Jun 15
14
Old Testament Reading
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: ‘I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.’” (Isaiah 42:1–9, ESV)
New Testament Reading
“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.’” (John 8:31–32, ESV)
Introduction
You’ll notice that we have not moved forward in our study of the Gospel of John. Instead I’ve devoted this sermon to a portion of the text that we have already considered. Last week we looked at 8:31-47. Today we will back up and give special attention to verses 31 and 32, but from a different perspective.
The point of the sermon last week was that we – Jew and gentile alike – are in bondage to sin apart from the saving work of Christ. We, if left to our natural and fallen state, are not free. We are enslaved. We are in bondage. We are in bondage to sin in that we have committed sin and are therefore guilty of it and in need of forgiveness. More than that, we are in bondage in that we sin, and are doomed to keep on sinning, unless the Son sets us free. John 8:31-47 has much to say about the condition of man apart from the saving work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Jews to whom Jesus was speaking had professed faith in him. They claimed to believe that he was the Messiah. But it became clear as we considered the text together that their faith was not true faith. Their works proved that their faith was not true. They claimed to be Abraham’s children. They even claimed to be God’s children. But they resembled neither Abraham nor God. Instead they, by their evil works, resembled their true father, the Devil – these are Jesus’ words, not mine.
So where did the Jews go wrong? Why was their faith false? Two things came to the surface. One, they did not understand who Jesus truly was. They were willing, on the basis of the signs that he preformed, to receive him as the Messiah, but their view of the Messiah was skewed. Two, they failed to grasp the severity of their fallen condition. They insisted that they were spiritually free – children of Abraham – children of God. Jesus insisted that they were still in bondage, and that they were in fact children of the evil one.
The sermon last week was decidedly negative. I’m not apologizing for that. The text itself is decidedly negative: you are not free, you are in bondage to sin. You are not children of Abraham, not children of God – instead, you are children of the devil. It has been rightly said that you cannot understand the good news of Jesus Christ without first hearing the bad news – the law of God must slay us before the gospel of God is able to heal us. And so we began with the bad news: we are in bondage to sin apart from the saving work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This morning I would like take a moment to focus on the positive implications of this text. Natural man is in bondage to sin, it’s true. But those who believe in Christ truly and from the heart are set free from that bondage. Those who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and come to trust in him truly and from the heart, having been drawn to the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit, have been released from bondage. “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’” – this freedom that Jesus spoke of was still in the future for the Jews to whom Jesus was originally speaking – Why? Because their faith was not yet true – their understanding of themselves, skewed – their expectations concerning the Messiah, wrong. But for those who know Christ truly, this freedom is a present reality!
If you know Christ – if you believe in him from the heart – then you are free, free indeed.
Let’s talk about the freedom that we have in Christ.
It is a most wonderful thing to be free. Imagine being the slave of a cruel master. The master dies and his son inherits all that his father once owned, including you. But the son is gracious and kind, and he says to you, you are free! How sweet that freedom would be! You would go on rejoicing in that freedom – making the most of that freedom – for the remainder of your days.
You are free in Christ! Do you rejoice in that? Does the thought of that move you to praise? Does the thought of that fill your heart with overflowing joy? It ought to! If it does not, I wonder if you have forgotten the dread of your former bondage. Or I wonder if you have neglected making the most of the freedom that you have been granted in Christ Jesus.
My objective today is twofold. I would like to, first of all, remind you of all that you have been freed from in Christ. And secondly, I would like to remind you of all that you have been freed to in Christ. For our freedom in Christ consists of these two parts – we have been delivered from bondage – praise be to God. But we have also been free in order that that we might walk in that freedom!
Q1: What have we been freed from in Christ Jesus?
So what have we been freed from in Christ Jesus?
A1: We have been freed from the guilt of sin, the wrath of God, and the rigor and curse of the law.
One, know that in Christ Jesus we have been freed from the guilt of sin, the wrath of God, and the rigor and curse of the law.
How terrible it is to live in a state of guilt before God. How terrible it is to be under the wrath of God. But this is the state that we are born into. We are born in sin. More than that, we have all committed sin – very many sins, indeed.
It is true that we will one day stand before our Creator. If we die in our sins, then we will be judged for our sins. That truly is a most terrible thought. But the Bible also teaches that those not in Christ live, even now, under the wrath of God. It is true that the judgement is yet future, but sinners not in Christ exist, even now, as children of wrath.
This is the very thing that Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus of, saying,
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, ESV)
This is our condition apart from Christ. We are not by nature children of God, but children of wrath, because of our sin.
And it is the rigor and curse of the law that proves that we are indeed sinners before God. Even a casual reading of the ten commandments reveals that we are transgressors of God’s holy law. Who among us has never lied? Who among us has not disrespected parents? Who among us has not coveted something that our neighbor owns? Truly we are are guilty.
But Jesus applies the law of God to us in a more penetrating way. He insists that, even if we have never murdered, or have have never committed the act of adultery, the sin of murder is in our hearts when we hate – the sin of adultery is in our heart when we lust. The law of God is good, but it is rigorous. The love God is holy and pure, but does not save – it only condemns. If we are not in Christ we find ourselves under the curse of the law. It weighs heavy and looms large over us. We, because of our sins, find ourselves in bondage to it, being condemned by it.
But Christ has set us free from the guilt of sin, the wrath of God, and the rigor and curse of the law. And how did he do it? He did it by keeping the law for us! He fulfilled all of it’s requirements! He alone had shoulders broad enough to bear it’s weight!
More than that, Christ also boar the wrath of God and the curse of the law in our place. He himself was not deserving of the wrath of God. He was not under the curse of the law, for he never broke it. But he took the curse of the law and the wrath of God upon himself in our stead.
Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24, ESV) And again, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18, ESV) And John says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10, ESV)
Christian, you have been set free in Christ. You have been set free from the guilt of sin, the wrath of God, and the rigor and curse of the law. That great burden has been lifted. Those shackles of guilt have been loosed. Praise be to God!
A2: We have been delivered from the world the flesh and the devil.
Two, know that in Christ Jesus we have been delivered from the world the flesh and the devil.
We were once in bondage to the world in that were doomed to think and speak and do that which the sinful world does. We were in bondage to the flesh in that we were doomed to live according to the flesh, to fulfill it’s appetites and desires. And though we did not know it. we were also in bondage to the Devil himself. We were, apart from Christ, accomplishing his will.
You say, Pastor, now you have gone to far! It is to much to suggest that a person is in bondage to the Devil apart from Christ! But is this not what Jesus has said? Has he not made it clear that the evil one himself is our Father? John 8:44: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires…” (John 8:44, ESV) We should not forget that Jesus spoke these words to religious people. He spoke these words to moral people – law abiding people. Why would he say that the Devil was their father? It is because they were in bondage to him. Though they were religious and moral and good, humanly speaking, they were, in all of their external purity, inwardly enemies of God.
The world, the flesh, and the Devil are like a false trinity. Natural man worships these things apart from Christ. He serves theses things apart from Christ. He is in bondage to these things, apart from Christ. What else can he live for except the stuff of this world and the desires and appetites of his own flesh. He lives for these things and doesn’t even see it as strange because, to quote Paul, “the god of this world has blinded [his mind]…” (2 Corinthians 4:4, ESV)
But in Christ we have been freed from this bondage.
Christ has freed us from this world in that he has come from above revealing that there is more to life than the things of this world. While it is true that this world is not unimportant, neither is it final or ultimate. In Christ we live for the world to come – we store up treasures, not on earth, but in heaven. The world no longer rules over us.
Likewise, Christ has also freed us from our bondage to the appetites and desires of the flesh. Listen to Paul’s words:
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:12–14, ESV)
Christ, by freeing us from the curse of the law and bringing us into a state of grace through his finished work, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, has broken the power that sin once held power over us. “Sin will have no dominion over you”!
Christ has also freed us from the Devil himself. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…” (Colossians 1:13, ESV)
So we have been delivered from the world the flesh and the devil. Praise be to God!
A3: We have been freed from the evil of afflictions.
Three, know that in Christ Jesus we have been freed from the evil of afflictions.
Here is what is meant by this phrase: The afflictions of life are many. And they are rightly called evil when they are for no purpose and lead to no good. But what do the scriptures say to those who are in Christ concerning their afflictions?
James 1:2: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, ESV)
Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, ESV)
In Christ we have been freed from the evil of afflictions. Notice that we are not freed from afflictions. Never has God promised that! Even the Christian – even the child of God – will experience afflictions in this life. But we cannot call them evil in the Lord. No, the believer is to rejoice in the trials of life. We are not to rejoice in trials in a mindless way, ignoring the difficulty of the afflictions or pretending they are not there. And we are not to rejoice in a delusional way, suppressing the real and true emotional difficulty associated with the trials of life, which are sometimes very severe. Instead, the Christian is to rejoice in the trials of life knowing that the trials produce and exist for a purpose in Christ Jesus. We are to rejoice knowing that all all things work together for good, for those love God and are called according to his purpose.
In this way we are freed from the evil of afflictions. The Christian cannot rightly call the afflictions of life evil because he cannot say that they are purposeless and in vain. Praise be to God!
A4: We have been freed from the fear and sting of death.
Four, know that in Christ Jesus we have been freed from the fear and sting of death.
A child of God should never live in fear.
Listen to the way that God has spoken to his people in every generation.
To Abraham, while he was still Abram, he said, “Fear not…I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (Genesis 15:1, ESV)
Through Moses he spoke to the people of Israel, saying, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today…” (Exodus 14:13, ESV)
Through Isaiah he spoke to the people of Israel, saying, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand…For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you…Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”(Isaiah 41:10, 13-14 ESV)
The Psalmist reasoned with his own soul, saying, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, ESV)
And Jesus himself speaks to us saying, “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:26–31, ESV)
Those who know the love of God should never fear. We should not fear anything, for our heavenly Father is Lord of all and he loves us. This is what John is getting at in his epistle when he says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18, ESV)
When we are overcome with fear as a child of God it reveals that we have not grasped the love of God for us in Christ Jesus. Christ has freed us from fear, even the fear of death itself. Praise be to God.
A5: We have been freed from the victory of the grave and everlasting damnation.
Five, know that in Christ Jesus we have been freed from the victory of the grave and everlasting damnation.
The grave eventually has victory over all men. All die. Death is our most formidable foe. But Christ has freed us from the victory of death. Notice again that the Christian is not promised freedom from death, but freedom from the victory of death. Christians die just and those not in Christ die. Death is the doorway through which all pass from this life to the next. But for those in Christ, death will not have victory. Death is not the final word for the believer.
Listen to Paul: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:54–58, ESV)
Death does not have victory over the Christian because Christ has defeated death by raising from the grave. Christ has won the victory over death so that death will not have victory over us. Death is door through which Christians pass from life to life. Thanks be to God.
We were once enslaved to cruel and harsh masters. We were enslaved to the guilt of sin, the wrath of God, and the rigor and curse of the law. We were enslaved to the world the flesh and the devil. We were at one time enslaved to the evil of afflictions and to fear – death being the thing that we feared most of all. We were once enslaved to the victory of the grave and to everlasting damnation. Christ has freed us from all of these things.
Q2: What have we been freed to in Christ Jesus?
But what has Christ freed us to? Has he not freed us from these things so that we might aimlessly wander the streets of life? By no means! He has freed us for a purpose.
A1: We have been freed to have full access to God the Father.
The first is this: we have been freed from bondage so that we might have full access to God the Father. We have been freed from bondage so that we might come to the Father freely.
We have been adopted into the family of God. We have been made children of God. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.“(1 John 3:1, ESV)
A2: We have been freed to obey God from a child-like love.
The second purpose is this: We have been freed from bondage to obey God from a child-like love. We have been freed from these things, not to indulge the desires of the flesh without the threat of condemnation, but to love God from the heart! Romans 6:8:
“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:8–14, ESV)
For the child of God, living in obedience to the commands of God is not a burden, but the highest joy. It is something we are to do from a heart transformed by grace.
Conclusion
Tell me brothers and sisters, are you living in the freedom that is yours in Christ Jesus? Or have you decided to go and live in the land of the condemned once again?
A Christian walking as if in bondage is a strange spectacle indeed! The Christian who lives as if bound – bound by condemnation; bound to the rigor and curse of the law; ruled by the world, the flesh or the Devil; bound by the evil of afflictions or by fear – is an contradiction.
The Christian who is living as if bound is like a prisoner set free who decides to remain in his cell – the shackles have been removed, the prison door flung open, the guards stand to the side, and yet there he remains. He is free but prefers the prison cell to the courtroom of the king, the donjon over the Fathers embrace.
May it not be so of us. May we rejoice in the freedom that we have in Christ! And may we walk in that freedom, to the glory honor and praise of our merciful Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord.
