True Discipleship (Freedom)

Take your Bible this morning turn with me to John chapter 8 John chapter 8 should be a familiar place in your Bible by now all of the first Seven or eight chapters so the gospel of John should be familiar with you. We've been in this study for quite some time we are looking at the book of John titled Christ the Son of God believe and Leah and this morning will be in verses 31 on down to verse 36 down to verse 36 This morning we will start a new portion of Scripture We have moved away from the Feast of the Tabernacles But if you are keeping up and studying along you'll know that we're still in this debate You can call it a bait you can call it a standoff this dialogue between Jesus and the religious leadership Now verse 31 starts a long discourse still between Jesus and the religious leadership and verse 31 really is one continuous message to the end of the chapter and that's down to verse 59 And we will see this continuous back and forth in a very similar fashion to what we have seen all along Now the title of the message this morning is called true discipleship.

I'm going to give that to you and it's fullest form here in a minute But before we see what Jesus says about being a true disciple. I want us to see a little bit of the context We have a crowd of people here following Jesus We have some that are believers We have some that are non believers and we have some who are in between you might say in between I don't understand what you mean you will see as we continue here.

We have true believers that are within this crowd Some of which have been tested and some of these have not been tested now We know that Jesus has the habit of testing these who profess to believe by preaching and teaching the word So we have some believers true believers. They've been tested some if not We also have some non believers of all sorts Some are the religious leadership. They are vehemently opposed to Christ. They want to attack him violently And they want to destroy him some of these non believers are those who are pondering Christ They are considering Christ. They are examining Christ.

They are exploring who Christ is And some of these non believers are kind of along for the ride. We see them come to the surface especially during the times of the miracles So we have a wide range of peoples here and most of them now listen are seeking truth Now what I mean by that they're seeking truth concerning this character of Jesus they're examining who this Jesus is Of course, we know that he is not a character But he is the Messiah. He is deity.

He is Christ the Son of God But yet some of those people in the crowd have not quite come to that conclusion now the title of the message this morning is true discipleship and there within that title We have the word freedom and we're going to see how freedom comes into play in the life of a true disciple true discipleship And we're going to be looking at verse 31 down to verse 36. You see the truths there before you on the screens We will look at freedom in Christ in verse 31 through 32 a false sense of freedom in verse 33 through 34 and then freedom indeed in verse 35 through 36 Should be easy for you to drop those main truths down.

Of course, we're going to flesh them out I always encourage you to take notes so that you can study and learn and grow According to the truth that God brings us. So let's look at the verses together just a few short verses starting in verse 31 Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed in him if you abide in my word Then you are truly my disciples are disciples of mine and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free They answer him.

We are Abraham's offspring and we have never yet been enslaved anyone How is it that you say you shall become free Jesus answered them truly truly I say to you everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin and The slave does not remain in the house forever. The Sun does remain forever If therefore the Sun shall make you free you shall be free Indeed, like I said previously just a few verses But lots of truth that we're going to look at we're going to look at the subject of True discipleship and like I said, we will see how freedom comes into the life of a true Disciples so truth number one freedom in Christ freedom in Christ out of verses 31 through 32 We see at the beginning of verse 31 There are those who profess to believe in him and then he says that any of you or if you abide in my word Then you are truly Disciples of mine and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free Now there are four things I want us to see out of these verses The first truth is the question of true disciples the question of true disciples look at verse 31 Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed in him most of the translations say the the phrase the very same way now along with verse 30 and 31 we would assume that these were true believers go back to verse 30 as he spoke these things Many came to believe in him, but we need to be aware of What we have learned so far we have seen a pattern have we not And what we have seen is in chapter 2 starting in verse 23 and 25 Jesus taught us that there are those Believing professing believers are those false believers which Jesus would not entrust himself to We saw these false followers in chapter 6 Jesus proved these followers with what the teaching of his word and in verse 32 And on we will see that Jesus tests these who profess to believe in Christ he will prove them So we will see that there is a question of the authenticity of these disciples second truth notice True disciples abide in his word.

What does he say if you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine Some of you have the King James before you the King James reads continue This word continue or abide in the original means to remain or to continue or to abide John is communicating a perseverance here. This verb is in the present tense So it means that this is an ongoing press up press a perseverance This is an ongoing Continuing this is an ongoing abiding But what are they abiding in what are they abiding to notice the text says the word the word the word here in the original language is logos, which means Christ himself and Christ teachings and Christ doctrines and Christ commandments So out of this short portion of verse 31 we see true disciples They remain in they a body and they continue in they persevere in the words of Jesus and this is an ongoing lifestyle One little phrase I ran across this week John MacArthur says true disciples are word oriented Let that sink in true disciples are word oriented Back in the days when sailors would sell they would sell by the stars But yet they would sell by the compass and so they were oriented to the compass but true disciples are word Oriented they abide in his word third truth true disciples know the truth They know the truth look at the beginning of verse 32 and you shall know the truth Now a question this is a very loaded question, especially today in our time and culture.

What is truth? A lot of people are defining truth and redefining truth today in our land But truth is found in Christ Truth is found in Christ Jesus said in John 14 6 He says I am the way and the truth and the life Christ is truth and the Word of God which is before us is the revelation of that truth From the Old Testament to the New Testament We have the revelation of Jesus go back to the beginning of John What did we see in the beginning was the word and the word was with God?

We even learned that Jesus was there during the creation Jesus always has been and so from Old Testament to New Testament It is a revelation of Jesus Now this is more than intellectual knowledge This is a knowledge that comes from knowing being one with Christ becoming a new creation with Christ then fourth true disciples are free True disciples are free and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free now this freedom is a Spiritual freedom to help us understand this I want to refer you to a list I ran across this week And this is a list of freedoms that true disciples are Partaking of listen to this list Disciples are free from Satan according to John 17 15 Disciples are free from condemnation according to Romans 8 1 Disciples are free from judgment according to John 3 18 Disciples are free from spiritual ignorance according to John 8 12 Disciples are free from spiritual death according to 8 John chapter 8 verse 51 and True disciples are free from sin according to Romans 6 18 and 22 That is a life of freedom.

Is it not free from Satan free from condemnation free from judgment free from spiritual ignorance free from spiritual death and freedom from the slavery of sin true disciples are free now We need to see that Jesus what Jesus is teaching in verse 32 He is testing The validity of the faith of those who profess to believe in him He is proving them another words they step up and they profess to believe in Christ and Jesus says hold on a minute Let me explain to you what true believers and true disciples are like And we need to see this now to help us an application I ran across a quotation That I think is very fitting.

This is out of the new American commentary. I like that series I've used that series for years. It has multiple authors But it helps us and it helps lead us in application. Let me read you this quotation He reads the statement in verse 32 has become classic go back to the verse And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free You see that has become a classic statement from the scripture and this commentator is referring to that but notice this Parts of it are embossed on the seals of colleges and universities meaning that academic learning is the key to Liberty This is hardly the case This verse is a statement neither advocating nor disparaging academics It is instead a statement about a living relationship with the Son of God the truth who gives freedom to Human beings you see that That is a classic verse but yet it has been a misapplied in so many different ways This statement is about a living relationship with Jesus who is the truth freedom in Christ Now I want to continue an application with a question Is Jesus the Bible and Christianity just information in your mind Is your Christianity simply a belief which you have borrowed from someone else is Your Christianity a list of rules do's and don'ts I can and I can't Is your Christianity simply a doctrinal position which has never changed your life Is your Christianity a heritage which came down from family traditions Now I didn't make much of this word disciple, but we know that this is a key word a disciple is a learner and a follower and in Jesus day a disciple would attach Themself to that one who was the mentor?

That's why the disciples physically left everything and followed Jesus And so a disciple is one who abides in Christ Christ is a person that living relationship and listen they abide in his word And they know his truth and they are free because they have been changed So there is a freedom in Christ. Let's move on let's notice truth number two a false sense of freedom a False sense of freedom look at verse 33 they answered him now. These are the religious leaders. We're very familiar with them We are Abraham's offspring and we have never been enslaved to anyone How is it that you say you shall become free?

Verse 34 Jesus answered them truly truly I say to you everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin now Justice we have seen before we see the religious leaders begin to Engage in a debate with Christ now Jesus doesn't always respond directly to their words But that that is this ongoing back and forth, but I want you to notice that they made two crucial mistakes They asserted their ancestry did they not what did they say we're children of Abraham and Then they made a terrible mistake by claiming never to be slaves now We're gonna explore these verses and I want to shoot us I want you to see three things three truths first their ancestry look at verse 33.

They answered. We are Abraham's offspring The King James read seed which means offspring or descendants we know that language Abraham was not a slave he never was and they pretended that they were his real descendants inheriting his freedom as well as his spiritual freedom They meant that they were the direct descendants of Abraham and Isaac They were physical descendants of Abraham, but we will see that they were not descendants spiritually One of the commentators I read said that this was the proudest boast of the Jews and it was All along in their debate with Jesus they would puff their chest out and say we are descendants of Abraham So they are claiming their ancestry Second notice their fault since freedom Their fault since of freedom they answered him We are Abraham's offspring and have never yet been enslaved to anyone How is it that you say you shall become free now this claim was their biggest mistake This shows just how blind and arrogant they truly were Let me show you how at the very time that they were uttering these words Israel was enslaved to Rome They were an occupied state Although they had a puppet puppet government.

They were enslaved to Rome. Let me go back in time Their forefathers have been in slavery in Egypt had they not After becoming a nation they had been overrun by a whole host of individual nations They had been enslaved to the in Syrians They had been a slight enslaved to the Babylonians the Medo Persians the Greeks and the Syrians So it had been generation after generation time after time of what slavery? Now let me ask you a question What was the Feast of the Tabernacles remembering?

They were remembering that their forefathers had come where out of Egypt out of slavery into the promised land so they had this terrible arrogant false sense of Freedom not just physically but spiritually and with all that that I have said go back to the verse What do they say in verse 33 they answered to him? We are Abraham's offspring and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say that we shall or you shall become free?

They had a false sense of freedom and we will see it was both physically and spiritually then third their slavery to sin verse 34 Jesus answered them truly truly I say to you everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin Jesus starts off this verse with a very familiar phrase truly truly This is that Amen and Amen The new international version reads very truly I tell you Now this is a heavy emphasis and a lot of the English translations worded in a different way But Jesus is introducing teaching of a great importance and he is placing an emphasis Before he speaks and our culture when someone says Amen They are saying I agree with what you're saying I'm putting my stamp of approval on it verbally and what Jesus is doing is he's saying truly truly Very truly I tell you in other words you really need to listen up now What does he say?

He says those who sin are slaves to sin The construction does not mean one deed of sin but a continual practice of sin He says that if one continues in sin They are slaves to sin and this word slave means to be totally under the control of another I'll give you two other verses that help shed light on this truth acts chapter 8 verse 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity Bond meaning slavery bound to sin Titus chapter 3 verse 3 for we ourselves were once foolish disobedient let us stray slaves to various passions and pleasures Passing our days and malice and envy and hatred by others and hating one another What do we see that those who practice sin are slaves to sin?

And here we see their total failure to see reality Not just in their past with their forefathers and in their present circumstances, but in their current spiritual condition You realize the arrogant By position they could not even speak about their forefathers accurately and they could not see physically or spiritually their pitiful condition They were blind and they were in bondage and they could not even see it now Notice the depth of their bondage first ancestrally They thought because they were descendants of Abraham that they were somehow right before God You see what I mean?

I'm not talking about physically, but spiritually They were in bondage Ancestorily they thought because Abraham's blood flowed in their veins that somehow they had held on to his spiritual condition that's why they said oh we are children of Abraham, but this was ancestral bondage Second they were in bondage theologically They thought that because they knew the law of Moses and live by it that they were right before God How many times do they attack Jesus with the law of Moses and so although they knew the word?

Theologically they were in bondage because they did not know God third academically They thought that because they study vigorously that they were somehow right before God you see the level of bondage at which they're in Ancestorily theologically and academically they were in bondage because they did not know God Now an application We might not realize it, but we know people who are just like that today They are people who are in ancestral bondage They think that because their mother and their father they think because of their family lineage or their Upbringing in the life of the church that somehow that makes them right with God No, that does not It does not matter what our forefathers have done.

It does not matter what our own parents have done What matters is who you are? And see there are a lot of people whether they know it or not. They are in the very similar ancestral bondage You know there are a lot of people they are in theological bondage They think because they study the doctrines and theological truths of the Word of God that somehow makes them right with God But yet that does not either and then there are some they are in academic or intellectual bondage I've witnessed many young people who grew up in the life of the church and they could tell you every Sunday school lesson every Bible drill verse They knew the Word of God inside and out they had an intellectual knowledge of the Word of God But yet without Christ they are in academic bondage So these Religious leaders had a false sense of freedom and there are a lot of people in the life of the church today and in our culture They have this false sense of freedom and they do not realize that they are simply slaves to sin Let's continue.

Let's notice Truth number three the freedom indeed There is freedom indeed verse 35 and 36 Jesus continues he says and the slaves the slave does not remain in the house forever The son does remain forever if therefore the son shall make you free you shall be free indeed now Here we will see that Jesus uses the same illustration of slavery But in a different way and for a different reason this is one continuous message because there is no pause Between verse 35 and 36, but there is a transition There are two things out of these verses.

I want you to see First the slave compared to a son Again, that's this different application of the word slave the situation of a slave and the slave does not remain in the house forever And the son does remain forever Here we see a prophecy Here we see a warning Concerning Israel the nation of Israel and the Jews We know who the slaves are because Jesus had just told us in verse 34 Those who were listening and were outside of Christ although they were descendants of Abraham were slaves and these Jewish leaders were slaves But Jesus was speaking in a broader sense here He is speaking of all of Israel which would reject him of Messiah see most of Israel and most of the Jews did reject Jesus and Because they were rejecting him.

They were forfeiting the privilege they had received from God Now who were the sons go back to the verse and The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son does remain forever The sons are those both Jew and Gentile who would accept Jesus as the Messiah Now I said earlier this is a warning and this is a prophecy Because what we see in Matthew chapter 8 speaks of what Jesus is talking about Matthew 8 starting in verse 11 verse 11 and 12 Jesus says I tell you many will come to the from the east and the west and recline at the table with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness You see in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth Jesus is saying there will be Gentiles coming from the east into the west and they will recline at the table While those what does he say those sons of the kingdom?

Those are the Jews those chosen people of Israel who have rejected Christ you see Jesus is comparing the slave with the true sign And then the second truth is freedom in Christ Verse 36 if therefore the son shall make you free you shall be free indeed Verse 36 Jesus goes back to similar teaching found in verse 32 Now notice some things out of these this verse notice notice the action here go back to the verse If therefore the son shall make you free see the action make you free the phrase here it communicates a slave going from slavery to freedom You see also notice notice the sovereignty of God here go back to the verse if therefore the son shall make you free You shall be free in Deed and what do we see the sovereignty of God here who sets the slave free?

Jesus sets the slave free so we see the action of a slave going to freedom And we see who brings that slave out of slavery in to freedom D a Carson that I study a lot says this Jesus not only enjoys in a level rights as the unique son of God, but exercises full authority vested in him by the father to liberate slaves Those whom Jesus liberates from tyranny of sin are really free This is a freedom not of man are From man, but from Christ in in Christ, and that's why it is freedom indeed It's just not freedom from physical circumstances.

It is a spiritual freedom and this is a biblically realistic picture of freedom in Christ and Sadly this was a freedom which many of the Jews did not get to enjoy They stayed slaves while others became sons Those of physical of the physical ancestry of Abraham were truly saved a slaves while great sinners such as a Samaritan woman They became sons and daughters freedom indeed The best way that I can make application of this is to tell a story You know in all of my years of ministry.

I've seen different types of people come to Christ Sinners great sinners and some who seem very religious But you know I can think back to an individual who came to Christ and they came from a very religious heritage Mother and father who had served God and many people in the life of their family who had served in the life of the church But I'll never forget with this individual went from a slave to a son Those people in his family opposed it and they opposed it vehemently Why?

Because they could not rejoice that their son their daughter had gone from being a slave to a son and in that Theament opposition they were revealing that they were a slave isn't that what the Jewish leaders did When they saw women like the Samaritan woman coming to be a daughter. Oh, no, not her opposition opposition and What I want you to see is when a slave becomes a son It is a freedom in Christ and a freedom indeed And all along while these from the east and to the west were coming and reclining at the table with Christ these Jewish leaders Were vehemently opposing it We are sons of Abraham.

Who are they? and In our day and in our time we will see people who will refuse this freedom While by God's good grace we will see others come and enjoy this freedom And again, who is the one that brings the individual from slavery to a son? It is Jesus now The title of the message this morning is true discipleship freedom. I Inserted that word freedom in the title because I think it needs to be there True discipleship is freedom and we abide in Christ and we know Christ and we abide in the truth And we have gone from slavery to being a son But as I move into the conclusion, I want to make more application.

I Want to ask you a series of questions and that question Is do you enjoy true discipleship? freedom in Christ That's one question but there are others or Are you in bondage? ancestrally What I mean is you're holding on to the heritage that was passed down to you Maybe you've had moms and dads and other family members who has served in the life of the church.

Those are good things I'm not saying those are bad things But just because your mom or your dad or your grandparents Were born again Christians does not mean that you automatically inherit their spiritual position And you can be in bondage Ancestrally and I have seen people struggle with coming to Christ when they had to step over That heritage not that they would deny that heritage But yet they would have to stand up and say all that I have done within that heritage has been seen because I've been lost Them about Christ. I've been performing in an external fashion.

It's come out of me It's come out of my flesh so I must deny myself and leave that ancestry behind to become a son So are you in bondage ancestrally? Are you in bondage academically? And what I mean is are you in bondage because you're holding on to your spiritual education? Now I want to make myself plain I am very much for educating our children Spiritually in the ways of God and from the Word of God But listen, I said this years ago, and I'll say it again education without salvation leads to damnation We can do the very best that we can of educating our children in the ways of God But if they are not converted they will turn into educated slaves and There are many people who will hold on to their spiritual education.

They will hold on to the Academics of the Word of God and all along they won't know Christ Are you in bondage theologically? Now I am far sound theology we are learning and we are dealing with sound theology Throughout the book of John first and foremost we are dealing with proper Christ Ology we've dealt with many theological issues in our studies of first Timothy and second Timothy and even Jude and even First second and third John so I am far theology and we need to learn doctrine in theology But yet that is not enough either I'll never forget a conversation.

I had with a young man in this building They visited a few times and he was able to articulate his theological positions But when I asked him his story and I asked him how he came to know Christ He did not have a biblical testimony He could not articulate and not not just it wasn't just that he could not articulate how God saved him by the Pattern and testimony of his life. He could not say that God had saved him and he was holding on to his Theological position and theological positions will not say nor will they carry you through life? Another question is are you in bondage ministerially?

It's the question I haven't posed yet in this message Did you know that there are ministers and they hold on to their position and they hold on to that position thinking somehow Some way that will make them right before God isn't that very similar mistake we've seen these Jewish leaders make I Happen to believe that a man can be a minister of the gospel and still be lost I've had friends who were in ministerial positions come to know Christ later After they were serving in ministry my own wife came to know Christ after I was in vocational ministry And yes, I met her at church and she was serving God and she was working hard in the life of the church But yet she had not been converted and you can be in bondage Ministerally hoping and believing and thinking that that ministerial position and what you do for God will make you right But the last question is real simple and a little more direct are you in bondage personally?

If you're not in Christ you're in bondage you're in slavery and you know the sad but brutal reality Is that slaves can fight against that slavery all day long, but they cannot set themselves free You will never set yourself free You can reform you can turn over and you leave you can work hard you can work harder But you will never go from bondage to freedom unless Christ comes and sets you free The title of the message is true discipleship freedom freedom Freedom to abide in Christ freedom to know the truth freedom to walk with him serve him love him and know him a Freedom that can only come is a gracious gift Lord We thank you for the message of the Word of God.