31+++So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
32+++and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
33+++They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34+++Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
35+++“The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
36+++“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Christ spoke of spiritual liberty; but carnal hearts feel no other grievances than those that molest the body, and distress their worldly affairs. Talk to them of their liberty and property, tell them of waste committed upon their lands, or damage done to their houses, and they understand you very well; but speak of the bondage of sin, captivity to Satan, and liberty by Christ; tell of wrong done to their precious souls, and the hazard of their eternal welfare, then you bring strange things to their ears.
Jesus plainly reminded them, that the man who practiced any sin, was, in fact, a slave to that sin, which was the case with most of them. Christ in the gospel offers us freedom, he has power to do this, and those whom Christ makes free are really so. But often we see persons disputing about liberty of every kind, while they are slaves to some sinful lust.
According to John 8, Jesus made the claim that truth was to be found in his teaching; then he assured his hearers that his truth could make them free (vv. 31-32). This claim drew a sharp response from the audience, who appealed to their kinship with Abraham and deduced that they had never been slaves (v. 33). In view of their long history of subservience to other powers, this response was probably an appeal to a sense of spiritual freedom that transcended the political situation. Their notion that physical descendance guaranteed their place as the people of God was a fundamental mistake, and Jesus proceeded to disabuse them of their pride: "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family [because his descendants have no claim to the household], but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (vv. 34-36). One can hardly imagine a more powerful critique of misconceived ideas about freedom.
The notion of slavery to sin is especially prominent in Paul, who writes to Gentile audiences against the background of Greco-Roman thought. Undoubtedly, Paul's writing parallels some ideas current in his day, such as the emphasis on internal freedom even in the midst of social slavery (cf. the long discussion of freedom in Epictetus, Discourses 4.1). It is just as clear, however, that the apostle develops his teaching in distinction from even in opposition to contemporary thought. Hellenistic philosophers, for example, tended to place considerable emphasis on the concept of natural human freedom, but Paul appears to reject any such idea. Writing to the Roman Christians, he reflects Old Testament teaching when he argues that freedom and slavery are simply relative to whatever it is that has our allegiance ( Rom 6:15-23 ). If I render obedience to sin, I am a slave to sin and lawlessness but I am "free" with respect to righteousness (cf. 2 Peter 2:19 ). If, on the other hand, I render myself as a "slave" to righteousness, I become free with respect to sin.
Let us ever seek more knowledge, let us ever embrace that knowledge, let us ever utilize every tidbit of knowledge we are given by THE LORD CHRIST JESUS, FOR HIS GLORY, for our own safety, and good, and the overall good of others, as we BUILD UP THE CHURCH, AMEN!!!
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