Sermon
delivered on July 6th, 2014
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Text: John 8:30 - 36
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.
238 years ago (July 4, 1776),
America claimed Independence from British domain and the rest is history.
Abraham Lincoln said ...
"... that this nation, under God, shall
have a new birth of freedomand that government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
I thank God we live in a country
that is free. We have tremendous freedom that we enjoy in this country. We
enjoy freedom of press, freedom of petition, freedom of worship, freedom of
speech and freedom to peaceful assemble. Thank God for the political, social
and religious freedoms we have in this country.
I - The Blessing of Freedom
I am quite sure that everyone in
this room wants to be free. Nobody wants to be a slave or to be in bondage or
to be under the dominion of another person or another country. Nobody wants to
live in a country where you are treated like a slave and where you are not allowed
to think and act for yourselves.
Let us be thankful for our earthly liberty
Let us not take for granted the
liberty we enjoy in this country. But I am afraid though most everyone enjoys
freedom, not everyone knows and appreciates the blessing and the value of being
free. For those of us who were born and who grew up in the midst of peace and
freedom, I am afraid we do not value our liberty as we ought to.
"It
is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from
you." - Dick
Cheney
But ask those who were born and who
grew up in the midst of war, like our Lolo's and Lola's, grandpa's and
grandma's; ask those who live in country ruled by cruel military tyrants and
dictators, they do know the value of being free. They are willing to sacrifice
their lives to have the freedom that we now have and enjoy.
"Is
life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I do not know what course others may take;
but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" - Patrick Henry
II - The Greatest Freedom of All
Freedom in Christ
But there is another freedom that we
should not take for granted. Let us be thankful and let us value our earthly
liberty, but do not forget that there is another liberty that we must
have. I am talking about the freedom that
Christ offers.
36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed.
Christ offers true freedom,
spiritual freedom, freedom in the soul. This
is the freedom of freedoms. This is
the greatest of all freedoms. This is the freedom which surpasses all other
freedoms. This
is the freedom without which all other freedom will mean nothing.
No one is born spiritually free
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.
The Jews 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 - 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.
Many of us may be able to say we
were born free (earthly freedom) but none of us could say we were born free
spiritually. We are born slaves and servants of
sin.
34: Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth (practices, habitual pattern) sin is the servant of sin.
We are by nature slaves of sin.
Slaves obey their masters because they belong to him. Slaves have no will of
their own. They are literally in bondage to their masters. When sin is our
master, we are unable to resist it.
Free and yet a slave
What
good is it to live in a free country, if you are still a slave of sin?
What good is it to live in a free
land like the US, with freedom of press, freedom of petition, freedom of
religion (worship), freedom of speech and freedom to assemble peacefully, but
still a slave to sin, and a captive to the devil?
34: Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth (practices, habitual pattern) sin is the servant of sin.
There are millions in this country
who are slave of sin and captive to the devil and are not aware of it. They are
those who are slave to lust, to pleasures, to entertainment, to sports, to career
and to ambition, to fashions, to money and things, to career and education.
Whether men like to hear it or not, the gambler and the drunkard, the greedy
and the passionate, and the drug and alcohol addict, are not free, but slaves.
They are chained hand and foot by the devil. Everyone who sins is a slave of
sin.
Are you free? You and I may live in a country
known as the land of the free and the home of the brave. But the all important
question is - Are we really free? I am not talking about earthly freedom or
political freedom; I am talking about the freedom that our Lord Jesus Christ
offers which is true freedom, freedom in your soul
36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed.
May God use this message to lead those
who are still the servant of sin to freedom.
But for those of us who are free,
may God use this message to cause us to have a greater appreciation of the
freedom we have and enjoy.
II - The Freedom that Christ Gives?
What
it is not
It
is not free from sorrow and pain, nor free from tribulation. If we have the freedom that Christ offers, we will enjoy
freedom from sorrow and pain and tribulation not in this life but in the life
to come.
It
is not free from the law, nor
free to do what we want. That's
anarchy.
What
it is
Those set free by Christ are free
indeed!
1. The freedom that Christ gives is freedom from the guilt of
sin
Many today are depressed and even
sickly because of guilty conscience and unforgiven
sin. But those who have been set free by Christ no longer carry the heavy
burden of unforgiven sin and a guilty conscience.
Christ's blood has cleansed it all away. They know they have been pardoned,
reconciled, justified, and accepted in God's sight.
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2: Blessed is the man unto
whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose
spirit there is no guile.
2. The freedom that Christ gives is freedom from the penalty of
sin
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to
these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32: He that spared not
his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? 33: Who shall lay any thing
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34: Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that
died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us.
No longer condemned now and forever.
3. The freedom that Christ gives is freedom from the power of
sin
Romans 6:17 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. 18: Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness.
The apostle does not
thank God that they were sinners; but that, although they were such, but now
they are free from sin. They are no longer under the dominion of sin. They are
no longer under the power of sin.
Sin no longer rules and reigns in
their hearts. The flesh may fight, but it does not conquer them. The devil may
tempt and harass, but does not overcome them. They are no longer the slave of
lusts and passion, and obsession, and moods. In all these things they are more
than conquerors through Him who loved them.
4. The freedom that Christ gives is freedom from the fear of
death
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh
and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death
he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15: And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage.
Christ sets free those who all their
lives were held in slavery because of fear of death.
Because their sins have been
forgiven, they are no longer under God's just and righteous condemnation and
they are no longer under sin's dominion and they are no longer afraid of death.
Having set free by Christ we can
look at death and say ...
1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is
thy victory? 56: The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57: But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. The freedom that Christ gives is eternal freedom
The earthly freedom we enjoy today
is not guaranteed. A nation much stronger than us may rise and conquer us. But
the freedom that Christ gives will never be taken away. The freedom that Christ
gives is an eternal freedom.
Romans 8:35 Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36: As it is written, For
thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all these things we are more
than conquerors through him that loved us. 38: For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Once they are set free they are free
for eternity.
III - Freedom Isn't Free
How is Christ able to give this
freedom? How did He obtain this freedom?
Freedom isn't free! The freedom we
now enjoy in this country isn't free. There has been a price paid in blood by
our armed forces over all these years so that we can enjoy the freedom that we
enjoy. By our service people, 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 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.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it
is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree:
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.
He who knew no sin, was made sin for us. He
who had no sin and never sinned was made sin for us. He who was sinless was
treated as if He was the sinner and we who are sinful were treated as if we are
the righteous.
Christ satisfied all the righteous
requirement and just demand of the law that we have violated and cannot keep.
He did that by living a perfect life and offering the perfect sacrifice.
Jesus
paid it all,
All
to Him I owe;
Sin
had left a crimson stain,
He
washed it white as snow.
IV - The Way to Freedom
How do men and women obtain the
freedom that Christ offers? Who are those that Christ truly sets free?
It is not by baptism
No amount of baptism can set us free
from the guilt, the power, the penalty of sin.
It is not by mere church membership
Don't get me wrong. I am not
minimizing the importance of baptism or Church-membership but what I am saying
is that baptism or church membership is not the way that we are set free. The
way to acquire freedom in Christ is simply by trusting and believing.
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.
36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
It is by simple faith in Jesus
Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. It is taking the claims of Christ seriously
and whole heartedly. By simply acknowledging and seeing that you are a slave to
sin and a captive of Satan and that you need to be delivered. And that none
other but Jesus is able to deliver you.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. 17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Are you free? Has the Son set you free? Can you confidently say that you have
been forgiven of your sins? Free from guilt, free from its power, from its
penalty and free from the fear of death?
The first step to ones freedom is
for the person to realize his condition. Those who have been set free are those
who have seen and acknowledge that they are not free; not like the Jews who
denied that they are in bondage. Then simply call upon the One who is able
deliver you from sin, its guilt, consequence and power.
Call upon Christ. Repent and believe
the Gospel and be free. Don't rest until you know in
your heart that you are free!
But to those who already know in
their heart that they are free, what is my exhortation to you?
Rejoice and be thankful
Our Master will come back again. The
dead saints will be raised. The living saints will be changed. Then, and not
till then will we be completely free. The liberty which we enjoyed by faith
will be changed into the liberty of sight, and the freedom of hope into the
freedom of certainty. Our King is not far off: our full redemption draws near. Our
full salvation is nearer then when we first believed.
Long
my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Reach out and make others free
It is a shame that the politicians
are more zealous to promote earthly freedom than the children of God to promote
spiritual freedom. Let us repent if we have been selfish and lazy in this
matter. For the rest of our days let us use every effort to promote spiritual
freedom. If we have tasted the blessings of freedom, let us spare no pains to
make others free.
As He died to make men holy.
Let us live to make men free.