February 27, 2005 ~ Westney Heights Baptist Church
Isaiah 61:1-3 – "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to
the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance
of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn
in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may
be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that
He may be glorified."
John 8:34-36 - Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say
to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 "And a slave
does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36
"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
In 1943, in response to a speech by President Roosevelt in January
of 1941, Norman Rockwell completed a series of paintings named "The
Four Freedoms." These four freedoms, defined by President Roosevelt
as the "fundamental freedoms of all Americans," were portrayed
by Rockwell using imagery from the daily lives of typical Americans
and were:
Freedom of Speech
Freedom from Want
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Fear
To promote the sale of War Bonds "The Four Freedoms" were
toured across America in 1943 and eventually resulted in the sale
of over $130,000,000 in War Bonds. Today, more than sixty years
after their creation, "The Four Freedoms" are perhaps
the most treasured of all of Norman Rockwell's works.
To my mind the most striking of these paintings is "Freedom
from Fear." In this painting a mother and father are tucking
their children into bed. The children are sleeping peacefully. Toys
are scattered carelessly on the floor. Under the father's arm is
a newspaper. It is 1943. World War Two is far from over. Millions
have died and many more will die. In spite of this the children
are free to be children. They are shielded by their parents from
the terrors of war. Their protection is their children's freedom.
We tend to think a great deal about freedom. At each of the various
stages of our lives we will have dreamed of many different forms
of freedom: adulthood, our driver's license, a job, the weekend,
a vacation, childhood, retirement, health to name just several from
a seemingly endless list. Every day, in a multitude of ways we yearn
for and celebrate freedom. Is this the freedom that Jesus is speaking
of when He says that He will make us free indeed? Does He really
mean that when He sets us free the mortgage no longer needs to be
paid? Is He really saying that He will set us free from the things
that plague us in this life or does He mean something else altogether?
In our dictionaries freedom is defined as the power to act or speak
or think without externally imposed restraints. Our childhood's
dream of adulthood is the desire to be independent. Our adulthood's
dream of childhood is the desire to be free from responsibility
and enjoy a life without care. In each case the dreamed of freedom
is idealized. A child dreaming of being an adult wants the independence
that the adult has but does not understand the responsibility that
accompanies it. An adult dreaming of being a child wants the carefree
life that the child has but does not remember that a child is incapable
of doing things that most adults take for granted. An examination
of any dream of freedom shows that the things which limit that freedom
are ignored or ununderstood. When the longed for freedom is realized
it eventually becomes clear that it did not result in the removal
of restrictions but in the exchange of one set of restrictions for
another. The difference between an adult contentedly remembering
childhood and an adult desperately reliving childhood is that one
has learned to live within the restrictions of adulthood while the
other keeps trying to overcome them.
It is impossible to find a freedom in which there are no limits.
The pursuit of freedom, to be as free as possible while one is alive,
is an acknowledgement of the one unavoidable restraint placed on
life that no one can change: Death. Death will always be the ultimate
restraint to our freedom regardless of how we have lived our lives
or how much freedom we have enjoyed. The dictionary's definition
of freedom is therefore missing several words: True freedom is not
the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
but the power to act or speak or think without being impeded by
externally imposed restraints.
If we look more closely at what Jesus said we see that He is contrasting
the freedom He provides to the slavery of sin.
John 8:34-36 – Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly,
I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 "And
a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free
indeed."
He raises several point here that bear consideration:
1 – Sin
2 – Slavery that is the result of sin
3 – The temporary state of the slave
4 – The permanent state of the son
Jesus calls the one who sins a slave of sin and goes on to say that
the slave does not live in the house forever but that the son does.
The slave will be cast out while the son will remain. Forever. But
what house? The writer of the letter to the Hebrews refers to the
house as the creation of God, the place in which His creation lives,
as well as the people of God themselves:
Hebrews 3:1-6 – Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession,
Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses
also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted
worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house
has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone,
but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful
in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which
would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house,
whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing
of the hope firm to the end.
Peter says that the son in the house will not be put to shame:
1 Peter 2:4-6 – Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected
indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living
stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold,
I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes
on Him will by no means be put to shame."
Jesus shows that this definition of house extends on into eternity
by His using the phrase "a slave does not abide in the house
forever, but a son abides forever." So once our lives, and
our various pursuits of freedom, have come to an end, the son will
abide for all eternity with God in heaven.
By teaching that "whoever commits sin is a slave of sin"
who "will not abide in the house forever" Jesus showed
us that the total freedom of an unrestrained lifestyle is freedom
in thought only. Man is still under the authority of God and will
result in a complete and total loss of freedom. What this means
is that there always a restraint of some kind acting as a limit
to freedom. Freedom according to the definition in our dictionaries
just does not exist, it is a freedom like that of a fish jumping
out of a fishbowl to enjoy the freedom of the world beyond the glass.
We flop around, we gasp, we say "Isn't this lovely, I'm not
enclosed by walls any more" and we die. It is only in the fishbowl
that a fish is free to be all that he can be – a fish –
and fully exploit his potential. Remove him from the fishbowl and
potential is removed as well. The freedom that the world craves
is a freedom to die. The freedom that the world sells will destroy
the mind, body and soul.
So when Jesus says that He will make us truly free He is not saying
that we will finally have no limits once we put our faith in Him.
When we put our faith in Jesus we are finally living as we were
designed to live. We are still slaves but slaves to God who gives
life rather than to sin which results in death. We are free to live
as we were designed to live. Elsewhere, Micah defines that purpose:
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what
does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And
to walk humbly with your God?
Paul uses words like slavery, dominion, death and life to define
Christian freedom:
Romans 6:1-23 – What shall we say then? Shall we continue
in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who
died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as
many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into
death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the
body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be
slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies
no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death
that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He
lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you
should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members
as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves
to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over
you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall
we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to
obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of
sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness,
and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your
members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you
were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21
What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now
ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having
been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have
your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
The point that both Jesus and Paul are making is that perfect freedom
exists but only in the context of our ultimate allegiance, the ultimate
source of the restrictions that we face. Isaiah wrote that there
was a purpose to the freedom we received through Jesus. After recounting
all that the Messiah would accomplish, words that Jesus Himself
used to reassure John the Baptist that He is the one that was promised,
Isaiah writes that all these accomplishments would be "the
planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."
Why?
The glory of God! When we get to Heaven we may receive a "Well
done, good and faithful servant," but all praise and glory
will be given to God. In the prophecy of Revelation John describes
the scene in Heaven when Jesus, portrayed as the Lamb of God, comes
'on stage:'
Revelation 4:6-14 – And I looked, and behold, in the midst
of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent
out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of
the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken
the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls
full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they
sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us
to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and
nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we
shall reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked, and I heard the
voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and
the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: "Worthy
is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" 13 And every
creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
"Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits
on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" 14 Then
the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four
elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
Jesus will be praised and given glory in Heaven because of what
He accomplished for us on Earth: Forgiveness from sin! The undeserved
mercy of God poured out upon mankind to restore man to fellowship
with his creator. Through the voluntary sacrifice of Jesus in our
place we are no longer slaves to sin. The context in which Isaiah
is writing this prophecy is that of the prisoner set free, the infirm
healed:
Isaiah 61:1-3 – "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to
the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance
of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn
in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may
be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that
He may be glorified."
This is the ultimate freedom: Forgiveness from sin. Those outside
of Christianity see the "rules" of our faith, the things
we can and cannot do, and wonder how come we're always smiling.
Those of us inside Christianity see not the rules but a God who
loved us so much that He did what was necessary, what we ourselves
could not do, to free us from the burden of sin and death:
Romans 8:1-4 – There is therefore now no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh,
but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the
flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that
the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who
do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
It is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that separates us from those
who are still slaves to their sin.
Romans 8:5-8 – For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according
to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded
is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to
the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the
flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the
Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
This is not a freedom of no restriction but one of restrictions
that are not oppressive:
Matthew 11:28-30 – "Come to Me, all you who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke
upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy
and My burden is light."
It is a freedom where our desires never take us beyond what would
restrict our activity. I'm not allowed to steal? OK, I didn't want
to anyway, I have everything that I need. I'm not allowed to take
the Lord's name in vain? Excellent! I'd never want to use His name
like that. I'm not allowed to loose myself to substances? Great!
I'd rather loose myself in the wonders of my God. It is not that
we are restricted but that our restrictions do not matter. They
are like the fence around a child's play area. Sure, the child cannot
go beyond the fence and in some way that is restrictive. But all
that is good for the child is within the fence so why would the
child want what is beyond it. The restrictions tell us where limits
are that we would never want to stretch to begin with.
King David of Israel put this freedom into perspective very effectively
in comparing the freedom we have as God's children with the freedom
of the sheep under a shepherd's care:
Psalm 23:1-6 – The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside
the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths
of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You
anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell
in the house of the LORD Forever.
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