I Am A Slave To _____________ Without Jesus

Freedom to me has always been this ambiguous concept.  I have always had this fascination with freedom and the idea of living a free life. I remember when I was little; I asked my mom what does freedom mean. And I was taught words like liberty or justice, the statue of liberty, America, Washington DC.

We are in a time where our nation clings to this idea of freedom. Ideas that scream you are free if you do what you want, when you want it, how you want it.  Freedom equates to surplus of time, money, success, status, sex, or fame in your life.

What if I told you that Jesus had a better way?  What if I told you that he authored freedom? What if I told you that Jesus recognizes your desire to be free and responds?

John 8:31-38:      
Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in Him. "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you." Surprised they said, but we are descendants of Abraham. We’ve never been slaves to anyone. How can you say, “the truth will set you free?” Jesus said, "I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. A slave is transient, who cant come and go at will. The SON, though, has an established position, the run of the house. So if the SON sets you free, you are free indeed.”

THE CALL: Jesus is calling upon believers.  Jesus is talking to Christians that believe in His authority.  He calls them to a life of holiness, by living out what he has spoken.  He then makes the charge that only TRUTH will bring freedom. TRUTH WILL BRING FREEDOM.

God tells us all throughout scripture, TRUTH is the word of God.

THE RESPONSE: When Jesus confronts this issue of freedom head on, the people respond out of their own bondage. They say things like, “I’m not a slave to nobody or nothing.” “Do you know who I am?”  “How dare you say that to me?”

Have you had reactions like this when a close friend or family member points out an area of bondage in your life? Your immediate response is defensiveness to a sin pattern in your life?  My hand is up on this one.

THE ACTION: So what do we do? How do we move into freedom in our lives? Jesus drops the bomb that the word of God can bring freedom.  Take a good look at your life.  The things that you think have no effect on you- maybe that is bitterness towards a family member, anger against your absentee father, or abuse of your choice drug on the weekends.  Jesus says that you are in fact a slave to those things.

If you never let truth into those areas of your life, you will always be a victim of slavery. 

Hebrews 4:12 says,
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

I AM A SLAVE TO _______________ WITHOUT JESUS.

True freedom comes when you subject your life to the gospel and when you allow God's WORD to rule in your innermost thoughts and desires.