Sermon
delivered on July 3rd, 2016
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Text: John 8:19-35
Introduction
By
way of introduction I will dare say two things that I believe is true of all of
us:
1. Everyone wants to be free
Everyone
in this building wants to be free. No one wants to be in bondage. No one wants
to be a slave to another. Everybody wants freedom. Every creature desires
and wants to enjoy its freedom. Place a bird in a cage and it will struggle to
get free. Put a dog on a leash and restrain him in one place and will howl
and bark to be set free. We human beings are no different. We want to be
free. We do want our freedoms tampered with.
2. Everyone wants truth
Not
only does everybody want to be free but also everybody wants truth. Even the
relativists - those who deny the existence of absolute truth; even those who
say that absolute truth does not exist, demand truth. No one wants to be lied
to.
"The fact is,
that truth matters especially when you are on the receiving end of a lie." - Ravi Zacharias
As
Americans, we value truth and freedom. Our nation was founded on the principle
of "liberty and justice for all."
Listen
to our First Amendment - Religion and Expression
"Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government
for a redress (to set right) of grievances."
Our
First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of
the press, freedom to peacefully assemble, and freedom to petition the
government for redress (to set right grievances).
Truth
and freedom are the very foundation of our nation. Truth and freedom matter to
us as a nation. But here is the problem: Everybody hates lie but nobody wants
to hear the truth. Everybody wants freedom, but very few ask, "What really
is freedom?" We want freedom but very few understand what freedom is.
To
illustrate this, a professor asked his students, "What is
freedom?"
Immediately
one student raised his hand and confidently asserts, "Freedom
is being able to do what you want."
Everyone in the room nodded agreeing to their fellow strudent's assertion. But
the professor laughed and shouted "Wrong! That's exactly
what's wrong with the world. People think they want freedom, but what they
really want is anarchy. Doing whatever you want isn't freedom: it's anarchy."
I
agree with the professor. Many people think that freedom is the absence of
restraint, doing whatever you want. But really, freedom without restraints and
doing whatever you please is not freedom. It's anarchy which leads chaos.
Imagine we had no laws telling us on which side of the freeway to drive.
Imagine we had no regulations regarding drinking and driving. Imagine if we
have no laws regarding marriage, no laws against marrying your mother or
father, or siblings, or your dog or cat. Imagine we were able to do whatever we
wanted to do. The world would be filled with chaos and confusion! Which is what
is happening to day. Freedom is not the absence of restraint, nor is doing
whatever you please.
Our
Lord spoke about truth and freedom
Let's
hear what He says about truth and freedom.
John 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him. 31:
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed; 32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free. 33: They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were
never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34: Jesus
answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the
servant of sin. 35: And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the
Son abideth ever. 36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be
free indeed.
"And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Many
secular colleges and universities display this statement at the entrance of
their building as their motto, to name a few: California Institute of
Technology, Idaho State University, University of Portland, and Ottawa
University. This phrase is also inscribed in stone at the Original Headquarters
Building of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency).
But "the
truth shall make you free" did not
originate in colleges and universities. It was Jesus who said it. And when
He said these words, He is not promoting a salvation by our own intellectual
knowledge, He is not promoting a salvation through the acquisition of more and
more information. When our Lord said "the truth will set you free"
He was speaking of spiritual truth that leads to spiritual freedom.
What
is freedom?
"Freedom is not the
ability to do whatever you want. Freedom is the strength of character to do
what is true, good, noble, and right."
- Matthew Kelly
Based
on this description of freedom we need at least two things, namely knowledge and character. Freedom
is knowing what you ought to do (knowledge) and having the ability to do just
that (character).
Our
Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words in ...
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35: And the servant abideth not
in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36: If the Son therefore shall
make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
The
people to whom Jesus was speaking were confused about freedom. When Jesus
Christ said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free", they responded ...
John 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were
never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
The
Jews claimed they were free. They boasted that they were politically free and
were not in bondage to any foreign power. They are either in denial or ignorant
of their history, because at that time they were under the Roman government and
if they knew their history they would know they were at one point were in
bondage in Egypt and in Babylon.
They
claimed religious freedom, but they were in reality the slaves to their
man-made laws and man's traditions. They claimed moral freedom, but in reality they
were in bondage to sin.
Jesus
said in verse thirty four, "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin". The word "committeth sin" means continually and habitually disobeys
God. When a person is in that condition, that person is not free but rather a
slave. He is a servant of sin which is the worst kind of bondage.
But
here is the Gospel - Jesus Christ, the Son of God
came to set us free.
1. Freedom Begins with Salvation
Freedom
begins with trusting Jesus Christ as your Saviour. When a person trusts
Jesus Christ as his Saviour, he is set freed, not only from sin's guilt, and
punishment, and judgment but also from its enslaving power.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
If
you and I are to experience and enjoy freedom we must experience new birth. We
must be given a new heart.
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,
and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27: And I will put my spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do
them.
In
the new birth we are given a new nature enabling us to do what is true, good,
noble and right.
2. Freedom is Governed by Truth
Freedom
is not the absence restraint but governed and controlled by truth.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.
Satan
offers freedom but the freedom he offers is freedom without restraints, freedom
without responsibility, freedom without consequences, which is not freedom at
all. Because the freedom he offers leads to bondage and he uses lies, not
truth. Satan uses lies to bring you into bondage, and that bondage leads to
destruction.
Satan
is like a crooked politician whose says, "In Politics, sometimes you
have to lie or you have to make promises you cannot keep."
In
Genesis 3 Satan said to our first parents ...
Genesis 3:4 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.
Satan
lied to our first parents - Ye shall not surely die:
He
made a promise he cannot deliver - Ye shall be as gods.
Jesus
offers freedom. The freedom He offers is real freedom. This is what He said in
...
John 8:36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be
free indeed.
You
shall be really free. You shall be free in reality.
While
Satan lies to bring you into bondage, God uses truth to set you and me free. When
we believe Satan's lies and obey them, then we experience bondage, but when we
believe the truth and obey it, we experience freedom which leads to
fulfillment.
3. Freedom is Not Free
The
freedom we now enjoy in this country isn't free. There had been a price paid in
blood by our armed forces over all these years so that we could experience and
enjoy the freedom. By our service men and women, our fire fighters, police,
medical people, they put their lives in the line every single day for us. There
is a price and a personal sacrifice.
The
freedom the Jesus Christ gives, like all other freedoms, was obtained at a
great price and by costly sacrifice. It doesn't come free. There is a price and
it is personal. Our bondage was so great that a great price and
sacrifice must be paid to liberate us, to set us free. Not only that,
the devil who held us captive is strong and powerful that only a strong and
powerful Saviour can liberate us out of his hands.
Thank
God, we have a great and mighty Saviour who gave the great sacrifice to set us
free.
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome
them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Galatians 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and
from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4: Who gave himself for our sins, that he might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father:
Christ
provided everything that was required to set sinners free. He paid the price.
It is a price paid in blood as Jesus Christ sacrificed His own blood for our
salvation. He redeemed us. The price that Christ paid to set sinners free was
His own person. He became our Substitute. He took our place. He shed His own
blood. He suffered, bled and died on the cross for our sins.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Closing Exhortation
My
prayer is that you and I would experience and enjoy true freedom. This freedom
begins with salvation. It begins by knowing the Truth. Jesus Christ is the
Truth (John
14:6). Jesus came to proclaim liberty to
the captives.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, 19: To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
My
first exhortation is ...
1. Embrace the Truth
The
way to experience freedom is not to deny that truth exists. The way to
experience freedom, grace and forgiveness is not to give up truth and pretend
it isn't there. The way to experience freedom is to embrace truth and submit to
it.
John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32: And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The
key to genuine freedom, grace and forgiveness is found in the phrase; "continue in my word". Jesus says we come to know the truth by continuing
in His teachings, and truth is that which will liberate us or make us free.
Don't
be afraid of the truth. Take the
truth seriously you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and
instruction, and understanding.
Know,
get, acquire the truth and never let go of it.
Consider
truth as a thing of the highest value, and obtain it at all cost and do not
part with it for any thing in this world. When you get truth you will have
wisdom, instruction and understanding.
John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
2. Proclaim the truth
Proclaim
the truth by your life before your children and spouses and classmates and
friends and neighbors and co-workers. Proclaim the truth by your life and by
your words.
As He died to make men holy,
Let us live to make men free;
His truth is marching on.
While God is marching on.
3. Celebrate your freedom
As
Christians we enjoy freedom now, but our greatest experience of freedom will
take place in the future when Jesus returns. The Bible calls this "the glorious liberty of the children of God."
Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in
us. 19: For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God. 20: For the creature was made subject to
vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21: Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22: For we
know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now. 23: And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption,
to wit, the redemption of our body.
AMEN!