©1999 Larry Huntsperger
Peninsula Bible Fellowship
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10/3/99
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Freedom In Christ
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John 8:31-36
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10/3/99 Freedom In Christ
Last week we completed our study
of the New Testament book of Philippians,
and at present I am still undecided
about which book we will use
as our next home base.
But this morning,
and for the next few weeks,
I want to teach a short series
on a topic that pops up frequently in our
studies,
but one that I don't believe
I've ever taken the time to organize
into a unified study.
I want us to take a few weeks
to talk about our freedom in Christ.
I want to do this for several reasons.
First of all,
the things we will be looking at
will be of tremendous value
in defeating so many of the lies
pumped into our society
about the true nature of life with Christ.
Those of you who are Christians,
I want you to think back
to the attitudes you held about Christianity
prior to your submission to Christ.
Or, if it's easier,
simply look at the dominant attitudes
in the society around us
about God in general
and Christianity specifically.
I think it is fair to say
that most people within our society
look at the involvement of God in a person's
life
or the consequences of holding strong
Christian beliefs
as being restrictive,
confining,
narrow.
Basically Christianity is perceived as being
the acceptance of
and strict adherence to a list of confining,
restrictive rules.
In fact, I think most non-Christians
find it easiest to define
what they believe to be Christianity
on the basis of the things Christians
don't do,
and on the basis of the things Christians are
against.
The truth is that
even when we come to Christ
and discover the incredible freedom of spirit
poured out within us through Christ,
it still often takes us years
to intellectually free ourselves
from the twisted lies about the true
nature of life in Christ
that we bring with us
into our walk with the King.
This whole problem is intensified
by the degree to which
true Christianity is identified
with the religious legalists in our society
who perpetuate their religious attitudes
in the name of Christianity.
And one of the reasons I want to spend a few
weeks on this study
is simply because it's good and healthy for us
to continually remind ourselves
of the truth - that Christ, and Christ alone
has the ability
to bring true freedom
into a person's life.
Those of you who have been around here for a
while
know already the two great forces
Satan uses to keep the human spirit under
bondage:
one of them is immorality
and the hideous addiction that comes with it,
and the other is religion
and the tremendous bondage it brings to the
human spirit.
So, I want us to talk about our Freedom in Christ in
part
because it just helps to hear the truth again.
But there is a second reason, as well.
On one hand
I want us to talk about Christian freedom
to defeat the lies we face about the true nature
of life with Christ,
but I also want us to talk about true Christian
freedom
in order to help defeat the lies our society is
currently promoting as freedom.
And the concept I want to share with you right now
is crucial to everything else we're going to do
throughout the rest of this study.
You see,
the concept of freedom being promoted
within the society in which we live
and the concept of freedom
presented to us by our Creator
could not be farther apart.
And I think maybe the easiest way
for me to explain what I want us to see here
is to take us back to a passage
that we have dabbled in repeatedly
during the past several years.
It's found in the Gospel of John chapter 8
beginning with verse 31.
This passage contains one of the best known verses
in all of Scripture,
a verse that is frequently quoted
completely out of context
by people looking for ammunition
with which to support some favorite
idea they have.
Now this passage begins
with Jesus talking to a group of His followers.
And it is important to note
that what Jesus says here
was directed To those who were
showing some positive interest in Him.
They were not hostile to Him.
They were not seeking to destroy Him as some
were.
These were those
who were already drawn to the possibility of His
involvement in their lives,
those who were even open to the possibility
of submission to His lordship in their lives.
The passage begins,
John 8:31 ¶ So Jesus was saying to those
Jews who had believed Him, "If you
continue in My word, then you are truly
disciples of Mine;
John 8:32 and you will know the truth,
and the truth will make you free. "
Now before we move on to their response to this
statement
let me just emphasis the obvious.
Jesus is telling His followers
that one of the many fringe benefits
of His involvement in their lives
is that His truth,
His words
will be used by God in their lives
to lead them into freedom unlike anything they
had ever known before.
And that 32nd verse, of course,
is the statement I mentioned
that is frequently ripped out of context
and used as ammunition
by all sorts of people
to defend some pet idea.
In context, however,
the truth Jesus is talking about
that has the power to make us free
is the truth that flows directly from
Him.
In other words,
the passage does not allow us
to define "truth" any way we see fit.
It correctly defines truth
as being that content which flows to us
from God Himself.
Now that statement puzzled Jesus' followers
in the same way that many people
in our society today would be puzzled
if we were to say to them,
"Jesus Christ can make you free."
Jesus' listeners in the first century
expressed their confusion in the next verse by
saying:
John 8:33 ... "We are Abraham's
descendants and have never yet been
enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say,
'You will become free'?"
You see,
they were defining freedom
the same way we define freedom in our
society today.
They looked at the restrictions imposed on them
by the culture or the society around them
and they say, "I AM free already!
I am an Israelite! No one has enslaved the Nation if
Israel.
I can do what I want,
and go where I want,
and no man can stop me!"
And in our society today
we define freedom in very much the same way.
In fact, we consider ourselves
to be the most FREE society that has ever
existed.
Not only do we allow personal freedom in our
society,
but we have elevated the defense of that freedom
to the level of being
our concept of ultimate good.
And just so you don't miss what I'm saying,
let me repeat it -
in our society today
we believe that the ultimate good,
the bottom line in what we are all about as a
culture
is defending the right of every individual
to choose any lifestyle they want.
We may not agree with the lifestyle they've chosen,
but as a society we will defend to the death
their right to choose if for themselves.
For our society this is ultimate FREEDOM.
EX. I saw a clip on the Anchorage TV news last
week
about a neighborhood dispute
in which one neighbor
was complaining about
the heaps and piles of junk
in the yard of his neighbor
across the street.
And when the junky neighbor
was interviewed by the reporter
guess what he said?
"I have a right to collect junk if I want. I have a
right to do whatever I want on my land with my
land."
End of discussion.
EX. A couple of weeks ago
we had an incident in our own little community
in which a high school senior
took his clothes off
and ran naked down the field
at the homecoming football game.
One of the frequent arguments offered in defense of
the young man
is that in our society he has every right
to express himself in this way
if he so chooses.
OK, now, the first century Jews talking with Jesus
and those of us in this society today
were playing exactly the same mental game
with the definition of freedom.
Rather than looking at what's going on inside us
we look at what's going on around us.
And if the society around us
is not putting limitations on our behavior,
or our mobility,
or the use of our time or money
then we declare ourselves to be free.
Now I want us to listen to the Lord's response to
that definition of freedom.
John 8:34 ¶ Jesus answered them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, everyone who commits
sin is the slave of sin..."
And in that single, remarkable statement
He suddenly rips back the curtain
on the lie that has given birth
to our concept of freedom.
Jesus is telling us that true freedom
has nothing to do with the restraints
or the limitations imposed upon us from the
outside.
True freedom has everything to do
with the inescapable addictive patterns
created within us by our own sin.
Now I want us to look carefully
at what's really going on here.
We come into this world separated from our Creator,
frantically trying to figure out who we are,
and why or if we have value,
clinging desperately to the words and the
affirmations of those around us.
At the same time
our stubborn refusal to submit to our Creator
causes us to fight against Him
just to prove we're in charge,
to prove to ourselves
that we don't need Him in our lives.
The problem is
that all of these forces
rob us of our ability to make the choices in
life
that really bring us freedom.
We have fears,
and insecurities,
and emotional and psychological and
physical addictions,
and loneliness,
and unmet needs,
and hatreds within us
that become the driving forces of our lives.
And we become their slaves.
We have to prove ourselves to this person
or that person.
We have to win the acceptance or approval of this
person or that person.
We find raging forces within
we know we are powerless to change
or control.
But we dare not call it slavery.
And so what do we do?
We redefine freedom so that
rather than freedom being the ability
to choose to do what we know is right,
we pretend that freedom is the right to do
what we know we cannot stop.
I cannot change myself.
I cannot conquer these forces within me.
I know I have no true inner freedom.
So what do I do?
I redefine freedom
so that freedom now means that I have the right
to live out the inner slaveries
that are driving my life.
EX
I've been told that
when the high school student was asked
why he did his little public display
he said he did it because he didn't want
to disappoint the other students who were wanting
him to do it.
Now listen to that.
What he's really saying is that
his own need for acceptance
and affirmation from his fellow students
was so intense
that he would risk anything for the sake of
gaining their approval.
That isn't freedom, folks, it's slavery of the worst
kind.
But we dare not admit that to ourselves.
We dare not admit to ourselves
or to anyone else the depth of our fears
or our insecurities,
or our desperate need for recognition,
or approval,
or affirmation,
so we wrap ourselves up
in a great big banner
that we call "FREEDOM".
But when our Lord talks to us about freedom
He doesn't play those games with us.
The freedom He offers us
is not the freedom to live out our bondage,
it is the freedom to break free from it.
To that high school student
who finds himself so desperate
for some tiny bit of affirmation from his
fellow students
our Lord says,
"My child,
I don't offer you the "freedom"
to sacrifice your own self-respect
for a few days of fame.
I offer you the ability to discover through Me
the eternal value, and significance, and
importance you have as My creation,
a value that is not dependent upon
what anyone else thinks about you,
or says about you,
or wants you to do."
John 8:36 "So if the Son makes you free,
you will be free indeed..."
We are going to spend a few weeks
talking about our freedom in Christ.
But right from the beginning of this study
it is essential for us to keep a clear distinction
between what our society is peddling as
"freedom",
which is nothing more
than the social right to live out our inner slavery,
and what God is offering as freedom,
which is the wisdom
and the inner strength
to make those choices in life
that will bring us the kind and quality
of life we truly long for.
And just so you have a little idea
where we'll be heading,
our study will take us into the two major
areas of freedom
offered to us through Christ.
#1. Our freedom from the Law.
#2. Our freedom from sin.
Those are the two forces
that have the ability to bring us under bondage,
and in Christ we find true freedom from
both.