September 11, 2020 -- John 8:33 -- Being Set 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’?”

John 8:33 English Standard Version

Jesus had just made the bold claim if His listeners abide in His word they will know the truth and the truth will set them free. His listeners scoffed. They answered with the text above. Jewish people are biologically descended from Abraham. So in a sense that is literally true. This is significant because the covenant promise God the Mighty had made was those who bless Abraham will be blessed, those who curse Abraham will be cursed. Jesus’s listeners equated being biological descended from Abraham with being blessed. They missed the point.

Abraham believed in God. He served God. That is true freedom. Those who believe in the Triune God of the Holy Bible are truly descendants of Abraham. It is a bit rich for the Jewish people to claim “we have never been enslaved to anyone”. They were slaves in Egypt. They were currently under the domination of the Roman Empire. Through-out their history the Covenant-Making God has issued charges against His people—calling them to account for their waywardness. As such, they are proving themselves to be slaves to sin, slaves to foreign gods, slaves to immorality, slaves to accommodation which compromises their faithfulness to the Living God.

Our only freedom is found in Jesus Christ. Our only freedom is to live in the world without being part of it. Our only freedom is to be fully aware of the evil that surrounds us, but making a stand for Jesus Christ and obedience to His Word. This is Jesus’s point. Those who stood before Him then, and we who hear these words today, must ask: are we free? Do we acknowledge Jesus Christ and Him alone as our source of fullness of life and freedom? If we answer “yes”, then we are descendants of Abraham. Then we are those who walk in the blessings of God our Father as those who are free from enslavement to sin.

Spirit of the Living God, confront us with the Word of Truth so that we will recognize the blinders which are covering our eyes. Uncover for us also the sins which abound in our culture, such as those which would enslave us so that in Your power we will throw them off in whole-hearted service to Jesus Christ. Enable us to see all the enslavement to sin which entangle and chain people in our culture today—the same which threaten to make us slaves also. Thank You, Father in heaven, that You have shown us the pathway of full life and true freedom given in the Mighty and Majestic Name of Jesus Christ—Your precious Son, our Savior. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agROj9nTQP4