Sermon Discussion Questions:

1. Have everyone read John 8:31-59 to themselves.
2. What is the difference between "good" and "bad" freedom?
3. Why does John describe the people Jesus is speaking with as those who "believed [Jesus]", when the chapter ends with them trying to kill Jesus? (see John 2:23-25). What does Jesus say is the proof that someone is "truly his disciple"? (see John 8:31).
4. What does Jesus mean by "abiding in His word"? What does that look like? (see John 8:37, 43, 47)
5. What is the freedom that Jesus offers?
6. Read 1 John 3:4-10. What is intimidating about this passage? What is encouraging?

Elizabeth had an enviable life. At the age of 32, she had already written three books and had a National Book Award nomination already under her belt. She worked as a travel writer, being paid to explore and describe the world to others. She had an apartment in Manhattan, a large, new home in the Hudson Valley, and a devoted husband to whom she intended to start a family with. But she didn’t feel free in this life, she felt trapped.

In her runaway bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert opens her memoir with her crying on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night. She is tired of the humdrum responsibilities of married life, impatient with the monotony of the ordinary, and terrified of having a baby with a man that she loves but no longer feels in love with. So, she begins to pray: I don’t want to be married anymore. I don’t want to live in this big house. I don’t want to have a baby. And, much to her surprise, someone speaks back.

“It was not an Old Testament Hollywood Charlton Heston voice,” Gilbert writes, “nor was it a voice telling me I must build a baseball field in my backyard. It was merely my own voice, speaking from within my own self.” And this divine-self voice releases Elizabeth from her vows and compels her to pursue her own happiness, no matter what. So, she leaves her husband, and sets out on a globe-trotting tour to find her bliss and live her truth.

Now, the way that I have just framed that makes her sound rather selfish. And she is. But her book resonated deeply with the wider society. It spent 187 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was eventually adapted into a Julia Roberts movie. It is the apotheosis of the “spiritual but not religious” movement—the Oprah Winfrey metaphysic that encourages everyone to follow their inner voice, the God-within—melded with the therapeutic: your highest good is your mental and emotional well-being.

It is the logical endgame of a culture whose one virtue it extols above all else is freedom; liberty is a quintessential American term*.* Our country was founded on the desire to be free from a tyrannical king; we fight wars to free people from oppression, we want to be free from governmental overreach, free from traditions that tell us who to be, free from parents who impose their will on us, free from living a life that we didn’t choose for ourselves, free to be happy.

Freedom is a relative good, not an absolute.

Freedom is only good to the degree that what you are freed from is bad.

To be free from slander or oppression is good, because slander and oppression are bad.

To be free from integrity and responsibility is bad, because integrity and responsibility are good.

And, as we will see in our text today, being free “to be happy” is only good to the degree that what makes you happy is true. Being free from your marriage vows may sound like something that will make you happy, free you from something that feels constricting—but you can be wrong. I assume the straps that hold a parachute onto your body are rather snug, maybe even uncomfortable. But no skydiver rejoices to be free from their parachute as they plummet towards the earth.

The kind of freedom that we want is a freedom that comes from truth.

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed 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 practices 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. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

John 8:31-59

Belief that Abides

As he was saying these things, many believed in him. 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” - John 8:30-32

You may have noticed as we were reading the passage this strange juxtaposition between these verses, and the rest of the chapter. Here, John tells us that many people believe in Jesus and in vs. 31 Jesus turns to that group who believes and addresses them for the rest of the chapter. But the rest of chapter details one of the most dramatically tense interactions in the whole of gospel—by the end, they are attempting to kill Him! How can these people in anyway “believe” in Jesus?

John’s gospel is sometimes called “the gospel of belief.” John has told us that the entire purpose of his gospel is: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31).

The word “believe” is the most important term in John’s gospel. In Matthew and Luke, the term occurs 9 times. In Mark, it occurs 14 times. In John, it occurs 85 times.

And a regular theme in the gospel is that of a pseudo-belief. We first saw it in John 2:23-25, where many people “believe” in Jesus when they see the signs He performs, but Jesus doubts the sincerity of their belief…and in nearly every chapter from that point on, we see some theme of individuals who are drawn to Jesus, follow Jesus, even “believe” in Jesus…yet, they lack genuine belief. They are like the young couple who think they love each other when really they love the idea of each other. And the longer they get to know the real person—their interests, habits, quirks—the more disinterested they become.

Jesus turns to the people huddling close to him like geese, honking that they believe in Him, and seemingly chases them away. But not with cruelty or anger, but a very reasonable explanation: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” We see the subtlest hint of Jesus questioning the authenticity of their belief: If you are truly my disciples, you will abide in my word.

What separates real Christians from false ones? Apparently, simply claiming you believe in Jesus—according to Jesus!—is not enough. Talk is cheap. Jesus assumes that real belief is accompanied by a persevering commitment to His word. You abide, remain, dwell, make your permanent residence in His word. His truth, His law, His teaching is not an AirBNB you stay for the weekend, it is not the next fad on rotation for you; you tried out minimalism, you tried out intermittent fasting, you tried out Stoicism, now you are going to give the teachings of Christ a whirl. It is your foundation, your North star, the answer key, the anvil upon which your opinions are hammered, the light in the dark, the cosmic yardstick against which you compare all other things to. Jesus says if you abide in His word you will know the truth.

It is the response of the crowd to Jesus’ words in this very chapter which reveals that they are not, in fact, truly Jesus’ disciples.

Your identity is revealed in your response to Jesus’ words:

• …you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. - 8:37
• Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. - 8:43
• You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires…Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” - 8:44, 47

Apply: Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. - 2 Tim 2:7

Back in John 6, Jesus promised that anyone who puts genuine faith in Him will never be lost, but will be the beneficiaries of God’s own sustaining presence and will be kept in the faith by God Himself. But here, John is showing us that not everyone who claims to believe, genuinely does.

Our church’s statement of faith summarizes this under our twelfth article: “On the Perseverance of the Saints: We believe that all genuine Christians endure to the end. That their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial, false “Christians.” That a special Providence watches over their welfare and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.”

Lies that Enslave

“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.” 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’?” - John 8:31-33

Now, that is a fascinating response. Abraham is the father of Israel who lived nearly 2000 years before Jesus did; Abraham was as distant from the original audience as Jesus is to us. The nation of Israel comes from the descendants of Abraham, and it is this lineage that the Jews appeal to to claim that they “have never been enslaved to anyone.” But this is an objectively false statement. The Jews have been historically one of the most enslaved people groups in the ancient world. Abraham, the patriarch of Israel, was himself promised by God that his descendants would be slaves for 400 years in Egypt (Gen 15:13). The very Feast of Booths, which these Jews are all currently at, is a festival to celebrate how God had delivered their forefathers from slavery in Egypt and led them through the wilderness. After the Exodus, Moses repeatedly tells Israel that they are to “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt” (Deut 5:15; 15:16; 16:12; 24:18, 22). Further, they have been under bondage from the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Medes, Greeks, and now Romans. It would appear that slavery and being a descendant of Abraham go hand in hand.

Why would they say: “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone”?

“They are simply expressing a kind of national pride as those who…are “free sons of Abraham, who have never inwardly bowed to foreign rule,” (Michaels, NICNT: John). “At the siege of Masada in A.D. 73, Eleazer the priest boasted to his fellow beleaguered Jews, “Long ago we determined to be slaves to neither the Romans nor anyone else,” (NIVAC: John).

The fact that the audience don’t respond to any of Jesus’ words except His comments on how the truth will “set them free” demonstrates that those words seem to have hit a sensitive spot for the audience. It isn’t far-fetched to imagine a people who have endured century upon century of slavery and bondage to deeply resent the concept, to even construct an alternative, internal liberty to defy their material circumstances: My body may be a slave, but my mind is not; I am child of Abraham!

But they have misunderstood Jesus. Jesus is not here to talk with them about the physical, material world of slavery, but the spiritual. He is here to talk about their slavery to sin:

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. - John 8:34

A slave lacks autonomy. A slave lacks choice. A slave does not have the ability to do as he would like to do, but is under the mastery and control of another. And Jesus tells these Jews who have a sensitive ego around the issue of slavery, who think that the one place they aren’t slaves is internally, that they—and anyone else who sins—are under the bondage of sin. They are exactly wrong—their souls are under the slavery of sin, and having Abraham as their father does nothing to stop that.

What comes to your mind when you think of being “enslaved to sin”?

The rest of the chapter shows us that this slavery is not only external—deeds and words—but internal as well—desires and thoughts.

37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”

They—who are so stubbornly stuck in the physical, material world—cannot understand what Jesus means by them not being a child of Abraham. So, when Jesus says that they are not children of Abraham they assume that Jesus is accusing their mothers of sexual impropriety—that their biological fathers are not Jewish. They are scandalized by the notion, so they come back with a hyperbolic statement: God is our father!

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. - John 8:37-43

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” - John 8:44-47

The slavery to sin manifests itself in the audiences

• Will/Desires: they do their father’s desires, the devil, who lives in the void of un-truth. He rages against the light and so seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. The defining characteristic of Satan is that he is a liar—it is who he is. And this Jewish crowd are in the grip of his lies, and so their will is to what the Liar wants: to kill the Son of God.
• Mind: they cannot understand Jesus; they are constantly misinterpreting His words. Their minds are darkened. It is precisely because Jesus tells the truth, that they reject Him. They accuse Jesus: “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (John 8:48). Make no mistake—what Jesus is saying is incredible, fantastic, outrageous even. Were any mere mortal to make the claims that Jesus makes—that God is His Father, that if anyone keeps his word they will never see death—we would understand them to be crazy.
• Actions: “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” John 8:56-59

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. - Rom 6:20-21

If you submit to Truth, your life will be less free. When you live your own life “you are free in regard to righteousness,” you don’t have to live by God’s rules. But if you reject that, your life will be marked by bondage. A slavery to sin, a darkening of mind, a twisting of desires, until soon you are doing things you never thought you would do. And Paul invites you to consider: what fruit were you getting with that?

Elizabeth Gilbert detonated her life and her husband in her pursuit of happiness, and by the time you finish her memoir it seems like it worked. She find a spiritual awakening in India, culinary experience in Italy, and a soulmate in Indonesia. There, she meets a man who she falls head over heels in love with. She describes him as her: “I have never been loved and adored like this before by anyone, never with such pleasure and single-minded concentration.” She describes her marriage to him as “a delight, a comfort, a compass, a refuge.” Nevertheless, ten years later she leaves her second husband for another soulmate: a hairdresser whom she, once again, feels a deep soul connection with. But in a New York Times interview, she shares how that tumultuous relationship was so dark and dismal that she had fantasized and even begun to plot how to kill this new lover so she could once again be free.

Lies enslave. Lies may promise you life, but in the end they lead you to death.

Truth that Frees

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.” - John 8:31-32

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices 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. - John 8:34-36

The author of the gospel, John, also wrote an epistle to his church. In it, we find a section which bears so much resemblance to this section of the gospel that I want to read it in its entirety:

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:4-10

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! So do not submit to the lies of sin. Do not shackle yourself to that bondage. Let no one deceive you: sin kills, sin drags you to hell. But if you are born again, if you have been made a child of God, you cannot continue in sin. This does not mean we are sinless—John earlier explains to his church that we all sin (1 John 1:5-2:2). But the trajectory and shape of our life is aimed at righteousness, not sin. The grace of God guarantees that future for us, so we must act like it is true and employ genuine, grace-driven effort to put sin to death in our life and walk in it no longer.