Friday, October 30, 2015
John 8:31-36 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
THE TRUTH THAT SETS SINNERS FREE (5)
Note how the Jews objected to Jesus' teaching about the truth that sets sinners free. They reminded Jesus that they could trace their ancestry to Abraham. In response the Savior teaches that membership in God's family--and thus, true freedom--has everything to do with faith in Abraham's God and Himself, the long-promised Son of God, who alone can free sinners from the bondage of sin. Yes, "if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
True freedom does not come not from "serving sin." Remember the prodigal son. While living at home he felt all the restraints of his father's house. Those restraints were an unwarranted abridging of his liberty. He couldn't do what he wanted or go where he wanted. But what did he discover when he broke free and went into the far country of sin? The farther down that road he got, the more he found himself sin's slave, even a ruined man. Only by the grace of God did the prodigal find strength to return, with penitent heart, to the father's house -- and a warm welcome home.
Through faith in Jesus, Christian friends, we are sons, not slaves. Sin (like drugs) can so easily take one captive, enslaving one to its bondage. By contrast, countless sinners before and after Martin Luther have discovered that true freedom comes from being a child in the house of the Heavenly Father, there living a life of joyful service with and to the Savior. With the Reformer we daily bask in the truth that truly sets sinners free.
"I am completely steeped in, and saturated with, the article of the forgiveness of sins. I am dealing with it constantly, day and night; and all my thoughts are of Jesus Christ, my only Savior.... If only a man can believe the forgiveness of sin, he is a blessed person" ("What Luther Says," Vol. I, p. 522).
