“We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” (John 8:33b - 34)
Slavery is a fearsome thing. The thought of it strikes at my core: the idea that I cannot chose what I will do, but must obey another. If the definition of freedom is, “The liberty to do what we ought”, than slavery must be the inability to do the right thing. I have never thought of myself as a slave; I am from Canada, a wonderfully free country. Prayers of thanksgiving at the supper table usually include the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to do what I wish. I have cringed at the thought of being imprisoned, like Pastor Saeed in Iran. I pray for the end of sexual slavery and human trafficking all over the world. I know of the Underground Railroad and the journey to freedom in my own country. I have visited places like the Buxton Settlement, a town of the descendants of escaped slaves. They have a museum documenting the horrors of life as a slave and the joys of life after slavery. There are huge sets of handcuffs, shackles and collars that make me sick to my stomach.
This summer, I had a job that allowed quite a bit of listening and thinking time. I went through numerous sermon podcasts, listening to the likes of John Piper, Timothy Keller, and Corrie ten Boom. Through listening to them I came to the realization that I was behaving as a slave. I have been bound by chains that, though not in physical form, have held me as tightly as any I have seen in a museum. There are certain sins in my life that I cannot seem to rid of by myself. I have tried many things and it finally came to my attention that I cannot make it go away. And that thought terrified me. No matter how hard I try, I am going to fail. That failure is not just for myself, but for God. I want so desperately to please God and promise that I will never do it again. And then I do it again. I was as if I had been marching forward with the war cry, “I can do it! I will conquer this sin!” without looking back. I had blinders on to the repeated failures of my past. At this point, God had taken my blinders off, and I saw the futility of my actions in light of the repeated failures. I am a pretty competent person, I can usually accomplish things if I try and this time I couldn’t do it. I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could never promise God that I wouldn’t spit in His face again. The knowledge of my perceived bondage to repeated shortcomings brought me to anguish. As I started to question everything I knew to be true about God, sin, and forgiveness, I went back to the basics of my faith. For a couple of days, I wondered what the point of asking God for forgiveness was if I knew that I would sin again?
I learned from John Piper that sin “is any feeling or thought or speech or action that comes from a heart that does not treasure God over all other things.”
Not only am I sinning in the specific area I was focusing on, but I am sinning in every other area of my life too! Add another helping of guilt to my shame and distress, please. I was a slave because I could not choose to do right. It was as if I was destined to do wrong all my life! And that is true, apart from Jesus.
For Jesus, the ultimate bondage is vicious slavery to moral failure, to rebellion against the God who has made us. (D.A. Carson)
So, what now? How do I reconcile my actions to myself and God? The answer is that I can’t. I, in my human weakness and sin nature, cannot do anything to break the chains of perpetual sin. Let that sink in for a few moments. Has it hit you? No matter how hard you try, you will fail; you will sin, repeatedly.
This is the point of the gospel. Jesus has done what you are incapable of doing for yourself: taken the chains off of you. He is the Son of God and the Great Emancipator.
So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:36)
The LORD alone has the power to set you free from slavery to sin. He alone can break the chains that bind your heart and will. I am in the process of realizing that as a believer in Jesus Christ, I am no longer bound to sin. He has given me a way out of temptation every time. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Carson explains that, “Jesus not only enjoys inalienable rights as the unique Son of God, but exercises full authority, vested in Him by the Father, to liberate slaves.”
What does it mean to be free from the chains of sin? I’ll be honest and say that I am not exactly sure. For now, I will continue to seek God’s will in prayer. I will continue to grapple with sin because the temptation has not left me. I have hope because I have the Lord on my side in the fight. I still have the fear of failing God, my consolation now is that my weaknesses show His strength in my life. I will keep on reading my Bible because in it I find truth, indeed, I echo the words of Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31 - 32)
I want to remain faithful to Jesus. I want to know the truth. I want to learn to be free from the chains of sin.
Real Life Application Points:
If you have not had the realization of your sin and God’s Emancipation Proclamation, you need to get alone with God. Ask Him to show you your sin in the light of His Absolute Holiness.
Thank God for freeing you from the chains of slavery to sin. It is He who gives you the ability to choose.
The next time you slip into sin remember the character of Christ. It becomes harder to sin when you realize that God isn’t hard, mad, and distant. You can look into His face and find that He is so kind, so gentle, so concerned, and so loving. You won’t want to “sin so that grace may abound” (Romans 6:1).
Find music that emphasizes the truth of Scripture. “When Mercy Found Me” by Rhett Walker Band came to mind for this particular post.
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