Conquering the Bondage to Sin.

In our daily meditations, we continue exploring some of the teachings of the Lord Jesus. During a confrontation with the ruling powers of the day, Jesus told them they could be set free: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Knowing the truth will set us free. The Greek term, translated as "set you free," implies being released from a state of indentured servitude. In the ancient world, when a person couldn't pay their debts, they or one of their children would be made a servant or slave to the one owed. If someone paid their debt, they were released from indentured servanthood, i.e., set free. The truth is that Jesus has paid the sin debt that humanity owed and liberated people from slavery to Satan. The Lord said that if they listened to and held fast to His teaching, they would know the truth about God's deliverance from sin, and that truth would set them free from the slavery to sin's power.

The religious leaders could not control themselves. Being told they could be set free suggested they were enslaved. To a proud Pharisee, such words wounded their religious pride and caused them to bristle inwardly.

³³They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" ³⁴Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word (John 8:33-36).

What a terrible indictment of a person! “You are ready to kill me because you have no room for my word” (v. 36). When we open our hearts to God’s Word, it will light up our lives, revealing and challenging any darkness within. As usual, the religious leaders failed to understand that the Messiah was not speaking about physical things but speaking spiritually when He said they could be freed from slavery. They got sidetracked talking about how the Jewish people were never enslaved, which was false; Egypt had enslaved them before Moses came along, Babylon also conquered them, and at that moment, they were under Roman rule. Jesus focused on their hearts, saying, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin” (v. 34). He meant that sin has an addictive power over us that refuses to let go once it captures us. Let me share a story from my own past that will illustrate the addictive power of sin.

When I was seventeen, unsaved, very insecure, and impressionable, I started working on a cruise ship with about 200 crew members. Every evening after work, I really enjoyed hanging out and drinking with the other young people. One evening, someone passed a marijuana cigarette around. I took it and thought I would try it and see how it would make me feel. After a few puffs, I passed it on. I felt no different, but I enjoyed the feeling of becoming part of the crew's in-crowd. I feared the consequences of entering the drug scene, but sin has a deceiving aspect. I quieted my conscience by telling myself that marijuana didn't affect me for some reason.

I deceived myself into thinking I could control the marijuana, but before I knew it, the lifestyle that came with it took over me. From then on, my life fell into bondage to marijuana. I lost all my self-esteem and couldn't stand to look at myself in the mirror, seeing someone I no longer recognized. I tried to break the habit several times by throwing the marijuana into the sea, but I only went back and bought more the next day. It truly had a hold on me and controlled everything I did. My slavery was broken at the feet of Jesus when I gave my life to Him. From that moment on, I have not touched any marijuana or other drugs. The Lord completely set me free from that bondage. Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (v. 36).

I hope you haven't gone down that path and that things are different for you, but chances are that many reading these words have struggled with or are currently addicted to alcohol, lying, cheating, or stealing. Your sin might not be as apparent as those, but what about a bad temper, envy, arrogance, lust, pornography, sexual immorality, slander, gossip, covetousness, pride, or even fear—like fear of death, fear of a parent, fear of your boss, or even of the latest virus? All of these have an addictive, enslaving power over us, along with the guilt and other emotions they bring. But God's power can break those chains. We can be free. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13), and the word translated as saved also means delivered. Keith Thomas

Shortened from the extended study at the following link: The Light Challenges the Darkness.