Please turn with me in your Bibles once again, this time to the book of John. John chapter 8, you'll find it on page 1,232. 1,232 of the Bibles there in your rows. And if you look in your bulletin, it's about... What is that, about 40 verses or so? I know it's a lot of verses, but you have this whole discourse going on between Jesus and the religious of his day, and to only read a snippet of it, you miss the length or just the heart of the debate that's taking place, as well as, I think, the significance of what he notes in the verses that we're gonna be looking at this morning. We'll pick it up with verse 21 and read to the end of the chapter. Let's give our attention to God's word. So the Jews said, will he kill himself because he says where I go you cannot come? And he said to them, You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. Then they said to him, Who are you? And Jesus said to them, just what I've been saying to you from the beginning, I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true and I speak to the world those things which I heard from him. They didn't understand that he spoke to them of the father. Then Jesus said to them, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I speak these things. And He who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please Him. As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say we will be made free? Jesus answered them, Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with my father, and you do what you have seen with your father. They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me. A man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God, Abraham didn't do this. You do the deeds of your father. Then they said to Him, We are not born of fornication, we have one Father, God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceed forth and came from God, nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your Father, the devil. and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears God's words, therefore you do not hear because you're not of God." Then the Jews answered and said to him, do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father, and you dishonor me, and I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death. Then the Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham is dead and the prophets and you say if anyone keeps my word he shall never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead and the prophets are dead? Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father who honors me, of whom you say that he is your God, yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you before Abraham was, I am. Then they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Our text this morning continues in the line of looking at various passages of scripture that people have convoluted or twisted or confused down through the ages. And so this morning we want to take this statement by Jesus when he says, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free in John 8, verse 32 and untwist that. There are ways in which this verse is twisted. Basically, it's applied to three different areas by means of being able to confuse this or convolute it. The first one is in relation to telling the truth so that you might be able to experience personal freedom. They note that if you avoid living your life on lies, then there is a certain freedom that you have because the truth sets you free. You tell the truth, therefore you'll be free. Or others might use it as a means of getting someone who had been lying to finally speak the truth. Because they'll know, well, you're lying, you're not speaking the truth. The consequence of living or perpetuating lies means that you're going to be bound, that you're going to be discouraged or overwhelmed by your falsehoods. So just speak the truth. And by telling us the truth, you can then finally be free and out from this burden. And even though those points may be true, that's not what Jesus was noting here. Others apply this to learning. For example, it's a motto for various colleges and universities, both Christian and secular. For example, this phrase, although I don't think it's in English, is on the main building at the University of Texas in Austin, and it's at the library at Iowa State University. And the point is this, that through a true acquisition of knowledge, then one is empowered to rise up and overcome, and hence they're free of ignorance or their present circumstance. Others use it as a means to simply encourage one to continue on in their system of belief. That as they study, as they reflect, as they learn, then consequently their beliefs are strengthened or informed and they'll be able then to embrace the truth and be free from others' demands that would be placed on them to hold things that in their mind aren't right or good And so this then is a safeguard to sanity. Well, there's a problem with this interpretation. Simply put, it has taken a text or a verse out of context and sought to then manipulate or maneuver it to their own liking. They really have put a spin or a slant on it. We're familiar with that. We get frustrated when, for example, we watch the news and we feel that their slant or perspective isn't ours. We get frustrated by hearing politicalese from the politicians based on their spin or slant. Frankly, we do not like the perspective that even when we're watching an athletic event, whether a football game or a basketball game or a baseball game, and we even feel that the umpire has a particular slant or perspective, that he has it out for our team, and so he ain't calling it right. And then you might even note any time that umpire is going to be on the field or that referee will be calling the game, and you go, yeah, it's a loss, because he's got a slant, he's got a perspective, he's got a spin. Well, we can do that with verses and individuals who focus on just simply telling the truth or affirming learning or encouraging one in their belief system has brought a spin to this passage that is not present at all. Ultimately, what this verse is affirming through these series of scriptures is that Jesus ultimately has the power to open the way between God and man and by following his route of freedom, we then have that occasion where we are then right with the living God. Or following that route or that way or that truth or that life, it in turn is true, real, legitimate freedom. Freedom is something that is precious to us, is it not? In fact, this time of year is a time in which we at least like to celebrate or embrace our freedoms. We're thankful for the country in which we reside and the occasion or the opportunity that at least had been afforded to us. We hope it's still afforded to us today. We're at least told it is, but we see those freedoms beginning to slip away. And yet we don't want anyone to take away our freedom to assemble, our freedom of religion, the freedom of press, well, some press, the freedom of speech, the right to bear arms. We appreciate the fact that we have a country that seeks to ensure and protect the right of its citizens. And so there's a political freedom that is present. And yet there is a sense in which all creation desires freedom. When was the last time that you caught an insect and put it in a jar and just watched it? What is that creature wanting to do? Get up and escape, right? Some of you have humorous stories where you had snakes and other critters that got loose. I think you found them all. People want liberties. They do not want their freedoms tampered with. They want the occasion. It's something that is ingrained in our system as those who are created in the image of God, that there would not be restraint or restrictions on us in a proper manner, but we would have the occasion to freely then live in such a manner that we might then worship, honor, and glorify God and go forth with strength to be able to affirm and accomplish things in His world. In our passage here, Jesus himself notes that there is a freedom that is available. It is not political, it is not simply mental, it's not simply something that relates to education, but it is a spiritual freedom which can be experienced no matter the political or social context you live in, and it is a freedom that will last forever. And yet, there is something that we need to note. Firstly, there are false perceptions of freedom. There are false perceptions of freedom. Notice Jesus's interaction in verses 31 and following, particularly verse 33. After Jesus had said, you shall know the truth and it will make you free, the audience listened and said, we are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say you will be made free? Do you see what they're noting here? Jesus mentions freedom to his audience and yet they do not comprehend their current position. Hence I say there is a false perception, there are false perceptions to freedom. One of these is that you simply assert that you can have spiritual freedom by trusting in yourself and in your own abilities and merits. A false perception of freedom asserts that through my abilities or my merits or my standing, ultimately through me, I can have spiritual freedom. The audience here did this when they said, we've never been enslaved to anyone. We haven't. Now, some people would look at this and go, well, what? Are they ignorant of their history? After all, they're Israelites. They have a whole history of enslavement. 400 years in Egypt, awaiting deliverance by the hand of Moses. They dealt with captivity by the Assyrians, by Babylon, on down through the ages, by the Greeks. Even currently, they were under the political hand and oversight of Rome. So they're not speaking politically here. They're also not speaking socially, because after all, there were many Jews who had served as slaves in someone else's home. What are they affirming? They're affirming that through their understanding or perception of their relationship with or to God, they believe that everything is okay. That on their terms to the living God, they then are accepted. After all, God Himself had noted concerning Israel in Exodus 19 and in the book of Deuteronomy that they were His own special people, that they were a holy nation, that they were an elect race, that they were a royal priesthood, that they were God's own people. And they affirmed that because God had made that declaration of favor on them, They were good. Furthermore, they saw that because they were a direct descendant of Abraham, hence they cite him, were good. How so? Well, through Abraham, the covenant of grace was established and as long as they abide by that covenant, as long as they follow after all the rules and all the steps, they're okay. But they're trusting in their selves. They're trusting in their abilities. They're trusting in their merits. They're looking around and saying, well, we're not like the heathens. We're not bowing ourselves down to all sorts of false gods. We're affirming the true God of Scripture. We're not like those Samaritans who only pick and choose what passages of Scripture that they want to follow after. The Samaritans wouldn't worship in Jerusalem. The Samaritans only believed in the first five books of Moses, and that was in some of the Psalms. And so, the Jews here are saying, we are not in bondage like others. But they still rested in themselves. What's the problem? The problem is, is that it starts with a trust in one's own ability. If an individual would assert that freedom, spiritual freedom, a proper relationship with God can be based on their own merits and abilities, it then starts at the wrong position. Because that position asserts that in and of myself, I can earn favor with God. It says that I somehow am able to achieve all that God requires of me in order to be able to connect it with Him. It also asserts that I can simply be accepted by God based on other things, other stati, other people, other situation. It's put everything outside and it says, as long as I am outwardly conformed to whatever I believe God requires, and in no way required to have any sort of inward or spiritual connection with Him, then everything's good. As long as I show devotion, as long as I engage in dedication, as long as I make sure that everything is right and good and proper in my status, in my view, it'll be okay. Maybe some of you are thinking that way this morning. Maybe you believe that because you have been a member of a church your whole life, and that goes back 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 generations, then that is enough. Maybe you feel that there's just simply, as long as I provide certain religious acts or take certain steps, As long as I show myself to be a quote-unquote good Christian, then God then will see these things and He will accept me. So how's that working out for you? Do you believe that you actually have done enough? Can you lay your head down at night on your pillow and say, yep, as I engage this, as I embrace this, as I pursue this, this feels like real true spiritual freedom. There's a real delight in this. There's a real encouragement in this. There is a true desire. There is the outworking of strength and power and ability and all of these things. Or do you sit there and ask yourself, Did I do enough? Is it enough? Have I achieved enough? Have I expended enough energy? Or is there always just one more thing that you could yet do or strive for or accomplish? It's a futile position. It's a frustrating position. It's a discouraging position. And its end is not going to be good. Because what you've missed is this. God does not grade on a curve. His holiness demands perfection because He is perfect. And His justice notes that anything that is imperfect cannot be acceptable in His sight. The Bible is pretty clear that our good works are not enough, that they must be entirely in conformity with the scripture and done for the honor and glory of God. And yet through that, you and I know that we never achieve that. We never accomplish that. We never put that forward. Even our best efforts in this life have some taint, have some stain, have some problem of sin present with it. Even our best, the Bible says, is filthy rags. And so there is nothing that we can do to commend ourselves to God. As it relates to false perceptions of freedom, we also see that others believe that they can have some sort of superficial connection to Christ. and yet it's not really freedom. So firstly, we saw there are false perceptions. Next, we see that there may be some thought about Christ, but it's not quite there. It's superficial, and yet it doesn't give freedom. Look at what we have going on in our text. As we read in verses 21 and following, we see this discourse between Jesus and the audience. And Jesus contrasts himself with them. And he notes that where he's going, they can't go because he's from above and they're from the world. And he's really noting that there is a distinction of nature. There is a distinctive, not just in terms of quantity, but ultimately a qualitative separation. And so Jesus then shows himself to be more, to be better, to be above, and yet being more and better and above, he's the one that God the Father himself has provided to man to overcome or to provide true freedom. And so as he says these things, the Father has sent me, I always do what the Father asks and pleases him, the audience begins to listen and go, there's something to what he's saying. And yet this belief isn't real or true. It's not the belief that's spoken of in John chapter three that whosoever believeth in him is not condemned but has eternal life. This isn't the same. It's not the same belief that is exhibited elsewhere in the scriptures. Yes, they hear. Yes, they accept what Jesus has noted. But as Jesus then begins to note a hard saying in verses 31 and following, as Jesus then begins to assert where their true position is apart from Him, under the enslavement and the headship of the evil one Himself, they can't buy it. Why do we assert this? Notice the things that they began to affirm or describe about themselves through this passage. In verse 37 and verse 40, they want the death of Jesus. He notes, you seek to kill me. Verse 40, you seek to kill me. In verse 42, it's noted that although they profess God, that God is not their father. In verse 44, the assertion is made that they are actually sons and daughters of the devil himself. In verse 48, they assert that Jesus actually has a demon inside of him and consequently does his work through the power. of demons. In verse 55, Jesus says, you have not known him, but I know him. And if I say, I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you. And then in verse 59, they actually pick up stones to throw at Jesus. What is this note? This notes that, yeah, there's an initial connection, but in terms of this connection, it isn't real, it's not genuine, it's not true. There are some false perceptions of freedom, but then there are also some perceptions that say, well, I know it's through Jesus, but consequently they want it on their own terms. They want to accept Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord. They want to affirm that he does have a place of importance and significance, but not to address their sin, but rather to simply give good teachings to affirm a high quality of life. The Bible asserts this as well. You remember the account of the parable of the sower. Remember the sower goes to throw out seed and as he does so, he cast it in various places. And there's two types of soils that show this action. One is thorny soil, the other is rocky. And in terms of the rocky soil, we see that the seed comes up and it consequently initially takes root and it begins to grow, but then, Things happen. And as things happen, we see cares, we concerns, we see difficulties arise. The sun beats down and it goes away. And then we see the thorny soil where then the world chokes it out and it has no fruit. Similar context is here. that ultimately, those who look upon Jesus initially but do not connect with him truly in true, real belief, affirming who they are and who he is, which we'll get to in a moment, in the end, there's no true connection and consequently, there's no freedom. In fact, as opposed to the experience of freedom, it will be shock and anger. The desire to undo, undermine Jesus Christ. The desire to even ultimately want his death. It's because they don't even understand. They're still blind to what God has ultimately demanded. And there's a warning here. that you have those who may somehow feel, well, I can connect to God. I'll take what he notes, but I'll do so as it relates to my thinking. Maybe it's somewhat synergistic. It's a combination of God plus us to achieve a goal. And Jesus himself notes that this connection at best is not sonship, but slavery. You recall the situation of Hagar and Ishmael in the Old Testament. Ishmael, yes, was a son of Abraham, but his sonship was by means of the slave girl, Hagar. And as Ishmael had status in the house as a son of Abraham, yet because of his harassment, even persecution of Isaac at the time of Isaac's weaning, The Bible tells us that that was actually a persecution that was being engaged in, in order to mock the line of the Promised One. And Ishmael and his mom, in turn, were expelled from the house. Because the son remains. The slave isn't always there. Yes, the slave has privileges. Yes, the slave has benefits, but those can be lost at any time. The slave could be sold. The slave could be asked to leave. The connection is lost and consequently, they're outside of the house in a state of ruin and without benefit. Not so with the son. The son continues to have the permanent privilege and the freedom that is afforded to him as his status in the house. So thirdly then, what we wanna see is there's only one way to procure freedom. There's only one way to procure freedom. Look at what Jesus says in verse 34. Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. If the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. What are we seeing here? Jesus is the one who brings true freedom. Connect verse 32 and verse 36. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. The Son is truth. Remember what Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. True freedom then is found in the Son. It means that apart from Him, we do not have freedom. Our lives are such that we are constantly engaged in sin. It is ever continuous. It is ever present. Without him, we can do nothing. Without him, we are of our father, the evil one, as is described here. We are under his bondage. We are under his enslavement. We are under its consequence. And he only seeks to kill and to destroy and to bring about our end, our demise. He never had good intention from the outset. He deceived us. He caused us to question what God had said, and he did so all so that he could bring ruin and derision. within. The evil one does not care about you. He does not love you. He doesn't want your good. He will set all sorts of promises and all sorts of delights and all sorts of treats before you, but you will find out that they are empty, that they are without substance, that they are without meaning, that they give pleasure for a moment only to lead to further hurt and pain and chaos and to be left by yourself. wondering why did you continue to follow after His ensnarement and His enticement? he only seeks to keep you as a captive. One author described it this way, he has so shackled you in his imprisonment and chained you to the wall so that as you then heed his voice and engage in further and further sin, the chain only tightens itself further around your wrist and you are drawn closer and closer to that wall where you then are eventually crushed fully and completely as you're in his ensnarement. The power is such that the slavery is so deep that we cannot engage in any true or real freedom. And it affects our hearts so that from our hearts proceed these actions. Sin then dominates us and sets before us a consequence of the sentence of damnation, where we then deal with the consequence of sin in our thoughts, in our words, in our actions, and we then hear the condemnatory statement by a holy God that says, because of who you are and because of what you've done, you then must depart from me forevermore. And yet Jesus says, freedom comes from him. Freedom comes from him in that he is the one whom God has sent to address that domination and that damnation. Paul notes in Galatians 3 that Jesus then became a curse for us as he then hung on the tree and assures us the promise that is made in the Old Testament, that cursed it is anyone who hangs on a tree. Therefore, we are assured that the curse of sin was set upon Jesus, the perfect lamb. And therefore, God then has turned His wrath away from us if we look to the spotless Lamb who offered Himself on our behalf. And yet as Lord and as master coming into his family, into his camp, we then have a master who loves us, a master who seeks our good, a master who leads us, a master who empowers us by his spirit so that the chains of sin are broken and we consequently then are enabled to live in obedience, out of gratitude. to this one who then owns us. But there's only one way to find this out. It's through the truth. This message isn't found by our own efforts or by our own seeking. It's not found by somehow connecting ourselves with the ever-living eternal spirit. It's not found by emptying our minds and consequently seeing if through that clarity we might be able to secure freedom It's not by improving our education. It's not simply by seeking to it that we no longer tell lies. It's not by putting up mottos and themes on our buildings that would encourage us in our advancement of study. It's found in our knowing and understanding the truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout this passage, five times over, he affirms saving truth. Jesus notes truth. We need truth because we were in spiritual darkness. Through Christ, guidance, direction, and clarity is given. Think about the difference between the person who can read versus the one who can't. The literate one is able to ponder all sorts of subjects and advance in all sorts of understanding, overcoming all sorts of ignorance. But the one who is illiterate is stuck in their position. Left to ourselves, we are ignorant of the true and living God as revealed in his word, but through Jesus Christ, by his spirit, studying his word, we see Jesus. And consequently, we're free from ignorance to continue on in this freedom that Christ has secured so that we might know him. But recognize also that through the word we then are free from the slavery of sin. Jesus testifies of this to us over and over again through the Holy Scripture. He also does so through the preaching of the Word of God, hence it's important in order to embrace and strengthen our freedom in Him that we gather with His people to hear His Word preached so that it is expounded to us and we in turn are strengthened to understand the constant victory that we have through the Lord Jesus. So we identify and recognize that we are not slaves, but sons. We are not servants, but we are daughters of the living God because of the sinlessness of Jesus Christ who has secured our victory. Thirdly, we then see that we are no longer slaves to sin, but rather free to serve others in love. Paul in Galatians 5 tells us that we ought not use our freedom to provide for the flesh, but in love serve in a selfless manner. if we know the Son and we have been truly made free indeed, that freedom then is expressed. It's expressed in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, it's expressed in dying more and more to sin and living in righteousness, but it's also expressed in our connection with God's people as we seek to serve them and show forth love. What then is this freedom that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ? One author noted that this freedom is ultimately the desire, ability, and opportunity to do what leaves you with no regrets. If you read much of John Piper, you would hear his tone all over that, because that's who basically indicated that. It's the desire, ability, and opportunity to do what leaves you with no regrets. It's not without restraint, for as God's children, we are restrained by his word and by his spirit and by our love and interest and desire for the Lord Jesus Christ. But nonetheless, it notes a proper desire, a proper ability, and a proper opportunity. Without desire, there is no interest. Without ability, there is no strength. Without opportunity, there's no occasion. But all three coming together gives us the ability to be able then to go forth in freedom. Some of you are seeking to pursue this freedom on your own. You feel that you have proper desire or intent. You feel that you may even have ability. You may even have occasion to go forward. And yet if it is apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, it's like Alex Harville, who about three weeks ago decided that he would set the world record in a motorcycle jump. He was seeking to go 351 feet in this jump. He was a practice daredevil. He was skilled in this. He had the opportunity. He had the ability. He had the interest. And yet as he jumped and as he went forward, he didn't quite make it. He hit the edge of the dirt berm, was thrown from his bike, and he died. The seeking of freedom, apart from Christ, leads to death. You have the illusion of security, you have the illusion of ability, you have the illusion of strength. There's a way that seems right, but its end is destruction. But through the Lord Jesus Christ, If you are in Christ, you are free. You are free indeed. You're free from the bondage of sin. You're free in order to hear then the declaration that you are accepted by the living God. You have all of the son's accomplishments for yourself. You have the assurance that there is no condemnation and that the pole of sin has been broken. You then are being held up with the goal of a certain and secure future and destiny. And Christ then assures you that through your connection to Him, by knowing Him, through His Word, by trusting Him with your whole being, and by desiring to seek Him with your whole life, He carries you forward so that you don't land short like the jumper, but you are brought forth forever and ever and evermore with the assurance of the freedom that you have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the promise of Christ. And we ask that you would so encourage us and strengthen us with this certain truth, that there is freedom to be had. People want it and they long for it all the time. And yet they never really find it. They never really have it. They never really secure it. Jesus gives it. strengthen our trust and our gaze upon him, even as we pray, saying, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.