John 8:36

1. Intro.
1. the words "free" and "freedom" are such wonderful words
1. today we joyfully remember the men that broke the yoke of bondage off our necks
2. many men have fought valiantly for our freedom, but Christ excels them all
2. slavery is an intolerable evil, and it is better to have no life at all
1. bondage is a burden to heavy for even the boldest spirits to bear in patients
2. blessed is the man that breaks down the dungeon doors, and give liberty to mankind
3. men may have political liberty to the fullest extent, but still be slaves
1. there is such a thing a religious slavery
2. there are many superstitions that put chain about a person
3. to be afraid of some religious teachers words, or to bow down to a piece of wood is religious slavery
4. only Jesus can make men truly free
5. the preaching of His Word, and the power of His truth has been to a large degree the reason for our freedom in America
4. there are those that do not experience civil slavery or even religious slavery, but are still in bondage
1. to the devil
2. to their own wicked heart
1. our carnal desires are domineering masters
2. a man may boast of being free, but all the while be a slave to his own heart
3. he is the free man who is master of himself through the grace of God
4. he who serves his own passions is the slave of the worst of tyrant
3. the slavery to sin and Satan holds far greater horrors than any dark dungeon or heavy chains
1. his doom is more terrible because it is eternal
2. his slavery is more hopeless because it is willingly done
5. let us consider today the freedom that Christ gives
2. freedom is a possibility [if]
1. all slaves will not be set free, but there is a possibility for all to be free
2. Christ can make the prisoner free no matter who you are, what you are, or how many years you may have been the slave of Satan
3. we can be free from guilt
1. we know that the leopard cannot lose its spots, nor the Ethiopian change his skin by his own efforts
2. is there a power which can take away our spots, and change our nature
3. sin does not have to shut us out of heaven, no matter how terrible our iniquities are
4. there is forgiveness with God, and His arm is long enough to reach all
5. there is One so mighty that He can set even the most vial free – I John 1:7
4. we can be free from the punishment of sin
1. God is just, and He must punish sin
2. sin must be punished, but there is no need that it should be punished in our person
3. the law must be satisfied, but there is no law that says it can only be satisfied by us
4. Christ has satisfied the demands of the Law for us, if we are trusting Him to save us
5. Christ was punished in our place, and has suffered the whole of the divine wrath
6. if we believe, there cannot be any punishment because our sins have been laid on Christ
7. God’s justice cannot demand two executions for the same offense
5. we can be free from the power of sin
1. those in heaven not only sing of being made white by the blood, but how they overcame by the blood
2. not only were they set free from the guilt and punishment of sin, but the power of sin as well
3. this does not mean that Christ will make us perfect in this life, because we will always have some corruption within us to struggle with
4. sin will always be present in this life, so that we can exercise our faith and value our Savior
6. we can be free from the fear of death
1. if we believe in Christ we shall never die
2. we shall fall asleep, but we shall never die
3. death is the lot of the unbeliever
4. if we are trusting in the Savior, we will be taken to heaven by angels and enter into the splendors of immortality
7. our freedom includes many privileges
1. free to call ourselves God’s children
2. free to claim the protection of the Father’s house
3. free to come before Him with all our trials and all our grief
4. free to claim all the promises of God
5. at death, we will be free to enter into the rest which remaineth for the people of God
3. beware of false liberty
1. every good thing is imitated by Satan, even freedom (he is the master of counterfeit)
1. liberty has been used for the very basest of purposes
2. we have in spiritual matters things which are called liberty, but in reality is not liberty
3. there are those that say we are not under the law, but under grace for evil purposes
1. it is much better to serve God because we love Him, than because we fear His wrath
1. to be under the law is to give God the service of a slave who fears the lash
2. to be under grace is to serve God out of pure love to Him
2. they profess that His love to them gives them a liberty to rebel against His will
2. beware of legalism, but love the Law and make it our delight
1. abhor all ideas of being saved by good works, but be full of good works as if we were saved by them
2. walk in holiness as if our own walking would make us enter heaven
3. then rest in Christ, knowing that nothing of your own can ever open the gate of Heaven
3. beware of self-righteousness
1. these have never wronged anybody, never done any mischief, and have given to the poor
2. these do their best, but what is their best ---the work of the flesh
3. that which is born of the flesh is flesh, therefore their best efforts only make them slaves in the house
4. only he who is born by faith according to the promise, is free
4. true freedom comes to us through the Son
1. no man will ever be free until they come to Christ
2. if Christ makes us free, when we stand before God in judgment we can plead the words of Christ
3. we should think about how this freedom was bought
1. it was bought by His own blood; we go free because He bore our burden
2. Jesus ask nothing of us in preparation for this liberty, it is freely given
1. all without our help, without our merit, and at first without our will
2. Christ saves sinners just as they are
3. Christ died not for the righteous, but for the ungodly
4. his message is grace, undiluted by a single condition which God might make
3. this liberty may by instantly received
4. when Christ sets us free, no chains can bind us again (this freedom is forever) – Romans 8:33-34
5. the question: are you free