Free Indeed

Amen. Amen. You may be seated, kids. You may go to your King's Kids class.

And I just want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who labored around the building yesterday,

! who poured out sweat as you spread mulch and other things. So thank you so much for all of you who did that.

You know, I was, if you would open up your Bibles to John 8,

we're going to be looking at John 8, verses 30 through 38. It's on page 1063 of your Pew Bible.

John 8:30–38

As you're turning there, I just want to share with you, early this month I was at a

pastor's gathering. Great bunch of guys from all around southeastern Wisconsin,

different denominations represented all of Jesus. And as a part of introducing ourselves,

because that's what you do when you get together as pastors. We are supposed to say our name,

our church, our role, the number of years you're at your church, and your favorite major league

baseball team. Truth in advertising, I am not an MLB fan. I like watching highlights from time to time.

And so when it came around to me, I was just honest. I'm like, I don't really have a major

league baseball team. But there was this other pastor. He introduced himself,

shared all of his information. And then he claimed that he was a Milwaukee Brewers fan.

Immediately, another pastor from on the other side of the circle,

a circle that's supposed to be unifying. The other pastor says, oh yeah, what was last night's score?

To which this pastor, shocked, said, I don't know. And what quickly became apparent to all of us pastors

is that we had a imposter. An imposter in our presence. A false fan. Someone who claimed to be a

Brewers fan, but didn't even know the score. The truth of the Milwaukee Brewers was not abiding in him.

It was so funny. We all laughed for a long time over that.

But as you know,

there are also pseudo-believers in Jesus Christ.

Imposters. Christians in name only.

False believers. And this morning, what we will see

are some people who claim to be believers in Jesus,

but are actually imposters.

And Jesus

shows it.

He confronts it.

And what we're going to see in John 8,

it's going to raise some questions in us.

Some very appropriate questions.

So, how do I know

that I am a true

disciple of Jesus Christ?

Jesus is going to tell us

in this passage. He's going to share

with us what is the defining characteristic

of a disciple of Jesus,

a Christian.

Second,

how do we flourish

as true disciples of Jesus?

How do we live in this freedom

that Jesus has accomplished

for us?

What does that look like?

So, with those questions in mind,

let me read

John 8,

30-38.

As he was saying these things,

many believed in him.

Verse 30.

Many Jews.

Verse 31.

So, Jesus said to the Jews

who had believed in him,

If you abide in my word,

you are truly my disciples,

and you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

They answered him,

We are offspring of Abraham

and have never been enslaved

to anyone.

How is it that you say

you will become free?

Jesus answered them,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

everyone who practices sin

is a slave to sin.

The slave does not remain

in the house forever.

The son remains forever.

So, if the son

sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

I know that you are

the offspring of Abraham,

yet you seek to kill me,

because my word

finds no place in you.

I speak of what I have seen

with my father,

and you do what you have heard,

from your father.

So, we're going to walk through this.

I'm going to point out

three things along the way.

True discipleship,

verses 30 through 32.

Jesus defines that for us.

We're going to see in verse 33,

a very revealing objection.

And then,

in 34 through 38,

Jesus lays out

two ways to live.

Slavery or sonship.

So, let's dig in.

Let's look at

what Jesus has to say

about true discipleship

in verses 30 through 32.

In John 8,

Jesus has just made

this big,

brilliant,

God-sized claim,

I am the light of the world.

He claims to be

the son of man,

verse 28.

And when you lift up

the son of man,

talking about the cross,

you will know

that I am he,

the great I am,

incarnate.

You will know

that I am.

And we're told

in verse 30 by John

that many of the Jews

who were listening to him

believed in him.

Does anybody know

who Debbie Boone is?

1970s?

You got it.

You light up my life.

You can finish it.

Make me whole.

It's like this.

Jesus has just shared

I'm the light of the world

and we have these Jews

who are listening

and they're like,

you light up my life.

Quite a response.

If this was like

an evangelistic crusade,

we would have had

a lot of decisions.

But Jesus knows

what's in the heart

of a man.

John 2.

And so in verse 31,

Jesus says,

time out.

Time out.

He tells these Jews

who have professed

faith in him,

if you abide in my word,

you are truly my disciples.

It's a major clarification.

It's a major pumping

of the brakes.

He knows something else

is going on here.

And so he's clarifying

to these professing disciples

of what it really means

to become his disciples.

So here we have

in verse 31,

God incarnate,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

who will die and be raised,

who's reigning on high,

he himself is going

to help us understand

what it means

to be his true disciple.

Anybody want to know?

Truly my disciple.

Truly just means genuine,

legit,

all the way through.

And a disciple

was back in the first century,

someone who was a learner,

someone who was a follower.

They would follow

their master around,

listen to their master's teachers,

watch how they lived

that teaching out,

and imitate them

to become like them.

And so what Jesus is saying,

hey, if you want to be

my true disciple,

a genuine follower of me,

a genuine Christian,

here's the good life.

He says,

if you abide in my word.

Abiding in his word

is the distinguishing mark

of a genuine disciple

of Jesus Christ.

The word is a reference

to Jesus' teaching.

His teaching on all things,

the truth of the matter,

what reality is.

So whatever Jesus has to say

about God,

God his Father,

whatever he has to say

about himself,

whatever he has to say

about our condition,

it's part of living

in this world,

our greatest need.

What is the good life?

Whatever Jesus says

is the good life.

I'm to abide in that.

We're to abide in that.

But we're to abide in that.

And it will set us free.

That word abide

is an important word

in the gospel of John.

You know it,

many of you,

by heart,

from John 15,

5,

where Jesus says,

I'm the vine

and you are the branches.

If you abide in me

and I in you,

you will bear much fruit.

But apart from me,

you can do nothing.

This sense of abiding

is purposeful.

It's,

Jesus selects it for a reason.

It's not accidental.

And this sense of abiding

carries this sense

of ongoing dependence.

It's not just like,

check,

I believe in Jesus.

Now I move on

with the rest of my life.

What it is,

is a purposeful,

ongoing dependence

on Jesus

from here on out.

So when you hear the word

abide,

think in terms of

ongoing dependence.

And when you hear

the word dependence,

think of vital dependence.

I need him

to live.

I need him

for life.

He's the bread of life.

And not just

a dependence

for life,

a dependence

for light.

As by way of like

explanation.

What Jesus has to say

is the final word on it.

Whatever he has to say

on anything

is the final word on it.

How Jesus makes sense

of the world

when it comes to

our sexuality,

when it comes to

how we're to relate

to money and success

and to others,

that's the word

we're to abide in.

To depend on.

What Jesus is talking

about here is

another way of

making Jesus

the controlling center

of your life.

Where he is

the central operating

system of your being.

Where he's the sun

of your solar system.

And you orbit him.

He doesn't orbit you.

And this abiding

too carries the sense

of ongoing

dependence

on Jesus

for light

and life.

In other English

versions,

this word abide

gets translated

remain.

If my words

remain in you.

and it's

emphasizing

this kind of

persevering in,

staying in

all the way

through,

depending on

Jesus,

his person

and his words

for light

and life

until the end.

As Jesus says

in Matthew 24,

and those who

endure to the end

will be saved.

A genuine faith

is a persevering

faith.

So what Jesus

is essentially

saying here

is we never

outgrow our

need for him.

So these words,

if you abide

in my word,

you are truly

my disciples.

This is the

distinguishing mark

of a true

disciple of

Jesus Christ.

And the result

is that you know

the truth

and the truth

will set you free.

Is that you're

living in reality.

You recognize

that what Jesus

has to say

rings true.

And you are now

living in the

good life.

To abide in

his word

is to live

the good life.

It's to

actually be

free.

One of the

illustrations I

use to

describe

conversion

and ongoing

dependence

is good

old

Nicholas

Copernicus.

Before

Nicholas

Copernicus

showed up

in the

1600s,

everyone

believed

that

the sun

orbited

the earth.

But what

Copernicus

discovered is

that the

earth orbits

the sun.

And what

conversion is

is essentially

this.

You are

born,

you come

out of

your mama

and you're

like,

in your

sinful

deadness,

you just

think

everything's

about you.

I'm the

center of my

solar system.

But when

you come

to hear

the greatest

news ever

declared,

that Jesus

died and

was raised

from the

dead,

and you

are brought

into reality

that Jesus

is actually

the controlling

center of all

things,

and he's

always been the

controlling center

of all things.

it's not

new when

you were

converted.

It's always

been true.

That is

being brought

into reality.

That is being

set free.

That's the

truth of it.

And there's

fullness of

joy in it.

This is the

good life.

And might

I just

say,

there is

this misconception

out there

that freedom

means

independence.

That's not

what Jesus

means by

freedom.

To be set

free is

to be brought

into a

life-giving

relationship

with the

living God.

It's a

life of

dependence.

So here

is Jesus

clarifying for

these imposter

disciples what

a true

disciple of

his really

is, what

he's really

marked by,

what she's

really marked

by.

And that

is an

ongoing

dependence

on Jesus.

Jesus

isn't

interested in

drawing a

crowd.

What Jesus

is interested

in is

people

genuinely

understanding

what it

means to

become his

follower.

So we've

looked at

this true

discipleship.

Now in

verse 33

we have a

revealing

objection.

Let me

just read

it.

Jesus

just said,

hey, you'll

know the

truth and

the truth

will set

you free.

And the

Jews answered

back, the

Jews who

believed in

him, we

are offspring

of Abraham

and have

never been

enslaved to

anyone.

How is it

that you

say you

will become

free?

What this

objection

reveals is

the truth

of Jesus

is not

abiding

in them.

They

show their

defining

relationship.

they

just

professed

with

their

mouth

the

relationship

which

means

most

to

them.

They're

offspring

of

Abraham.

We

are

physical

descendants

of

Abraham

and

therefore

we've

not been

enslaved

to anyone

or anything

at any

time.

That's

their

claim.

They

respond to

Jesus'

words to

be set

free and

they're

saying

but hey

we're

offspring of

Abraham.

What are you

talking about?

And it

seems to

be that

they're

hearing Jesus

say something

politically.

You've never

been a

politic.

You need to be

set free from

being politically

oppressed.

That's not what

Jesus is saying

but that's what

it sounds like

they're thinking

but they

have forgotten

that they've

actually been

enslaved to

Egypt and

to Babylon

Shadrach

Meshach

and Abednego.

What's

going on

here is

we're

seeing

pride in

them.

They are

holding

up

the

thing

that

defines

them.

They're

thinking too

highly of

themselves

that they

ought.

And this

is a

huge

red

flag.

Because what

Jesus has

just said

is if

you abide

in my

word

you are

truly my

disciples.

They are

not abiding

in his

word.

If they

were abiding

in his

word they

would say

Jesus you

are everything.

When

reality is

they think

Abraham's

are everything.

what defines

you

rules you.

And you

can only be

ruled by

one thing.

If

something or

someone other

than Jesus

is giving

you primary

meaning in

life,

primary purpose

for life,

the primary

definition of

your life,

you got to

understand that

is there's

no life

there.

There's no

light there or

just very

limited life,

very limited

light.

So if your

job is what

defines you,

it's not

going to last.

You can't live

off that.

if your

health is what

defines you,

the primary

kind of

the relationship

that governs

all other

relationships,

if that's

your health,

marital status,

your race,

your ethnicity,

a cause

that you

are undertaking.

If you're a

Packers fan

and your

Packers

fan-ness

defines

everything about

you,

or if

you're a

Bears fan

and your

Bears fan-ness

defines everything

about you,

it's not

big enough.

Ease,

entertainment,

storing up

treasure in

heaven,

Matthew 6.

Jesus in

Matthew 6

talks about

that you

can't serve

two masters.

You'll love

one and hate

the other.

You'll despise

one and be

devoted to

the other.

You can't

serve both

God and

mammon.

You can't

serve both

God and

your job.

You can't

serve both

God and

your health.

It's one or

the other.

So this

objection,

we are

offspring of

Abraham.

These Jews

have totally

missed what

Jesus has been

saying.

We're not

enslaved.

They're

enslaved.

They're blind

in their sin.

This pride

blinds them.

It gives

them a

selective

memory.

It's a

spiritual

forgetfulness

of what

my history

is,

of what

I've done.

Jesus is

saying

something

completely

radical here

and they

miss it.

You see,

our greatest

need,

the greatest

need of

every person

in this

room

is not

some kind

of freedom

from political

slavery or

racial slavery

or cultural

slavery or

economic

slavery.

our greatest

need is to

be rescued

from the

slavery to

sin.

The penalty

of sin,

which is

God's wrath

poured out

on sinners

justly.

From the

power of

sin,

which is

sin's grip

on you to

make you

obey its

desires.

That's

our greatest

need.

Now,

this slavery

to sin,

it creeps

into all

those

different

spheres.

It creeps

into

politics

and race

and culture

and economics,

no doubt.

But at the

heart of this

is a pride.

Not seeing

your true

need.

They don't

see that

they need

to be set

free from

sin.

They're

spiritually

blind.

Maybe you've

experienced this.

You're sharing

the gospel

with a

friend of

yours,

and you've

just broached

the topic

of sin.

You're

explaining

that we're

all sinners

and that

our sin

carries

this

just

penalty,

that God

is just

and pouring

out his

wrath on

this.

And you

turn to

your friend

and you're

like,

are you

tracking with

me?

And your

friend says

something like

this,

what do I

need to be

saved from?

They're like,

don't hear you.

Like, what's the

problem?

I'm okay.

I don't need to

be rescued.

They're

spiritually

blind.

They haven't

been given

ears to hear

or a heart

to understand.

And that's

what's going

on in

these Jews

who have

professed

belief in

Jesus.

What the

objection reveals

is that

they're not

true disciples.

The word of

Jesus is not

abiding in

them.

because a

true disciple

sees their

very real

need to be

set free

from sin.

Now, the

question is,

how is Jesus

going to

respond to

this objection?

And in

verses 34

through 38,

Jesus says

there are two

ways to

live.

Slavery

or sonship.

so to

this

objection

of these

pseudo

believers,

Jesus in

34 drops

another

truly,

truly.

Truly,

truly,

truly,

truly,

I say to

you.

We've

bumped into

a number

of these

truly,

truly,

I say to

you's.

It's

Jesus saying

something like,

listen carefully

because I am

going to set

the record

straight.

that's the

kind of

emphasis he's

leading with.

He's like,

listen up.

Truly,

truly,

I say to

you.

And what

does he

say?

Everyone who

practices sin

is a

slave to

sin.

And what

happens here

in 34

through 38

is a

contrast

between

those who

are slaves

to sin

and those

who are

sons and

daughters of

God.

Who've been

made sons

and daughters

of God

by faith

in Jesus.

They've been

born again.

And so

there's this

contrast

that follows

here because

Jesus is just

spelling it out

for these

people who

have just

objected to

him.

It's like,

just to be

clear,

there's only

two ways

to live.

Back in the

first century,

in one

household,

you could

have slaves

and free

men and

women living

under the

same roof.

You could

have children

of slaves

who have

no promise

of inheritance,

very little

rights,

growing up

with children

of a free

man or a

free woman,

and that

child has

the promise

of an

inheritance,

that child

has rights,

and they're

growing up

in the same

household

together,

and the

major difference

between the

two is

their

relationship

to the

head of

the home,

whether they

call him

father or

not.

And this

contrast gets

spelled out

by Jesus.

He's not

saying that

slavery is

okay.

He's using

it as an

illustration.

So let me

just point you

to a few of

the contrasts

that get

developed here.

There's a

contrast of

nature.

The nature

of someone

who's a

slave to sin

and someone

who is a

son or

daughter of

God.

In verse

34, Jesus

says, whoever

practices sin

is a slave

to sin.

And if you

are a

Christian in

the room

and you're

like, oh

no, I

think that

might mean

me because

I keep on

doing the

same sin.

Have you

been repenting

of that sin?

Have you

been seeking

to change

from that

sin?

Have you

been confessing

that and

seeking help

on that?

Are you being

honest about

it?

Because those

who practice

sin are

those people

who don't

care, who

are unrepentant

in their sin.

They hear the

name of Jesus,

they say,

you light up

my life, but

their lives

don't change.

They're still

enslaved to the

power of sin

because they

obey sinful

desires.

They are

enslaved to

the penalty

of sin.

They're under

God's wrath.

They are

living in

darkness

because they're

unrepentant.

They have not

been born

again.

These are

those who are

slaves to sin.

It's by nature

they are children

of wrath,

under God's

wrath.

Contrast that

with those

who've been

set free.

true disciples.

If you flip

back in your

Bible to

John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1.

In John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

starting in

11,

this is the

prologue,

and John

writes this.

Speaking of

Jesus, the

word, the

true light,

came to his

own.

He came to

the Jewish

people and

He came to

his own,

and his own

people did not

receive him.

That's what we're

seeing going on

right here.

They don't

believe in him.

But to all

who did receive

him, who

believed in

his name,

he gave the

right to become

children of

God, who

were born not

of blood, nor

of the will of

the flesh, nor

of the will of

man, but of

God.

Children of

God are born

of God.

They're born of

the Holy Spirit.

They've been

regenerated by the

Holy Spirit.

They have a

whole new nature.

The Spirit has

come and

indwelt them, and

now there's this

holy conflict in

you with your

desire to sin.

There's a desire

to walk in

holiness, to

share in the

divine nature,

1 Peter 3,

1-3.

So what we

have here are

a contrast of

people, a

contrast of

natures, and

the freedom that

the sons of God

and the daughters

of God have

been given, is

not freedom to

go on sinning.

It's not freedom

to live independently.

It's the freedom

to now live for

God with joy and

fullness of the

Holy Spirit.

Because we are

now dead to sin and

alive to God in

Christ Jesus.

another contrast is evidence

evidence of slavery to sin

versus evidence of sonship

in verse 37

we see

Jesus say I know that you are offspring of Abraham

I know that you're genetically

descendant from Abraham

yet you seek to kill me

because my word finds no place in you

do you see what Jesus is saying there

he's saying you're a slave to sin

here's how I know

you still want to kill me

you're still murderous

you're still practicing sin

you haven't changed

and so Jesus is able to point to something

very specific and concrete

that shows them something has not changed

not so those who've been born of God

those who are children of God

they've been set free

and because

the word

Christ's word abides in them

they want to please God

they're not perfect

but they're changing

they're being changed by God's grace

whereas

those who are living in slavery

to sin want to kill other people

they're murderous

they're hateful

it's the complete opposite

for those who belong to Jesus

in just a few chapters

Jesus after dinner

is going to wash his disciples feet

and then he's going to say to them

a new commandment I give to you

that you love one another

just as I have loved you

you are to love one another

it is a mark

of a true follower of Jesus

to love others

even your enemies

evidence

when we are living

a life of dependence

on Jesus

we are

transformed into his image

there's a result

in verse 35

the slave does not remain

in the house forever

the son remains forever

if you're a slave to sin

the penalty of God's wrath

is over your head

the power of sin

reigns in your life

unchecked

and because of that

you will not remain

in the house of God forever

that's just another way

of saying

you're going to be cast out

but for those

who are sons and daughters

of God

those who have been born of God

it's all by grace

nothing that they have done

they remain in the house forever

because they're sons and daughters

they've been brought into

the family of faith

and that can never be undone

which brings us

to the third contrast

contrasting daddies

contrasting parents

Jesus says in verse 38

I speak of what I have seen

with my father

and you do what you have heard

from your father

so if Jesus' father

is God most high

and he brings us

into his family

by faith

through his blood

we are adopted

by that same father

and so we are adopted

sons and daughters

of God most high

it's all by God's grace

he is our dad

he's our father now

so we call out to him

but Jesus says

to these Jews

and you do what you have heard

from your father

now given the context

we've just read

when they say

we are the offspring

of Abraham

you might think

Jesus is talking about Abraham

Jesus is not talking

about Abraham

if you

if your eye

just tracks down

the column

to verses

let's see here

42

Jesus said to them

if God were your father

you would love me

for I came from God

and I am here

I came not of my

I came not of my own accord

but he sent me

why do you not understand

what I say

it is because

you cannot bear

to hear my word

it's not abiding in them

and he goes on

you are of your father

the devil

and your will

is to do

your father's desires

he was a murderer

from the beginning

and he does not stand

in the truth

because there is no truth

in him

when he lies

he speaks out

of his own character

for he is a liar

and the father of lies

how's that

for a confrontation

contrasting parents

so there is a series

of contrasts

by which Jesus

responds to their objection

he is saying

there are

there are slaves

to sin

and there are

children of God

by nature

fundamentally different

by the grace of God

there is

there is a contrast

of evidence

the slaves

to sin

hate

they are murderous

but those who are

children of God

they abide

in the word

of Jesus

they love

the result

slaves to sin

are forever

out of God's house

but those who are

children of God

by his grace

remain in his house

forever

because

slaves to sin

their daddy

is the devil

but those

who are children

of God

have God the father

as their father

quite a contrast

isn't it

here's the point

anyone

can say

that they believe

in Jesus

anyone can

those who

continually

depend

on Jesus

are his

true disciples

those who

have been

adopted

by grace

as sons

and daughters

set free

from sin

in order

to live

for Christ

and they

live for Christ

all the way

to the end

they are the

true disciples

of Jesus

so let's ask

two questions

how do you know

if you're a true

disciple of Jesus

Christ

how do you know

if you're legit

well let me

just ask you

what is governing

your life

who is governing

your life

what

relationship

is governing

all of your

other relationships

who matters

most to you

what are you

willing to

sacrifice for

does your

relationship

with Jesus

define you

is your

knowledge of

Jesus increasing

is your

delight in

Jesus

increasing

is your

obedience to

Jesus increasing

is your

praying to

Jesus increasing

is your

witnessing to

Jesus increasing

maybe you're in

the room

you're like

no

and I don't

want to

thank you

I don't need

to be saved

I don't need

any of that

you're responsible

for your own

decision before

the Lord

but maybe

you're in the

room

and you

are realizing

oh no

I have not

been

continually

abiding in

Jesus

but I want

to start

that that

sounds

glorious

that that

that sounds

like something

I was made

for

and you were

today's the

day you

become a

follower of

Jesus

here's what

you do

you just

pray

you say

Lord Jesus

I realize

I've been a

slave to

sin

but you've

died to

set me

free

to live

for you

and by

your death

you've made

me a son

or daughter

of God

it's all

by your

grace

thank you

that's how

you start

another

question is

if you

are

a true

disciple

of Jesus

maybe you're

asking

well how do I

live out this

freedom that

Christ has

accomplished for

us

what does that

look like

how do I

do that

well just to

remind you

the freedom

with which

Jesus has

set you

free

is not a

life of

independence

to do

whatever you

want

it's not

freeing you

from sin

to sin

more

that doesn't

make any

sense

no Jesus

has set us

free at the

cost of his

own blood

so that

we would

live for

him

the freedom

Jesus speaks

of

is freedom

from the

penalty and

power of

sin

in order to

live for

Christ

that's the

good life

life

that is

the abundant

life

John 10

10

that is

the spirit

filled

life

that is

what the

Holy Spirit

is seeking

to accomplish

in us

think about

it

if you

if you

have become

a Christian

the penalty

of your sin

has been

paid in full

by Jesus

on that

Friday

all of

God's

wrath

was poured

out on

Jesus

once and

for all

done

and so

there is

no penalty

of sin

past

present

future

hanging

over

your

head

there's

no

condemnation

for you

but

even

beyond

that

God

the moment

you

believed

thought

he

considered

all

of

Christ's

obedience

as being

deposited

into your

account

so not

only you

are fully

forgiven

of all

your

sin

you

are

fully

accepted

by God

on high

because

you've

been

given

the

righteousness

of

Christ

glory

glory

what a

savior

you've

also

been

rescued

from

the

power

of

sin

it's

been

broken

Romans

6

makes

this

beautiful

argument

because

we've

been

united

to

death

with

Christ

and his

death

and

resurrection

we

are

no

longer

slaves

to

sin

but

we

have

been

freed

to

live

for

God

consider

yourself

dead

to

sin

and

alive

to

God

in

Christ

Jesus

and

now

present

the

members

of

your

body

to

Christ

to

God

as

instruments

of

righteousness

that's

what

we

do

now

and

it's

not

burdensome

it

is

joy

to

offer

myself

to

God

daily

for

the

glory

of

his

name

that's

freedom

that's

what

you

were

created

for

that's

what