Freedom

Christ Brings Freedom

10.26.25 [John 8:31-36] River of Life (Reformation Sunday)

In theory, people appreciate the truth. In real life, the truth isn’t always so well-received. People don’t like to hear that they’re sick, that they don’t look so good in that outfit, and that they’ve been lied to, or that they’ve made critical mistakes. In theory, people are grateful to hear the truth. But in real life, the truth isn’t that popular. Far too often, they get angry at the truth bearer.  

That was one of the hard-learned lessons of the Reformation. In 1517, Dr. Martin Luther was a little-known priest & professor. As he watched his Catholic Church shepherd people, he was deeply distressed. They worshiped Christ and esteemed the Scriptures. They warned people about the fires of hell and exalted the glories of heaven. They even took sin seriously. But they didn’t apply God’s truth to the sinner correctly. 

The Catholic Church taught that in order for your sins and subsequent punishments to be taken away in full, you need to confess your sin AND demonstrate you were really sorry AND loved God by doing good deeds. Then you‘d be granted a commuted temporal punishment, or an indulgence, from the Pope, who claimed to have the power to dispense such things.  

At the end of the 11th century, the ultimate good deed was fighting in the Crusades. Then, because fighting against the Muslims was expensive, giving money for the war effort soon substituted for actually fighting. 

That tactic helped fund political conflicts, but it inflamed a greater war. By attaching a person’s good works to the work of Christ’s atonement, redemption, & reconciliation, they had subtly undermined the power and necessity of God’s mercy & grace. They still spoke highly of God’s mercy & grace, but their practice demonstrated that God’s mercy and grace were only effective if sinners did something good, too. 

This something took many forms. In Luther’s day, they didn’t need money for a crusade, but for a new cathedral, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. To raise money, monks sold indulgences for people to bring with them to confession. When they went to confession, the priest was obligated to pronounce absolution or face excommunication. To Luther, this was very wrong. Repentance isn’t a transaction. It’s not a mechanical act, but a God-worked change of heart. 

So Luther wrote 95 theses condemning this practice. He hoped the truth of God’s Word would correct the course of his Church. He was not looking to revolt against Roman authority. At this point, he was certain Leo X didn’t really know what was really going on in Germany. Martin Luther simply wanted to clean up this practice of the church. But there were many who stood against him. Despite calling themselves believers, they rejected the truth of God’s Word about repentance. 

We find a similar situation in John 8. Jesus is speaking to a group of Jews who believed in him. Until Jesus says something they didn’t agree with. (Jn. 8:31-32) If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth with set you free. It’s hard for us to see why they had such a problem with what Jesus said, but we know they did. By the end of this encounter, these people will accuse Jesus of being (Jn. 8:48) demon-possessed, and will (Jn. 8:59) pick up stones in an attempt to kill him. Where did it go so wrong? 

It was all about this issue of freedom. Jesus told them they weren’t free and they weren’t having that. They were convinced that (Jn. 8:33) they had never been slaves of anyone. Even after Jesus says (Jn. 8:34) everyone who sins is a slave to sin, and made it clear he’s talking about spiritual slavery, they didn’t change their tune. They dug in their heels. They continued to put their confidence in their own ability and self-discipline. 

We often take a similar approach to our own sin, don’t we? When we get wrapped up in a particular sin, especially something repetitive, don’t we rely on our own strength, at least in part? When we fall into the sins of anger or greed or jealousy or lust, don’t we often look within ourselves for more resolve or willpower? We don’t admit, by nature, we are slaves to sin. We say we’ve got a weakness. A struggle. A bad habit that we need to kick. An area that we need to address or improve.  

At the same time, we tell ourselves we believe in God’s mercy and grace. But we are foolishly ignorant. We stubbornly refuse to rely on God’s mercy and grace to deal with our sin. God’s love isn’t the spark that gets us going. It is the fire that cleanses us. God doesn’t give us power to try to atone for our mistakes. God is the power that redeems us. God is the love that atones for all of our sins, our guilt, and our shame. 

The solution to our sin isn’t a little more self-discipline. It isn’t buckling down and breaking some bad habits. It’s full-throated repentance. Crying out: Lord have mercy on me, a slave to sin. Set me free. Not help me get free. Set me free. Because if the Son doesn’t set you free, you will be a slave forever. And a slave has no permanent place in the family because a slave is only kept so long as he brings value to the master.

The Bible has a powerful example of being a slave to sin in Samson. Samson was born to set God’s people free. God told him that he was never to cut his hair, never touch anything that was dead, and never drink any fermented beverage. Instead, Samson was called to live for the Lord and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God empowered Samson uniquely. He was strong as an ox, quick as a whip, and charismatic, too.  But for 20 years, Samson used those incredible gifts to serve himself. He repeatedly flirted with disaster. He married a woman he barely knew just because he thought she was pretty. He made bets he had no intention of paying from his own pocket. He played games with Delilah and eventually lost. He was selfish and reckless. Erratic and irrational. From a human perspective, Samson wasted his potential, his opportunities, and his life. 

And why? Because he was a slave to sin. Every time his eyes were opened to his sin, he relied on his own strength to bail him out—not the Lord’s mercy. After decades of selfish, self-destructive living, he was bald, blinded, and weak. Yet, the Lord remembered Samson and heard his prayer and restored his strength and ultimately set him free from his bondage to sin.

Our slavery to sin may not make for high drama, but our freedom must come from the same source. In love, God planned to set you free through his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn’t just demonstrate love, or suggest a way, or teach us the truth, or grant us a new perspective on life. He does all those things, but any sinful person could do that. Jesus took on flesh and blood (1 Jn. 3:8) to destroy the devil's work, to set us free from slavery to sin, and to triumph over the grave. Jesus is the embodiment of all of those good things. He is love. He is (Jn. 14:6) the way, the truth, and the life. 

Throughout Jesus’ life, we see his commitment and faithfulness to the truth, regardless of what consequences it brought him. 

Early on in his ministry, people were really excited about what Jesus was doing and saying. Then he went home. At first, they were excited too. They wanted to hear some of his powerful preaching and witness some of his incredible miracles. But Jesus refused. Not to speak the truth. But to do what they wanted. They already knew of his miracles. They heard him preach. If they did not already believe that he was more than (Lk. 4:22) the son of Joseph, no miracle would change that. Like this group of people in John, they too wanted to kill Jesus for not being what they expected. But just like this group, they were unable to put him to death. God was in control. Slaves to sin cannot spoil the plans of the Sovereign Lord. 

Later on during his ministry, the crowds were hot on his trail. They couldn’t get enough of Jesus. After he fed 5000 men, miraculously, with five barley loaves and two small fish, they were amazed. If he can do this, what can’t he do? So they intended to compel him to become a political Messiah, a king they could rally behind and fight for. But Jesus refused. This wasn’t what he came for. Toppling Rome or serving as their Bread King wouldn’t free them from their slavery to sin. 

Even when they arrested him, he gave them a glimpse of how powerful his true Word is. They tried to ambush him under the cover of darkness. Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. When they asked if he was Jesus of Nazareth, he boldly proclaimed (Jn. 18:5) I am he. And those slaves to wickedness fell to the ground, at just his words.

Yet, even with this unrivaled power, the Truth came to do the painful work of setting us free. He was placed among criminals. His name was cursed and mocked. He did not beg Pilate for his freedom. He came to set us free. As he died on the cross, he put sin to death, too. 

By God’s grace, through faith, sin no longer has mastery over us. Without Christ, we could do nothing but sin. Even our ‘good’ choices were nothing more than selfishness, pride, and egotism in a better-looking package. But Christ set us free. He paid for all our sins. He redeemed us from our empty way of life and gave us a new, life-giving work. Witness the truth. Not in an effort to embarrass your enemies, but to rescue them. 

The truth has set us free. We have been set free from sin. We have been set free for free—not by our own works so that no one can claim they contributed a thing. We have been set free to live for Christ. 

The sparks produced in Wittenberg were fanned into Reformational flames across the world. But we do not celebrate the Reformation because of its historical impact. We do not praise Martin Luther & his peers because they paved the way for our Lutheran heritage. We thank God that through a German monk with a troubled conscience, God set forth the truth plainly again. Because now we have experienced the truth, we have practical freedom. 

God accomplished many things through Dr. Martin Luther. But among the greatest was moving the Word of God from the academic realm to the day-to-day life of down-to-earth folks. Holding to my teaching was not meant just for devoted monks. It was given to have and to be held to tightly by little arms and minds for their whole lives. Martin Luther took the truth and took great pains to place it before all God’s people. Translating it into their language. Putting it in their hands. Placing it on their dinner tables. The truth was meant to be personal, not just for monks and bishops and theologians, but for fathers and mothers, for barbers and cobblers, and for kids too. So we are compelled by Christ’s love to live our freedom in everything we think, say, and do. By God’s grace, through faith, by means of God’s Word, you know the truth and the truth has set you free. Amen.