The Truth That Sets Us Free

[0:00] This morning we're going to be serving and partaking of the Lord's table. And as we come to the table, we want to take a few moments to think about what this table means.

[0:12] Many of us know what it means. We've done this before. But our hearts easily forget what this table is all about.

[0:22] And so that's why we do this. We need to be reminded in here of the love of God for us and what he has done because of that love. So we're going to reflect a little bit on what Jesus said that points to this table, right from in John's Gospel where we have been studying up until now.

[0:42] Last Sunday was all about what it means to be a true disciple, a true follower of Jesus. And this morning we're going to focus on something else Jesus said in that same section.

[0:54] Let me read it for you from John 8, verse 31. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

[1:12] Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.

[1:24] How can you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

[1:38] Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, But a son belongs to it forever. So if the son sets you free, You will be free indeed.

[1:54] So Jesus told the people who were gathered there that day That they needed to remain in his word. That they needed to continue to hold to his teaching.

[2:04] And if they did, he said, They would come to know the truth. And that truth, he said, would set them free. Would liberate them.

[2:16] And the people responded with surprise, And perhaps some confusion. What do you mean the truth will liberate us? We're Abraham's descendants.

[2:28] We are his offspring. We've never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean liberate us, set us free? We're not in bondage. Now I don't think that they meant that the Israelites Had never been slaves in history.

[2:44] Of course they were. They were slaves in Egypt. They were slaves in Babylon. Right now in the story, They're not really in slavery or in servitude per se.

[2:57] The Romans are ruling over them. But it's not like it was in the days of Pharaoh. Or Nebuchadnezzar. Probably they are thinking about A different kind of being slaves.

[3:08] More than just being slaves in a social status sense. They try to remind Jesus That they are no ordinary people. We are Abraham's descendants.

[3:23] We are free men. Free women. By birth. By right. By blood. We are a people of spiritual privilege Because of our ancestry.

[3:38] Who we come from Is Abraham. The man who God chose And made a special covenant with. The one that God promised To make into a great nation And the father of nations.

[3:51] We are his offspring. We're nobility by birth. And by blood. And therefore we do not ever belong To anyone But God.

[4:03] So how can you say That we need to be liberated Or set free? Jesus looks them in the eye And he says this Very truly I tell you Everyone who sins Is a slave To sin In other words Jesus says I'm not talking about The ordinary kind of Slavery I'm talking about A different kind of slavery Spiritual slavery It's kind of A surprising statement That Jesus makes Isn't it?

[4:45] Everyone who sins Is a slave To sin But this is what he said Now normally When people are slaves They are slaves To other people Either they have been Enslaved by other people Or they have sold themselves Into slavery To other people But Jesus talks about A kind of slavery That's not to another person But to sin Itself Well what is sin?

[5:17] And how can people Be slaves To sin? Sin is a pretty loaded word I did a quick little search On my computer And it Over 800 times It's mentioned From cover to cover In the Bible And it's talked about In a variety of different ways Often it means Simply to do wrong Either against God Or other people But especially Against God It's often described With the language Of breaking the law Or disobeying God's commands But sin is also used To describe More than just The act of sinning Or doing wrong things It's also used To describe The spiritual condition Of people Sinful Or the spiritual state Of people Guilty And then in some places Like this one Sin is even personified It's talked about

[6:18] Almost as if it was This personal force Within us A restless evil Within us That tempts us That Desires what is wrong That tries to deceive us And lead us astray And damages And destroys us But here It enslaves us It is The slave master That we are a slave to In the language That Jesus uses It's a pretty serious Thing to say I want you to Imagine yourself In the crowd there That day And Jesus saying This to you We might feel free Just like the Jews did Who were speaking To Jesus that day But Jesus basically Tells them You're not free You are in bondage You are trapped You are a slave You are owned And controlled

[7:18] By sin It has power over you Like a slave master Over a slave Now what does Jesus Mean by this?

[7:31] Truthfully There are a number Of different places And passages In the Bible That talk about How sin Enslaves us And we're not going to Go into all of them This morning But the worst way Of all Is how sin Has power And control And ownership Over our final destiny This is how it works By sinning We become guilty And I don't mean Just that we feel guilty I mean that we Actually become guilty In the ledger of heaven Of doing what is wrong And God As the righteous judge Must do something About our guilt He can't Just let us off the hook And pretend that all The wrong things That we've done Never happened That wouldn't be just It wouldn't be right For him to do that He has revealed Many times And in many ways Throughout the pages

[8:33] Of his word That the consequence The penalty For sin Is death And then to stand Before him In judgment He's revealed That all who are guilty Must receive What they deserve For every sin That they have committed And he has revealed That the punishment That fits the crime Of sin Is no less Than hell And so because Of our sins Our status before God Is guilty And we are destined To face God's punishment And so it really does Have power And authority And control Over us And over what will Happen to us We are not free We are trapped We are stuck And in bondage It doesn't matter If you're physically Descended from Abraham

[9:33] By itself That is not enough To change your status Before God Do you hear what Jesus Is saying to them Picture yourself there In the temple courts As he says this To you Sin has you It owns you It holds sway Over you The wrong things That you've done In your life Have made you guilty Before God And so you've forfeited Your freedom Your life And you are a slave There is good news Coming But before we get to it Let's look at what Jesus says next Verse 35 Now a slave Has no permanent place In the family But a son Belongs to it Forever So if the son

[10:35] Sets you free You will be free Indeed At this point Jesus begins to talk For a moment About a household A family And it's kind of A mini parable I think He talks about The difference Between a slave Of the family Or we might think Of a household servant And a son In the family He says The slave Doesn't have A permanent place In the family But a son He remains In the family Forever Now there's Some different ideas About what Jesus Means by all this And how this Applies to the people He's talking to And I'm not Going to go too far Beyond what Jesus Says here Because I'm not 100% sure Just how it applies But there are At least two things That seem clear to me That I think we can Draw out First of all As we've already said The people who He is talking to In this little

[11:35] Parable analogy Are the slaves He says If the son Sets you Free If the son Liberates you In other words You Are a slave To sin And We should know It's not just The people Jesus is talking to Who are slaves To sin As we just saw Jesus said Everyone who sins Is a slave To sin That includes The people there That includes Me That includes All of you We have sinned Against God too And so we Are slaves In bondage But the second Thing that comes Out clearly here Is what Jesus Says in verse 36 So if the son Sets you free You will be Free indeed If we are the Slaves In Jesus Illustration

[12:36] Jesus is the Son In the family And this might Be a little bit Hard for us To relate to In our culture Today But back in Those days It was common For families To live And to work Together Sons would Take up the Family trade And work Alongside Their fathers And while The family Estate and Business Belonged to The father The son Would eventually Come to Manage it For his Father And then After his Father died He would Inherit it The business And the estate From his Father And so As part of This way Of doing Family The son Had a place Of special Privilege And authority In the family He was given Authority And the ability To make Important decisions On behalf Of his father Including such Things as Hiring And firing And managing The servants Or the slaves So if the son Took his Family signet

[13:37] Ring and Pressed it Into a Business deal It was as If his dad Had signed It If the son Decided to Set a slave Free Then that Slave was Free Because he Acts with The authority Of his father That seems To be the way Things were Back in that Day And culture And so Jesus is Kind of Using this As an Analogy A mini Parable At the Same time As telling Us that We are Slaves Who need To be Liberated He is Saying I am The son In the Family And so I have Come on Behalf of My father To set You free And if I set You free Then in His sight My father's Sight You are Free Liberated So it's Bad news That as Jesus says We are Slaves to Sin And guilty Before

[14:37] God But Jesus Has come To bring Good news From God Do you Hear it There is A way To be Set free He says If the Son sets You free You will Be free Indeed There is A way To be Liberated From this Slavery To sin That we All have This guilt Which has Us destined For hell There is A way To be Set free This is What Jesus Has come To announce To declare And he Is That way He is The one Who sets Slaves Free This is Why he Came Jesus Does not Want you To stay A slave To sin He doesn't Want you To remain Trapped He doesn't Want you To face Judgment Without any

[15:38] Way to Escape What you Deserve For your Sins That's That's Why he Came Do you Hear him Pleading Back up In verse 24 If you Do not Believe That I Am he Said Jesus You will Indeed Die In your Sins There is A way To be Set Free To be Liberated And here's What you Need to Do First And this Is implied You will Have to Admit What you Know to Be true You will Have to Admit To god That yes I have Sinned Against You And I Am a Slave To sin It really Does have Control over Me and My final Outcome You have To admit That you Have to Confess That you Have to Agree With jesus About that That's Implied And then To be Set free To be

[16:38] Liberated We must Simply do What jesus Says here Let's look Back up to What he Said earlier If you Hold to My teaching If you Remain In my Word You are Truly my Disciples And then You will Know the Truth And the Truth Will set You free So It's the Truth That will Set you Free It's the Truth that You will Come to Know from Listening to What jesus Says to Jesus word That will Set you Free From slavery To sin It's the It's really Simple If you Listen to The truth That jesus Speaks And you Sincerely Grab a Hold of What he Is saying With all Your heart And believe Believe it Take it Seriously Then his Truth His good News The very Words that He speaks Through the Pages of Your bible To you As you Read them Will save You Will set You free Will liberate

[17:39] You Many of You have Already done This Many of You have Been set Free From slavery To sin By faith In jesus And we Praise the Lord for That For us These words Of jesus Are a Reminder That we Have been Of what We have Been Liberated From They're a Reminder Of just How Hopelessly In trouble We were When sin Enslaved Us But we Who believe In jesus Are here This morning To celebrate And to Give thanks For the Day of Our Redemption And so Let's turn Our attention Finally To how Jesus Is able To set Slaves Like Many of Us were Free That's what This table Is all About That's what It points To Jesus Couldn't Just simply Speak a Word And forgive Us Something

[18:40] More Was needed To satisfy The laws Of divine Justice Our Transgressions Had to Be punished And that's What jesus Came to Do Out of Love And compassion For us He Willingly Came And chose To take The punishment That we Deserve For all Of our Sins Upon Himself That's what He did Is he Hung there And died On the Cross A sacrifice Of atonement To god In order To set Us Free And so The bread And the Cup We all Know Represent His Death His Body His Blood Broken And poured Out To set You Free So if

[19:44] You're Here This Morning And you Believe that With all Your heart That jesus Died on The cross To set You free Then i Want to Invite you To join With the Rest of Us Who share In that Faith And partake With us Of the Bread And the Cup In just A moment Here we're Going to Have a Couple Minutes Of Quiet We'll Put on Some Music And i Want to Encourage You in These Moments To pray To talk To god Talk to Him about Sin About being A slave About the Cross And what He did There Charles is Going to Come around After a Couple Minutes And pass Out the Bread And the Cup And i Just ask That you'd Hold on To both Of them Until Everybody's Been Served And then Once we All have I'll lead Us in a Prayer And we'll Partake Together Together Thank you.

[21:08] Thank you.

[21:38] Thank you.

[22:08] Thank you.

[22:38] Thank you.

[23:08] Thank you.

[23:38] Thank you.

[24:08] Thank you.

[24:38] Thank you.

[25:08] We love you so much. And we celebrate you. We thank you that you are alive. And that someday we shall see you face to face.

[25:21] Amen. Let's eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus. Thank you.