By Pastor Greg
A man absolutely hated his wife's cat and decided to get rid of him by
driving him 20 blocks from home and leaving him at the park. As he was getting back, the cat was walking up the driveway! The next day he decided to drive the cat 40
blocks away. He put the beast out of the car and quickly headed home. Driving back
up his driveway, the cat was already home once again! He kept taking the cat further and further away, but the cat would always beat him home. At last, he decided to drive quite a distance--so
he turned right, then left, past the bridge, then right again and another right
until he reached what he thought was a
safe distance from his home and left the cat there. Hours later the man calls home to his wife:
"Hon, is the cat there?"
"Yes," the wife answers, "why do you ask?" Frustrated, the man answered, "Can you
please put him on the phone? I’m lost and need directions".
Wow, there’s something you will
not hear very often; a man admitting he is lost. Sadly, you don’t
hear those words very often in a church. You just do not see very many people break
down and admit they are a slave to sin. It
didn’t happen very often in biblical
times either, even when Jesus was teaching.
Just as most men refuse to admit they are
lost, most people refuse to admit they need a Savior.
In our study of the book of John,
we have been focusing on how people reacted to Jesus. Some people responded to Jesus with
acceptance and faith. Others responded
to Jesus with skepticism and doubt. People
had a tendency to either accept or reject Jesus. We see this in chapter eight. While Jesus teaches, some accept and believe
while others remain skeptical. Both
groups hear what Jesus says, but one group remains unconvicted.
Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for
the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last
day of the celebration, He had called Himself the Living Water. Well, the next day as He was teaching, He
described Himself as the Light of the World. However, even though some in the crowd that
day believed (John 8:30), others remained skeptical. Rather than being convicted by what Jesus
taught, they argued with the Lord, refusing to believe.
To those who believed, Jesus said,
“You are truly my
disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free.” However, the
skeptics in the crowd interrupted. 33 “But we are
descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What
do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus was talking about spiritual bondage here,
and I think this group of skeptics understood that. They knew
Jesus was revealing God’s new plan of salvation; they simply did not feel they
needed to repent. They replied, “We already go to church. My whole family goes to church” (my
paraphrase of verse 33). These people just refused to believe they had sin in their
lives. This is why Jesus starts talking
about sin and slavery. He says, “I tell you the
truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a
permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the
Son sets you free, you are truly free [1]
(John 8:31-36).
This debate continues for the next
21 verses, where Jesus attempts to open the eyes of these skeptics. However, because they were without conviction, they did not believe. They did
not need a Savior. They
had no sin. This is why Jesus called
them “Children of the devil” (verse 44); anyone who refuses to admit they are
sinners believes the lies told by Satan – lies told to lead them away from God.
John will later write, “If we claim we have
no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar
and showing that his word has no place in our hearts”[2]
(1 John 1:8-10). This whole issue is a
matter of life and death. We cannot
simply shrug it off or ignore it. We are
either a slave or a son, captive or free.
The devil still attempts to lead
people away from the source of truth and life (“Satan, who is the god of this world, has
blinded the minds of those who don’t
believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory
of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God”[3] - 2
Corinthians 4:4). Just as he did with
these Jews, the devil continues to whisper in the ears of Men “You are not lost. You’re a good person, not a sinner. Don’t let this Jesus fellow tell you any
differently”.
What was the point in sending
Jesus to the cross if you and I were not that bad? Why did God permit His Son to die if we were
not sinners? The sacrifice of Jesus is
pointless until we realize the magnitude of our sin; until we recognize that we
are slaves to sin and death.
However, just like those skeptical people in the Temple, people today
are deaf and blind to this truth.
I worry that countless individuals who come to church are without
conviction; they have never admitted their sinfulness. They like Jesus,
and they like the whole church
experience, but it seems they believe Jesus came to remove evil and oppression
from the world, not remove wickedness and sin from their life. By not allowing Jesus to be their Savior, they
have never been set free from sin. They
are servants, not sons (verse 36) - in the house but not part of the family. As one modern
theologian puts it, “they date the church but never marry Christ”. It saddens me that “The most difficult people to win
to the Savior are those who do not realize that they have a need. They are
under the condemnation of God, yet they trust their religion to save them. They
are walking in the darkness and not following the light of life. They are
sharing a “living death” because of their bondage to sin; and, in spite of
their religious deeds, they are dishonoring the Father and the Son.”[4]
The solution is that we stop
hiding behind our hymnbooks and offering plates and let God examine our
hearts. To be free from sin is to be
forgiven of our sin. However, until we
admit our sin, we will not seek
forgiveness. On this day, let’s be just
as open and honest as King David was.
Let’s stand before the Lord and ask, 23 Search me, O God,
and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point
out anything in me that offends you, and
lead me along the path of everlasting life [5]
(Psalm 139:23-24).
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 8:31–36). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (1 Jn 1:8–10). Carol Stream, IL.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (2 Co 4:4). Carol Stream, IL.
[5] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Ps 139:23–24). Carol Stream, IL.
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