True Freedom!

1. True Freedom! John 8:30-36 2 Corinthians 3:12-17

2. Independence Day • The 4th of July • A special day in our country • Celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence • Today the world is concerned about Freedom • What is Freedom? • What is the United States of America all about?

3. July 3, 1776 • John Adams to his wife, Abigail • “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”

4. Founding Fathers • University of Houston – Political Science Professor research: “Who did the founding fathers quote the most?” • 3154 documents examined • Who did they quote the most in the early part of our country? • Sir William Blackstone • Montague • John Locke • But 16 times more than those writers, they quoted from the Bible! • What does the Bible teach about Freedom?

5. What Jesus said about Freedom John 8:30-36 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. • Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. • And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

6. Confused About Freedom • “We have never been in bondage to any man!” • Old Testament history • The Jewish nation was often in bondage because God had to discipline them • At that time the Jewish nation was under the heel of the Roman government! • People today are also confused about Freedom

7. Understanding and Enjoying Freedom • God’s purpose for man is freedom • God’s method for freedom is truth • God’s revelation of truth is Jesus Christ

8. I. God’s Purpose for Man Is Freedom • What is Freedom? • Freedom as the absence of restraint = anarchy • If we were able to do whatever we wanted to do, the world would be filled with chaos! • Freedom is the privilege and power to become all that God wants you to become - to fulfill your potential to the glory of God • You were born with a tremendous potential • When you were born again through faith in Jesus Christ, God added spiritual gifts to your natural talents • Then God surrounds you with opportunity

9. Made in the Image of God • God made us to be free • The first man and woman in the garden • God gave them freedom that was hedged in by protective law • They were free to work for God • They were free to walk with God • But they were not free to disobey God so that they might have their own way

10. The Bible and Freedom • God sets His people free! • Beginning with the Exodus, all the way through to the Book of the Revelation • Whenever the nation of Israel sinned, they found themselves in bondage • Whenever they obeyed God, they found themselves enjoying freedom • The emphasis is always on setting His people free

11. The Bible and Freedom • The New Testament • The cross speaks of freedom • The New Jerusalem, speaks of freedom • The New Testament points to Jesus Christ and emphasizes freedom • True Freedom begins with trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior

12. Freedom Comes in Trusting Jesus • Jesus said that whoever commits sin is the servant of sin - John 8:34 • The verb means “is in the habit of practicing sin” • So when we repeatedly disobey God, that isn’t freedom; that’s the worst kind of bondage • When you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have freedom from the guilt, the punishment, the judgment of sin • You have freedom in walking in the Spirit to overcome the power of sin • Then you can become all that God wants you to become

13. II. God’s Method for Freedom Is Truth • Truth vs. Lies • Two forces are at work in this world today • The force that comes from heaven - The Power of God • The power of God works through truth • The force that comes from hell – The Power of Satan • The power of the Devil works through lies

14. Truth vs. Lies • John 8:44 • “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” • Satan uses lies to bring you into bondage, and that bondage leads to destruction • But God uses truth to bring you into freedom, and that freedom leads to fulfillment

15. Satan: The Father of Lies • Genesis 3 Satan said to our first parents • “Has God indeed said?” - v. 1 • Then he promised, “you will be like God” - v. 5 • Satan was offering freedom without responsibility, freedom without consequences, and that is always a lie! • Satan’s lie “You will be like God” rules the world today • Man is his own God • Man no longer looks at himself as a creature who must be obedient to God • Man looks at himself as the creator • Man is now his own God!

16. God Gave Us Truth • Jesus is the Truth – John 14:6 • “I am . . . the truth” • John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” • When you know Jesus Christ, you know God’s living truth, and that truth sets you free • John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”

17. God Gave Us Truth • Jesus is the Truth – John 14:6 • Samuel Adams • “Father of the American Revolution” • A signer of the Declaration of Independence • “I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler…that the confusions that are and have been among the nations may be overruled by the promoting and speedily bringing in the holy and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people willingly bow to the scepter of Him who is the prince of Peace.”

18. God Gave Us Truth • Jesus is the Truth – John 14:6 • The Word of God is Truth – John 17:17 • “Sanctify them through Your truth; Your word is truth” • John 8:31,32, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

19. God Gave Us Truth • Jesus is the Truth – John 14:6 • The Word of God is Truth – John 17:17 • John Quincy Adams • The 6th President of the US • “I speak as a man of the world to men of the world; and I say to you, Search the Scriptures! The Bible is the book of all others, to be read at all ages, and in all conditions of human life; not to be read once or twice or thrice through, and then laid aside, but to be read in small portions of one or two chapters every day, and never to be intermitted, unless by some overruling necessity.”

20. God Gave Us Truth • Jesus is the Truth – John 14:6 • The Word of God is Truth – John 17:17 • The Word of God is the Truth of God • Truth exposes Satan’s lies • When we have a personal relationship with the Son of God, we have truth • When we spend time studying and meditating on the Word of God, we have truth

21. God Gave Us Truth • Jesus is the Truth – John 14:6 • The Word of God is Truth – John 17:17 • Real freedom doesn’t come from being an American • Real freedom doesn’t come from being a Republican or a Democrat • Real freedom doesn’t come from being a Liberal or a Conservative • Real freedom comes from obeying God’s Word

22. God Gave Us Truth • Jesus is the Truth – John 14:6 • The Word of God is Truth – John 17:17 • The Spirit is Truth - 1 John 5:6 • The Spirit of God gave us the Word of God • The Holy Spirit of God teaches us the truth of the Word of God • “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” - 2 Corinthians 3:12-17

23. III. God’s Revelation of Truth Is Jesus Christ • John 8:36 - “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” • The Lord Jesus Christ could not make us free unless He were free Himself • Jesus Christ was free! • Free from legalism • Free from the traditions of men • Free from fear • He slept in a boat in the midst of a storm! • He went to Calvary without fear • Free from sin • Free from bondage to any person or system

24. The better you know Jesus Christ, the more freedom you are going to enjoy! • We must grow in our knowledge of Jesus • How do you get to know Him? • Through the Word of God • “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” - v. 32 • Do you spend time daily in the Word of God? • Are you studying the Word of God? • Are you learning the Word of God? • Have you discovered that the Word of God is your key to freedom?

25. The better you know Jesus Christ, the more freedom you are going to enjoy! • We must grow in our knowledge of Jesus • We must love Him • “ If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me” - v. 42 • The better we know Him, the more we trust Him • The better we know Him, the more we love Him

26. The better you know Jesus Christ, the more freedom you are going to enjoy! • We must grow in our knowledge of Jesus • We must love Him • We must obey Him • “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death” - v. 51 • When we have this living relationship with Jesus Christ, we begin to experience more and more of His freedom • This freedom we enjoy will be seen in our thinking, our speaking, our behaving

27. True Freedom • True Freedom is a life controlled by truth and motivated by love • Bondage is life controlled by lies and motivated by selfishness • Freedom is the result of a living relationship with Jesus Christ • walking with Him • talking with Him • learning from Him • We have yet to see what God can do in our lives!

28. True Freedom • Surrender your life to Him • If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, you need to do so • If you are already a Christian, and you do not want to surrender your life to Him: • That’s the worst kind of bondage • Sin’s freedom is bondage, but bondage to Jesus Christ is true freedom “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”