So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 ESV
Yesterday we pointed out that Jesus was talking to the Jews “who had believed him”. The Jews went on to say back to Jesus that they had never been enslaved to anyone. They didn’t quite understand this freedom that Jesus was talking about. Jesus explained to them what it means to be a slave to sin. Being a slave to sin is one who is practicing sin. What is that? That is continuing to do that thing that Jesus has asked you to lay down. Whatever it is. It is becoming enslaved to a habit or a practice that is detrimental to you and that takes your focus away from God.
We live in a free country, yes we have been asked to stay home more lately than ever before because we have been in the middle of a pandemic. However, as a general rule we are able to come and go as we please. We can bow our heads and say a prayer at a restaurant or not and no one is going to waltz in and take us to jail for it. We take this thing called freedom for granted and it is hard to grasp what Jesus is saying here because as a people group, all the people I know personally have never been truly enslaved to anyone or anything. Our view of freedom is not much different than that of the Jews who were speaking to Jesus in that day. But that’s not really what Jesus was talking about.
Let’s talk about something simple, take shopping for instance. Shopping in and of itself is not a bad thing. We all have to shop to survive. You shop for your groceries. shop for things you need for your household, shop for clothes to wear or even just for pretties to lay around. None of those things in and of themselves are sin. But for the person who has their credit cards maxed out and can’t afford to pay their bills and debt has become their focal point of their every day then shopping may be a sin. I have just given you one simple example. This can be anything that we focus on more than God. It consumes you, you become enslaved to it. Whether it be shopping or if it be anything else. If it has become more important to you than your relationship with Christ then it has you enslaved to the sin of it.
But if you refocus your life to Jesus and ask Him for help with your sin then He can and He will set you free from that sin. I used shopping but it could be anything, it could be worry, overeating, gossip, maybe even fear. Whatever you have in front of you that interferes with your relationship with Christ that is what is enslaving you. Jesus, the Son truly wants to set you free from anything that you have set up in your mind as more important than Him. What is consuming your time? Your mind? Your finances? The Son truly wants us to be free in Him. He wants to walk us through whatever our worry is and that my friend is the only way to true freedom.
Please pray for the Pastors and church leaders as they are trying to find ways to reopen our churches that will be safe and will be glorifying.
Restore 