The Call to Freedom
“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:34-36
Jesus was in a conversation with some Jewish men and women who had come to believe that He was truly the Son of God. He told them that if they continue to follow Him and obey His word, that they would be His true disciples, that they would know the truth, and the truth would make them free. But they didn’t understand. They assumed that they were Jews in good standing, descendants of Abraham, and were never slaves to anyone. Weren’t they already free? They thought so. What did Jesus know that they didn’t?
By His answer to them, Jesus implied that up until they acknowledged Him as Lord and Savior, they were not free, but under bondage. There has been a lot of discussion about racism and the history of slavery as it pertains to the United States. Slavery has been around for thousands of years. Of course, the fact that many people have been enslaved throughout the centuries doesn’t make it right. No one should be able to own another person. In ancient Israel, many of her enemies who were captured or whose land was placed under the dominion of Israel were made to serve the Israelites, but sometimes it was the Israelites who were put in the position as bond servants of one enemy or another. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a bond servant is “a person bound to serve without pay”. Some of the more affluent people of Israel had slaves who were also fellow Hebrews (Exodus 21:2). While slavery of one person by another person or persons is unacceptable, unlawful, morally wrong, and ungodly in today’s society, slavery, in another form, still abounds.
Sin is a slave owner–the worst kind. Unbelievers think they are free, but they are in bondage to sin. They do what sin wants. They do not have the strength to say no to sin for they do not have the power of the Holy Spirit within to show them the “escape hatch”, nor do many of them have a desire to avoid sin. In Romans 1:28, the Apostle Paul warned that those who sin uncontrollably, even as they know that God will judge them severely, will be given over to a reprobate mind which takes away their ability to know right from wrong leading them to be void of judgment and/or lost forever. They don’t understand what a dangerous game that they are playing. Someone once said that “sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer that you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay”.
There are really only two kinds of people–those who are slaves to sin and Satan and those who are free in Christ. There is no middle ground, no neutral zone, and no “straddling of the fence”. Everyone must decide whose side on which they stand. To not decide is to decide. When opportunity knocks, that is, when the Lord knocks at the heart’s door, one needs to turn the key and open the door to Christ quickly for the opportunity may not come again. God usually gives more opportunities to those that He pursues, but He is not required to extend the invitation. It is His prerogative. The second or third verse of “Just As I Am” may or may not be sung. It is so much better to bow the knee and confess one’s sins while there is still time to do so. Philippians 2:10-11 tells us that eventually every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. But not all of those who bow will be able to call Him Savior because they didn’t make Him Lord of their lives while there was opportunity.
As I watch the TV news reports about those who are being so destructive across the land, I can’t help but think about what Jesus said to His Father while He hung on the cross, paying the pealty of sin for you, me and all sinners He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). When I see all the destruction and the lack of regard for the lives and property of others, it makes me angry, but at the same time, it makes me sad for these young folks. Their sin has so enveloped them that they don’t realize that Satan has them in the palm of his hand. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them, and that they will turn from sin and trust in Christ, the sooner the better. Christ is the only hope for America and the world.