- I’m going to take these verses in an order that allow me to make an argument from where we are to where we can be. There are a lot of important ideas in here.
1. WE ARE SLAVES TO SIN.
- John 8:34.
- We are all slaves to sin. We can’t overcome it.
- Romans 6:6.
- This, of course, is an incredibly unpopular teaching. We don’t want to think of ourselves as being in such a state.
2. THIS PUTS US OUTSIDE GOD'S FAMILY.
- John 8:35.
- What is the consequence of being slaves to sin? It puts us outside God’s family.
- Verse 35 tells us that a slave is on the outside.
- Again, this is an unpopular teaching. We want to think of ourselves as being alright with God, even if there’s no evidence to support that assertion.
3. OUR KNEEJERK REACTION IS TO PRETEND TO BE FREE.
- John 8:33.
- The declaration that the Jews make here is ridiculous. They’ve never been anyone’s slaves? Seriously? What about the time in Egypt? What about the time in Babylon? And, if they were just referring to the present time, what about Rome? Even if they aren’t technically slaves to Rome, they are undoubtedly in subjection to them.
- Their reaction, though, is typical. We too don’t want to admit our real situation.
- Drug addicts are the ones with the real problems. My problem with spending isn’t slavery. My problem with porn isn’t slavery. My problem with gossip isn’t slavery. My problem with bitterness isn’t slavery. Or whatever our specific problems might happen to be. We learn “sin management,” where we work to obscure the consequences of our sins. What matters most is not that we actually live victorious lives, but just that others don’t know about our more serious sins.
- Like the Jewish people in this passage, our kneejerk reaction is to minimize our sins.
4. JESUS OFFERS A WAY TO FREEDOM.
- John 8:36.
- We need to realize that the road to freedom is through Jesus. Jesus tells us here that if He sets us free, we are truly free.
- We have to be willing to give up our pretending. We have to be willing to face our problems.
- The promise of freedom lies before us, if we will take Jesus up on it.
5. THAT FREEDOM MANIFESTS AS WE KNOW THE TRUTH.
- John 8:32.
- Think of waking up in a dark house. You don’t know where everything is at. You’re walking through the darkness trying to make your way to the kitchen, but you keep bumping into one thing after another. Why? Because you don’t know the “truth” of where all the items are. It leads to lots of wrong turns.
- In this life, we are told many lies by many different people. We incorporate them into our lives with disastrous results. What are some examples?
a. We mentioned one a moment ago. One lie is that “you’re a good person.”
- What consequence does believing that have? It makes us reluctant to embrace the Biblical truth that we are sinners.
b. You should forgive if the other person apologizes.
- That’s not the Biblical standard. The Biblical standard is to forgive.
- So many people hold onto resentment and bitterness because they’ve believed a lie.
c. The good life is waiting in what you buy.
- This is a big one for Americans. All around us are messages pushing us to consume and buy. The promise is that if we do all that then we will see great happiness in life.
- This is a lie, but it’s one that many people give their life purpose over to.
6. WE KNOW THE TRUTH BY LIVING OUT JESUS' TEACHING.
- John 8:31.
- We enjoy this freedom through studying and living out the teaching of Jesus. It’s not simply about knowing a little of what the Bible says. It’s also about incorporating that truth into our everyday lives by taking seriously what Jesus told us to do.
- This is one of three places in John where Jesus is quoted as saying “if you do this, you’re really My disciple.” That means this is crucial. This is core to the mission.
- Do you want to experience what we’ve been talking about this evening? Breaking free from slavery to sin? Living in the freedom that Jesus offers? Walking in the truth?
- It starts with following Jesus’ teaching. It’s not complicated, but it requires commitment and desire.
