“Most assuredly, I say to you: whoever commits sin is a slave to sin…and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.” - Jesus. (John 8:34-35)

Jesus certainly had a way of cutting through all the noise and empty words of confusing chatter with statements He made. Even today, those statements can have the same effect on people who hear/read them just as they did back when He was here in person uttering them. And more often than naught, it was the religious folks who took exception to what He said. They actually were offended by what He said and taught.

Back in Jeremiah’s day, God’s spokesman then said this regarding how God’s people responded to His word when he wrote: “Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it.” (6:10)

When Jesus faced off with religious leaders there in John 8, He actually told them, after asking them ‘why do you not understand My speech?’, answered His own question stating: “Because you are not able to listen to My word because you are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” (43-44).

That encounter and exchange of dialogue should give us all reason to pause. IF you find the words of Jesus to be offensive at times, you might want to give some serious thought as to why that is; seriously…I’m not kidding. Why would we bristle and grow uncomfortable in response to His words if we really love Him with all our hearts?

But back to that ‘matter of fact statement’ He made regarding being a slave if we commit sin. There’s just not a whole lot of ways to get around that or dilute it or explain it away. If you continue to commit sin, you are a slave to sin. And according to Jesus, a ‘slave does not abide in the house forever’. Period.

Now those two statements alone might be good reason to cause concern for anyone who has a heart and desire to know and serve God; but be encouraged as they are ‘sandwiched’ in between two promising statements regarding ‘truth’. Jesus said there in vs. 32 that “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” And the other ‘slice of bread’ there is “IF the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (36)

So what exactly does this truth ‘set us free’ of or from?

Paul certainly spent some time addressing this topic himself in his letter to the Romans. And let me just say up front here that if you have been taught or led to believe that Paul continued to live as a ‘sinner’ (and even remained the ‘chief of sinners) based on his comments in Romans 7:15-24, you might want to go back and review the 6th chapter before reading on through chapter 8. There is much to digest. But I can assure you that Paul was merely addressing the conflict every human has when brought to their knees of helplessness realizing their own wretched condition as this internal flesh nature wars against the law of God. He too, found it impossible to submit, let alone live up to God’s holy standards in which God laid out in His law. A law, I might add, that Jesus said He did not come to do away with or abolish. (Matt. 5:17) 

Expressing this frustrating and desperate cry of lament there in Rom. 7:24 where he asked: “O wretched man that I am…Who…will deliver me from this body of death?”, he then answers his own question in the very next verse saying “I thank God…through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

He then launches off into what we know as chapter 8 answering exactly how…we are delivered from that sinful body and nature. And there is a little bit more to it than just saying you believe Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins.

But let’s just take a peek at the 6th chapter there where Paul asked this question: “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (2). And if there was some confusion as to sin not being a big deal given the wonderful power of God’s grace to wipe out and cover up our sins, you might read vs 1 there where the chapter opens up with that well known question of “shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Certainly not!”, Paul exclaims.

And why do you suppose that is? Because Paul obviously was made aware of that statement Jesus said ‘most assuredly’…that whoever continues to sin…remains a slave to sin. (John 8:34). So if you take a little time and use a highlighter to read through chapter 6 there in Romans, you should make note of a repeated theme of how sin should be the ‘past tense’ of a new believer’s life, not an ongoing condition to be struggled with until the ‘make it to heaven’ someday.

And much of this commentary rest on that little two-letter word “IF”.

IF…we have been united together in the likeness of His death…that we should ‘know our old man was crucified with Him that the body of sin might be done away with so we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (5-6)

But wait….there’s more: “He who has died has been freed from sin.” (7)

“Thank God that though you WERE slaves of sin…you have been set free from sin…” (17-18)

“When you WERE slaves of sin…But now having been set free from sin…” (20,22)

Do you hear a theme being repeated here over and over? IF…we have truly come in total surrender to Christ and are abiding in Him, we “should be walking in the newness of life”. (4). As in, ‘walking like Jesus walked’. (1 John 2:6)

Now if you find yourself a bit conflicted as you recognize you are not walking in a similar matter, this is no reason to get mad or feel defeated or throw your arms up in despair and walk away. How about we just agree with God’s word and then ask Him to give us more understanding as to why this is not manifesting in our own personal lives. Because believe me…He really is desiring to answer that question for us given the times we are living in.

I’m guessing most of you are familiar with what it means for a car engine to ‘backfire’. It has something to do with a buildup of fuel that will combust when the engine starts up. This is not ‘normal’ if it continues to do this upon starting up every day. Nor should a car continue backfiring as it drives down the road repeatedly. It is quite bothersome when this does occur; not only to the driver but to everyone else as well who hear the obnoxious explosive pops and burst of exhaust as it drives by.

I am also pretty confident that if you drove a brand new car off the lot after signing your life away in payments, and this car began backfiring…you’d circle back pretty quick to get some answers and resolution. This certainly is not acceptable.

The same could be said for believers who ‘continue to practice sin’. Despite what everyone else around you says …and does…this is not normal. And to believe otherwise would suggest you have been deceived and believe a lie.

I’m not feeling compelled to share these things to make anyone feel condemned or hopelessly defeated. There really is some good news and a ‘fix’ for the problem. I would not offer up such a promise if it were not so; that I can promise you.

You don’t have to live as a slave anymore. You can be free…and free indeed. And why does any of this matter? Well, for one: It was Jesus who said that IF…we continue to commit sin, then we remain a slave to sin and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son/child abides forever. (John 8:34-35). And to suggest you are merely a ‘child who continues to sin’ is a contradiction of terms, or an ‘oxymoron’.

The other reason this matters has to do with what Jesus told us in Matt. 7:21-23. Do you know why all those ‘many’ people are turned away at heaven’s door despite all the ‘great things they did for God’? It’s because Jesus tells them they continued …to …practice… sin. (23)

There’s a fix. Whether you want to take the time and ‘bring the car back into the shop’ remains to be seen. But even an ‘occasional’ backfiring is not really ‘normal’. But at worse, it should be the ‘exception’ and ‘not the rule’. (1 John 2:1)
So if we have truly been set free from sin...why do we continue to...sin?