(047) The Gospel of John XVI: Sin’s Slavery
The Gospel of John XVI:
Sin’s Slavery
John 8:31-36
October 5, 2008
Prep:
· Sermons: John 14, Phil 9, Romans
· Leftovers: pg 1-2
· Bible: John 8:12ff
Intro
Membership Sunday went great. Look at the bullet and see if we can remember the church’s mission.
· Membership class is online.
Prayer:
· Help us see sin for what it is and become freer from it.
Sin is fun!
Q Is sin fun?
Q Why are you lying, in church?
Sin is like a drug: it gives you a great trip, but uses you up and costs way more than you’d want to pay in your right mind.
· The problem is that we are seldom in our right mind.
We are back in John and we’ll look at the price of sin and how God helps us struggle against it.
In the larger context, Jesus is still in Jerusalem. It is the Feast of Tabernacles, a mix of Thanksgiving and Oktoberfest. People slept in tents, and celebrated the harvest.
· Key traditions involving water and light.
In this context, Jesus shows up and starts talking about bring living water and being the light of the world.
· Like at Christmas saying he is a present.
We will focus in on this one passage:
John 8:31-36 ESV 31 ¶ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 ¶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
· Executive summary: Sin is slavery, and Jesus is the only way to be freed.
The majority of people here are Christians, so before your eyes glaze over and you think, “Yeah, yeah, Jesus frees us from sin”:
Q Who is Jesus speaking to?
“The Jews who had believed in him.” This stuff is spoken to us.
Now and not yet
There’s two parts to sin: penalty and consequences. Jesus said:
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
If we believe in Jesus, then we are freed from the penalty of sin – we will never face the judgment for our sins.
· But we still sin and face the consequences of sin.
This is part of “now and not yet”: So many aspects of our faith are true from the moment of salvation, yet will not be fully seen in this life.
· The struggle with sin is a lifetime struggle.
· The purpose of this sermon is to look at some keys to struggling successfully.
Key: Be honest about our sins
These guys thought that they were not slaves to their sin:
33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
This is rather ironic: Jews had in fact been slaves more often than free – of their c. 1500 years in existence, they had been enslaved for a total of 900 years, currently by the Romans.
We can laugh their self-delusion, but we would do better to learn a lesson.
· The freer we think we are from sin, the more bound we are.
The holiest people I know are the most conscious of their sin. Not in a guilt-ridden way, but in humility. As Paul said, I am the worst of sinners.
ESV 1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
· And we are only fooling ourselves!
Our family and friends are all keenly aware of our failings. So let’s stop pretending to be something we are not.
Don’t cover up, ‘fess up!
This is perhaps seems an obvious point, but we must rid ourselves of the notion that Christianity = perfection. We know better, yet we still feel the need to look the part.
· That is why our mission statement says we are “striving.”
This gives us the freedom to ‘fess up and find the help that God would give us in community.
· In fact, relationships are one of the most important tools good gives us to be freed from sin.
Ä So as we try to do what’s right, honesty is a key; just as important is how we view sin.
is it worth it?
Q Do we really believe the sin is slavery?
A Kinda
When we consciously choose to sin (important distinction – more in a moment), it is because we believe that the payoff is bigger than the cost.
· Think about that, we believe the benefit outweighs the cost.
When Marilyn and I are arguing, and I know just the thing that will really cut her down to size, then say it, it is fun – until I am sleeping on the couch.
· Sooner or later we will figure out it wasn’t worth it.
getting away with Sin
In our lives, there are two types of sin: The ones we want God to take (the embarrassing ones, e.g. less stingy) and the ones we want to keep (the fun ones, e.g. bitterness and lust).
· We view these sins as something to “get away with.”
· “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet” shows short-term view of sin, that we don’t believe God that it is truly wrong.
Remember: Sin is not a list of arbitrary rules, but God helping us avoid pain. Again, sin is never something we get away with, it is something we are inflicted with.
“Sin takes you further than you want to go, leaves you there long than you want to stay, and costs you more than you want to pay.”
Key: Knowing Sin is slavery
A key to struggling to sin is to see it as slavery – every sin, every time.
Sin is never something we get away with. We are always digging the pit deeper, making it harder to get out. Every lie, every laziness, every glance makes it harder to do the right thing.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
As Americans, we love our freedom and we hate being told what to do. Ironically, freedom to do anything is slavery.
· We end up like the Jews who said they had never been slaves, or the addict who says he can quit anytime.
· True freedom is the freedom to not destroy ourselves with sin.
I talked earlier about consciously sinning – very often we really are slaves to the sin that have become ingrained habits.
· We need to pray that that we see sin as slavery, not freedom.
And when we cannot see that far, we have to pray for faith to trust, that if God says it is sin, then it is truly slavery.
Ä We have to want to be free.
Key: Strive to be free
We have to hate dishonoring God, hurting others, and hurting ourselves. We have to want it enough to change.
· This not one-time decision but an ongoing struggle.
None of this is new to you, we all want to be free of some of the bad stuff we do. The thing that’s different is the call to strive to be free from all sin, not just the ones we hate.
Then the real work begins: Sanctification. This is a lifelong process of acting more like Jesus.
But we are not on our own; it is a cooperative process:
Philippians 2:12-13 12 ¶ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We each have our own part. God directs us what to work on and empowers us to do so. We choose to obey.
The trick is never become complacent nor becoming overwhelmed. Don’t worry about the stuff you can’t handle. God has a lot more patience than we do.
· If we are seeking him, he will lead us step by step to where he wants us.
Q & A
closing/Application:
Hints for (successfully) struggling with sin
1. Be honest about your sin, so you can grow through community.
2. Recognize sin as – slavery.
3. Strive to be free, with God’s help.
During worship: Ask God what sins you still want to get away with, then ask him for his game plan in where to change.
Final thought: If you are not a Christian, then this whole talk is pointless. Getting rid of the consequences of sin won’t help you if you are still guilty. You can never do enough.