You and I know that they obviously are not going to be in heaven.

Theologically, faith or belief has three basic parts to it.  The first aspect is that of knowledge.  It is simply a recognition of the facts and information about salvation and Christ.  Many of us were at this point for some time. 

The second part is that of acknowledgement.  This goes beyond knowledge and not only recognize the information and facts about salvation and Christ; it is in agreement that this knowledge is all true.  This is giving acknowledgement to the information that it is, in fact, true. 

The final area is that of acceptance.  It is here that a person has decided to make the commitment.  It is this area when a person confesses, repents, and accepts Jesus Christ as the only way for salvation.  

Hebrews 11 spells out faith using these three areas. Verse 3 speaks of knowledge: by faith we understand. Verse 1 speaks of acknowledgement: faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Verse 1 also refers to acceptance: [faith is] the conviction of things not seen.

Those of who have gone so far as to trust, Jesus gives information that will prove whether or not we have done this.  This is not a formula to get saved.  This is the evidence that a person is truly saved.  The word are is in the present tense.  It is not suggesting that if you are obedient to God’s Word, you will become disciples of Jesus. No, you are obedient to God’s Word because you are a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ.  You see, if a person is genuinely born again, a follower of Jesus, you will continue in His Word because you are truly a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Jesus reminds the people that as they continue to follow him and live according to his Word, they will know the truth. The FaithLife Study Bible has a footnote about this:  Likely invoking the Old Testament concept of truth (Hebrew emeth) referring to a dependable foundation for building a way of life.  Sadly, the idea that Jesus is truth and absolute truth is quite offensive to our postmodern culture.  As we live our lives for Jesus, Who is the Truth, we will understand more about the truth.  This can only happen because the Holy Spirit illumines our minds and enables us to see truth.  We also know from Jesus’ priestly prayer in John 17, that God’s Word, the Bible, is truth.  

And that truth, no matter what comes against it, no matter what society will say about it, will indeed set people free. No longer will they be in bondage to the world's thinking, or any form of sin. No longer do we listen to Satan’s lies and respond out of fear.  No longer will we be fearful of the upcoming judgment.  A person who knows the truth and has been set free, does not care what others may think. We are content in knowing that our sins have been forgiven and that we belong to Jesus.

Wrong Freedom - 8.33-34

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

Evidently, Jesus had taken them even a step further than they were ready to go. They understood the fact that Jesus was God. However, when Jesus talks about them being set free, that raised some serious questions. Thus, we read their bewildered comment and question.  This really amounted to a rejection in what Jesus was offering in favor of their tradition and heritage. 

If we look at this from a physical perspective, which seems what they kept doing, we realize that they were wrong.  Interestingly, though they personally may not have been enslaved, they were actually now under an oppressive Roman government. In addition, their forefathers were indeed enslaved in Egypt prior to Moses leading them out, according to the Lord's instructions.  Plus, the book of Judges shows them being enslaved by seven different nations. And we cannot forget the Northern Kingdom falling first to Assyria; then the Southern Kingdom falling next to Babylon.  Then the Medo-Persians finally let them go back in order to rebuild.  Talk about a warped perspective, as well as a denial of God’s previous judgments!  

Again, we are reminded that Jesus is not dealing with the physical.  He is focused on their souls.  It is their spiritual slavery which Jesus is addressing.  The physical enslavement was because of surrendering themselves to false gods.  Even now, the excessive rules and regulations and unbiblical practices were a form of spiritual bondage. 

This is quite similar to many people today. Though many are not personally under bondage to some obvious and blatant sin, they do not realize the reality that they are still enslaved and in bondage to sin in many forms. That is, in fact, what Jesus is describing when he states that they are slaves to sin because they have sinned. Once again, Jesus does not deal with their mistaken information, nor give them a corrective course on their history; he gets to the core of the issue. As believers, we can learn much from this. Rather than correcting and pointing out the error and fallacy in many unbelievers’ logic, we need to get to the core issue of the condition of their souls.

Very simply, Jesus states that everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.  This is incredibly important!  Again, Jesus uses the present tense participle, commits, to show that this is a lifestyle, not simply individual actions against God.  It would literally read everyone who keeps on practicing or committing sin is the slave of sin. It refers to the very nature of humanity.  Though they thought their connection with Abraham, along with their ethnic claims to the promises given by God, guaranteed them a spot in heaven, Jesus pointed out the reality.  They were delusional in their hope for heaven. 

Unless a person follows Jesus Christ only, then that person is still enslaved to their sin. They are under the control of that sin nature and unable to free themselves. Only when this happens does a person experience real freedom.  Everything else is an illusion; a false or a wrong freedom.

Result of Freedom - 8.35-36

“The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.  So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

This is an interesting comment which Jesus makes. You see, a slave would be enslaved for a period of six years before being released in the seventh year. At that time he could chose to stay, if he wished. However, the majority took their freedom to leave slavery whenever it was offered.  At that point, the slave was no longer allowed to remain in the house. He was to be on his own.  

However, a son would have no reason to leave. That house and all that came with it was part of his rightful inheritance.  The son is, in essence, the owner of the house.  The slave does not have any right to remain in the house.  He is not part of the ownership. 

So if the Son, Jesus Christ, sets a person free from their slavery to sin, they are indeed free.  You see, the Son has been given the authority to do this for the Father.  

Reflections

There is a hymn written by John Wesley which we sang often at Moody Bible Institute that stirs me deeply and came to mind as I went through this passage - “And Can It Be?”

One verse stands out to me, in particular:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

There is a very big difference between being Abraham’s children physically and Abraham’s children spiritually.  Likewise, there is a huge difference between going to church and being a part of Christ’s Church.  It is the difference between hell and heaven. 

My friend, how do you understand truth?  If you believe that Jesus is the Truth, then be certain that you have moved beyond mental understanding.  Make sure that you believe in such a way that you are willing to surrender yourself to Jesus Christ.  Let Him set you free from everything that drags you down and takes you away from Him.  Let Him set you free to serve Him and follow Him and live for Him always.

And if you are free, then continue in the Word and help others experience freedom which is found in Jesus Christ alone.