Get the Word out!

Design of the Week 06/25/08 – Free Indeed

The design that we’ve featured this week is one called Free Indeed. This design was one of the first ones that At Ease Tees produced. It is based on the passage of scripture found in John 8:31-36. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and Jews about Himself and His testimony. The Pharisees/Jews don’t believe His testimony because it is coming from Him. Then He changes the direction of the conversation and begins to talk about the Jews being free. The Jews respond by telling Jesus that they are “Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved by anyone”. This is ridiculous to say the least! The people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt for 430 years. They were in captivity to the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and were even being occupied by the Romans at the time the conversation was taking place! Many who recognize this would chide the Jews for their pride in not seeing the truth. Sadly, this is still going on today, not only for the Jews, but for the church as well.

There are a couple things that people can do that will aggravate me. One is to quote a scripture and cut it off in mid thought. The other is to take a scripture out of context to make it say what you want it to say. Unfortunately, it seems that the pulpits of America are filled with “preachers” and “pastors” that do this very thing. They will take passages of scripture and make them say what they want them to say. The passage in John 8 is a great example of this.

In many churches (regardless of denomination), if you attend long enough, you’ll hear this phrase:

“Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!”

This comes from the passage in John 8 and is true. The problem is in how it’s used. Most people use this like some kind of emotional rejuvenator. When they find out that a brother or sister in Christ is struggling with something in their lives or they have doubts about their salvation, this is the phrase that is used. Most of the times that I’ve seen this happen, the person saying the phrase stands in some authoritative stance, points their finger at the struggling person, and shouts the phrase like their some kind of super-Christian who can do this and see the person’s life instantly change. As I watch this sort of thing take place in the church, I am sad at first, and then I get mad. The reason for my anger is because the people of God should know better! Oftentimes, when someone shouts this “holy phrase”, the congregation screams and hollers.

Is this really all there is to this passage of scripture? I don’t think so. As I said above, because of the pride of the Jews, they denied ever being in captivity, even though they were captives of the Romans at the time Jesus walked the earth. A little earlier, Jesus tells His listeners that they will look for Him and not find Him and, because of that, they will die in their sins. Then He tells them they can be free. When He talks to them about freedom, He says that there are certain things that should take place. Here is the passage in question (John 8:31-36):

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

In this passage, we see the way to true freedom. First, Jesus is talking to the Jews who believed Him. You cannot be free from sin unless you first believe Jesus Christ is exactly who He says that He is. Second, Jesus says that those who believe in Him must continue in His word. If we continue in His word, Jesus says that we are truly His disciples. He also says that if we continue in His word, we will know the truth. It is knowing the truth that sets us free. By doing these things, Jesus can make us free, and if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

If you’re a slave to sin, regardless of what sin it is, then these are the things that you need to do to be free of it. You don’t need some emotional high. You don’t need a “face to face encounter with Jesus”. What you need is to believe in Jesus, continue in His word, and know that His word is truth (John 17:17). Then, you need to apply that truth to your life. If you do this, you will begin to see things in your life change.

Then, you will be Free Indeed!