Transcribed by Beluga AI.
Let me read John 8:1-11, and then we’ll pray and start. Very famous passage, John 8:1-11. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning, He came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery.
And placing her in the midst, they said to him, teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now, in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? This they said to test him that they might have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. As they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. And once more, he bent down and wrote on the ground.
But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones. And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She said, no one, Lord. And Jesus said, neither do I condemn you. Go. And from now on, sin no more.
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-11, ESV)
Okay, let’s pray, Father. In this short exchange, we see an amazing thing that happened with a woman who was caught in such a shameful act. It was the worst and most shameful thing that she could be caught doing as a married woman. And yet we hear such amazing, amazing words from you, Lord Jesus.
So we want to understand what happened in this encounter so that we too would be motivated to have encounters with Jesus over and over, so that we can share this testimony of freedom in Christ. No condemnation. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
If you reach John 8, it’s interesting how the Apostle John structured this chapter because it begins with the Pharisees trying to stone a woman, and they’re testing Jesus, trying to trap him, entrap him, so that they can bring a charge against him.
And then it ends with the very same religious Jewish people getting ready to stone Jesus for blasphemy. So beginning and ending is a group of religious folks trying to stone sinners. The condemnation.
And here’s my summary statement of this chapter. Condemnation leads to bondage, and bondage eventually leads to death. The flip side, faith leads to freedom and eventually to eternal life. Condemnation leads to bondage and eventually to death. On the flip side, faith leads to freedom and eventually to eternal life.
Jesus is speaking to Jewish religious leaders throughout this chapter. And it reminds me that religion doesn’t save. Religion, rules, rule keeping, will only lead to more bondage. Maybe you are part of a church that was very legalistic.
There were a lot of rules, and people were being caught breaking rules all the time. These rules were not even in the Scripture, and yet it was part of the church culture that they added things to the Bible the same way the Pharisees did. They kept adding rules and rules to the Bible, and it became heavier and heavier to the people.
You know, in my house there are rules, but it’s not going to stay this way. It’s just for a season. When the children are learning to stand on their own, they’re learning to have fear of the Lord on their own.
Eventually, these rules, when they leave the house, will no longer apply unless they move back into the house. Then some of the house rules will stay. But most of the rules, as they grow into adulthood, will no longer apply because they need to learn how to stand on their own.
And what we see from this text, and we’ll read some verses which make it crystal clear that Jesus alone can set us free. If you’re suffering from bondage, if you’re suffering from addiction, if you’re suffering from a pattern of sin and you’re looking for freedom, there is only one person who can set you free. His name is Jesus.
I don’t think we really believe this because we will look to other sources and we think this person, this book, this YouTuber, this solution, this earthly solution, will set me free. I don’t think we actually believe what Jesus says, that I alone can set you free. John 8:48.
I want to start by introducing you to the truth. Jesus is the Truth. He is the truth embodied. And Jesus says as the truth, I alone will set you free.
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32, ESV)
If we believe this and you’re in bondage to some sin, some addiction, if you believe it, you know, I only have one choice. I must run to Jesus. With this addiction, with this bondage, he alone can set me free.
Because the truth, who is Jesus, will set me free. I want to introduce you to Jesus, from the beginning of the Bible to the end. I’m just going to spend a few minutes trying to convince you that Jesus is there from beginning to end, and he alone can set you free. John 8:48.
The Jews answered him, are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered, I do not have a demon. But I honor my Father and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory.
There is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. The Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets.
Yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who died and the prophets died? Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, if I glory myself, my glory is nothing.
It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, he is our God, but you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.
So the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. (John 8:48-59, ESV)
This is a theological question that I want you to kind of just wrestle with on your own as I, as I try to point out Scripture. Has anybody ever seen God the Father? Who says, yes? Okay, a couple, maybe one and a half. Who says, no? No one has ever seen God the Father.
46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. (John 6:46, ESV)
Okay, Jesus saw God the Father. Yes, yes, that is a great clarification. Jesus has seen God the Father. Has any human? Moses, Isaiah? Okay, okay, let’s explore that. That’s a great observation.
Jesus says in John 1:18, or the Holy Spirit says in John 1:18, through the pen of Apostle John, it says, no one has ever seen God. The only God who is at the Father’s side. He has made him known.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:18, ESV)
Jesus says, nobody has seen the Father except me. So it begs the question then, when people in the Old Testament are having a face-to-face conversation with someone, it can’t be God the Father; it must be somebody else.
Moses talked with God at the burning bush. We just gloss over that and say, okay, that’s God the Father, because Jesus is not here until the New Testament. But if nobody has seen God, who is Moses talking to at the burning bush? Later on, God tells Moses, you cannot see my face, for no one who sees my face can live. Yet in Exodus 33:11, Moses is speaking to God, face to face as a friend with his friend.
11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. (Exodus 33:11, ESV)
Who is Jacob wrestling with in Genesis 32? Is it God the Father or is it somebody else? Who is Isaiah seeing in the vision when he says, woe to me, I am ruined. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty. In Isaiah 6, who is he seeing? Which king is it if it’s not God the Father? Because it can’t be God the Father.
Now we get to Abraham, who Jesus mentions in John 8. Who did Abraham see? Because Jesus said he saw my day. I thought Jesus wasn’t there in the Old Testament. I thought Jesus is only there once. He incarnated and took on human flesh.
In the New Testament, who did Abraham see in the flesh or not in the flesh? Just visibly, we don’t know what kind of form it is. But he saw God the Lord. It says in Genesis 18:1. And the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre.
1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. (Genesis 18:1, ESV)
Somebody appeared before Abraham. And as I’ve shown throughout Scripture, even what Jesus says about God the Father and what the Holy Spirit says in John 1, nobody has seen God except the Son of God, who is at the Father’s side.
Then who is the Lord that Abraham saw and who Jesus says, Abraham saw my day? I think this is a christophany. This is Jesus coming in a pre-incarnate form. We don’t know exactly what form it is.
Sometimes when you read in the Old Testament, reread, it’s a messenger. A messenger could be an angelic being like Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family, they were pulled out by angels. An angelic being, it’s just a messenger. So we just have to look.
Sometimes it’s an angel, sometimes it’s a christophany, sometimes it’s Jesus himself coming in a form that the people don’t know who it is, but they just know it’s the Lord. Exodus 3, I just want to kind of quick overview God in the Old Testament.
There are certain key titles that we see about Jesus in the Old Testament. It says in Exodus 3:13, Then Moses said to God, if I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they asked me, what is your, what is his name? What shall I say to them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you.
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, ” I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘ I am has sent me to you.'” (Exodus 3:13-14, ESV)
It’s the same thing that Jesus said to the Jews, the Jewish leaders. In John 8, Jesus says, I am when talking about Abraham, who saw my day before Abraham was I am.
The same reference is in Isaiah 48:12. Listen to me, O Jacob in Israel, whom I called, I Am He.
Psalm 23:1. Not only is God, I am. He is the shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd.
He is also the light. Psalm 27:1. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?
He is also the rock. Psalm 18:2. The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer.
He is also ruler of all. Isaiah 9:6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, ESV)
He is judge of all the nations also. Joel, Chapter 3. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
12 Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. (Joel 3:12, ESV)
He is also the bridegroom. Isaiah 62:5. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5, ESV)
Hosea 2:16. And in that day declares the Lord, you will call me my husband, and no longer will you call me my BAAL or my master.
16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ (Hosea 2:16, ESV)
He is also referenced. Jesus is called God’s word that never passes away. Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flowers fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8, ESV)
And this Word of God is Jesus Christ. He is also the sower. Jeremiah 31:27 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.
27 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. (Jeremiah 31:27, ESV)
Ezekiel 36:9. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.
9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. (Ezekiel 36:9, ESV)
And he’s also the first and the last. Isaiah 48:12. Listen to me, O Jacob and Israel, whom I called, I am he, I am the first, and I am the last.
12 “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. (Isaiah 48:12, ESV)
Some of these are prophetic utterances of the coming Jesus the Messiah. Sometimes Jesus actually appears, as he did to Moses, to Abraham, to many, many of the prophets in the Old Testament.
And so if you look at that list, I am the shepherd, the light, the rock, the ruler, the judge, the bridegroom, the Word of God, the sower, the first and the last. All verses that I just read from the Old Testament.
Guess what? In the New Testament, Jesus says the same thing about himself. Jesus is I am. We read that in John 8:58. Jesus is the shepherd. John 10:11. Jesus is the light of the world. John 8:12. Jesus is the rock. Matthew 7:24. Jesus is the ruler of all. Matthew 28:18.
Jesus is the judge of all. John 5:22. Jesus is our bridegroom. Matthew 25. In Ephesians 5, Jesus’ words never pass away because he is the word. Mark 13:31. Jesus is the sower. Matthew 13:3-9. Jesus is the first, and he is the last. Revelation 1:17-18. From beginning to end, it is Jesus Christ. It says in Genesis 18:1.
And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.
1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth (Genesis 18:1-2, ESV)
I believe among the three men, one of them was Jesus Christ. Jesus is there in the Old Testament. He is, of course, there in the New Testament. He is on every page of Scripture for those who have eyes to see. John 8:1.
Now we get to our main text. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning, he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. And placing her in the midst, they said to him, teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
1 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. (John 8:1-4, ESV)
And of course, we know how this story ends. Jesus says, if you don’t have any sin, okay, go ahead and throw a stone. And the older ones, among the Jewish religious leaders, they know they have sin. So the oldest ones know without a shadow of a doubt, I am a sinner. And so they drop the stones.
They walk away from the oldest to the youngest. Maybe the youngest, they don’t quite see themselves as sinners yet. They think they are quite good, and they haven’t done life. They haven’t seen themselves with all the ugliness that comes as you live out life, that you’re not as lovely and consistent and Christlike and sanctified as you thought of yourself in your younger years.
But as you get older, you see all the ugly. And the oldest ones is not by accident. They know they’re a sinner. They throw. They drop the stones first. And Jesus says, is there nobody who condemns you? Neither I. Neither do I condemn you.
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11, ESV)
And if you are this woman, is there anything more shameful for a married woman or a married man to be caught in the act of adultery? It’s like there’s no sin that is more shameful than this.
And I think that’s why he’s highlighting this particular sin. Like, if you are the husband, you caught them in the act. That’s your wife. How would you respond? First of all, you throw out the guy. Yeah, it wouldn’t be pretty. You throw out the guy and then you say, here are your divorce papers. That’s a very common reaction.
Just anger and unforgiveness and utter condemnation like, you are dead to me. That’s what condemnation means. That means you deserve a penalty, punishment. And in this case, based on Old Testament law, this woman deserves to be stoned to death. She deserves it.
And if you are on the receiving end of this act of adultery as the faithful spouse, there is this condemning attitude. And we look at that husband and say, yeah, you’re justified to feel that way, because if we were in your shoes, we would condemn your wife as well.
If this married couple had kids, what would the kids say? They caught their mom in the act of adultery. I think it would also be equal condemnation. Like, how could you, Mom? How could you? How could you do this to me?
It would be condemnation like, ow, you’re dead to me. I’m going to be with dad. I’m okay not seeing you for the rest of my life. At least that would be your initial response. So the husband would respond a certain way, I want to divorce this woman. We would understand. you’re dead to me.
We would understand this woman deserves to feel the weight of this issue for the rest of her days, be labeled as somebody who committed this act, and she just needs to feel the weight of the consequences of her actions.
We understand that the husband would be totally justified to react like this. For the children to say, I never want to see mom again. I’m okay if I never see you again, you broke trust. I never want to see you again. We would also say, this condemnation is just right. It fits the act. And yet Jesus says, neither do I condemn you.
So if you’re struggling with sin, if you’re struggling with an addiction, if you’re struggling with a pattern of sin that just simply will not break, you’ve tried everything. It just doesn’t lift. The good news for you is Jesus picks the most shameful sin.
And he says, as long as I’m there, you’re not condemned. As long as I am there and you bring this sin to me, doesn’t matter how the husband acted towards you, doesn’t matter how the children acted toward you. Look at my reaction.
Look how different I am. As long as I am there, there is no condemnation. Do you see that? As long as Jesus is there in this terrible, shameful act of being caught in the act of adultery, as long as Jesus is present, there’s no condemnation. That’s why it says in Romans 8:1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1, ESV)
It simply is the truth. If Jesus is present on your worst day, as long as Jesus is there, maybe you came to him in brokenness, or you were so broken you were just hiding, but Jesus came to you.
Either way, the fact that Jesus is there, there is no condemnation. Isn’t that great news? This is incredible news for sinners like us, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus has to be present.
Either you came to him in your brokenness, in your shame, and he’s there, and he’s ministering to you, or you are so ashamed you’re hiding, and Jesus came looking for you because you’re one of his sheep. Either way, Jesus is there. In the presence of Jesus, there is no condemnation.
Which means if you don’t believe in Jesus, and Jesus might be coming to you through the Word of God, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, conviction of the Holy Spirit, bringing to remembrance the teachings of what Jesus said through Christian friends, Christian family, Jesus can be coming to you.
But if you keep on rejecting him, then you are on your own. No matter what Jesus does in that moment, you are condemned. And you will feel condemned. And what is the wages of sin? The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, ESV)
So when there is no belief, when there’s no faith, when Jesus is not present, because despite all that Jesus is doing to come to you, you keep on rejecting him. Because you say I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy, I’m too ashamed, I need to punish myself. I can’t enter your presence. If you keep on pushing Jesus away.
On your worst day, guess what? You are condemned because the only person before whom the condemnation can lift is Jesus Christ. So if you keep rejecting his advances toward you now, no longer are you in Christ.
No longer is Jesus in there, in the room with you. You are isolated, you are alone. And in that isolation, Satan has you right where he wants you. You are in your sin. There is no one that can forgive this sin and lift this feeling of condemnation.
Therefore, the wages of sin is death. Spiritually, you are dying because you’re cut off from Christ. But Jesus says, on your worst day, being caught in the act of the most shameful thing you can think of in society, a married person committing adultery.
Jesus says, even in that worst-case scenario, as long as I’m there, there’s no condemnation. John 8:24. He’s talking again to these same Jewish religious leaders. John 8:24. I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.
24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24, ESV)
It really comes down to, do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus? If you don’t believe in Jesus, you are condemned because you’re by yourself as a sinner who keeps on sinning. And what is the wages of sin? It is death.
You will die in your sin. Jesus is saying to these religious leaders, you trust in Abraham, you trust in your rules, you trust in your religion. I’m right here. you’re not coming to me. You’re pushing me away. You will die in your sins.
You are already condemned because you don’t believe in me. Even a Christian disciple can have a moment when we don’t believe in Jesus because in our sin we push him away. And what John 8 should tell us, we should never push him away.
No matter what you’ve done, no matter what most shameful thing that you’ve done, and you’re just stuck. And you’re just. The accuser’s voice is so strong, and you feel so unworthy. On your worst day, the last thing you want to do is to push away Jesus who is coming to you saying, I want to deal with this sin.
And at the end, it’s going to come down to belief. On your worst day, some people will keep pushing Jesus away. And what they end up doing is they go further and further into condemnation.
The sin gets worse, worse, and worse. They become more and more enslaved. And if they stay in that state of unbelief, because that’s what it means, Jesus is there and you’re rejecting him. That is unbelief.
The more you do this, if you die in that state, you die in your sins, you die in unbelief. The wages of sin is death. The good news of the gospel is on your worst day, Jesus will make will advance and look for you in your lostness. If you’re one of his sheep, he will look for you in your lostness.
He will come to you through people, through the Holy Spirit, through things that come up in your thoughts, in your remembrance. He’s going to come to you in many ways. But if you keep on rejecting him, then you are stuck, you are condemned. And if you stay in that state of condemnation, it will lead to death.
But if you receive Christ in that moment of brokenness, while you’re being addicted, while you feel so unworthy, Jesus is coming to you, and you receive him like this woman. Like she didn’t know, like, would she go to Jesus in this state? We don’t know. We don’t know if she would go to Jesus in her state of shame.
Like, if Jesus wasn’t there, she’d probably be stoned. She’d probably die in her sins, condemned and feeling like, yeah, I deserve hell. But look at what Jesus did at that point when she was on the verge of no return. Maybe spiritually this is going to seal her fate.
Jesus came to her on this day, and everything turned around for her. The condemnation was not there because Christ was there. The sin was forgiven. But it’s not just grace to keep on sinning.
You see, this truth sets you free, and Jesus alone can set you free. And that’s why Jesus can confidently say to this woman, neither do I condemn you. Go. And from now on, see sin no more.
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11, ESV)
Do you think this woman struggled with sexual addiction, with adultery again after Jesus sets her free? I doubt it. I really doubt it. And if Jesus can do this for this woman who is addicted to the attention of all these men, who was addicted to whatever the approval that these men gave, that she wasn’t receiving from her husband, whatever caused her to go down this road, in a moment, she was set free.
And Jesus can do the same for you. It might be in a moment that whatever you’ve been struggling with, in a moment Jesus can come and set you free. People who suffer from addiction, they have testimonies like, Jesus met me, and from this moment on, I never struggled with this addiction ever again.
There are those testimonies; it’s instant. There are other testimonies that Jesus sets them free, but they get in bondage again. Jesus sets them free, they get in bondage again. But over time, there is a testimony of freedom that emerges.
Raise your hand if you ever struggled with any type of addiction but you met Jesus. And whether it was in a moment or over a period of time, you got set free. Raise your hand if that’s your testimony. Praise God. Praise God. By the end of our Christian journey, we want all of us to raise our hands that we have.
We have very specific things that we can point to and say, I was an addict, I was in bondage, but Jesus set me free. I thought I had to limp with this issue for the rest of my life, but over, in a moment or over time, Jesus set me free.
Here’s my testimony. And that is an encouragement for others who are stuck. Like I was stuck with various things in my 20s and 30s, 40s, it started to lift. 50s, I’m a new man in these specific areas because Jesus set me free.
And so you might be struggling with something. My encouragement to you is, keep on going to Jesus. He will set you free. He alone can set you free. There is no other. The truth sets you free. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. When he says, sin no more, that thing is going to come to pass.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, ESV)
This woman is not going to sin and commit adultery ever again. So when Jesus declares freedom for you, whether in a single moment or over time, when he declares it, it is a done deal, and the truth will set you free. It’s a guarantee from God’s word; otherwise, he’s a liar.
And so people who say, well, we’re all sinners, they’re basically saying, no, the truth doesn’t set you free. I have bondage, you have bondage. We’re all sinners, we all sin.
And so don’t be so hard on them because, like these people ready to throw stones, they’re in bondage. This woman is caught, she’s a sinner, I’m a sinner, we’re all sinners. You hear that all the time.
Where are the testimonies of people who are saying Jesus is the truth and he set me free with A, B, C, D? I have many things to share. He set me free, which means this pattern of sinning is breaking. This chain broke off of me.
I used to think I’m going to be stuck to this thing for the rest of my life. But this chain, the shackles, came off on this day or over a course of this season. It broke. And now I’m walking in a new level of freedom I never thought possible.
Jesus says, I can do it for you because the truth sets you free. John 8:31. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, ESV)
If you know Jesus well, over time, all the chains will break off of you. All the chains of bondage, all the chains of sin will break off of you. And you will be able to say, yes, I believe this verse because Jesus did it for me. The truth, I know the truth. And he helped me to overcome sin in my life.
And these religious people just don’t get it. They say in verse 33, they answered him, we are offspring of Abraham and have never been in sin, slave to anyone. How is it that you say you will become free? Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The Son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you’ll be free indeed.
33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never 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 practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:33-36, ESV)
Jesus set the woman caught in adultery. He set her free in a moment. And from that point forward, she was no longer a slave to the attention of men and for sexual immorality. She was set free in that moment, and she stopped practicing that sin. She was no longer a slave to it.
And so let no false teaching out there or other Christians who are not yet mature in their faith, let them not deceive you and say you are a slave of sin because we all sin. No, that’s not what I read in my Bible. That’s not what Jesus tells me. That’s not my testimony.
My testimony is if you know Jesus, if you know the truth, you. You will be set free. You are not a slave. You actually have a choice. Before you knew Jesus, you were a slave. You had no choice. You were in bondage. You could not stop yourself. And you kept looking at the phone, you kept looking at the Internet. You could not stop yourself.
But once Jesus sets you free, you can put it down, you can shut it off. you’re not bound by it like you used to be bound by it. So let’s not be deceived. Churches teach an impartial gospel that says you can be forgiven over the same sin, over and over.
There’s grace for you. Don’t worry, don’t worry. you’ll be fine. No. The Bible that I read, Jesus says no, I came to set people free. The disciples struggled in the Gospels because they were still learning by the time Pentecost came. In the Book of Acts we read, these people were free. They’re not falling into the things that Christians commonly struggle with. They are free. Romans 6:20.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end. Eternal life for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.21But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:20-23, ESV)
The thing that you hear in churches which is false is, we’re all sinners. We’re all going to be slaves of sin until the day you die. Nothing will change. But don’t worry. Christ died for your sins. You will be forgiven.
That’s not what I read in Scripture. Jesus promises. And now Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is saying, if you keep on sinning, the wages of sin is death. But the promise of a believer is you will be set free. And it will lead to sanctification, which means a change of your mind, which leads to a changed life.
And the things that used to keep you in bondage, these chains fall off of you. And now you are a son, and whom the son sets free, you’ll be free indeed. A slave can come into the house when it’s time to work in the house. But when the work shift is over, the slave leaves the house. The son is free to come into the house as he sees fit, comes and goes into the house.
Like we have various guests staying at our house from time to time. And out of being polite, it’s right, they say, oh, can I, can I, can I get something out of the fridge? It’s right to ask that. And we say, of course, yeah, you’re free to do that, but it’s right as a guest to ask, oh, can I, can I get some food, some drink? It’s right, it’s proper to ask, because they don’t live in that house. But my sons, they are free. My sons are free to come and go as they please.
Of course, of course I would be happy. I would be happy if my boys go to college, they get a job, they have their own house, they’re financially independent, they get married, and they become a spiritual head of their own household.
I’d be happy if the script turns out that way. But if they try their best, they just can’t get a job. Because even though you have a CS degree, you have AI. Now everyone can do programming without an AI degree, without a CS degree. So maybe Timothy won’t get employed right away.
So because he’s my son, he can always come back to the house. He’s free. If my kids mess up and they have nowhere else to turn, they can always come home because they’re my son. They’re free to come in and out of the house as they please.
And Jesus says, if you’re a slave, you can’t come in and out of the house. But if you’re a son that he has set free, if you’re a daughter that he has set free, you can come in and out of the house. You are free to enjoy everything in the Father’s house.
I want to end with an example of condemnation that leads to death, an example of hanging and barely holding on to faith that leads to eternal life. Judas versus Peter. The difference between them is paper thin. It’s paper thin. They both betray Jesus, they both denied Jesus. And the wages of sin is death.
And for whatever reason, Judas was condemned and he was alone. And we don’t understand exactly why it happened this way. Like, why couldn’t Jesus go after him? Because if Jesus came after him, he could have been restored, right? But for whatever reason, he was condemned. In that moment of being isolated, he was no longer in Christ. Maybe he never was.
And because he died in his sins, without faith, without belief, he was condemned not just on this earth. He was condemned eternally. He is therefore called the Son of perdition or Hell. On the flip side, Peter is equally condemned in his sins. His sin is equally shameful. He deserves hell. He doesn’t deserve a second chance.
But the main difference with Peter is he holds on to even a little thread of faith. He doesn’t quite let go all the way. You know this because he hangs out with the other disciples. Like, if he really wanted to isolate himself, he could have just disappeared. But he just hung around. And the other disciples can see the depression that’s glossing over Peter’s eyes.
He’s going back to fishing, which is kind of like, well, I tried to give up everything. I was a fisherman before. I tried to be a disciple. It didn’t work. Now let me go back to the only thing I know. I’m going to go back fishing. And the disciples, because they’re good friends, they say, we’re going to go fishing with you.
Peter just held on to a little thread of faith. He didn’t completely isolate himself. And Jesus came looking for him and restored him. And Jesus didn’t just forgive him and restore him. I believe Jesus was starting to set Peter free. You read Peter in the Gospels. He is proud, he is arrogant, he is insecure. One moment, he is on top of the world.
One moment, Jesus calls him Satan. He’s just unstable, unsteady, unpredictable, up and down, chained to various patterns of thought. Maybe secretly also struggling with addictions, himself. We know Judas’ addiction. He was addicted to money, so he’s just stealing from the money bags. But Peter might have had his own issues that he’s struggling with.
But I believe when Jesus restored him, it’s like the woman caught in adultery. Neither do I condemn you, Peter. Now leave your life of sin. And now we see that Peter emerging after Pentecost in the book of Acts. He is a changed man. He’s a changed man.
So my encouragement to you is don’t allow yourself to be isolated in condemnation. Don’t allow yourself to run away from Jesus, because Jesus, in your moment of sinning, is looking for you. All we have to do is hold on. Don’t push him away. Just let him come to you. Just let him come.
And then when he meets you, he will remind you, even though nobody on earth may agree with him, you’re not condemned. I still have hope for you. Let me come meet with you. Let’s start growing together. And he says, this issue that you’re facing and struggling with, just keep bringing it to me. Eventually, I will set you free. I will prove it to you. Just keep coming to me.
What an encouragement. Not only does he say, no condemnation, go now and leave your life of sin. So whatever you’re facing, whatever you’re struggling with, bring it to Jesus. Whatever addiction, whatever mistake that you feel haunted by, like, I feel so condemned by this. I wish I was a different person. I wish I did this different.
You feel the weight of this condemnation. Just bring that issue to Jesus, your past to Jesus. You can’t redo your past, but don’t be condemned by your past. Bring it to Jesus and say, Jesus, I messed up before. Now can you? Can you lift this condemnation? I don’t want to keep on beating myself over this. I want to do better, starting today, with your help. And can you set me free so that I will change? I will be better.
Okay, let’s pray.
Father, thank you for teaching us a truth that as long as Jesus is beside us, there is no condemnation. On our worst day, committing the worst sin, the most shameful thing that we could ever imagine. Even on our worst day, as long as you’re in the room, there’s no condemnation. you’re so gentle and humble at heart.
Everybody else may throw stones at us, but you will never throw a stone. You always have hope in us. You always are there to encourage us and to lift up our heads. Thank you.
That as long as you’re there, we don’t push you away in unbelief. As long as we have enough belief to let you come and receive you, there’s no condemnation. It is simply the truth. Anyone in Christ, there is no condemnation.
Thank you for teaching us this truth. Not only do you forgive us and lift the condemnation, you command us to go and sin no more. This pattern of sinning that we excused ourselves, that said, this is just who we are. We’re just going to stay like this. This because my parents were a certain way.
I learned it from them. And we blame upbringing, we blame other people, and we just excuse ourselves. This is just who we are. And you have to live with it. You live with yourself as a sinner.
Lord, it’s simply not true. You came to set sinners free. The person whom the Son sets free is free indeed. We’re not a slave to sin. We’re a son and daughter who’s been set free. So whatever addiction, whatever bondage, whatever sinning or whatever pattern of sin, we bring all of these to you, Lord Jesus.
And whether it’s in a moment or over a period of time, we trust this pattern of sin, this addiction, this bondage will be broken. In Jesus’ Name, we will be set free. We’re not going to limp for the rest of our lives with this issue. We will be set free. It’s a promise, a guarantee. Whom the Son sets free will be free indeed.
Lord, we want to believe this. We want to believe this. We bring all of our bondage, all of the strongholds, all of our sinning, we bring it before you. We believe that in your presence, with your help, we will overcome.
Because all of us in Christ are overcomers. You overcame the world. We too will overcome this world and our sins. Thank you, Lord. We thank you for Your Body that was broken for us and Your Blood shed. You did this not only to birth the church and to usher in a bride, you did this to set captives free. Thank you that you’re telling us the truth of your word. In Christ we are free. Thank you, Lord.
And in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.