06-24-07 John 8 31-36
John 8:31-36
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.
I. Introduction:
A. Freedom has always been a big issue in our country
1. It continues to be so in our culture
2. The Bible speaks of freedom as well, of men made free—
B. I am going to cover two aspects
1. The truth sets free
2. The Son sets free
II. To those Jews who had believed
A. If you continue in My word
1. Gods word
2. Truly disciples
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;
3. You will know the truth
a) By being in His word
4. The truth will make you free
a) God’s word will have an affect on us
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
B. The answered Jesus
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’?”
1. We are Abrahams descendants
2. Never been enslaved
a) Israel had been in bondage
b) To Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and now Rome
c) Even while they still spoke with the Lord Jesus they were in bondage to sin and to Satan
d) Some paid attention to Jesus’ words without necessarily committing themselves to Him personally
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.
C. The slave does not remain in the house forever
1. Just as Ishmael, Abraham’s slave son, was cast out of the house (Gen. 21:8-21)
2. Not a resident
3. Not an heir
4. Not an owner
5. Not part of the promise
36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
D. Jesus is saying to them
1. You have deluded your selves
2. They had no sense of their bondage to sin or to Rome
3. You do not realize you are slaves
4. You are not heirs
5. You are not sons
6. You are not an owner
7. Oh by the way I AM
8. If I say you are free you are free indeed
9. Could be why they wanted to kill him
III. Free from what? Death,
A. The world’s perspective
1. Life’s greatest enemy—death
2. Mankind lives in fear of death
B. God’s way, The Son set us free
1. From the fear of death
2. The resurrection of Christ has set us free
IV.Free from what? The power of Sin,
A. The world’s blindness
1. Sin is always toward the dominion and direction of death
2. Don’t go there
B. God’s way, Truth set’s us free
1. We are in Christ, and this breaks the power of sin
2. The child of God can never say that he can’t help sinning
3. —All sin is optional
V. Free from what? Guilt
A. The world’s way of dealing with
1. Guilt can be worse than the punishment for its cause
2. Guilt can actually be a punishment
3. The enemy wants to accuse us
Rev 12:10
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
B. God’s way, The truth sets us free
1. The children of God need never feel guilt for longer than the time it takes to dawn on them that they are feeling that way
2. Godly sorrow
2 Cor 7:8-11
8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—
9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
a) Sorrow according to the will of God
b) How do you know you are repenting correctly
c) Repentance, without regret…..
3. Sorrow of the world, produces death, …..I am sorry I am in it…..
a) What earnestness (seriousness)
b) What vindication (acquittal, justification)
(1) A judgment outside our selves
(2) Not self righteousness but Christ righteousness
c) What indignation, righteous anger (no one more zealous then a person who just quit smoking)
d) What Fear,
(1) (Who remembers what Fear we are talking about here?)
(2) The lay down your life before God in a submissive, vulnerable kind of submission
11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
e) What longing…for God and his righteousness
f) What zeal…for God and his kingdom
g) What avenging of wrong….not like a super hero …but like someone making right what was done wrong by others
C. How we do it
Psalm 32:5-11
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.
Heb 10:4-9
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me;
6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.
7 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) To do Your will, O God.’ ”
8 After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law),
9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
VI.Free from what? The Curse of Care
A. The world’s way
1. You can call it by whatever name you wish—worry (weight of worry)
2. It comes from many sources in various ways and takes a great toll
3. Worry is the illusion of control
B. God’s way, The truth sets us free
1. He has set us free from care or worry
2. Like sin and guilt, any care we carry is purely optional on our part
VII. Free from what? The Pressure of People
A. The world’s way
1. People wear on us in various ways—we even become fearful of them
a) Have you ever dealt with an unscrupulous boss?
b) Unscrupulous person?
2. How about family?
a) Have you ever felt the pressure to be part of something the family was doing that just did not fit your Christian life?
(1) How about not being responsible for fixing every thing
(2) How about asking God what to do 1st
B. God’s way, The truth sets free
1. There is no need to sense pressure from people
2. Do what is right in the sight of the Lord and all will be well
3. He sets us free from all forms of the “fear of man”
VIII. Free from what? The Fear of the Future
A. The world’s way
1. Health and exercise will save you
2. Physician’s will save you
3. Money will save you
B. God’s way, The truth sets free
1. Our eternal future is secure
2. Our temporal future is also in His care
3. He has set us free from bondage to the uncertainties of life
4. —there is no need to dwell on the future
IX. Free from what? The Slavery of Self
A. The world’s way
1. We develop little ways of getting our own way
2. These ways carry into adulthood
a) What once held others captive now holds us in bondage
b) Pouting, temper, silence, bullying, manipulation, a total absorption of self to the exclusion of how that affects others or causes other pain etc.
c) These things WILL not go unchecked…what we sow we will reap…
B. The God’s way
1. He has made us free from bondage to ourselves
2. More of Jesus less of me
John 3:30
30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.