Freedom

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:31-37

If you look at the Greek, ἐλευθερώσῃ (eleutherōsē)

Verb – Aorist Subjunctive Active – 3rd Person Singular
The Aorist Subjunctive Active in Greek is a verb tense expressing action without further limitation or implication

This word free can mean to liberate or to exempt from liability. That means this verse could read whom the son liberates or exempts from liability will be really liberated and exempted from liability (without limitation or implication). Because of this definition, when you consider this verse in its full context, there are two conclusions I want you to consider.
• First, there are things Christ has freed you from.
• Second, there are things Christ has freed you to.
Today let’s consider both sides of the coin because they are both critical to living the full and abundant life that Christ wants you to live.

1. Free from what?

The Bondage of Sin
Sin. What’s the big deal?
• Don’t entertain sin. It will take you further than you wanted to go and will keep you longer than what you intended to stay.
Whatever you don’t deal with, will eventually deal with you. That is the way the devil operates.
Look at Adam and Eve. The devil deceived Eve, Adam didn’t take up responsibility to uphold the command that God gave him. Men, are you abdicating your responsibility as a husband and priest of your family?
• God created us for His glory Isaiah 43:7 “everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
• Sin separates us from God Rom 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The penalty of Sin
• Sin causes a spiritual death. The wages of sin is death Rom 6: 15-23
The Guilt and Shame of Sin – (Your Vitality) –
• Have you ever experienced the feeling of guilt? Have you ever felt shame for things you have done in your past?
• Have you ever repented but felt like you need to repent again because you feel so bad that you want to make sure God “really forgave you?”
• We have all done things that we are ashamed of. Things that we wish we could take back and never do again. We all have the capacity to relive our bad moments questioning why did we do that? I know I have done it countless times.
• However, when you do this all you are doing is creating guilt and shame. This can haunt you and it can cripple you, taking away your capacity to live and develop, which is your vitality.
This is one of the biggest weapons of our enemy Satan: encouraging you to look back at the shameful moments of your past. When you do you can be overwhelmed by guilt, shame, and condemnation. This will ultimately strip your joy, rob your peace, and destroy your vitality.
Good news!!– you have been set free.
• When you sincerely repented the first time, God forgave you. He removed that sin from you as far as the east is from the west and he doesn’t remember it anymore. He will never bring it up again and neither should you. However, forgiveness is not just about dealing with sin it also deals with your shame.
• Christ does not just forgive the sins of the past. He also liberates you from the shame and guilt of your past. He takes away the thing that has limited your ability to live and develop which is your guilt and shame.
• We are saved by grace

 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve, mercy is not getting what you do deserve.

2. Freed towards?
   The Freedom to Live – (Your Capacity) –
   • One of the reasons it’s so important to understand that you are free from the bondage, penalty and guilt of sin is because it now increases your capacity. Jesus wants to increase your capacity to love, to have joy, to experience peace, and to enjoy life.
   He also wants to increase your capacity to have a relationship with your Heavenly Father. This can’t happen if you are not free. You cannot have a vibrant, living, loving relationship with God or with anyone else for that matter, if you are holding on to the guilt and shame of your past. Jesus said in
   

 “…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

• When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God and their capacity for a relationship with God was hindered. When Jesus comes and sets you free you don’t have to hide anymore. You can now enjoy a healthy relationship with your Heavenly Father.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8

This is the essence of what Christ has freed you to. God wants close, intimate fellowship with you and the only way that happens is by Jesus freeing you. This allows you to build that relationship without fear or worry. You can enter God’s presence with confidence because you know he wants you there and the hindrances have all been removed. This truly is living free.
The Freedom to Serve – (Your Activity) –
Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
• Christ has freed you is because he has work for you to do. He has a plan for your life. However, it will be difficult to achieve this plan if you are running around with a guilty conscience. When you do this, you are always trying to prove yourself or win the approval of the person you are serving.
• You are saved by grace. You live by grace. God will accomplish his plan in your life by grace. Christ frees you so that your activity doesn’t flow out of some sense of trying to win God’s approval. Your approval doesn’t come because of what you do, but because of what Christ has already done. When you understand this, you are free to accomplish the plan God has for your life with no agenda, no ulterior motive but out of a heart motivated by love for him.
In Closing
• In the dictionary, freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think without hindrance or restraint. It further describes it as liberation from slavery or from the power of another. That definition completely wraps up everything Christ has done for us. There is only one thing left for you to do. Live free.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1