True Freedom: John 8:21-36

One of Poiema Visual Arts’ primary goals is to encourage Christian visual artists to grow in the grace of their Savior. While the author of this month’s guest blog wouldn’t consider himself an artist, like us, his heart is to see individuals follow in the footsteps of Jesus; to become fully devoted disciples. A few weeks ago, I heard Pastor Andrew Brubaker present a message that stood out to me. It's not about art, per se, but at its heart it is about something that each artist is seeking: forgiveness, hope & freedom. We pray that your heart is encouraged as you are reminded of who you are and where your true freedom is rooted. 

Jeremy Miller, MBS, MACE
Founder & CEO
Poiema Visual Arts

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Recently, we celebrated the birth of our nation. The United States of America was formed 246 years ago when she declared her independence - her freedom - from oppressive tyranny. The idea of a new nation based on the ideals of liberty, responsibility, godliness, and the freedom to become what God intended them to become was new and revolutionary. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson succinctly summed up the intent and desire of our infant nation to live free as an extension of the rights bestowed by Creator God. This message of freedom was echoed by great leaders throughout the United States’ history by men like Patrick Henry, who said, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.” And men like Abraham Lincoln who intoned, “Four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” 

For Americans, Independence Day should remind us how fortunate we are. The celebration of our nation’s birthday is really a celebration of freedom.

The Declaration of Independence continues to be a model for freedom around the world. America is the longest surviving democratic republic because of these principles. Millions of immigrants have come to our shores over the past 200+ years because the American dream is fundamentally about freedom. 

However, we mustn’t forget that the American dream was birthed by those specifically seeking religious freedom. People who were persecuted and driven from their homes came to America to freely worship and practice their religious faith. The founding fathers understood freedom as a right given by the Creator and Supreme Judge of the universe, not something granted by a human government or an earthly monarch. 

Freedom was of such value and importance to our founding fathers that they were willing to risk everything: their fortunes, their reputations, their honor, their families, even their lives. They understood that freedom wasn’t free. Often, the price for freedom was blood.

Today we worship in security and comfort because of those who died to ensure religious freedom. And just as the freedom of our nation was provided for and sustained with the blood of our fellow Americans, Jesus Christ purchased a greater freedom for us with His blood. He was willing to lay down His life as a sacrifice to win our spiritual freedom.

As a nation we are imperfect, we have many flaws, many reasons for shame. The freedom we have is imperfect, because it is an earthly freedom, won and paid for with imperfect blood. 

However, the freedom that surrounds our faith is perfect because the foundation on which it is built is absolutely perfect. It is a true freedom given to us by the One who was and is without fault or blemish, Jesus Christ. 

The Progress of Freedom

In John 8:21-24, Jesus explains this freedom in greater detail while establishing Himself as the Son of God.

He begins by predicting His impending crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension (v.21). This is met by reactions of confusion - possibly even mockery - by the people. They ask, “Is he going to commit suicide?” “Where is He going?”

Their incredulity leads Jesus to respond, “You are from below, I am from above. You belong to this world, I do not ... . Unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins” (vs. 23-24). 

These verses carry immense theological weight. Here Jesus establishes Himself as God; "I AM" is a direct reference to Exodus 3:14, where the Lord declares His name to be "I AM”. Jesus refers to Himself as Yahweh - the Lord - the God of the Old Testament. He claims deity for Himself. 

In confusion and anger the crowd demands to know, “Who are you?” They don’t accept Jesus as the Son of God, even though multiple witnesses already testified to His identity, and Jesus himself asserted His deity by word and deed. Aware that He will be rejected by many, Jesus warns that our response to Him has eternal consequences. “For unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

Jesus establishes Himself as the true Messiah, the Savior. We are all slaves to the curse of sin, unable to escape by our own means. But in this passage, Jesus says freedom is available through, and only through, Him. 

A progress to freedom is essentially laid out. The first step toward freedom and true discipleship is belief in Christ Jesus as the Son of God. Each individual must acknowledge who Jesus is by making a personal confession. 

The second step is obedience and perseverance.“You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (vs. 31-32).

“The truth” refers both to Jesus’ teachings and His identity as Son of God. A true disciple of Jesus obeys what He taught.

In the Bible the Greek word aletheia literally means “to not forget” and is often translated “truth”. We are meant to know and remember the truth. 

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to them.” John 14:21

The Person of Freedom

In John 8 Jesus exclaims, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin”. Jesus was not talking about a physical slavery. He was not talking about an economic or political enslavement. He was talking about the ultimate bondage, which is enslavement to sin. Every person, regardless of ancestry or moral performance, is in need of a savior. Because all have sinned, all have fallen short of God’s glory. Everyone is a captive and needs to be set free, and that freedom only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ, the true person of freedom. 

Jesus is truth personified. He says in John 14:6, “...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

The passage wraps up with words that should fill every true disciple with an overwhelming joy and peace: “A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”  

Here Jesus contrasts the difference between those He sets free and those still stuck in slavery to sin. A slave could be expelled from the house at any time, they never actually belonged, they had no standing in the home, no rights. But a son is a permanent member of the household, with rights and privileges.

Those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and remain faithful to His teaching are His true disciples. They become permanent members of God’s family. Through His work on the cross Christ set us free from the power of sin, washing and cleansing us, imparting His righteousness to us so that the Father looks at us as Holy and blameless. Through His resurrection Christ set us free from the power of death. Death has lost its sting because eternal life is available to us through the Son of God. 

The Promise of Freedom

One of the mistakes we make is in thinking that those benefits that Christ has blessed us with are for the future only. Yes, the promise of eternal life is yet to come and yes, the reality of existence without sin is yet to come. 

But as Dr. Tony Evans has pointed out, Jesus certainly intends for us to have eternal life, and that eternal life includes an experiential knowledge of God. But Jesus has come to give us life to the full (John 10:10). He desires us to possess the fullness of life with Him, and it begins now. 

So how does the freedom we experience in Christ Jesus manifest itself in our lives here and now? It happens in several ways.

1. We can experience freedom from guilt. 

Have you ever allowed your past to drag you down? You're stuck, you cannot move forward. Or maybe you have been dragging your past around with you. Everywhere you go, you carry this huge weight, this burden, and it is exhausting. Your past can haunt you. 

If you are like everyone else, you have failed at one time or another. You have done things in the past to hurt others and to hurt yourself.  You have most likely failed miserably somewhere along the line. Maybe you have failed at marriage, or at parenting. Maybe you have failed financially or at being religious. 

You have failed time and again and the guilt of those failures and poor choices is dragging around behind you. Your past sins are acting as an anchor that keeps you weighed down, unable to move. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to be set free from that guilt? Here is the truth; you are free! The key word here is forgiven. In Christ Jesus we find true forgiveness. 

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But now in a single victorious stroke of life, all three-sin, guilt, death – are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank the Lord!”
Ephesians 1:7 “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.”
Psalm 103:12 “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

Because of the work Jesus did in winning your freedom, you do not have to carry your guilt around with you. When you come to Jesus, the Son of God, and let him set you free, you are free from guilt.

2. We can experience freedom from accusation. 

Imagine how it would feel to be free from the fear that your sins are going to be discovered? If you were free from accusations, would you have a sense of relief? A sense of release? 

There is a reason Jesus sets us free from accusation. It is because, when we surrender to Him and He has control of our lives, he makes us blameless!

Colossians 1: 21-22 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”
Hebrews 10:14: “...We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Because of what Christ did on the cross, we are blameless before God when we know His Son, Jesus. The word blameless means free from guilt, not subject to blame. 

Jesus took care of the eternal consequences of our sin, winning the victory over death and by forgiving our sins he took away our guilt which has freed us from accusation and blame. Through Him we can stand before God and man and not fear accusation. 

Accusations may still come from those who have witnessed our sin. But because of Christ this is not a threat to us. In fact, this is an opportunity for us to share the transforming power of Jesus Christ in our lives with them. Through Christ we are free from guilt, free from the fear of accusation, no longer subject to blame. Christ has settled the account, paid the debt in full and made us blameless through his blood. 

3. We can experience the freedom of imitating Christ with our life.

Being a disciple of Jesus means we want our lives to look like His as much as possible. We want him to not only be our guide and teacher, but to literally be our master. There is nothing more freeing on this earth than for us to imitate our Lord and Savior. 

What do I mean by that? Jesus did all the work. He did all the heavy lifting. He fulfilled all the necessary requirements on our behalf. What are we called to do? Simply submit. There is freedom in submission. In this submission we turn our lives over to him completely, which is true freedom. We are no longer slaves to sin, we are no longer mastered by the world.

There is a freedom in loving Christ with all your mind, heart, strength, and soul that is greater than any earthly concept of freedom we could fathom. Imitating Jesus frees us to love like him, to sacrifice like him, to show grace and mercy as He does, to shine His light in a dark world. 

Knowing and loving Christ is true freedom. 

Conclusion

This month we celebrate the freedom of our nation. Maybe more than that, we honor the sacrifice necessary to give us the freedom we so deeply love and cherish; freedom won and preserved through centuries of effort. This earthly freedom is temporary, and not guaranteed. 

But there is a greater freedom than that of political independence; a freedom won over 2000 years ago, defeating sin and death, in a battle waged at Calvary by the perfect Lamb of God. His body was broken and His blood spilled so that we may be free. We have this freedom in Jesus Christ if we place our trust in Him, if we surrender to Him, if we submit ourselves entirely to Him. Jesus bled and died; He gave his life for me, for you, so that we could be free. 

Christ Jesus has set us free. Amen!