Abundant Freedom

Let me pray.

Father God, please send your spirit.

Without your spirit, we are blind.

We cannot see the magnificence of the Lord Jesus.

We cannot see our slavery to sin.

And so send your spirit, have mercy on us,

that we might see his beauty, his glory, his magnificence,

and that we might run to him.

And we ask it for your sake. Amen.

It's time to see what I can do to test the limits and break through.

No right, no wrong, no rules for me.

I'm free.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with those lyrics,

that's because of two reasons.

You don't have young children, and particularly young girls.

And secondly, because you weren't listening to my sermon earlier this year

when I actually used this as an illustration.

But they are the lyrics from, or part of the lyrics,

from the song Let It Go in the Disney movie Frozen.

It's sung by a character who is determined to not be the good girl that society wants her to be.

And instead, she would let go.

She would express what she had been holding back inside.

And she would live for herself and only for herself.

And she declares that the moment that she does that,

there will no longer be any rights or wrongs.

It will just be about her.

And when there's no rights and wrongs, and it's just about her,

then she is truly free.

Now, that's just one example of what is called today total individual freedom.

It's the relative and the dominant worldview of the Western world.

It's what we marinate in in our society day in and day out.

It goes something like this.

What we need is to be free to live life as we see fit.

And to work together to make the world a better and more just place to live.

Religion, however, gets in the way of that.

It constrains our freedom to live as we see fit.

And so what we need to be is seculars, get rid of religion,

and everyone will be totally free.

Now, the modern concept of freedom, according to sociologists,

is the freedom of self-assertion.

And you are ultimately free when you have the absence of all constraints.

Now, even though it is, in fact, ironically, the Christian faith that gave the world the concept of personal individual freedom,

it is seen nowadays in our society as the arch enemy of freedom.

Religion as a whole is seen as the arch enemy of freedom,

but Christianity, particularly in the West.

And as modern people, therefore, we have to ask ourselves,

do you actually have to choose between freedom and faith?

Are they actually opposites to one another?

Is it possible to follow Jesus, to be a Christian,

and to actually be abundantly free at the same time?

Now, I take it, I'm just going to take this for granted,

I won't do a poll on this one.

I take it that everyone in this room wants to be free.

I won't bother even taking a poll on that.

That you want to be free in the fullest and deepest sense.

That is, if the opposite of freedom is bondage and slavery,

no one wants that.

No one wants that.

We all want to be truly free,

and yet this is exactly what Jesus promises us here.

So, the outline in the St. Paul's app,

my first point, constraining freedom.

Verses 31 and 32 in John 8,

Jesus makes a walloping statement

and shows us the difficulty of freedom.

To the Jews who had believed him,

Jesus said,

if you hold to my teaching,

you are really my disciples,

then you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

Verse 32 promises freedom.

But Jesus says in the verse before it,

it's only if you hold to his teaching

that you will get freedom.

That is, to hold to his teaching

is to embrace it,

to obey it,

to live it.

It is so much stronger

than just agreeing with it.

It's so much stronger

than just assenting to it.

Jesus is saying that we can only be free

if,

if,

if,

we accept his constraints.

And that's the exact opposite

of what our society tells us,

of what true freedom is.

Philosophers nowadays talk about

two kinds of freedom.

negative freedom

and positive freedom.

They describe that what is

communicated consistently

through our culture nowadays

is regarded as total negative freedom.

It's freedom

from any barrier

or any constraints

on our choices.

positive freedom

is freedom

for.

That is,

using freedom

to live

in a particular way

for the good

of all.

Not just me.

And so what's described

in society nowadays

is freedom

negative,

total negative freedom.

and total negative freedom

is simplistic

and it's unworkable

because it's never how freedom

actually works.

True freedom

is

accepting

the right constraints

in life.

Not no constraints.

So,

I'll give you an example.

I'm a diabetic.

I'm a type 1 diabetic.

This is not a pager.

This is an insulin pump.

So,

everyone who says,

oh,

I thought pagers were,

you know,

gone now.

No,

no,

it's not a pager.

It's an insulin pump.

I'm not,

you know,

backward in technology

in any way.

So,

when this thing's vibrating,

no one's contacting me

except blood sugar levels.

As a diabetic,

if I chose to exercise

my desires in life

and my freedom

by consuming

whatever I wanted,

chocolate cake,

Tim Tams,

burgers,

Coke,

rice,

yes,

I'm sorry,

it is evil,

rice,

no constraints,

no constraints

whatsoever

because that's how

I exercise my freedom.

I'm free

until I'm not.

Until I'm not

because my body

would be a constraint

on my life

at some point.

My body

will put constraints

on me.

I am not free

to eat

whatever I want

and free

at the same time

to have

toes and feet,

free to have,

to be able to see

the consequences

of a non-compliant

diabetic life

is blindness

and blood circulation

issues

and organs

shut down

and I can't run

and I can't live,

I won't be free

to live

is the bottom line.

So the question is,

what if I,

deepest desire

of my life

is sugar

and also

the other deepest

desire of my life

is actually

to live?

The two great

deepest desires

of my life

are in conflict

with one another

and I have to

choose

which deep

desire of my life

is going

to give me

the most amount

of freedom.

That is,

I have to choose

the liberating

constraint

on my life.

True freedom

is not the absence

of constraints

on my life,

it is choosing

the liberating

constraint

constraint

on my life.

It is the

strategic

loss

of some

freedoms

in order

to gain

the more

liberating

constraint.

John Carson,

really,

I'm just quoting

John Carson

here and who

better got to

quote

his commentary

on John 8

where he says,

true freedom

is not the liberty

to do anything

we please

but the liberty

to do what

we ought

and it is

true freedom

because doing

what we

ought

is what

actually

pleases us

or if I was

to put that

in his

commentary,

doing what

we ought

is what

brings us

the most

amount

of joy.

But there

is a barrier

to our

freedom.

In

verses 33

and 34

is my

second point

on the

outline,

Jesus shows

us the

ultimate

barrier to

our freedom.

They

answered him,

we are

Abraham's

descendants

and have

never been

slaves of

anyone.

How can

you say

that we

shall be

set free?

Jesus

replied,

very truly

I tell

you,

everyone

who sins

is a

slave to

sin.

Remarkably

what Jesus

says here

is that

the biggest

barrier

to our

freedom

is inside

of us.

Our

society

tells us

that the

ultimate

barrier to

our freedom

is outside

of us.

institutions,

it's

social

conventions,

it's

inequality,

it's your

family,

it's the

government,

it's romantic

partners,

it's your

job,

it's a

whole range

of things

outside

of you

that are

the barriers

to your

freedom.

It's that

stuff outside

of us that's

getting in the

way of us

fulfilling our

desires and

our freedom

in life.

of course

I'm not

denying that

there are

oppressive

forces in

society and

relationships,

but what

Jesus is

saying here

is the

ultimate

barrier to

true

freedom

is inside,

inside.

In

verses 33

and 34

Jesus is

addressing the

same group

that he's

addressing in

verse 31.

That is,

as we see

in verse 31,

the Jews

who had

believed him.

And what

he wants to

do to this

group of

people that

he's currently

faced with,

he wants to

show them

their biggest

problem.

Their biggest

problem.

And here

it is.

Notice

he does not

say that

this group of

people in

verse 31

believed in

him.

very

specifically

John says

they believed

him.

That is,

what John's

doing here

is he's

putting this

group of

people currently

talking to

Jesus in

the same

category that

he's already

spoken about in

John 6 and

in other places

in John.

Those who

have a fickle

faith.

And here

already we

are seeing

that these

people are

getting ticked

off with

Jesus.

And by the

end of this

section,

as Nolien read

out to us,

they're ready

to kill him.

Their biggest

problem is

what Jesus

says in

verse 34.

They are

slaves.

And unless

the truth

about Jesus,

the gospel

intervenes,

they will

always remain

in slavery.

And they're

completely insulted

by this.

They say,

we are

Abraham's

descendants and

we have

never been

slaves to

anyone.

Now, of

course, up to

this point in

history, in

first century

Palestine,

there's hardly

been a major

power in

the world

that Abraham's

descendants have

not been

servitude to.

Egypt,

Assyria,

Babylon,

Greece,

Syria, and

even in that

moment, while

they're talking

to Jesus,

there's Romans

everywhere.

That is,

it's not like

they missed

the obvious.

They knew

exactly what

Jesus was

talking about.

They knew

that Jesus

was talking

about an

inward

slavery.

And yet,

in this

moment,

they are

blind.

They could

not see

their slavery.

As Abraham's

descendants,

they thought

they were

right with

God.

Now,

God and

us,

we're okay.

We've got

the religious

system,

we've got

sacrifices,

we've got the

temple,

we're good.

And Jesus

says to them,

no, no, no,

you are not

good.

Inwardly,

you are

slaves to

sin.

And

shockingly,

in verse

34,

he takes

the point

even further.

I tell you

the truth,

everyone

who sins

is a

slave

to sin.

everyone.

Everyone

who has

ever

made a

mistake,

everyone

who has

never

lived

perfectly,

that is

just the

surface

issue.

Your faults

on the

outside are

just your

surface

issue.

Deeper

down,

you are

enslaved

to sin,

captivated

by sin.

sin is

a power

in our

hearts,

over our

lives that

make us

do the

bad things.

Sin sets

itself up

against God,

it sets

itself up

against other

people,

and every

person,

according to

Jesus,

is enslaved

to it.

And yet

every person

is blind

to the

deepest

reality

of it.

I remember

talking to

someone not

that long

ago who

said,

yeah,

I'm not

perfect,

but it

didn't

bother

them.

They're

just like,

because I'm

just like

everyone else,

but they're

blind to the

deepest reality

of that sin

and what it

means.

That's the

point of

chapter 9,

which we

didn't read,

but I want

to include,

we cannot

see our

sin,

and we

cannot see

the depth

and the

horror and

the implication

of our

sin,

and therefore

the freedom

that only

Jesus can

give us

from our

sin.

There are

so many

freedoms that

we can make

for ourselves,

particularly

in the

Western

world,

world,

but not

this one,

and for

the most

part in

life,

we go

about our

existence

unaware

that we're

not free.

We are

deeply

enslaved to

sin.

Let me

try and

land this.

It's a

little bit

of a

pun,

really,

but you'll

get there

in a

minute.

Let me

try and

give you

a definition

of freedom.

You are

fully free

when you

have the

desire,

the ability,

the opportunity

to do

what will

leave you

with no

regrets

forever.

The

ability,

the desire,

the ability,

the opportunity

to do what

will leave you

with no

regrets

forever.

We take

that as a

definition of

freedom.

Let me

think about

land this

and talk

about freedom

and parachuting.

You have

always wanted

to experience

the freedom

of parachuting.

You pay

your money

and you

make it to

the airport

to the

plane and

hop on the

plane without

an accident.

Tick that

box,

you have the

freedom of

opportunity.

ability.

You've done

the classes

and you

know how

to parachute.

Tick that

box,

you have the

freedom of

ability.

You're up

in the

plane,

you look

out the

door,

ready to

jump,

tick that

box,

you have the

freedom of

desire.

This has

been,

I just

cannot

wait to

jump out

of this

perfectly

good plane.

You're not

frozen by

fear.

This is the

moment you've

been living

for.

Opportunity,

desire and

ability all

line up and

so you

jump.

And as

you free

fall, you

are enjoying

the exhilaration

of it all.

Yes!

Until the

moment you

discover your

parachute's

defective.

And in

the moment

you discover

your parachute

is defective,

you are

enslaved

to the

forces of

gravity.

You cannot

do anything

about it.

What you

are doing

so happily

and so

free

is going

to kill

you.

You are

enslaved to

destruction.

You are

what you

are unaware

of is

right from

the get

go.

Before you

even set

out to

the airport,

you were

already

enslaved to

destruction.

But you

are unaware

of it.

you

couldn't

see.

You

were

blind to

that

reality.

And it

feels like

freedom right

until you

pull that

ripcord or

the instructor

does it for

you.

And in

that moment

all the

exhilaration,

all the

freedom will

prove to be

an illusion.

In 30

seconds you'll

be dead.

You

will be

dead.

And in

John chapter

John 8 · chapter mention

8,

Jesus is

trying to

help these

people and

us see

that sin

has enslaved

us.

And that

religion and

the moral

effort and

pursuing

self-assertion

is nothing

more than a

defective

parachute.

only he

can set

us free.

The

Bible tells

us that the

wages of

sin is

death and

unless that

wage is

paid, we

are not

free.

In

John 8,

Jesus doesn't

unpack what

actually that

means, what

sin is, but

the rest of

the Bible

does.

And I just

want to pick

on, there's a

number of

ways that it

describes.

I just want

to mention

two relatively

briefly.

First of

all, sin

is resisting

our creator,

resisting

obeying our

creator.

Deep inside

the human

heart is an

impulse that

resists anyone

telling us how

to live our

lives.

Anyone telling

us how to

live our

lives.

I've never

had to instruct

any of my

children how to

do that, how

to resist

instruction.

Never had to

do that.

My parents

didn't have to

teach me

about it

either.

All sorts

of things

will bring

out that

impulse in

our hearts.

Parents,

the state,

schools,

institutions,

clubs imposing

boundaries and

expectations, but

the ultimate

trigger deep in

our hearts is

God himself.

When God

tells us how

to live,

this is the

difference.

when God,

our creator,

tells us how

to live,

it's like the

owner's manual

instructing us

how to live,

so to speak.

As the

creator, he

designed life

to function a

particular way.

It's the same

way that my

car manufacturer,

I've got this

manual in the

glove box to

how to get the

most out of

your vehicle.

vehicle.

And there's a

heap of warning

instructions of

what not to do

with it.

You know,

don't go beyond

this depth of

water, it's not

a boat, you

know.

It has

instructions on

fuel and

servicings and

warnings of

wrong use.

Go against the

manual and the

design of the

car is a

violation of its

purpose and it

will destroy your

investment and it

could even destroy

you.

If God says

you must not

lie, you must

not steal, you

must not commit

sexual immorality,

you must forgive,

you must be

generous, you

are violating your

own design when

you don't.

Your own soul,

you're violating

your own nature.

You are moving

against yourself.

And it will

always lead to

loss of freedom

every time we

move against

ourselves.

Now I don't

have time to

unpack it here,

but recently I

preached a sermon

called Generous

Forgiveness that

shows how that

might work.

We are made in

the image of a

God who is a

forgiving God.

He calls us to

forgive when we

don't.

It momentarily

feels good not to

forgive.

forgive.

Let's be

frank.

It does

momentarily feel

good not to

forgive.

It's a power

move.

But lack of

forgiveness means

we hang on to it

until eventually

bitterness grows and

in the end we are

the ones hurting.

Hurting ourselves

as the original

hurt gets played

over and over

and over again in

our hearts and

we hurt ourselves

to the point that

other relationships

in our lives get

hurt as a result

of it.

The impulse of

the human heart

to resist God

is a movement

against our own

nature and it

means that we

are the ones

enslaved.

Another way the

Bible defines sin

is self-centeredness.

That is using

other people to

serve our own

needs first.

That's why the

modern idea of

freedom is so

popular because it

connects with that

desire of

self-centeredness to

use people for

our own sakes.

What that means

is we can either

be free in the

modern sense or

you can be free in

a biblical sense to

love but you

can't do both.

You can't do

both.

You can't be free

and love.

You can't be free

in the modern sense

and love.

Self-centeredness

always destroys

love which is our

ultimate freedom.

There is no

greater liberation

than to feel and

to be loved well.

The affirmation that

comes from love

liberates us from

fears and from

self-doubts.

It frees us from

facing the world

alone.

Our friends,

our partners are

crucial to helping

us navigate the

hard times as

well as achieving

our goals.

But the minute we

get into such a

relationship is the

minute that we must

surrender some

freedoms to

experience the

freedom of love.

You can never

experience the

freedom of love

without relinquishing

your personal

freedom.

freedom.

That's a concept

that the modern

idea of love

knows nothing

about.

The more you

give up your

independence for

each other, the

deeper the love

will be and the

freer you will

feel.

If we have a

definition of

freedom that is

self-centered and

free from all

constraints, it

will destroy you,

it will destroy

your freedoms

because you

will never feel

loved.

You'll never

know the

freedom of

genuine love.

So who's

going to free

us from this

slavery to

sin?

That's my

next point.

Verses 35 to

36, we saw

the source of

true freedom.

Now a slave

has no permanent

place in the

family, but a

son belongs to

it forever.

So if the

son sets you

free, you'll be

free indeed.

A servant

might get to

live in the

mansion, they

might get to

drive in the

limousine, they

might get to

accompany the

owners on

overseas trips,

and even have a

great relationship

with the boss.

Think of the

good guys in

Downton Abbey,

downstairs,

upstairs, get

on really well,

but they're not

part of the

family.

family.

And it's all

based on good

works.

If you do

your job, you

obey the rules,

you can exist in

that environment,

when you don't,

you're out.

Simple as that.

It's a different

relationship with the

children of the

owner.

One relationship

is based on good

works, the other

relationship is based

on unconditional

love.

love.

So it's crucial

that we understand

that Jesus is not

calling us here to

increasing religious

activity.

Religion in

slaves, only

unconditional love

will set us free.

The only way the

sin in our life

will be dealt

with is if the

son himself

sets slaves

free.

And we see

how he does

that right at

the end of

this conversation.

Verse 58,

very truly

I tell you,

Jesus answered

before Abraham

was born,

I am.

Now, for all

the grammar

people out

there, you

think, oh,

Jesus is, you

know, should

have spent more

time at school.

You know, we

expect him to

say before Abraham

was, I was.

When he says

I am, he was

making a very

clear connection

to the personal

name that God

gives to Moses

at the burning

bush when he

says, who are

you God?

And he just

says, I am

who I am.

Exodus 3.

And Jesus

takes that name

up upon himself

here.

And that's why

they picked up

stones to stone

Jesus immediately.

He is claiming

the divine name

for himself.

I am your

creator.

I am your

God.

I am the

logos, the

logic of the

universe.

And it's an

outrageous

claim.

Jesus here

claims to

be the

all-powerful,

all-present,

unrestricted,

totally free

God.

And how

does he set

us free?

Well, when

they picked up

stones to kill

him for

blasphemy,

that was just

simply a

foreshadow that

they would in

fact kill

him.

and it

will be his

plan to

be killed

in order

to make

us children

of God.

Jesus

Christ,

God the

Son,

giving up

his ultimate

and infinite

freedom,

came into

this creation

with all the

constraints of

human existence

sins, and

eventually

surrendered

himself to

death on

a cross,

and death

so that we,

the slaves,

slaves to

sin, could

have the

freedom of

being children

of God.

for

he was

bound to

a cross

and death

so that we

could be

free and

live.

We also

told in the

gospel that

as he died

for our sin,

the world

was plunged

into darkness.

As he

himself was

plunged into

unimaginable

darkness,

as he was

judged for the

sin of the

world and

all the

despair and

the rejection

that he

felt in

that moment

as he

moved into

death.

And he

did that

so that we

who exist in

the darkness

of sin,

who cannot

see his

glory and

his majesty,

might have

the light

of life.

That we

might see

his beauty,

that we

might see

that he is

the source

of true

freedom and

life forever.

From the

manger to

the cross,

Jesus Christ

gives up

his freedom

bit by

bit to

set us

free

from

slavery to

sin.

And once

we see

that what

he has

done for

us,

it

transforms

us from

a slave to

a child,

from duty

to choice.

this is

the truth

about the

sun that

causes the

blind to

see,

for darkness

to be

extinguished,

death to be

defeated,

eternal life

granted and

freedom

experienced.

lost.

I read the

story recently

of a

tandem

skydiving

incident that

went horribly

wrong.

A man was

on his

first ever

parachuting

jump celebrating

his daughter's

birthday,

absolutely

loving it,

looking forward

to it,

absolutely

loving it,

particularly he

said the

freedom of the

free fall was

just exhilarating

until 12,000

feet and

the instructor

pulled the

rip cord and

it didn't

work and

then the

instructor pulled

the reserve

cord and

it didn't

work and

at 12,000

feet all the

exhilaration went

into enslavery to

gravity in that

moment and

just before they

hit the ground

this young

experienced

skydiver

turned the

parachute

around and

put him

between the

ground and

this dad.

He died and

the dad

lived.

He sacrificed

himself.

If you are

not a

Christian sitting

in this room

or listening to

this online,

open your

eyes,

eyes,

eyes of your

heart and

realize that

the life you

are living is

enslaving.

You are not

free and you

know you're not

free.

Don't care what

possessions you've

got, you are

not free.

Death awaits

us all, the

final mockery of

everything that

we're built in

our lives.

open your eyes

and see that

only Jesus,

the one who

has died and

risen again,

only he can

set you free.

Understand that

he has absorbed

your punishment.

He has been

enslaved for you

and understand he

did it knowing,

knowing before he

created the world

that the parachute

that he was

taking on was

defective.

He knew it.

He sacrificed his

life for yours

and so I plead

with you,

come to him

today.

Come to him

today.

Take on his

liberating constraints

and be truly

free for the

first time in

your life and

free forever

without any

regrets.

If you're a

Christian in

this room,

online,

it is utter

foolishness for

you to envy

and pursue

not just envy

but to pursue

the so-called

freedom of

those who jump

out of the

airplane of

total negative

freedom and

sin and

revel for an

exhilarating

moment, just

for a moment,

in the free

fall of greed,

the free

fall of fame,

the free

fall of sex,

the free

fall of power,

the free

fall of comfort,

the free

fall of adventure,

the free

fall of security,

blind to sin.

And Jesus

and eternal

death.

How dare we

try to keep

a foot in

both worlds,

thinking that we

get a freedom

from both?

That is the

very definition

of fickle

faith in

John 8 31.

Ascenting to

Jesus and

living as I

choose.

Jesus.

And if you

read through

John chapter

John 8 · chapter mention

8, Jesus

condemns it.

I call you to

surrender.

I call you to

take your next

step.

Too many want to

believe Jesus but

not fully surrender

to him.

It's the very

definition of

fickle faith.

When we here at

St. Paul's

consistently ask

you, what is

your next step?

Are you taking

your next step?

We are asking

what is the

next liberating

constraint that

you're going to

take on for

your life?

That's what we're

asking.

How are you

going to conform

more and more

to God's

word?

Back in verse

31 when Jesus

says to these

people, his

disciples are

those who hold

to his teaching.

The word hold

means to abide

in, to

align your

life with

repeatedly

again and

again and

again and

again.

If you are

stuck in a

rut, the

very first

thing I'm

calling you to

do is to

repent.

Repent.

Align yourself

to God's word.

Take God's

word into

your life and

live into how

he has designed

you.

It is taking

on his

liberating

constraints.

And as we

do align

ourselves to

the Logos

himself, our

design, we

are fully

free, fully

free in its

truest sense.

and

you

do by

I

think