Resume of a Savior – Pt. 3

if God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn to the Gospel of John once again to Chapter
8. Chapter 8, where we have seen
that Jesus is, in a sense, on offense. And I know that, you
know, you’d be in a talk like this and use these kinds of illustrations. You can kind of, there certainly
is a potential there for being misperceived. I’m not trying
to, suggest for a moment that Jesus ever loses control. When I say that he goes on defense,
but here he is initiating a series of declarations telling people
about himself. But in due course, beginning
in verse 33 and following, the Pharisees, as it were, take over
the meeting. And they begin questioning Jesus
and essentially Jesus is put But in the meantime, we’re still
considering Jesus’ offensive declarations, those that He makes
in order to declare who He is. We’ve called it, or I’ve referred
to it, as the resume of a Savior. And it is a quite simple outline.
There are five statements that Jesus makes. We will review those
just after we consider this passage once again. If you would, begin
in verse 12, and we’ll go all the way through verse 32. Then
Jesus again spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk
in the darkness, but will have the light of life. So the Pharisees
said to him, you are testifying about yourself. Your testimony
is not true. Jesus answered and said to them,
Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true. For I know
where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where
I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh.
I am not judging anyone. But even if I do judge, my judgment
is true. For I am not alone in it, but
I and the Father who sent me. Even in your law it has been
written that the testimony of two men is true. I am he who
testifies about myself, and the father who sent me testifies
about me.” So they were saying to him, where is your father? Jesus answered, you neither know
me nor my father. If you knew me, you would know
my father also. These words he spoke in the treasuries. Then he said again to them, I
go away, and you will seek me, and will die in your sin. Where
I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews were saying, surely
he will not kill himself, will he, since he says, where I am
going, you cannot come? And he was saying to them, you
are from below. I am from above. You are of this
world. I am not of this world. Therefore,
I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you
believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So they were
saying to Him, who are you? Jesus said to them, what have
I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things
to speak and to judge concerning you. He who sent me is true,
and the things which I heard from Him, these things I speak
to the world.” They did not realize that He had been speaking to
them about the Father. So Jesus said, when you lift
up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He. And I do nothing
on my own initiative, but I speak the things as the Father taught
me. And He who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are
pleasing to Him. As He spoke these things, many
came to believe in Him. So Jesus was saying to those
who had believed Him, if you continue in My Word, then you
are truly disciples of My Word. And you will know the truth,
and the truth will make you free. And it’s at that point that really
the chaos ensues. How sad. How sad that in the
course of Jesus laying out who he was and ending with such a
glorious testimony of his person and work, Jesus is giving his
offensive declarations, his resume, if you will, and he gives us
five. We’ve looked at several. The
first thing that Jesus tells us about himself is that he is
the light of the world. He is the spiritual light that
was so desperately needed in the dark world. Jesus goes on
in verse 14 to begin outlining to them that Jesus himself is
backed by the Heavenly Father, that the Heavenly Father and
he are in complete concert in this unfolding plan of redemption. The third thing that we consider
is that Jesus Christ’s home is in heaven, and that Jesus Christ
was absolutely committed to proclaiming the gospel, to confronting sin,
and the effects of sin, even in those who were standing before
him. But there are several additional
points to be considered. We do so this morning, and for
that we dip all the way down into the heart of this passage,
all the way down into verse 28. Here in this particular passage, Jesus begins to detail his particular
part in God’s plan of redemption, that of being crucified. Look, if you would, again at
verse 28. we see point four, Jesus fulfills
God’s plan of redemption. Verse 28, Jesus said, when you
lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He. I
do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the
Father taught. Jesus is pointing to the cross. He’s pointing to the crucifixion It isn’t the lifting up of the
ascension. There were many who tried to suggest that or wondered
whether that was perhaps what was being referenced. They would
have no hand in lifting Christ up into heaven, but they would
have a hand in lifting Christ up on the cross. John 3.14 has the similar image. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Following this confrontation,
Jesus will proclaim this same truth later in John 12, 32. If I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw all men to myself. The crucifixion was absolutely
necessary. Christ’s death on the cross was
necessary. The book of Acts. The book of Acts talks about
it as well. In Acts chapter 3, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified
His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in
the presence of Pilate. You disowned the Holy and Righteous
One, asked for a murderer to be put to death, the Prince of
Life, the one whom God raised from the dead. Jesus Christ here
puts that entire process squarely where it belongs. in the hands
of the Jews. They put Jesus on the cross. They lifted Him up, as it were. Certainly it would be the Romans
who would actually physically do it. But it was His coming crucifixion
that He points to here as fulfilling God’s great plan of redemption.
That Jesus Christ dying on the cross was absolutely necessary. And even on the cross, even while
He was on the cross, there had to be in the heart of some of
those who were even standing, listening to His words here on
this occasion, who recall these words, that when the Son of Man
is lifted up, then you will know. There were some who had to have
shuddered, even in their core, to see the events unfold as they
did at the cross. Do you remember the words of
the centurion? As Jesus was on the cross, the
centurion and those who were with him, keeping guard over
Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening,
became very frightened and said, truly, this was the Son of God. Even some of those Jews, hearing
the testimony of a Roman soldier, had to have recalled immediately
Jesus’ prophetic words here. Let me take you to a familiar
passage of scripture. Turn if you would, keep a finger
in John, turn to the book of Acts chapter two. Acts chapter
two. You know the events of the book
of Acts. The Holy Spirit is given. There
is a great tumult, excitement, if you will, there in the synagogue. And Peter begins to preach. the gospel,
and he does so by confronting the Jewish nation in their sin
of being complicitous in the death of Christ. Jump all the
way down to verse 22. Listen to this. This is just, this is a powerful
moment. With all that’s going on, all
that has already transpired, And all of this in their mind
that Jesus Christ, looking directly at them, said, when you lift
up the Son of Man, then you will know. Try this moment on. Men of Israel, listen to these
words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested
to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs, which God
performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves
know. He’s calling them into account.
He’s calling them to recall and rightly attribute to Christ the
works that He had done. Jesus the Nazarene, this man,
verse 23, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge
of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and
put him to death. He puts it squarely in their
lap. But God raised Him again, putting
an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him
to be held in its power. And He calls them, essentially,
to recollect these very words. When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know. Jump down
to verse 32, where Peter is just pouring it on here, and he says,
Jesus, God raised up again to which we are all witnesses. They
knew that there had been this event. They tried to explain
it away. They tried to suggest that the
body had been stolen, but they knew that Jesus was not in the
tomb. Jump down to verse 37. And I
apologize for not reading it in full, but look at verse 37.
Now when they heard this, They were pierced to the heart
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what
shall we do? They were absolutely fearful
of the prospect of having crucified the Messiah. Peter said to them,
Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Now we know that that is the start of the Jerusalem Church.
Many did repent. Many did come to Christ. Not
all. And back in John, Jesus outlines
that terrible twist. You will know that I am He. That
I do nothing on my own initiative. Not all will come to Christ. not only here in this particular
passage, but throughout the rest of John’s Gospel, it only means
one thing, lifted up on the cross. That in that moment, when they
saw Jesus Christ lifted up on the cross, they would know. And
for some, it would be too late. For some, there would be no repentance.
For some, there would be no remorse for what they had done. They
would believe to their death. that they had done what was right,
according to the nation, according to their law. But in the meantime, Jesus says,
He who sent me is with me. This is in absolute concert with
the great plan of redemption that Jesus already proclaimed. This is absolutely according
to the Father’s will. He who sent me is with me. Jesus
isn’t just saying that he is, that God is with him in some
sense, but it is a deeply, in a way that we can’t even understand
from a human perspective, there is oneness in the Godhead. There is absolutely no division
here whatsoever. It is an intimate communion between
the Father and the Son. Not one little plan, not for
a moment, was it outside of the Father’s And Jesus says, look
at verse 29, He has not left me alone. I’m not in this alone. It’s a dreadful feeling, isn’t
it? To be alone, to be alone in some endeavor, to be alone
in some great task, to be alone in your hour of need. Jesus says,
I’m not alone. For I always do the things that
are pleasing to Him. He basically says, when he says,
I always do the things that are pleasing to him, he essentially
tells them that he’s God in the flesh, that he’s perfect. He claims that he always does
that which is pleasing to the Father. Now, every Jew, that
was their goal. They wanted to be pleasing to
God. even began to think that they could live in some degree
up to the letter of the law. Remember in Luke chapter 18,
a ruler came to him and questioned him and said, good teacher, what
shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, and
that was the model, right? That was the mindset of the law,
is work. I want to work my way to heaven.
What do I need to do? Jesus said to him, why do you
call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the
commandments. What are they? Do not commit
adultery. Do not commit murder. Do not
steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother.
And this man said, all these things I have kept from my youth.
Perfect. I’m perfect, Jesus. All these
things I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said,
one thing you still lack. There were those, there were
many of those, that claimed or thought in their mind that they
were approaching perfection in their observance of God’s law. But Jesus doesn’t equivocate
at all. He doesn’t waver at all. Jesus
Christ flatly says here that, I obey the Father perfectly.
I obey God at every point, in every way, at every moment, perfectly.”
As one declared, one commentator said, it is a distinct claim
to divinity. What blasphemous effrontery would
such a declaration be in the mouth of any but the incarnate
deity? The theory that Jesus was the
noblest and holiest of teachers, but nothing more, shatters against
words such as these. What saint or prophet ever dare
say, the things which are pleasing to God I in every instance do? No prophet has ever said that.
No supposed leader of a world religion has ever said that outside
of Christ. Many people have thought it.
Many people have wished it. But Jesus Christ says here, I
am perfect. I obey the Father perfectly. There’s an entire and complete
unity, this Father and Son union. And just as Jesus Christ told
His disciples, if you keep My commandments, you will abide
in My love, just as I have kept the Father’s commandments and
abide in His love. Jesus Christ called His followers
into that obedience that He had modeled perfectly, perfectly. Jesus aimed constantly. It was
always to do the Father’s will, and He always did it. John 4.34,
my food is to do the will of Him who sent me. John 5.30, I
can do nothing on my own initiative, but I hear a judgment, my judgment
is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of
him who sent me. John 6, 38, for I have come down
from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who
sent me. And Jesus says, did it perfectly. Jesus stands before them and
essentially declares to them with absolute clarity that he
was God incarnate. And the interesting thing is,
in the course of this entire dialogue, We’ll see when Jesus
is immediately put on the defense. We’ll see what transpires. But here, this is the only statement
that goes completely unchallenged. I take it they were dumbstruck
that somebody would stand before them, even one claiming to be
the Son of God, claiming and alluding to himself as the Messiah,
would claim to be morally perfect. And I take that to mean they
knew exactly what Jesus was saying here. It’s the only statement
that goes absolutely unchallenged. And John inserts one of his many
almost commentaries, his running commentary throughout the gospel
of John, look at verse 30. As he spoke these things. And
I take that to mean everything that he’s said thus far, that
he’s the light Father is absolutely supportive of him, that his home
is in heaven, and that sinners will not join him in heaven,
and then to have him stand before them and declare absolutely that
he is God incarnate, that he follows God’s law perfectly,
that he is the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption, I take
it to mean all of that. As he spoke these things, as
he laid out his four point thus far, declaration of Himself. It says
that as He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. And we’re not told who they are.
We’re not even told how they responded. They may have done
just the yielding of their own hearts that Jesus perceived.
He sensed that they were consenting to follow Him, believe in Him
in some sense. It may have been some of these
very opponents in the moment, perhaps even Nicodemus himself. We don’t know who they are, but
they believed. They believed in him in some
degree. They understood the significance
of what Jesus Christ was saying here, that he was the spiritual
light that was so desperately needed in the land, that he was
God’s fulfillment in his great plan of redemption. The words imply that Jesus Christ
was reading their hearts. As he spoke these things, many
came to believe in him. He could tell in that very moment
exactly what, even what the nature of their faith was, as we’ll
see in a moment. Jesus was very concerned about
that. Jesus doesn’t want half-hearted believers. Jesus doesn’t want
people who just believe in him In some general sense, Jesus
wants people that are willing to follow Him even to death. Jesus comes to the fifth declaration
in this resume of a Savior. Not only is Jesus Christ the
light of the world, backed by the Heavenly Father, pleading
with deadened sinners, fulfilling God’s plan of redemption, but
fifth and finally, Jesus Christ came to set men free. What an incredible statement.
Jesus Christ came to set men free. Look at verse 31. So Jesus was saying to those
Jews who had believed him, if you continue in my word, then
you are truly disciples of mine. And what he basically does is
challenge the very people that perhaps they hadn’t even made
a verbal declaration of faith, but an inclination to faith. They were believing in Him. They
were inclined towards Christ in some sense, and Jesus zeroes
in on them and He says, if you continue in My Word. Jesus now
turns to those who in some measure had begun to believe in Him,
and He wants to address the nature of faith. And he wants to address
the permanence of that faith, not the fleeting nature of it,
the significance of that permanent faith, the enduring nature of
faith. And he tells them, if you continue,
if you abide in my word, if you take in my word so that it becomes
a permanent condition of your life, and not just this fleeting
course, not just a fad, Not merely a passing fancy, if you will.
Neither was this admonition a new one to those who heard Christ. John 5.38, Jesus confronted his
detractors by saying, you do not have his word abiding in
you. It’s not a new image. John 6.56,
he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me. It’s the same image. It is being
all in and sold out unto the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not hedging
your bets. It’s not putting your faith a
little bit in Christ and a little bit in something else. It’s everything
in Christ. You know, the image. But turn
to John chapter 15. In John chapter 15, Jesus takes
up this illustration again of abiding, of remaining. And it’s such a rich image here
that we have to do justice to it. We have to consider it. John
15, look at verse 4. Abide in me and I in you. Because there are some times
where it seems to be that one thing over against the other
is in view. But here he basically says both
things are true. In other words, to abide in Christ
is to have him abiding in you. Abide in me, and I in you, as
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides on
the vine. So neither can you unless you
abide in me. You know the image. It happens
every summer when I go out to my garden. I’ll be poking around,
and I’ll catch a vine or a portion of a plant, and I’ll snap it
off, and whatever is growing at the other end of that vine
is done. I just ruined whatever was there.
It happens every summer, and still I go trampling through
my garden. That’s the illustration. Unless that branch, unless that
vine remains on the branch, it cannot bear fruit of itself.
I am the vine. You are the branches. You are
all those little capillaries that come off the main vine,
he says. He who abides in me and I in
him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do
nothing. What a good message for us to ponder for a moment.
There are many who think that they can actually go into heaven
without Christ. There are still others who think
that they can kind of give Christ some kind of acknowledgement
and yet not bear the righteousness of Christ by faith that gives
them entrance into heaven, they still seek to gain it by some
works. There are still others who think
that they can do, they can start like the Galatians did, start
by faith and then adopt a system of works. There are still others
who believe that they can casually turn to God when they really,
really, really need grace. Jesus says, apart from me, you
can do nothing. It reminds me of that song, unless
the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain to build it. It’s
absolutely worthless, you’re wasting your time. Apart from
me, you can do nothing. Nothing lasting, nothing permanent,
nothing that really, truly honors God, nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me,
verse 6, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. They gather
them, cast them into the fire, and they are burned. That’s why
the great hallmark of the Reformation was justification by faith. That we believe in Christ alone. We placed our faith alone in
Christ alone for salvation. Everything else is chaff. If you abide in Me, Verse 7,
and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will
be done for you. Echoing that great tenet of prayer
in James. You do not have because you do
not ask. Prayer is a vital part of this abiding in Christ. Prayer is essentially the expression
of it. If you abide in me and my words
abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for
you. I mean, if we were told today that we had a genie, or
we wanted some kind of a chance to make a wish, how many of us
would beat a pad on it, spend our day pondering and thinking,
what would we do first thing Monday morning? What would we
wish for? Jesus Christ tells us here that
if we are abiding in Him, walking with Him, if we are really, truly
on the branch, as so many vines, come and ask. Come to Him. Verse 8, My Father is glorified
by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. It’s pleasing to God, because
it fulfills the great plan of redemption. What would God’s
great plan of redemption be if nobody, if nobody abided, if
nobody stayed with Christ, if nobody really put down roots
deep into the soil of Christ. My Father is glorified in this,
that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Just as the Father loved me and I also love you, abide in my
love. If you keep my commandments,
you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and abide in His love. Jesus says, back in John chapter
8. If you continue in My Word, there’s no other option. We can
either do it ourselves, we can try it on our own, we can try
it outside of Christ, it won’t work. The only option is to continue
with Christ, to press on with Christ, to press on in and through
His Word, if you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples
of mine, followers of Christ, learners. Jesus Christ outlines
here, he just lays out the great principle. That if we press on,
persevere, and steadily continue in our relationship with Christ,
that is the only proof of discipleship. Most of all, what I’ve seen in
my force of Christianity, I’ve seen some of the most outspoken,
dynamic, fantastic people that I caught a glimpse of for a very
short season. Snapshot. I’ve had occasion many
times to return or to come across their path, meet them again at
a later date. Christianity is nothing to them.
The very person that at one point was so like to use a lot. They were
the real deal. They walked the talk. I’ve come
across so many people, so many times, that at one point were
that person on fire for Christ. And now there’s not even a glowing
ember. There’s nothing there. They’re
not in Christ. There was no perseverance. There
was no grace. There’s no abiding in Christ. There’s no persevering in His
Word. Nothing. And that’s what Jesus wants to
know. He wants to know about those who might have been impressed,
taken in by His sayings, and maybe even fearful. And so they’re
grasping at fire insurance. I mean, they’ve just been confronted
with sin, and that they will not go to heaven if they do not
deal with their sin. Jesus said, look, if you abide
in me, you are truly my disciples. And part of the way that we do
that is making that the rule of our life. We begin to obey. First, we are confronted with
some sinful tendency. It’s been ours for years. It’s
just normal. That’s the way we’ve always lived. And then we read
about it in God’s Word. Perhaps a faithful brother confronts
us in some sin. And we see that God’s Word does
teach that, and we can’t deny it. We go to the Word, and we
begin to examine. We look. We wish we could find
something that justifies our sinful behavior, and we can’t. And so we begin to pray for the
grace. First, we tell God about it.
We confess our sin. And in some sense, there are
times where we even try to get rid of it on our own, don’t we?
We try to shed this sinful tendency, and we can’t. And then we cry
out for God’s grace. And sometimes very rapidly, you
know, sometimes very rapidly, things are just taken, gone,
out of our life. And other times, it is a battle.
It is a lengthy battle. Jesus says this continuing in
His Word is what discipleship is all about. It’s obedience.
It’s taking Christ at His Word and obeying what His Word says.
In John chapter 14, if you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John chapter 14, verse 21. He
who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love
him, and I will disclose myself to him. Jesus says that if we want to be disciples, if
we really want all of the benefits that come with being a child
of the King, then we need to obey. And in order to obey, we
need to be in the Word and of the Word. We need to be imbibing
the Word and taking the Word in. And whatever the Word says,
that we do. By God’s grace. And sometimes
we will be very sluggish, right? Very halting. That’s what Jesus alludes to
in verse 32, isn’t it? You will know the truth, and
the truth will make you free. The more we delve in and dig
into God’s Word, the more that we know His Word, the more that
it exposes the sinful tendencies in our life, the more we are
drawn and driven to cry out for grace to change and be changed.
And in so doing, we are liberated. were set free. You see, the world
has this thought pattern that they are free, free to do whatever
they please. They’re not free. They’re in
absolute bondage. They’re absolutely tied in and
tied up in the world and the world’s plan. To the Jew, freedom
to them, freedom to them just meant A liberation from this
Roman tyranny under which they have been for so many years.
In our studies of the Psalms, we’ve come across a number of
those Psalms that were the Psalms of exiles. The plaintive cries
of those who were held in captivity. The average Jew wanted nothing
more than to be liberated from Rome. Liberated from this Roman
oppression. And to them, that’s all they
thought the Messiah was. You come and liberate us, and
we will run the show. As one said, the light of truth
dispels the darkness in which lies the stronghold of evil. Sin is the bondage of the powers
of the soul, and this bondage is willed because the soul does
not see its fearful evil. When it perceives the truth,
there it comes and strengthens it to break the
fetters by which it has been bound, a freedom from a more
crushing foe than all the legions of Rome.” Did you hear what he
said? Ponder it for a moment. He said
that when you truly hear the gospel, when the light of truth
begins to flood your soul, And God begins that process of
eradicating sin from your life. You are set free from a far more
formidable foe than what he says are all the legions of Rome. Every army, every soldier, all
of the oppression that Rome could bring wouldn’t be anything compared
to the bondage of sin. Do you think I’m grandstanding?
Turn if you would to Luke chapter 4. Jesus Christ came for the set
and specific purpose to free people from the bondage to sin.
Look at chapter 4 verse 16. He, that is, Jesus, came to Nazareth,
where He had been brought up, and it was His custom. He entered
the synagogue of the Sabbath, and stood up to read, and the
book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He opened the
book, found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release
to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set
free those Jesus Christ came to set us free
from, it’s our sin. The whole image here of captives
and exiles, that was very familiar to the Jew. But they had completely
forgotten about the captivity to sin and satan. And that captivity
was far worse, far worse, infinitely worse, eternally worse than any
earthly captivity. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
8. That’s what just breaks my heart
as I watch this past week. Is that I see people that are
so completely, plainly in bondage. In bondage to their own sin.
And it goes on both sides of that whole political equation. Bondage to their sin. In Acts
chapter 8, greedy Simon thinks he’s really on to something because
in his wretched condition, he thinks that maybe these powers
can be purchased. Look at verse 18 in chapter 8.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying
on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, give
this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay
my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. What a great deal we
got going here. Peter said to him, may your sober
parish with you, because you thought you could obtain the
gift of God with money? Boy, didn’t that make you shudder
at what’s on TV, on some of the religious channels? You have
no part or portion in this matter. wickedness of yours, and pray
that the Lord, if possible, the intention of your heart may be
forgiven you. For I see that you are in the
gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity.” Now please don’t
believe for a moment that Simon, even though this is a really
ridiculous request, sinful in its very nature, he’s not the
only one in the bondage of iniquity. Peter just points to the fact
that he’s still in it. He hasn’t been released. You
might be interested in the powers on display before you, but that
doesn’t free you from the bondage of iniquity. Turn to Romans,
chapter 7. What Jesus is talking about here
is a freedom, but it’s a spiritual freedom. It’s a freedom from
guilt. It’s a freedom from the power
of sin and the dominion of sin, the captivity to sin, the imprisonment
that is sin. In Romans chapter 7, which we spent
no literal time, look at verse 14. For we know that the law
is spiritual. He just says that the law tells
us what sin is. We know it. We know that the
law is spiritual, but I am a flesh sold into bondage to sin. We don’t think of it that way,
do we? We think, I am free to do whatever I please. I’m free.
I have liberties. I have choices. For what I am doing, Paul says,
I do not understand. I’m not practicing that which
I’d like to do, but I do the very thing I hate. But if I do
the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the law,
confessing that the law is good. So now no longer am I the one
doing it, but sin dwells in me. For I know that nothing good
dwells in me that is in my flesh. For the willing is present in
me, but the doing of good is not.” He was articulating that. natural condition of mankind,
where we are in bondage. Not just, you know, those little
zip-tie handcuffs. We’re in handcuffs, thrown in
chains, into a jail, into the innermost part of the prison.
There is no escape. There’s a moat with alligators. One more passage, turn to 2 Timothy
chapter 2. this bondage that all people are in in their
natural condition, the bondage from which Jesus Christ came
to set us free, it continues. And as we minister,
as we serve Christ in this world, we will come face to face with
people in plenteous measure that are still in utter bondage to
sin. Look at verse 24. Paul is writing, we call him
the pastoral epistles, and I understand that in a sense he’s writing
pastor to pastor, but look at verse 24, it applies to us. The
Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome. That doesn’t absolve
anybody else from quarrelsomeness. The Lord’s bondservant must not
be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when
wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition,
if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge
of the truth.” What a great model this is for the way that you
conduct yourselves in ministry. Just a kind-heartedness with
the capability and the willingness to teach when you see a teachable
moment. If somebody steps on you, you’re
patient with them, forgiving, gently correcting their error. We tend to think that we’ve got
to just twist the arm and press them down to the point of bringing
about repentance. It’s God that grants repentance. It’s God that liberates them.
We can tell them the truth, and we should, we ought, but ultimately,
And this is where, again, abiding and praying for them comes in.
Don’t ever confront anybody about anything if you haven’t prayed
about it first. But watch this. With gentleness,
correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps may grant them
repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come
to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having
been held captive by him to do his will. They’re working for
the devil. They’re living and working for
the devil himself. They’re literally in bondage. But Jesus says that if you know the truth, if
you abide in Christ, if you look to Christ and are drawn to Christ
and desire to obey Christ, then you will know the truth. And
the truth will make you free. The truth is what liberates you.
The truth is what frees you from that bondage to sin. It flees
you from that immoral slavery to sin. As one said, the power
of sin is based on a delusion. Did you get that? At one point, we all bought into
it. Eh, it’s a pretty good deal. The power of sin is based on
a delusion, a fascination, the real nature of which the truth
exposes, and so breaks the spell. Truth and freedom are inseparable. Truth destroys the bondage to
appearances, the seduction of sin, and the servile fears of
an ignorant conscience. It informs the conscience. It
tells us, you look down suddenly and you see that you’re in chains.
You see that these chains will take you down eternally. And astoundingly, though Jesus
has just told them, given them his resume, so gently, so graciously
telling them that he was the light of the world, supported
by the Heavenly Father, pleading with them, sinners, fulfilling
God’s great plan of redemption, offering to set them free. It’s
absolutely astounding that this is where Jesus’ enemies finally
explode. From this point forward, they
become the aggressors. Jesus, if you will, is put on
the fence, repeatedly responding to their challenges and seemingly
taking over the conversation. In this short, discontent, pardon
me, in this short discourse that we’ve just considered, verses
12 to 32, where Jesus is proclaiming his qualifications as a Savior,
they rudely interrupt Jesus on four separate occasions. But
now they become even more aggressive, and instead of responding and
challenging Jesus’ claims, considering them in their part of hearts,
they become the Lord Jesus’ inquisitors, six times, verse 33, verse 39,
verse 41, 48, 52, 57, peppering Jesus over and over again with
questions, driving their own agenda, no longer willing to
hear His. They question His teaching, they
contradict His statements, they blasphemously question His character,
they verbally doubt His identity, and if they could, they would
kill Him on the spot. They can’t, not yet. Jesus Christ has declared not
only to them, but to us, that if we would only know the truth,
if we would look to abide in Christ, we would be set free,
free eternally. Let’s ponder that in prayer. What a detailed and dynamic,
even difficult and yet glorious section of Scripture. As we see
the heart of the Savior just presenting Herself before even
sworn enemies. Those who are only looking to
do You harm. We see you so patiently laying out the gospel. Lord,
even in light of Paul’s words to Timothy, how can we do otherwise?
How can we not be patient? Carefully teaching, pleading
with others, pleading that God might grant them repentance from
the bondage. Lord, we pray that if there are
any involved We seem so free, so liberated,
so eager to do our own thing, our own will. Lord, from a human perspective
that’s hidden to our eyes, You know. And Lord, if there are
any in this room that are yet in bondage, bondage to doing
their own thing, bondage to sin, Lord, we pray that even this
morning, you would grant them repentance, that you would grant
them a brokenness of heart for their sin, that you would liberate
them as captives, held by the devil to do his will. Be glorified, God, to do that
work.