Free Indeed!!!!!!

I was prepared on Sunday to preach a message from John 8:32-36 concerning Free Indeed. The Lord led me in a different direction and I wound up preaching on Acts 12 concerning "Keep Knocking". The Lord blessed our obedience. It was wonderful to be back in the pulpit after so many preachers, McGhee, Witherspoon, Bacon, Arthur Lane, Bishop Alford, just to name a few, have just unleashed havoc on Satan and his forces through the sound preaching of the Word.

I am still amazed by how many people live life under the disguise of freedom when all the while they are bound and chained. They think their job frees them. Their money. Their social status. Their educational level, but John 8:32-36 teaches us all of these things are not the Sum of our freedom.

In these verses, Jesus is speaking to a group of people who thought they were free. They believed that because they were the sons of Abraham, they enjoyed spiritual freedom, v. 33. Jesus lets them know that because they are sinners, they are slaves to sin, v. 34. This same truth is repeated by Paul in Rom. 6:16.

Jesus also wants the audience listening in that day, as well as in this day, to know that He has the power to make men truly free, v. 32. He reminds them that because they are slaves to sin, they are not truly free. He tells them in v. 35 that a slave is not a permanent part of the family, while a son is. Then, Jesus tells us that since He is the Son, He has the power to make men truly free, v. 36.

You see, a person can be locked away in a prison and still be free in Jesus. A person can live in an atheistic, godless society and still be free in Jesus. He has the power to make men truly free. This text encourages us to:

CONSIDER THE SOURCE OF OUR FREEDOM

Jesus says the source of spiritual our freedom in v. 32 is in “the truth”. This word refers to “that which is true in respect to God and the execution of His purposes in Jesus Christ.” In other words, the truth Jesus refers to is the whole truth regarding Who He is and what He did for sinners. It refers to the whole truth about Jesus Christ.

CONSIDER THE SCOPE OF OUR FREEDOM

Jesus says in verse 36 that when He makes a person “free” they are “free indeed”. The first word translated “free” comes from a word that means “to set at liberty”. It is the picture of someone liberating a slave from bondage.

The second word translated “free” refers to “one who is freeborn”. Jesus is saying that the freedom He gives us when He saves us is so complete that “it is as if we were never slaves to begin with, but it is as if we were freeborn sons of God”.

The liberty Jesus gives us is so complete that it blots out our past and makes us absolutely and eternally free in Him. That is a far cry from where we were before we met Him, John 8:34; Eph. 2:1-3. Thank God for the liberty we enjoy in Jesus Christ!

Consider for a moment that areas where we have been liberated.

We have been delivered from the wrath of God – Rom. 5:9

We have been delivered from condemnation – Rom. 8:1

We have been delivered from death and Hell – John 5:24; John 3:16

We have been delivered from the power of sin – Rom. 6:13-14

We have been delivered from the power of Satan – 1 Pet. 5:8-9

CONSIDER THE SACRIFICE FOR OUR FREEDOM

Our freedom as Americans was purchased at a very high cost. We should be thankful for it. While the price for our national freedom was costly and bloody, it pales in comparison to the cost of our spiritual freedom. The cost of our spiritual freedom was the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary.

It was there that He “gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1Ti 2:6)

It was there that He became “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1Jo 2:2)

It was there that “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isa 53:5)

It was there that “the LORD…laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:6)

Why did He do it? The answer is quite simple. He did it because He loves us! “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)

CONSIDER YOUR SHOUT FOR YOUR FREEDOM

I don't know what your freedom means to you, don't know what had you bound and how long you were intertwined within your mess but as you do inventory of your life and recognize that you are now walking in freedom, there should be a war cry. There should be a rumbling of praise. There should be a shout.

We have a song that the angels can not sing. I have been redeemed!