The Truth About Freedom - John 8:32-36

 

The Truth About Freedom -  John 8:32-36

Let me read to you the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. Which is what we celebrate on the 4th of July our declaring our independence from the King of England and the yoke that bound us to the nation of England.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

You’ll notice that in the Preamble freedom is joined with “these truths.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights.” To our founding fathers, freedom was based upon the truth that all men are created equal and given undeniable, unchangeable, unalienable rights by their Creator. These truths are what their national freedom would be built upon. What our national freedom is built upon.

And it is that fundamental, foundational relation between truth, freedom and faith that we are going to explore today as Jesus taught it in John 8. Verse 32 is our key verse and one of the most well know and oft misused passages of scripture.

Faith and Freedom - John 8:31-33

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The Truth Is Freedom

This passage is from the Sermon in the Temple and it takes place during the Feast of the Tabernacles (John 7:2, 8:2). The Feast of the Tabernacles was celebrated by the Jewish people coming to Jerusalem and have a national campout. They constructed booths of palm branches and boards, these arbors are to remember and celebrate their freedom from Egypt during the Exodus. For forty years they lived in tents traveling through the wilderness (Leviticus 23:43) The feast of tabernacles was a time to remember that exodus to freedom and to thank God for it was Him that gave them their freedom.

During this celebration, they would remember their identity as a nation under God. During the time we are reading about today in John 8 they would be especially conscious of their oppression under their Roman oppressors and their desire to be free, as a people and nation, would be strong.  

In the midst of all this, Jesus stood in the temple area, the center of all the events taking place in Jerusalem and He gives this sermon about freedom, but it is a freedom unlike the freedom that the Jewish people had in mind. They wanted freedom from the Romans but they did not want to make the choices necessary to have the real freedom Jesus came to give.

Jesus says, Ye shall know the truth

The word know is from the Greek word ginosko (ghin-oce'-ko), It meant to learn, to know, to come to know, get a knowledge of, to feel, or experience.

Now to the Greeks, this meant to know facts, but these facts may or may not affect one's conduct. But to the Jewish people and especially to Jesus in this sermon, true knowledge always manifested itself in one's conduct. One did not know something until that fact had a practical outworking in his life.

So Jesus says John 8:31-32 If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Two parts to this statement.

First, following Jesus was the mark of true discipleship and faith. Secondly, as they follow and continue in Jesus’ words then they would know the truth and that truth would free them. It is critical then that we know what was the truth Jesus spoke of?

Look back in the context of the verse at chapter 8.

 John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. 23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

John 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

The truth, Jesus spoke of was spiritual truth and it was centered on Himself. The truth was that Jesus was the light of the world. The truth was that those where were listening to him were dying in sin. The truth was that Jesus was not of this world. The truth was that if they did not believe that Jesus was the I AM then they would die in sin. The truth was that Jesus would be lifted up, crucified by the very people he came to save. But when that happened then they would know the truth that Jesus was who he said he was and send by the Heavenly Father.

The truth, that brought their freedom, was faith in Jesus Christ and His death for them. No other truth could bring the freedom they desperately needed, not freedom from Roman, but freedom from the slavery of sin, and freedom from eternal death and the judgement of Hell.

Freedom Only Through Truth

We must understand what Jesus is saying. Freedom is only freedom if it is built on the truth. This is a universal reality. we are talking today about spiritual truth, but it is the same with any freedom. If it is not built on truth, then it is not freedom.

Many people today believe that freedom means no rules, no laws. no restrictions on anything they in their sinful nature want to be or do. They believe that freedom is sin and anarchy is liberty. They want freedom but not from the chains of sin, but freedom from morality,  from the law, from facts, from family, from biology, from their birth. They don’t want to hear that the truth will make them free because they want to be free from the truth, all truth.

What they call freedom is actually slavery because there is no truth in what they believe and if there is no truth then there can be no freedom.

Here is THE TRUTH, that Jesus declared during the Feast of Tabernacles and the truth that is still declared from God’s Word…True freedom is only possible when it is based on the truth,  the truth of who Jesus is and what Jesus did on Calvary.

The Lie In The Garden That Brought Sin and Slavery

What society believes today is of course a lie. A tortured, dangerous, destructive lie that goes all the way back to the first lie about false freedom given by Satan in the Garden.

Genesis 3:1–5 1 And he (the Serpent, Satan) said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

They had all the freedom of the Garden, they had eternal life, there was no death in their future until they believed a lie and then instead of freedom they became slaves. Slaves to the serpent, slaves to death, slaves to a hard, bitter, death filled world.

If the truth is freedom then what is slavery? Jesus spoke of this in vss 33-35

Sin and Slavery - John 8:33-35

They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: [but] the Son abideth ever.

The Slavery of Sin

Vs. 31 is an interesting verse. Jesus says to those Jews which believed on him. If you continue in my word, then are you truly my disciples. His statement is both a test of salvation and a challenge to discipleship.

These “believing Jews” were not believers in the true sense anymore than they were free. These Jews, in context here, believed some of what Jesus said but they did not believe all of what He said, and they certainly did not believe who He said He was. They hoped this was their Messiah, the Savior and future King of their nation but they did not believe that He was the savior of their souls. They believed He was the Prophet that Moses promised would come, but they did not believe what He prophesied about their sin. They believed he was the son of David, but they did not, could not, would not believe that He was the Son of God.

These “believers” did not believe the truth about who He was. They believed in their understanding, their partial truth and that truth could not and did not stand even a few minutes once Jesus began to preach.

When Jesus tells them He will free them, they don’t believe they needed to be freed. They were not in bondage to any man. In fact, they had been in bondage many times, to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, The Persians, The Greeks and now they were bound by their Roman masters. They could not see their physical bondage and they willfully refused to see their spiritual bondage.

Jesus proves their slavery in vs. 34, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” This sin was open and apparent because in vs. 37 he tells them, “Ye seek to kill me.”

They had the choice right there before them, standing in the Temple grounds, listening to Jesus. In Vs. 34 Jesus lays out the choice “Whosoever commits (practices, continues in) sin is the slave of sin.”

They claim to be free because they are the descendants of Abraham, but Jesus says that is not enough, they must be set free by the Son of God. They must have His word, His truth in them. Without His truth they would never be truly free.

Freedom Or Slavery? 

This choice is not just to the Jews of Jesus’ time, but it is the choice every person must one day make. Slavery or salvation, sin or the Savior?

Look at Romans 6 and compare it to what we read in John 8.

Romans   6:16-18 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered  you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Paul says the key to freedom is understanding, knowing, believing that you can choose which master you will serve.

If you yield to sin, as these in John 8 did, then you became a slave to sin.

But if you yield to the doctrine, the truth, the word of God, that was given to you, then you become a servant of righteousness.

You can choose, in fact you must choose and all eternity rests upon that choice. Whose servant will you be? One choice binds you in the chains of sin and hell for eternity and one choice sets you free to serve your creator and God.

I had a disturbing, sad conversation this week with a person who was determined to choose the lies of this world rather than the truth of the Word of God. I felt like someone trying to talk someone down from the edge of cliff. I stood there telling them that if the keep walking the path they are on, they would destroy themselves. This person would not hear the truth and was determined to walk out believing the lies of this world would support them, never realizing that suffering, pain and death were at the end of the path they were on.

No freedom, only slavery, a life filled with sorrow and finally an early death. True for the lost children of Abraham in Jerusalem that day and true for the lost and broken children of this world in Athens, Texas today.

Return to John 8 and look at the critical climax of the Sermon in The Temple.

Salvation and The Son - John 8:36

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

The Singularity of Salvation

In science a singularity is a point or region of infinite mass density at which space and time are infinitely distorted by gravitational forces and which is held to be the final state of matter falling into a black hole.  To me this statement of Jesus is the singularity of salvation.

It is the singular point that we all come to. That place when all of time and eternity, all of God’s plan of salvation, all of man’s hope for heaven comes down to a single statement, a single truth. And if reject that truth then just as in the scientific definition, all that is left is a terrible eternal black hole called Hell.

What Jesus now says here in vs. 36 is the hinge point of heaven. “If the Son shall make you free.” He emphatically, clearly declares Himself as the means of freedom and salvation from sin.

Jesus is telling them, telling us, that freedom was not just in the knowledge of a truth or some truths but was in knowing the One who is truth. Jesus is the truth that will set them free.

Later to His disciples in the Upper Room Jesus puts it even more emphatically, John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

 The Single Point of Salvation

Have you been set free by believing the truth that is Jesus Christ?

The truth that sets us free is Jesus Himself. It is not the facts or history about Jesus. It is not  even the other truths that He taught, but it is Jesus Himself.  I must know Him as the truth of freedom.

Freedom in our life now, freedom in our eternity one day, means trusting Jesus and His word today. Jesus must be my emancipator.  He is the only One who can set me free.

There must be a time in my life when I have openly yielded myself to Jesus as Lord and savior. I must understand that I was born into the slavery of sin, and I cannot free myself and I can choose to stay a slave or I can choose to be set free by the shed blood of Jesus, who died to pay for my sin.

Illustration: The Line In the Sand of Eternity

We are celebrating our birth as a nation today but as Texans there is another freedom we celebrate and that is Texas Independence and independence won by the deaths of many heroes and none so well remembered as those at the Alamo.

In that battle which saw about 100 Texians hold off 1,500 enemy troops for 13 days cost all those who fought their lives. The story goes that the commander of the Alamo Colonial William Travis gathered the troops inside the Alamo and pulled out his saber and drew a line in the sand. He then told those men, “I now want every man who is determined to stay here and die with me to come across this line.” All but one man stepped across the line and Jim Bowie who was too sick to stand had the men carry him across on his bed.

John 8 is a line drawn in the sand of eternity. Jesus said, I am He, I am the Son and The son and only the Son will set you free. We must choose to cross that line, die to ourselves and find freedom and life in Christ or choose to remain in our sin and be a slave to that sin and death in this life and for eternity.

Conclusion

This morning each of us must consider if we are free or if we are slaves. Each one of us must know the truth our freedom is built upon. Each of us must know what side of that dividing line of eternity we take our stand on.