True Freedom In Christ 7-5-26 AM

I.            True freedom requires discipline (John 8:31).

a.      Jesus begins with an “if” statement.

           i.      This means there is a condition.

           ii.      It also means there is a possibility that some will not continue.

b.      Jesus is speaking to Jews who believed in Him.

           i.      Jesus does not treat their belief as a shallow moment of interest.

           ii.      He says true discipleship is shown by continuing in His word.

c.       The word translated “abide” or “continue” means to remain, stay, dwell, or make your home in something.

           i.      It is the same word used often in 1 John.

           ii.      It carries the idea of settled residence, not a temporary visit.

           iii.      It is the difference between passing through a place and pitching your tent there.

d.      Jesus is saying, “Don’t just admire my word. Remain in it. Don’t just hear my word. Live in it. Don’t just begin with me. Continue with me.”

e.      The means true freedom requires discipline.

           i.      Not to earn salvation.

           ii.      Not as in trusting ourselves.

           iii.      But as in staying close to Christ and refusing to drift.

f.        A person does not accidentally remain in Christ.

           i.      We drift accidentally.

           ii.      We abide intentionally.

g.      Think about the discipline required for national freedom.

           i.      The freedoms celebrated by us in this country were not preserved because of one emotional day in 1776.

           ii.      They required endurance, sacrifice, training, and perseverance.

           iii.      Soldiers did not win freedom by simply believing freedom was a good idea.

           iv.      They had to continue in the cause.

h.      In a far greater way, Jesus is telling us that spiritual freedom is not found in a momentary interest in Him, but in remaining with Him.

           i.      Many want freedom from guilt, but not discipline in the word.

           ii.      Many want freedom from consequences, but not surrender to Christ.

           iii.      Many want freedom from fear, but not daily faithfulness.

           iv.      Many want Jesus as a Savior, but resist Jesus as Lord.

           v.      Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”

           vi.      This means discipleship is not occasional attention to Jesus, but a life built in and around Him.

i.        We need to ask:

           i.      Am I abiding in Him or occasionally visiting?

           ii.      Am I continuing in Christ or slowly drifting?

           iii.      Am I letting His word correct, shape, restrain, and lead me?

j.        Freedom is found by staying with Christ.

II.            True freedom results from deity (John 8:32).

a.      Jesus says freedom comes from truth.

          i.      On one occasion, Pilate asked what is truth.

          ii.      Jesus lets us know (John 17:17).

b.     Truth is not:

          i.      Whatever culture currently approves.

          ii.      Whatever I sincerely feel.

          iii.      Whatever works for me.

          iv.      Something man invents.

c.      Truth comes from God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

d.      This means true freedom results from deity – from the divine will of God, revealed through His Son.

e.      Jesus is not offering human opinion.

          i.      He is not giving self-help advice.

          ii.      He is not presenting one religious option among many.

f.       Jesus is the Son speaking the truth of the Father.

g.     This truth contains the message that sets sinners free: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

          i.      Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose on the third day.

          ii.      Through obedient faith, we are united with Him and freed from sin.

h.     This is why truth cannot be tampered with.

          i.      If man changes it, it is no longer God’s truth.

          ii.      If man softens it, it is no longer God’s truth.

          iii.      It man adds to it, it is no longer God’s truth.

          iv.      If man removes from it, it is no longer God’s truth.

i.       The power is never in our edits, but in the word of God.

j.       A medicine only helps if it remains what the doctor prescribes.

          i.      If a pharmacist decides to alter the formula, remove the active ingredient, or replace with something else, it may become more pleasant, but it will no longer heal.

          ii.      The gospel is God’s remedy for is and we aren’t free to rewrite the prescription.

k.      This matters because people often want freedom without truth.

           i.      They want peace without repentance.

           ii.      They want forgiveness without surrender.

           iii.      They want salvation without obedience.

           iv.      They want Jesus without the word.

l.        Jesus ties freedom to truth – you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

m.    We have to love truth more than tradition, more than comfort, more than popularity, more than personal preference.

n.      When truth confronts us, we don’t argue with it – we obey it.

III.            True freedom rejects dishonesty (John 8:33-34).

a.      The Jews responded to Jesus with a dishonest claim.

          i.      They had been in bondage to Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Syria.

          ii.      At that moment, they were under Roman rule and occupation.

b.     Their dishonesty went deeper than history – they were denying their spiritual condition.

c.     Jesus was speaking about bondage to sin and they tried to change the subject to ancestry – we are offspring of Abraham.

d.     Jesus did not let them hide behind religious heritage – everyone who commits, practices, sin is a slave to sin.

          i.      Practices, or commits, points to ongoing action, continual sinning with no change or repentance.

          ii.      Jesus is describing a life ruled, patterned, and mastered by sin.

e.      Sin promises freedom, but produces slavery.

           i.      Sin says you are in control while it quietly takes control.

           ii.      Sin say this will satisfy you, while making you emptier.

           iii.      Sin says you can stop when you want while tightening the chains.

f.        One of the first steps in recovery movements is when a person finally say I am powerless over this.

           i.      No matter how we feel of all of a program like that, that first admission reflects a biblical reality: healing will not begin with denial, only truth.

           ii.      As long as a person says he does not have a problem, the chains remain hidden.

g.      We can’t be freed from sin we won’t confess.

           i.      Where am I pretending to be free while sin is ruling me?

           ii.      What sin have I renamed so I don’t have to repent of it?

           iii.      What attitude, habit, relationship, or desire has more control over me than I want to admit?

h.      It may be anger, pornography, alcohol, gambling, cussing, greed, pride, gossip, the need to control others, or many other things.

i.        Jesus does not expose sins only to shame us, but to free us.

j.        We can’t receive freedom while defending our chains.

IV.            True freedom remains dedicated (John 8:35-36).

a.      Jesus now gives a household picture.

          i.      A slave may be in the house but he does not have permanent standing in it.

          ii.      A son belongs there and has a lasting place.

b.     Jesus is warning them and us: don’t assume that closeness to religious things equals freedom.

          i.      They were descendants of Abraham.

          ii.      They had been given the Old Testament.

          iii.      They had the temple.

          iv.      They had religious identity.

c.      Jesus says that only the Son can make a slave free.

d.      The word free means released, liberated, set loose from bondage.

e.      Real freedom is not self-declared, it is Son-given.

          i.      Only Jesus can free us from sin because only Jesus has authority over sin.

          ii.      Only Jesus can free us from sin because only Jesus offered Himself for our guilt.

          iii.      Only Jesus can free us from sin because only Jesus bore condemnation for us.

          iv.      Only Jesus can keep us in the Father’s house because only the Son remains forever.

f.       This means true freedom remains dedicated.

g.     We remain in Christ because freedom is found only in Christ.

h.     During the Revolutionary War, freedom from tyranny required bloodshed.

          i.      The Declaration announced the cause, but blood was shed to secure it.

          ii.      Freedom came at a cost.

i.       That is also true spiritually, but on a far greater level.

          i.      It took blood to free America from tyranny.

          ii.      It took blood to free us from sin.

j.       Not the blood of soldiers, but the blood of the Son of God (1 Pe. 1:18-19).

k.     True freedom is not doing whatever we want, which is often just another form of slavery.

l.       True freedom is being released from sin so we can belong to God.

m.    Freedom is not life without a master, it is life under the right Master.

          i.      The world says to be free by serving yourself, but Jesus to be free by being set free by the Son.

          ii.      The world says to throw off all restraint, but Jesus abide in my word.

          iii.      The world says to define your own truth, but the Jesus say to know the truth.

          iv.      The world says to hide your sin but Jesus says to confess it and be made free.

          v.      The world says you are free when no one rules you but Jesus says you are free when sin no longer rules you.

n.      The Son sets us free and we stay free by remaining in Him.