Untitled Sermon (2)

Intro

Jesus turns to those who believed in him after he claimed to be the light of the world.

He instructs them more clearly on how they can receive the freedom of God.

John 8:31–32 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

In instructing these people how they might receive freedom, Jesus is implying something.

We Are Naturally Slaves To Sin

He is implying that they are currently slaves.

Slavery implies laboring, and we labor under a cruel master. The work that we are doing is directly opposed to God.

Nobody wants to believe that they are a slave or even worse - an child or slave of the devil.

John 8:33 ESV

They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

The Jews here believed that they were born into freedom - simply because of who their parents are and what nation they live in.

Jesus reveals that the circumstances of their birth doesn’t determine their freedom, but their actions do.

John 8:34 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

How do their actions measure up to their claims of being God’s children?

We are the children of Abraham!

Yet you are trying to kill me just because of my message

We are the children of God!

Yet you’re trying to kill the one that God sent to you

It isn’t about who your biological family is, we are all born in sin and are in the family of sin.

Only God Can Offer Freedom

We need to be freed from our slavery if we ever want to experience true freedom, true life, or true love.

As we look around, who can free us?

Our master?

Sin may claim that there is a way out, reminding us that as soon as we pay our debts we will be able to go free. Sounds fair and good, until we realize that our debt has climbed to an uncontrollable level.

“but not mine! Im almost always good”

James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

“even if we are guilty of all of it, is it really uncontrollable? Can’t I work it off if I try extra hard?”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death”

Sin is a cruel master that has no intentions of freeing any that it owns, but has only ever intended death for its own.

Our parents? country? friends? pastor?

Jesus makes it clear that we cannot lean upon any human relationship for security in freedom.

What would it take to free us?

someone who is of the household of God (another slave cannot buy our freedom, for he cannot even buy his own freedom)

John 8:35-36

Someone who has the means to pay our debt (someone who has not yet forfeited their life by sinning, and can therefore offer their life for our own.)

John 8:51-53

According to Jesus, Its going to take an act of God to make these people free!

But according to Jesus, God is the very person that we actively oppose as the slaves of sin...

Jesus Is God And Offers True Freedom

The people are not enjoying this teaching so much anymore. When asked who Jesus thinks he is, he responds with a not-so-cryptic phrase:

John 8:58 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

Before Abraham was, I am. εγω ειμι. What is Jesus claiming here?

He is NOT claiming to be a time-traveller or even really old. He does not say “Before Abraham was, I was.”

He is claiming to be eternally existent!

But there is only one who is eternally existent...

Up until this point, Jesus using the phrase “I am” has been a little bit ambiguous and annoying for the Jews, because it isn’t really clear if he is making a reference to God’s name in Exodus 3.

At this point, all ambiguity is thrown away and Jesus makes it incredibly clear. This is an obvious reference to God’s self-identification in the Old Testament. Jesus here is claiming to be GOD!

All of this was much more obvious to the Jews Jesus was talking to at the time, which is clear based on their response.

John 8:59 ESV

So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

And so Jesus is claiming that only God can offer freedom to the slaves of sin, and Jesus also claims to be God in the flesh.

Jesus has now placed himself in a unique position as the only person who is able to offer freedom to these people.

and that offer was what he gave to those who claimed to believe in him.

Think about this for a second - Jesus is speaking to a group of sinners, actively opposed to God and friends of the enemy. The people who are continuing in their sin by attempting to have Jesus killed simply for preaching the truth from God. Jesus is speaking to a group that is largely no different from you and me, and what does Jesus offer them? Judgement? Death? Justice? No - Jesus offer them what only God can offer them.

What is the offer?

John 8:31–32 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Abiding in Jesus’s word - what does that mean?

It is in invitation to return home.

Jesus is saying it isn’t enough to simply make a claim of belief, it has to be more than that. You must truly believe in him, and that true belief will cause you to abide in his word rather than in sin.

To abide in something is to live in it for a long period of time. Jesus if saying that through him, the people have the opportunity to truly become children in God’s house as they live in the word of God rather than the sin of the enemy.

Thats GRACE! What an amazing offer! And this is the offer Jesus extend to you and me as well! Trapped as we may be in our sin, Jesus extends an invitation to each of us.

Have you experienced Jesus’s love? Do you crave his freedom? Do you want the true relationship with the Father that only the Son can provide? Then abide in his word, and you will be free indeed.