Chapter 8, John Chapter 8. Oh my, that's a wonderful song.
Wonderful song. Tonight we'll be looking at Christ
is our freedom. Christ is our freedom. Now everyone
in this world comes into this world, is born into this world
a prisoner. Prisoner. A prisoner to sin. Held captive
by sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ came
to set the captives free. John chapter 8, the Lord has
been talking to some Pharisees here and he's been telling them
in the earlier part of the chapter that he is the light of the world.
And they don't like what they're hearing. Not at all. Most religious folks don't like
to hear the gospel. And we see all through the scriptures
that when Christ talked to religious people, the Pharisees and scribes,
they hated him. He told them the truth. They
didn't want to hear the truth. But he told them. He told them. Let's look at John 8, verses
31 to 36. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, if you continue in my word, then ye
are my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. Free. They answered him,
we be Abraham's seed. 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. Now, who commits sin? Everyone. Man's conceived in iniquity,
born dead in trespasses and sins. And the servant abideth not in
the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Ye shall
be free indeed. So tonight I'd like us to look
at how Christ is our freedom. He's our freedom, beloved. Now
we're going to celebrate a holiday about freedom coming up. about
the freedom from our country, the freedom against tyranny. Let me tell
you, sin is a tyrant. It's a tyrant. It's a taskmaster. My, it's a tyrant. But the believer has been freed
from the tyranny of sin. Not the presence, but one day
we will. But the tyranny, the power, the
dominion has been destroyed for the believer. We're still sinners,
but oh, it doesn't have the grip on us it once had. It once ruled
us and reigned us. So tonight I'd like us to look
at how Christ is our freedom and how we who believe on Christ
are free. And if the Son sets you free,
You're free indeed. You're free indeed. Now, left
to ourselves and left in our sins, we are bound up. Turn, if you would, to Proverbs
chapter 5. Left to ourselves and left in our sins, we are
bound up, beloved. Bound up. Bound up in chains,
a slave to sin, without hope in this world, whether we feel
it or not. Proverbs chapter 5. And then put your finger in Psalm
85, Proverbs 5, and a few pages further back, Psalm 85. Proverbs 5, verses 21 to 23.
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he
pondereth all his goings. His own iniquity shall take the
wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his
sins. They're like cords wrapped around
you, and you're holden. He shall die without instruction,
and in the greatness of his folly, he shall go astray. So natural
man here we see is bound up by their own sin, held captive by
the cords of sin. And think of this, they think
themselves free. They think themselves free. But
all along, they're slaves to sin. But rejoice, beloved of
God, rejoice. Rejoice, you who are redeemed.
We have been set free from the cords of sin, having all our
iniquity forgiven. All our sins covered by the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice, who is our
propitiation before God. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
85. Psalm 85. This is a psalm for the sons
of Corinth. We look at verses 1 to 7. Lord,
thou hast been favorable unto thy land. Thou hast brought back
the captivity of Jacob. Thou has forgiven the iniquity
of thy people. Thou has covered how much of
their sin? How much of our sin is covered? All their sin. Isn't that wonderful? Look at this. Thou has taken
away all thy wrath. Why? Because Christ has appeased
it all in the place of his people. Thou hast turned Thyself from
the fierceness of Thine anger. God is no longer angry with His
people over our sin. Turn us, O God, of our salvation.
It's God who must turn us, isn't it? We will never turn ourselves
to God. He must turn us. Turn us, O God,
of our salvation and cause Thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt
Thou be angry with us forever? Wilt Thou draw out Thine anger
to all generations? Wilt Thou now revive us, that
Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and
grant us Thy salvation. And He has done that for His
people in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. So let's go back to our text
in John chapter 8. And may we rejoice tonight over
the freedom the believer has in Christ Jesus our Lord. John
8.31, Then said Jesus to the Jews which believed on him, If
you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.
Now let us note the Lord is speaking to believers here. As the scripture
proclaims, He spoke to those Jews which believed on Him. He
proclaims that if a man continues through life, believe in Christ,
loving Christ, devoted to Christ, then he gives evidence that he's
one of his disciples. God's people don't quit. We keep
hanging on because he keeps us. Remember Jude? He's the one who
keeps us. He's the one who presents us
faultless. The word indeed here in our text
means this, truly, really, certainly, of a truth, truly, actually,
really, surely, truly. He's speaking of real, genuine,
true, saving faith. Not just a religious profession.
Not just someone who bowed their head and repeated a prayer. Said,
okay, now I'm good. I punched my card now. You know how many people I've
ran into that think that? And that's a direct result of
decisional regeneration. My goodness. So he's speaking a real genuine
faith here. True faith will keep looking
to Christ. True faith will keep looking to Christ. And this is
a manifestation or proof of salvation. The one who truly loves Christ,
will not depart from Him, will not depart from His gospel. And
anyone who does depart, they're never truly saved. Never truly
saved. Look at John 8, 32. And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. This is not mere head knowledge. Oh, I know who Jesus is. Yeah,
He is a historical figure that lived. This is not that. Not at all. This is real, genuine
truth. It's not a head knowledge. It's
a heart. It's a heart. It's real to the
bully. He set me free. And knowing knowing
the truth of the gospel, I know I've talked to some of you, I
know how free you feel. Oh my. We feel free. Because
the truth, we know the truth. And who's taught us the truth? The Holy Spirit teaches us, doesn't
he? He guides us. He illuminates the scriptures.
And he always points us to Christ. Always. This is to know the truth of
the gospel. To know the true gospel from
the false gospel. To have experienced God's glorious
grace in our lives. And it's all in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. God's people will know they will
know that Christ is the way they will know that Christ is the
truth and they will know that Christ is the life because they're
taught. They're taught by the Holy Spirit. And they will cling
to Christ. They will cling to him. He's
the word of truth. And believers have been set free
from the penalty of the sin, penalty of sin. They've been
set free from the curse of the law. They've been set free from
the power of darkness. They've been set free from the
practice of sin. And finally, one day we will be set free from
the presence of sin. And what a glorious day that
will be for the believer. To see our Savior, for our faith
to become sight. And to see our Savior face to
face. John 8, 33. Says then, they answered him,
we be Abraham's seed. We were never in bondage to any
man. How sayest thou, ye shall be made free? They didn't know
what bondage they were in. They didn't know what bondage
they were in. And they didn't believe they were in bondage.
In such as the state of the sinner when they're unregenerate, right?
They don't know. They don't know. Now there's four things. There's
four things which are particularly hateful
to the natural man because they're so humbling. And they're so humbling to the
unregenerate. First, this is the first thing that is hateful
to the natural man. They are absolutely destitute
of righteousness. destitute of goodness, and they
are unclean in God's sight. Isaiah 64 6 scripture proclaims
this. But we are all as an unclean
thing. And all our righteousness are
as filthy rags. And we do fade as a leaf in our
iniquities, like the wind have taken us away. Natural man hates to hear that.
They hate to hear that they have no goodness, that everything
is tainted by sin. I was talking to my daughter
on the phone today, and the Lord opened the door for me to be
able to speak to her. But one of the things she was saying
was, well, everybody's good. And I said, no, no, honey, no. We come into this world dead
in trespasses and sins, every one of us. Whether you believe it or not,
sweetie, No goodness. Romans 7 18 says
this, for I know that in me and this is Paul writing this, that
and this is a saved man, for I know that in me that is in
my flesh dwells no good thing for the will is present with
me. But how to perform that which which is good, I find not is
that I ask you who believe. Because I know it's so with me.
Do you not have a war constantly going on between your spirit
and your flesh? My goodness. Rejoice, because
that's what happens to believers, it's a civil war. It's a civil
war within us. And Romans seven is the believers
autobiography. You are going through tough times.
Just go there and see Brother Paul. He went through the same
things we went through, but his victory was in Christ Jesus,
the Lord. And in Romans eight one, there
is therefore now no condemnation to see after he's he's He's telling
us what he went through and what he goes through. And we can see
ourselves in the mirror. And then we look at Romans 8,
1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ
Jesus. Oh my goodness. Just fills the heart with joy.
My goodness. Isaiah 64, 6 says that all are
unclean before the holy God of the universe. It says, but we
are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousness are as
filthy rags. The second thing that natural
man hates is that when you tell them they're destitute of wisdom. This destroys man's pride. The Jews did that here in 833.
By their own words, they testified against themselves, right? And John 3.11 says this, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, we speak what we do know, and we testify
what we have seen, and ye shall receive not our witness. Those
are the words of our Lord. Third thing that natural man
hates to hear is that they're destitute of strength and power.
They have no power to save themselves. Isaiah 40, 29, Scripture declares
this. He giveth power to the faint,
and to them that have no might, he increases strength. And God's
people are bought low and made to realize we have no strength. No hope outside of Christ. And
the fourth thing that natural man hates to hear is that they
are destitute of freedom. that they're destitute of freedom.
They're not free. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
chapter 61, verse 1. Now, works-based preachers are
those who proclaim freedom all the time, all the time to the
people that listen to them. And meanwhile, beloved, you know
what they do? They yoke people with burdens that they cannot
even carry themselves. They yoke people with burns that
they can't even carry themselves. Isaiah 61. One, the spirit of
the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach
good titans unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
broken hearted to proclaim what liberty to the captives. Oh,
beloved, we're free in Christ. Liberty to the captives. We were
once bound in trespasses and sins, but he's freed us. He's
freed his people. And he does. And the opening
of the prison to them that are bound. When the Lord showed grace
to you, I ask you, were you not set free? Were you not set free
from the prison house of sin? 2nd Peter 2 19 says this turn
up there if you would 2nd Peter 2 19 look at this and this could this is fitting
for workspace preachers 2nd Peter 2 19 well they promise them liberty
they themselves are the servants of corruption For whom a man is overcome, of
the same has he bought in bondage. So these four points, they abase
the pride of man. They abase the pride of man.
Oh, but for the believer, they abase us, they do. But they also
exalt the sovereignty of God. Doesn't those four points, because
we know we have no strength, we have no goodness. We can't
save ourselves. But oh, what a Savior we have.
Look at verse 34 of our text now, John 8, 34. The Lord proclaims here, those
who commit sin are the servants of sin. And as you read this, we think
of this, you who are redeemed, be thankful that all your sins
are forgiven. Jesus answered them, verily, verily, I say unto
you, whosoever committed sin is the servant of sin. how different God's thoughts
are from ours. The man of the world imagines
that to become a Christian means this. Brother Tim and I have
talked about this before. The world thinks that to become
a Christian, oh, I have to give up all this stuff. I'm so free
right now. How many times have you heard
people say that? Well, if I became a Christian, I'd have to give
up all this stuff. The unsaved man imagines that he's free and imagines
that to become a Christian, And they're thinking they make themselves
sad, which they don't. If you're a believer, every one
of us will say, we didn't make ourselves a believer. God did
that work. But they think the world has
this warped view that to become a Christian means that we forego
our freedom. He supposes that the believer be chained with
a lot of restrictions which destroy his liberty. Turn, if you would,
to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And what evidence that kind of
thinking reveals to us that Satan has blinded them. He's blinded them. Now, men, a saved man will give
up sin here. Not we still sin, but there's
sins that we just we don't want to. There's people we don't want
to be with anymore. There's places we don't want
to go to anymore. I'm not saying that. But what
freedom the believer has, what freedom the believer has in Christ.
Look at Second Corinthians, chapter four, verses three to six. But
if our gospel be hated, it's hit from them that are lost.
in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your
servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine on the darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
8. So the very opposite, the very
opposite of what the natural man thinks is so, is really the case. Because the natural man is in
the bond of iniquity. He's bound up or she's bound
up by their sins. Look at Acts 28, 22, and 23. Repent therefore of this thy
wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may
be forgiven thee for I perceive that thou art in the gall of
bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. That's natural man's
state. in the bond of iniquity. So the
condition of natural man is far worse than he imagines. It's far worse than he imagines.
Far worse than the average so-called preacher who gets up on Sunday
and teaches. The condition of natural
man is far worse than what they presume. We are our fallen creatures,
totally depraved with no soundness in us, in our natural state,
from the sole of our foot to the top of our head. In bondage
to sin and chained up, chained up. You know, people talk about
free will. You hear that all the time, don't
you? Do you know that your will is bound to your nature? Martin Luther wrote an awesome
book called The Bondage of the Will. If you can get a hold of
it, I'd suggest you read it. It's amazing. The will is in
bondage to the nature. Therefore, the will in natural
man is controlled by a dead nature. But the will in a believer is controlled by
the new nature. That's why we fight and struggle
with sin. We never used to, did we? Because
we had a dead nature before. But we're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. And now, sin in our life is a
struggle. Struggle. And we see ourselves
as sinners to the core, don't we? Spurgeon said, even my best
prayers are tainted with sin. Is there any hope? Is there any hope? Let's continue. John 8, 35 and 36. And the servant abideth not in
the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Oh, here we go. Only in Christ can we find true
freedom. Freedom from all our sins. Christ
is the way of freedom, beloved. He is our freedom. He is our
freedom. Now again, freedom supposes bondage,
doesn't it? It supposes bondage. And we've seen in our study tonight,
so far, that man in the natural state is in complete bondage.
When we're born into this world, we're servants of sin. We have no ability to save ourselves
because we are held captive. Remember, we saw the cords of
sin, right? Held captive by the very thing. We are held captive by the very
thing that will condemn us before God left to ourselves. And we have no strength to free
ourselves, and no ability to free ourselves. But freedom comes in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ, who sets his people free. Free. Those in Christ Jesus are free,
beloved. And we are made free by the Son. Those who could never free themselves
are set free by the Son of God. Living in our place and dying
in our place. He paid the debt that we owe. And God is satisfied. And the believer in Christ rests and trusts in Christ who
is our sanctifier. We're sanctified in Christ. We're
born again. And this breaks the power of
indwelling sin. So that the believer can go through
this world knowing that we are still sinners, but yet saved.
Saved, redeemed, forgiven, pardoned, set free in Christ. Now we hate sin when once we
loved it. And think of this, death no longer
has any sting. We're all going to pass through
that gate. But for the believer, death has
no sting. Because all our sins and iniquities
are forgiven in Christ. Washed in His precious blood.
And the believer is free indeed. And this is real freedom. To
be pardoned in Christ is real freedom. Just ask someone who's
been set free. If you don't know Christ, ask,
ask one of his people who've been set free. Oh, we're telling
you. I am free indeed. I was telling
my daughter this today. I'm free. Free from the guilt of all my
sins. Free from all my sins past, present and future. Think of
this. Think of I am pardoned of all
my sins from conception to my death. Because either Christ paid for
all my sins or He didn't pay for any. From conception to death. Oh my. Is it any wonder why death
has no more sting for the believer? Free from the power and dominion
of sin. We're still plagued by it. But
it doesn't have the dominion. It doesn't reign in us like it
once did. And also we're free from the
slavish fear of sin, which causes bondage. When you consider that even the
guilt of our sins are forgiven, that'll set you free. My, freedom. Men talk of freedom, but they
don't really know what it is. But the believer does. We know
what freedom is. Now let us ponder that this is
a costly freedom. This freedom is costly. It cost our Savior dearly. It cost Him that obtained it
for us, the shedding, of his own precious blood. Having obtained eternal redemption
for us, how? By his death upon Calvary's cross
as our substitute. What was the price of our ransom?
His own precious blood. Nothing else could ransom us. Nothing else could satisfy God's
demands. So He sends His Son to die the
propitiation for our sins, to be a ransom for our souls, to
give liberty to the captives, to save His people from their
sins, and to set them free. 1 Corinthians 6.20 Scripture says
this, For ye are bought with a price. Remember that. We're set free, but we're bought
with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Peter says this,
that you're purchased with a price, beloved. For as much as you know
that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver
and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you, for you, for you, beloved, who by him do believe,
our faith is in Christ, who by him do believe in God that raised
him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and
your hope might be in God. not in ourselves, in God. By the strength of His hand,
He rescued us. By the strength of His hand,
He rescued us. What are some things that God's
people are free from as a result of this wonderful freedom? Again, we're free from the guilt
of sin. We're free from the dominion or power of sin. We're free from
the power of the law. We're free from the unscriptural
commands of man and their attempts to merit salvation. And we are
free from the sting of death in the grave. And then the believer
has access to the throne of grace. Access to the throne of grace.
in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. We have liberty to come
to the Father. We have liberty to approach the
Father and to petition our Father in prayer and to thank Him for
His mercy and His grace bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus our Lord. In our natural state, we could
never approach Him. But covered in clothes of Christ's
perfect righteousness, we have the liberty to approach our great
God and King. Do you imagine, think of a king
and you have the privilege of not only being in his presence
but to approach his throne and bow down before him and petition
him. This is the king of the universe.
Oh my, and the only reason we have that access is in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ and the freedom which he has given us. And then we have no condemnation.
I mentioned that earlier. No judgment. That means when
it says there is therefore now no condemnation in the Greek,
that's no judgment. I was telling my daughter again,
we were talking about how at the end everyone will be facing
God. And she had heard that somebody
said, oh, there'll be asked three questions. What did you do good?
What did you do? You know, all this stuff about
man. I said, that's not even in the scripture, sweetie. It's
just a lie somebody's feeding you. That's what that is. I said, and I used to believe
way back when I was a dispensationalist that God would have this TV screen
and that he would play all the things I did wrong. and I would
receive a reward or lose a reward. Christ is my reward. Christ is
my reward, beloved. He's my reward. But I will stand
one day, and you who believe will too, in the presence of
the great King, clothed in the perfect spotless righteousness,
of Christ. And there be no judgment for
us, beloved. We'll see others be judged. There
be no judgment for us at all. All because of what Christ has
done for us. There is therefore now no condemnation,
no judgment for those in Christ Jesus. Oh, it's wonderful. It makes you want to shout. It's
wonderful. My Those in Christ, do you know
we're the Lord's freemen? We're the Lord's freemen. I'm reminded of those gladiators
who had to, I guess, if they could win their freedom by fighting.
We didn't have to fight for our freedom. He did it all. He did it all. We're his freemen. Oh, it thrills our soul. And the reason we're the Lord's
freemen is because He has made us free. The Son has made us free. And
we're blessed and happy in Christ, aren't we? Those that are not in Christ
are the devil's bondmen, rowing in his galley, One one commentator
said, tugging at his or doing his drudgery in chains and bondage. But beloved. We're free. Turn, if you would,
to Galatians chapter five. Now works-based preachers will
try to entangle you, or people who are works-based religion,
if you have friends who are in that, they will try to entangle
you into all kinds of things. But let us always remember this
scripture here, Galatians 5.1. We are the Lord's freemen. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty. If the Son shall make you free,
you're free indeed. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. And be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage. One commentator said, don't allow
anyone to entangle you again with a system of works and deeds
in order to obtain God's favor. We are complete in Christ. Complete in Him. Christ the Son is our representative
and the flesh has fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law on
our behalf. And gives us a perfect holiness
in God's sight. He honored the law and satisfied
justice for us before the Father in order that God may be just
and the justifier of those who believe. So tonight we've looked at how
natural man is in bondage. In bondage to their sins. Their
will is in bondage. In spiritual slavery and captivity. And before a man knows Christ,
he's in bondage. Men have no righteousness nor
goodness. Men have no wisdom and no strength, no hope. They're
under the curse of the law. Prisoners, therefore, in bondage. And only by the grace of God
and the truth of Christ can they be delivered. Because if Christ
makes you free, you are free indeed. Free indeed. Gracious Heavenly Father, oh,
we thank you for this wonderful scripture. We know, we who believe,
know we were once dead in trespasses and sins, but now we're born
again by the Holy Spirit of God. And oh, we're free indeed. Free
in you, Lord Jesus. And we know that we could never
have freed ourselves. We could never have opened the
prison door. Oh, my. But Lord, you have come
and set your people free. And in you, we are free indeed.
May we leave here glorifying your name and glorifying the
work which you've done. for us in our place. And may
we glorify that right now you are our advocate in heaven with
the Father. And one day, one day, it won't
be long. It's just a vapor our lives.
We will be with thee in your presence rejoicing forevermore. Praise your mighty name. In your
name we pray. Amen.