## Freedom

## John 8:31-36

In just a few days, this country will be celebrating Independence day, the 4th of July! I believe that it is good for us to have a day set aside to remember that our country is unique in its freedom. Many of the countries in Eastern Europe are rapidly changing. Freedom is a word that people are just beginning to hear and understand.

However, to truly understand about freedom we must turn to the Word of God. Within its pageswe find what is true freedom. Read: John 8:31-36

I. God's Purpose For Man Is Freedom.

A. Freedom is not the absence of restraint, nor is it doing whatever you please.

B. Freedom is the privilege and power to become all that God wants you to be.

C. Freedom is the opportunity to fulfill your potential to the glory of God.

1. Each of us were born with a tremendous potential.

2. If you have been born again, then God has added spiritual gifts to your natural talents

3. God's desire is that we become all that He wants us to be.

4. It begins with salvation, by grace through faith in the shed blood of Christ.

5. After salvation, we have the potential for total freedom!

a. Freedom from the law.

b. Freedom from sin.

c. Freedom from men.

d. Freedom from the past.

e. Freedom from things.

f. TRUE FREEDOM!

II. There Is Such A Thing As False Freedom.

A. It is dangerous because of where it comes from.

1. In 2 Peter 2:1-3, Peter warns of this danger.

2. Wherever you find the genuine, you will find the counterfeit.

3. These teachers claim to believe in the Lord and follow the Word of God, and yet they so twist the Word of God and so misapply the Word of God that they lead people into bondage. cf. v19

4. Notice: "...with feigned words make merchandise of you..." they are out to make money!

5. These false teachers use our vocabulary, but not our dictionary! When they talk about "salvation", "freedom", or "sin" they mean something totally different than we do.

B. It is dangerous because of what it offers.

1. Freedom to live as you please without responsibility.

a. The prodigal son wanted freedom, but he didn't want responsibility.

b. There can be no true free- dom without responsibility.

c. Unearned freedom is a dangerous and destructive thing.

d. That was Satan's lie in the garden: "Go ahead, why should you listen to God? Exercise your freedom, you can get away with it."

2. Freedom to live as you please without accountability.

a. There are those who would teach that there will not be any judgment.

b. After all, God is a God of love isn't He?

c. Sometimes they say, "We are under grace, not law, so we can live any way that we please.

d. Paul answered that argument in Ro. 6:1-2. "GOD FORBID!"

3. Freedom to live as you please without consequences.

a. Sin always has its consequences.

b. Ro. 6:23, "The wages of sin is death..."

c. "Be sure your sin will find you out" Nu. 32:23b

d. "He that covereth his sin shall not prosper" Pr 28:13

III. God's Method For Freedom Is Truth.

A. Two forces are at work in this world today: The Truth and The Lie.

1. The power of God works through truth.

2. Satan works through lies (Jesus called him the "Father of lies" in Jn. 8:44)

3. Satan's lies leads to bondage which in turn leads to destruction.

4. God uses truth to set us free and freedom brings us to fulfillment.

B. The Truth has been given to us through Jesus Christ.

1. In John 14:6 Jesus declares, "I am the Truth..."

2. In John 17:17 Jesus said, "...Thy word is truth."

3. In 1 John 5:6, "...The Spirit is truth."

4. When we receive the Son of God as revealed by the Spirit of God in the Word of God, we can experience true freedom.

C. God's purpose for man is freedom, His method is through the Truth, and the Truth is manifested in Jesus Christ.

1. Our responsibility is to know Him.

a. The better we know the Lord Jesus Christ, the more freedom we will enjoy.

b. The way we get to know Him is through the Word of God.

c. The word "know" doesn't just mean intellectually, it means to have a living relationship with Him.

2. Our responsiblity is also to love and trust Him.

a. Note v42, "If God were your Father, ye would love me:"

b. The better we know Him, the more we will love and trust Him.

3. Our responsibility is also to obey Him.

a. "If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed." v31

b. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Jn. 14:15

c. Jesus asked, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Lk. 6:36

Conclusion: Do you know true freedom this morning? That freedom only comes through knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Do not be deceived by Satan's offers of false freedom. Come to Christ today. Know Him, Love and Trust Him, and be willing to Obey Him.