Title: True freedom is found in Jesus!
Text: John 8:31-32
Facebook live: True freedom is found in Jesus!
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Freedom,
We all love our freedom, but what does that freedom mean? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first definition is the quality or state of being free, such as the absence of necessity, corrosion, or constraint in choice or action.
Maybe in our culture this definition of freedom is acceptable,
People are free to vote which way they want to, they have the freedom to choose their jobs, to have their families, which type of transportation they will have, and what kind of housing they will live in.
You chose what time to get up this morning, what road you would use to get to church, even which pew you would sit in. You make choices daily in your lives.
But those choices don't always just affect you; some of those choices directly affect other people. How you exercise that freedom has an impact on those whom you come in contact with.
What that impact is, you may or may not be aware of. The idea that your freedom would have a negative consequence often doesn't even cross your mind.
We are selfish in our thinking, believing that our freedom does not have consequences. We turn a blind eye to the wrong that we are doing to justify what we believe is right. The light that Jesus wants to be becomes a hidden under a bushel basket. The light of Jesus becomes obscured by the working of our good works in the name of freedom.
The works we do seem to start out with the best of intentions but after just a short while we begin to feel constrained by them, it starts to feel like bondage. The more we work, the harder it becomes, the more we try to free ourselves, the more we are entangled and entrapped by our works.
What started out as us exercising our freedom, has turned into our new god.
We daily try to do better but whatever success we have is short-lived. We find ourselves weighed down by the burden of our sin.
Why has our freedom turned out this way! What could we have done to make it better? We believe there should be something we can do to make up for our mistakes!
The Jews who had believed in Jesus also thought that their Works would keep them free. They, like us, thought that they could trust in what nation they had been born and also that they were descendants of Abraham.
As they were celebrating the care of that God had provided for their ancestors in the desert at the festival of Tabernacles, they were so caught up in their works, so entangled in the works of the law, that they were blind to the truth that was right before them.
They could not see that the law was pointing them to Christ, they're celebration and all of their works that they were performing, it was being completed by Jesus!
He had told them that he is the living water and that those who thirst should come to him, he also was teaching them that he is the light of the world and that those who would follow him would never walk in darkness. Those were some of the very things that God had provided for Abraham's offspring as they traveled through the desert.
So how were they not able to see?
They had been slaves in Egypt under pharaoh. They had been taken captive by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BC and held for 70 years. Why would they say they have never been enslaved to anyone?
Jesus is answer to them didn't even address those things, he told them plainly if you commit sin, you are a slave to sin.
So, their perceived freedom as a descendant of Abraham kept them from abiding in his word. Their work of the law was their justification.
The performance of their rituals and works overshadowed the truth. It made them trust in themselves in not in God. The truth of Jesus, and the forgiveness and freedom from sin through abiding in his word was completely obscured by their own pride of trusting in their own works.
Martin Luther found the church much in the same condition as he struggled to see how a just God could forgive unjust people. He was missing the mark on how to be free, that is the true freedom that is in Christ.
He also thought he could free himself from the slavery of sin through his various works. But this just led to more doubt and more works. With the beginning of the Reformation in 1517, Luther's quest began in uncovering the word of God and the rediscovery of the truth that is found in the gospel of Christ.
The gospel had been completely veiled behind the rules and works of man and was not obtainable.
Every effort or work was doomed to fall short and would just lead to deeper despair.
Luther wrote this in the letter titled of the freedom of a Christian. He was speaking of the church when he said this
"Through this perversion, the knowledge of Christian grace, faith, Liberty and of Christ himself has altogether perished, and its place has been taken up by an unbearable bondage of human works and laws until we have become, as the Lamentations of Jeremiah say, Servants of the vilest men on Earth who abuse our Misfortune and serve only their base and Shameless will."
True freedom, the freedom that can only be found in Jesus, it is not about personal choice. It is not about the government or the earthly authority that you live under.
It is about being released from slavery; that is the slavery of sin.
Our works and our determination can do nothing to alleviate our position. Our works keep us as a slave till sin. Until the Light of Christ is revealed, we will continue in our sin, and our works will be as filthy rags.
Jesus, speaking of being set free, was not referring to our temporal freedoms or the first definition of freedom that we spoke of earlier. He was speaking of the freedom from sin death and of the devil. that freedom comes from the son, and his sacrifice on the cross.
Jesus said So if the sun sets you free you will be free indeed.
And he has set us free
Though Luther had struggled with sin and repentance, by abiding in God's word, God's grace and mercy were revealed to him in God's word.
The righteous shall live by faith.
And the faith is this, that Jesus Christ, in his life, death, and resurrection, has covered all of our sins. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
And this faith, is the grace of God, as a free gift.
He loved each one of us enough, that he sent his only son to live and die and to rise again so that the entire price for our sin was paid by him.
Abide in Him, abide in his word and receive the freedom that is yours in Christ.
Only true freedom is found in faith in Christ. The sermon title was already printed when I noticed that I should have added the word "only."
While it is true that the true freedom is found in Jesus. The better title would be true freedom is found only in Jesus.
I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the father except through me.
There are no exceptions, true freedom is found only in Jesus.
We are free to live a life that is pleasing to him through that gift of faith that has been given to each of us. Not that we have done anything to deserve it, but that he gives it to us generously, daily, and in each hour of our need as the holy spirit continues to point us to the comfort that is ours abiding in his word.
As we remember our baptism where we were marked and redeemed by Christ and where we were buried with him in death and we rise with him in new life through the Holy Spirit. This is our comfort, knowing it is his work and not ours.
And that he abundantly pours out his grace to all who would receive him as he gives us his true body and True Blood for the Forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith, and also, as we confess our sins, his forgiveness is immediate as we receive that absolution.
We are free to share his Word with all who would listen. We all have those times and places where sharing this good news of the gospel and the true Freedom that is found only in Jesus Christ could bring Comfort to those who are in need.
We are free in Christ and his saving work through the grace of God through faith. So we call him Lord, and he tells us to abide in his word as believers. As the Apostle Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 9 verse 19. For though I am free from all. I have made myself a servant to all that I might win more of them.
His freedom from sin death and the devil brought him freedom to abide in Jesus Christ and the comfort that is only found in being a servant of Christ.
Not from force or coercion, but from the love and comfort of the Holy Spirit which is the unmerited grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Let us joy in the freedom that was one for us on the cross as we daily look to Jesus and his saving work. As We rise and settle down each day, let us look for the ways to abide in the truth of his word. Let us receive the forgiveness of our sins and rest in the comfort that God has forgiven us for the sake of Christ and his work, and not ours.
Let us rest in the fact that nothing we do will earn us any of his grace. But rather, that God the father, in his mercy, has chosen to give us that Grace of faith in Christ and has made us free to be his own children.
Not having to be worried about who's offspring we are in this world. But that the wonderful unmerited grace of God is for all who are called to be his.
The world likes to put its freedom over us. We struggle with things in this world; there are times when we feel the world is having its way with us and that the light that we have been given is hidden. But thanks be to God that Christ has overcome the world. Our strength is found in him, abiding in his word.
We are no longer a slave to sin and our works, but to Christ and his works. So, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.
I would like to share this quote from Martin Luther;
Since these promises of God are holy, true, righteousness, free and peaceful words, full of goodness, the soul which clings to them with a firm faith will be so closely united with them and all together absorbed by them that it will not only share in all of their power but will be saturated and intoxicated by them. If a touch of Christ healed, how much more will this tender spiritual touch, this absorbing of the word, communicate to the soul all that belong to the word. This then is how faith alone without works, the soul is justified by the word of God, sanctified, made true, peaceful and free, filled with every blessing and truly made a child of God.
May the freedom and comfort, that is found only in Jesus Christ be yours on this Reformation Day and every day. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Text: John 8:31-32
Facebook live: True freedom is found in Jesus!
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Freedom,
We all love our freedom, but what does that freedom mean? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first definition is the quality or state of being free, such as the absence of necessity, corrosion, or constraint in choice or action.
Maybe in our culture this definition of freedom is acceptable,
People are free to vote which way they want to, they have the freedom to choose their jobs, to have their families, which type of transportation they will have, and what kind of housing they will live in.
You chose what time to get up this morning, what road you would use to get to church, even which pew you would sit in. You make choices daily in your lives.
But those choices don't always just affect you; some of those choices directly affect other people. How you exercise that freedom has an impact on those whom you come in contact with.
What that impact is, you may or may not be aware of. The idea that your freedom would have a negative consequence often doesn't even cross your mind.
We are selfish in our thinking, believing that our freedom does not have consequences. We turn a blind eye to the wrong that we are doing to justify what we believe is right. The light that Jesus wants to be becomes a hidden under a bushel basket. The light of Jesus becomes obscured by the working of our good works in the name of freedom.
The works we do seem to start out with the best of intentions but after just a short while we begin to feel constrained by them, it starts to feel like bondage. The more we work, the harder it becomes, the more we try to free ourselves, the more we are entangled and entrapped by our works.
What started out as us exercising our freedom, has turned into our new god.
We daily try to do better but whatever success we have is short-lived. We find ourselves weighed down by the burden of our sin.
Why has our freedom turned out this way! What could we have done to make it better? We believe there should be something we can do to make up for our mistakes!
The Jews who had believed in Jesus also thought that their Works would keep them free. They, like us, thought that they could trust in what nation they had been born and also that they were descendants of Abraham.
As they were celebrating the care of that God had provided for their ancestors in the desert at the festival of Tabernacles, they were so caught up in their works, so entangled in the works of the law, that they were blind to the truth that was right before them.
They could not see that the law was pointing them to Christ, they're celebration and all of their works that they were performing, it was being completed by Jesus!
He had told them that he is the living water and that those who thirst should come to him, he also was teaching them that he is the light of the world and that those who would follow him would never walk in darkness. Those were some of the very things that God had provided for Abraham's offspring as they traveled through the desert.
So how were they not able to see?
They had been slaves in Egypt under pharaoh. They had been taken captive by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BC and held for 70 years. Why would they say they have never been enslaved to anyone?
Jesus is answer to them didn't even address those things, he told them plainly if you commit sin, you are a slave to sin.
So, their perceived freedom as a descendant of Abraham kept them from abiding in his word. Their work of the law was their justification.
The performance of their rituals and works overshadowed the truth. It made them trust in themselves in not in God. The truth of Jesus, and the forgiveness and freedom from sin through abiding in his word was completely obscured by their own pride of trusting in their own works.
Martin Luther found the church much in the same condition as he struggled to see how a just God could forgive unjust people. He was missing the mark on how to be free, that is the true freedom that is in Christ.
He also thought he could free himself from the slavery of sin through his various works. But this just led to more doubt and more works. With the beginning of the Reformation in 1517, Luther's quest began in uncovering the word of God and the rediscovery of the truth that is found in the gospel of Christ.
The gospel had been completely veiled behind the rules and works of man and was not obtainable.
Every effort or work was doomed to fall short and would just lead to deeper despair.
Luther wrote this in the letter titled of the freedom of a Christian. He was speaking of the church when he said this
"Through this perversion, the knowledge of Christian grace, faith, Liberty and of Christ himself has altogether perished, and its place has been taken up by an unbearable bondage of human works and laws until we have become, as the Lamentations of Jeremiah say, Servants of the vilest men on Earth who abuse our Misfortune and serve only their base and Shameless will."
True freedom, the freedom that can only be found in Jesus, it is not about personal choice. It is not about the government or the earthly authority that you live under.
It is about being released from slavery; that is the slavery of sin.
Our works and our determination can do nothing to alleviate our position. Our works keep us as a slave till sin. Until the Light of Christ is revealed, we will continue in our sin, and our works will be as filthy rags.
Jesus, speaking of being set free, was not referring to our temporal freedoms or the first definition of freedom that we spoke of earlier. He was speaking of the freedom from sin death and of the devil. that freedom comes from the son, and his sacrifice on the cross.
Jesus said So if the sun sets you free you will be free indeed.
And he has set us free
Though Luther had struggled with sin and repentance, by abiding in God's word, God's grace and mercy were revealed to him in God's word.
The righteous shall live by faith.
And the faith is this, that Jesus Christ, in his life, death, and resurrection, has covered all of our sins. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
And this faith, is the grace of God, as a free gift.
He loved each one of us enough, that he sent his only son to live and die and to rise again so that the entire price for our sin was paid by him.
Abide in Him, abide in his word and receive the freedom that is yours in Christ.
Only true freedom is found in faith in Christ. The sermon title was already printed when I noticed that I should have added the word "only."
While it is true that the true freedom is found in Jesus. The better title would be true freedom is found only in Jesus.
I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the father except through me.
There are no exceptions, true freedom is found only in Jesus.
We are free to live a life that is pleasing to him through that gift of faith that has been given to each of us. Not that we have done anything to deserve it, but that he gives it to us generously, daily, and in each hour of our need as the holy spirit continues to point us to the comfort that is ours abiding in his word.
As we remember our baptism where we were marked and redeemed by Christ and where we were buried with him in death and we rise with him in new life through the Holy Spirit. This is our comfort, knowing it is his work and not ours.
And that he abundantly pours out his grace to all who would receive him as he gives us his true body and True Blood for the Forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith, and also, as we confess our sins, his forgiveness is immediate as we receive that absolution.
We are free to share his Word with all who would listen. We all have those times and places where sharing this good news of the gospel and the true Freedom that is found only in Jesus Christ could bring Comfort to those who are in need.
We are free in Christ and his saving work through the grace of God through faith. So we call him Lord, and he tells us to abide in his word as believers. As the Apostle Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 9 verse 19. For though I am free from all. I have made myself a servant to all that I might win more of them.
His freedom from sin death and the devil brought him freedom to abide in Jesus Christ and the comfort that is only found in being a servant of Christ.
Not from force or coercion, but from the love and comfort of the Holy Spirit which is the unmerited grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Let us joy in the freedom that was one for us on the cross as we daily look to Jesus and his saving work. As We rise and settle down each day, let us look for the ways to abide in the truth of his word. Let us receive the forgiveness of our sins and rest in the comfort that God has forgiven us for the sake of Christ and his work, and not ours.
Let us rest in the fact that nothing we do will earn us any of his grace. But rather, that God the father, in his mercy, has chosen to give us that Grace of faith in Christ and has made us free to be his own children.
Not having to be worried about who's offspring we are in this world. But that the wonderful unmerited grace of God is for all who are called to be his.
The world likes to put its freedom over us. We struggle with things in this world; there are times when we feel the world is having its way with us and that the light that we have been given is hidden. But thanks be to God that Christ has overcome the world. Our strength is found in him, abiding in his word.
We are no longer a slave to sin and our works, but to Christ and his works. So, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.
I would like to share this quote from Martin Luther;
Since these promises of God are holy, true, righteousness, free and peaceful words, full of goodness, the soul which clings to them with a firm faith will be so closely united with them and all together absorbed by them that it will not only share in all of their power but will be saturated and intoxicated by them. If a touch of Christ healed, how much more will this tender spiritual touch, this absorbing of the word, communicate to the soul all that belong to the word. This then is how faith alone without works, the soul is justified by the word of God, sanctified, made true, peaceful and free, filled with every blessing and truly made a child of God.
May the freedom and comfort, that is found only in Jesus Christ be yours on this Reformation Day and every day. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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