Sermon: Uncommon Freedom
Sacred scripture: John 8:21-37 “Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”22 The people[a] asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”23 Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” 25 “Who are you?” they demanded. Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be. 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” 27 But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” 30 Then many who heard him say these things believed in him. 31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.”
Introduction: “Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered.” Jesus assures believers that God alone can give real freedom. John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Jesus Christ is the source of real freedom. If you were to ask anyone on the streets whether they are free they would say yes! But are they really free? Like it or not, there is no such thing as absolute freedom. Freedom from one thing commits us to another.
We may live in a free society, given the right of freedom by our constitution and protected from outside intervention by other nations but the fact is we never really free without Christ. In a free society, men, women, boys and girls are able to move about and do what they want to do. Sadly, within each of us, there is a heart that chases after the bondage of sin. Sin, rebellion against God, brings us into the awful bondage of darkness. It places us under the condemnation of the Law of God. It sentences us to eternal punishment. The truth is we are free to commit our sin but our sin then determines our destiny and our freedom is gone.
These Jews trusted in their bloodline, rather than in obedience to the God of Abraham. Their proud response to Jesus was false. Their nation had been in bondage for over six hundred years to Egypt, to Babylon, to Persia, to Macedon, to Syria, and to Rome. They were also in bondage to sin. They fail to realize that Satan does not allow you to have freedom. He does his best to blind you to your bondage, steal your joy, life, and your ability to pursue happiness. Satan will take your home, job, family, soul and leave you bound and afflicted every time. He doesn’t give you a choice of what you will do next. He takes your ability to choose away and leaves you with only one course to follow. We are powerless within ourselves to get away from his grip and to change our own heart. These Jews and all mankind were slaves to our own desires; slaves to our sin; slaves bound by sin and condemned by sin. Slaves powerless to free ourselves and totally blind to our spiritual condition. Like many who claim to have no one controlling their lives. They claim to have all the money in the world. They claim to have the ability to control every circumstance around them. But they are blind to the fact that they are controlled by the Satan. Jesus promises uncommon freedom to those who believe.
1. Freedom to Exercise the Power of Choice. John 8:34-35 “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.”
Don’t be deceived. You will be a slave to someone or something. You have little choice. We can either refuse to be controlled by sin and Satan and surrender to the will of God or we will be controlled by the Satan and refuse to accept the Lord and refuse to surrender to God and be controlled by Him. Those are your only options. What is this uncommon freedom Jesus is talking about? Is there no real freedom apart from Christ? When we come to Jesus, confessing, and forsaking our sin and accepting Him as Lord of our Life that’s when real freedom begins. Only in Jesus do we have a real choice. Jesus loves us so much and yet He will allow us to make the wrong choices if we want to. The Blood of Jesus will break the Yoke of Sin that hangs about our neck. The Blood of Jesus will break the chains of oppression that binds us.
The Blood of Jesus will wash away every sin and stain that is on our heart and soul. The blood of the Lamb breaks the power of Satan and frees us to choose. When we come to know Jesus – Jesus who is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE – that’s when we really learn what uncommon freedom really means.
2. Freedom to Walk in Obedience to God. John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
When you are under Satan’s bondage you don’t have a choice of whether to live in sin or not. Satan is a hard taskmaster. He will take you deeper, farther, longer than you want to go. Not only does knowing the truth free us from Satan’s domination, it empowers us to walk in obedience to God. Our relationship with Jesus gives us freedom to choose and to continue to walk in obedience with God.
All too often, Christians choose to stray. But God is gracious and loves us and is willing to accept our prayer of repentance and forgives us again and again. Galatians 5:1 encourages us to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
You see, there is the real Freedom of choice, the real right to life, the right to pursue happiness and its only found in Christ. Jesus wants to free us from the power of sin and Satan’s bondage of oppression. Jesus wants you to experience and enjoy real life. The believer will have all eternity to enjoy that life that begins now and will last forever. Jesus wants you to be happy and fulfilled. Happy in the knowledge of Him and in having a real purpose for living. This is uncommon freedom. A freedom that can only be experienced through His saving grace. A freedom that can give you a greater liberty than any law or constitution of man. A freedom that no man can take away, that no law can stop, that no power of earth or power of hell can destroy. That’s an uncommon Freedom.
3. Freedom to Enjoy Complete Sonship Privileges. John 8:34 “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.“
The Jews bragged about their relationship with Abraham, their privileges and liberty; yet how long would this last? True believers are in God’s family. Remember Ishmael was Abraham’s son who was casted out. His position was challenged, and his liberty and immunity came to an end.
The truth is, there is difference between servants of sin, and sons of God. Only sons of God have a perpetual claim to the house and enjoy its privileges. Once we are adopted by faith into the family of God, we have a room in His house and are partakers of all its privileges. That’s uncommon freedom!
Whether we are rich, poor, sick, well, old, young, or any other circumstance of life, we can still have the freedom that Jesus gives. 1. Freedom to Exercise the Power of Choice. 2. Freedom to Walk in Obedience to God. 3. Freedom to enjoy Complete sonship privileges.
Do you have that uncommon freedom today? Do you know Jesus the way, truth and the life? Have you surrendered your life to Him? Give Jesus the control of your life. Give Jesus control over your satisfaction and happiness. Give Jesus the right to make you a child of God with all the privileges of a son and an inheritance in Heaven.
Are you really free? Or are you really bound by sin and rebellion? Are you really free? Or are you trapped in a lifestyle that keeps dragging you down. Allow Jesus to give you uncommon freedom. Accept Him as Lord of your Life. Confess Him as master of your destiny. Surrender your will to Him once and for all. John 8:31-32 “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
