Have You Been Made Free?

As you can tell when continue your reading to the end of the passage that the announcement of the TRUTH about Jesus was the challenge of His entire ministry.

What HINGED upon believing the truth about Jesus is exactly what generated continual hatred in the hearts of the religious leaders.

As religious leaders continued to plunge society deeper into blindness and darkness, Jesus came as the LIGHT!

Here is the BIG lesson before us today: To claim to be spiritually free and to LIVE as if you truly are, is a huge difference.

Jesus will highlight THREE truths about TRUE GRACE:

The believer’s perseverance gives evidence of trust grace living within them.

The grace of Jesus is the only grace that can free all who are slaves to sin.

Grace and grace alone is where true liberty is found.

1) The Testimony of Perseverance

Let me begin by explaining what Jesus is not saying:

One’s assurance IS NOT hinged upon a believer’s perseverance. Our assurance comes from our genuine faith in Jesus and the Spirit’s faithful work to testify within us of that true faith.

Assurance is not something that is hard for the believer to experience before the total of their life is lived (did I fall away or not?). Assurance comes from the Spirit. He begins His work at the moment of genuine faith in Jesus. He NEVER FAILS YOU!

Let us understand WHY Jesus was teaching them about “continuing in His word.”

Unfortunately, many who followed Jesus were not genuine believers.

There were many who professed to believer and expressed a desire to become disciples.

There was nothing to show they had true faith.

It appeared as if they acted under temporary excitement without considering really what they were doing.

The only ones who receive soul freedom from Jesus are those who continue seeking that freedom from His own words.

They believed Jesus was sent from heaven, but not sent as the one and only Savior of their souls.

It is this exact perseverance that Jesus was not witness from many who were following Him.

Let this sink in: To begin is one thing and to continue is another.

Many began, but walked away.

Those who pursued the truth continued on to receive freedom.

ILLUSTRATION: Anyone can jump off the starting line in a race, but there is something different about those who continue on to cross the finish line.

Many jumped on the NEWNESS of Jesus, but eventually their feelings wore away, their weak heart showed up, the devil pulled harder, and their empty discipleship was found out.

True discipleship is a product of two things:

1) God’s Word continuing in you.

2) You continuing in God’s Word.

John 15:7 “7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

It joys me to validate (not that Jesus needs it) the promise Jesus makes here — True spiritual freedom will be found by those who seek it in God’s Word.

2) The Transforming Truth; Jesus

Jesus came to reveal to them the greater bondage than that of the physical.

They were enslaved by INNER SIN.

They were being held captive and led by their sins.

They had no power within themselves to set their soul free.

Jesus certainly came to preach “to the captives.”

John 14:6 “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Here is the sad part: They would not allow for their bondage.

As you can see, the Jews were often boasters.

They stooped to making claims that were not even accurate.

This is blindness of PRIDE.

Egypt, Philistines, others, and currently under the subjection of Rome.

They were quick to put a carnal sense on spiritual language.

J.C. Ryle shared a quote regarding how people care more about the physical than the spiritual: “Carnal hearts are sensible of no other grievances than those that molest the body and injure their secular affairs. Talk to them of encroachments on their civil liberty and property, tell of waste committed on their lands or damage done to their houses, and they understand you very well, and can give you sensible answer: the things touches and affects them. But discourse to them of the bondage of sin, or captivity to Satan, and liberty by Christ,— tell them of wrong done to their souls, and you bring strange things to them.”

APPLICATION

How many today face their slavery on every side of life and yet continue in pride to no acknowledge it?

Jesus is crying out to us, “You are bound hand and foot.” Many will ignore the truth and still boldly claim, “I am free.”

To be HONEST about your captivity is the FIRST STEP to seeking deliverance.

Quote: “There is no slavery like this. Sin is indeed to hardest of all task masters. Misery and disappointment by the way, despair and hell in the end,— these are the only wages that sin pays to its servants. To deliver men from this bondage is the grand object of the gospel.” — J.C. Ryle

Jesus did not preach to make you comfortable. He preached to shake away your comfort and make you uncomfortable about your bondage.

3) Liberty Is A Product Of Grace Alone

Only those whom Jesus MAKES free are truly free!

All others with their prideful routes of pride will come to a place of being found out and sentenced by sin’s bondage.

How does the Bible describe the freedom that is a product of Jesus?

Justified

Pardoned

Forgiven

Judgement boldness

Death can’t stop it

Grace can’t prevent it

No other power can strip it away

Notice the illustration Jesus gives:

A servant of sin is one who pursues sin.

Only the “son of the house” has to power to bestow SONSHIP to the house servant.

There is not one who can thwart the authority of the Son (v36).

Conclusion

Without this freedom, all other freedom is simply worthless. Jesus gives this freedom only to those who humble themselves as a confessing slave to sin, captive of sin and one who has no power to save himself.